Cubs, the moon, M42, Video, Saturn - parents. . . it all adds up

Had a delightful time observing with three Cub Scouts and their mothers the other night. This is a group that began their four-session observing program last fall and is just now finishing up. It's amazing how cloudy nights, holidays, bitter cold, and other commitments can make it so difficult to get in four observing sessions when you schedule for a specific night of the week! Just luck of the draw. Some people get four weeks in a row – no problem.

Anyway, what I learned last night were three things:

1. Looking at a 3-day old moon is a great idea because there's less to see, so things are easier to find. (Duh!)
2. The video camera in the telescope really works as an educational tool. I had them go from video to 15-inch and then back to video and I think they came away with a much better sense of what the Orion Nebula is this way.
3. A zoom eyepiece would be a very helpful tool in any scope not on a clock drive.

Let me take the last point first. I had two DOBS pointed at Saturn and folks were really enjoying the view. Then I increased the power – and narrowed the field – and while that was good, they had trouble keeping the planet in view as the Earth turned. Now if I had used a zoom it would have meant less fumbling with eyepieces in the dark, but more importantly I could have zoomed in to the high-powered view and when the planet slipped out of sight, zoomed out to pick it up quickly and re-center it in the scope – then zoom in again. Takes longer to write about this than to do it and I think it would be real easy to teach others to do. To that end I've ordered the relatively inexpensive Celestron 8-24mm zoom to see how well it does.

As to the video, this was really fun. I locked in on M42 with the 8-inch in twilight before folks arrived. I set the DVD player on a table outside the observatory and put a red filter over the screen.

When folks arrived they concentrated on the moon first. The task was to draw the terminator on a rough moon map as precisely as they could. In doing this they had to identify Mare Crisium and the craters known by some as "the gang of four." I didn't see all the results, but the one I did look at was right on target. To do this the visitors were using the four small, short-focus refractors I had set up with correct-image prisms. These gave low-power views that matched the naked eye, making the jump to telescope use simpler.

They then moved to the two DOBs that were aimed at Saturn. (I also had the NexStar 5 Celestron on Saturn, but it was having trouble tracking, so they mostly used the DOBS.)

By 8 pm it was good and dark and after reviewing the two bears and the North Star, we went to the video screen. The MallinCam Color Hyper was set on two-second integration which meant it was showing the core of M42 with the Trapezium so over-exposed it was a bright blur, We discussed Orion and they could easily shift their view from the red-covered screen to the sky to get firmly in mind exactly what we were seeing and where it was. I also explained that while the video camera was more sensitive to faint light than their eyes, their eyes had a greater range and when they looked in the 15-inch they should look at the nebulosity, but also the four stars of the Trapezium. I told them the brightest star in that group was 210,000 times as bright as our sun.

With that introduction, they went to the 15-inch and everyone got a look at the nebula in a low-power view that filled the eyepiece field and clearly showed the Trapezium. After that we returned to the video and this time I removed the red filter from the screen. Then I went into the observatory and changed the camera to six second – and later 12-second – integrations. With each step they were more impressed, for going from 2 to 6 to 12 seconds is a bit like looking at the nebula in a 4-inch, then an 8 inch and then a 15-inch scope – but in terms of the fine details - and a bit of color – the video camera on the 8-inch LX90 was showing more than the 15-inch Obsession did visually. The details were easier to see on the screen and, of course, I could point things out and discuss them.

Bottom line – the video is a great complement to visual observing and greta help to education.

We then returned to the moon and discussed the perspective of what they had seen that night – how things that are small – like the moon – can look very big because they are so close – and how things that are big – like Saturn and M42, can look very small. I showed them a photo of Saturn next to the moon. Also pointed out that the moon was a little more than one light second away, Saturn more than alight hour, and the Orion Nebular about 1500 light years. The moon is about 2,000 miles in diameter, Saturn more than 35 times that big,and the Orion Nebular is far, far bigger than our whole solar system – about 12 light years across.

Does any of this sink in? I don’t know. But it seems to hold their attention. Bren was helping me and she pointed out the next day one absolutely key ingredient – the parents. My rile is one adult, one child and it is a joint learning venture. These parents took that seriously and were as deeply involved as their children and parent and child fed on one another's enthusiasm. That is essential.

One participant wrote the next day:

We all had a great time last night, and all left in a state of wonder, I think. None of us had ever experienced such a great view of the heavens before. It was certainly worth the delay in meetings to be able to witness Saturn in all it's glory! . . . . It's no small task to keep the attention of three 10 year old boys for an hour. Outside. In the dark. I think you've instilled (in us all ) an interest in the stars, the planets, and our relation to them that wasn't there before. I also think that it was good for the boys to see your excitement and knowledge of the subject, and your desire to share it with them. Overall, it was one of the most interesting, enjoyable things that Sue and I have done with the den.

They also gave me a thoughtful gift – a small meteorite – something I didn't have, but have been thinking about buying.

Am I having fun yet? You bet. I've been an amateur astronomer off-and-on for 50 years, but I've never had more fun in the hobby than I am having now.