Ken Stage of the St. George Observatory recently invited me to travel to Louisiana to speak on my activities in astronomy, from meteorites to eclipses. I was amazed at the program’s organization, the various equipment and demonstration materials Ken and his group brought, the attention to detail, and, in particular, Ken and his group’s enthusiasm to share astronomy, space exploration, and science in general.
I spent the day at Avoyelles High School in Moreauville with 8th- and 11th-grade students. The area is rural and about a 45-minute drive from Alexandria. Three groups of students rotated through demonstrations about spectra, biology, and safely viewing the Sun. After lunch, Ken did an excellent science presentation that literally kept the students engaged the entire time — a real feat considering they were seated on the gymnasium floor and had been involved in science activities all day long.
I was up next and wondered, “Will they listen? It’s been a long day for them, and Ken’s talk and demos were excellent.” The students amazed me. Most stayed engaged and had numerous thoughtful questions such as “Did you ever find a meteorite?” and “Which total solar eclipse did you like best?” (All!) And, of course, there were the black hole and UFO questions, standard fare in this type of presentation.
That evening, the group from St. George Observatory set up telescopes at Plaucheville Elementary School in Plaucheville. About 300 students, parents, and others showed up. That pleased me because this is a rural part of Louisiana, and it was also a Friday night. As it was getting dark, I gave a brief presentation titled “Wonders of the Universe” in which I showed some of the beautiful objects our universe contains. I also talked to them about what they would see and how to observe through a telescope — something that those of us who observe a lot take for granted.
Lines quickly formed behind the telescopes for viewing the night’s wonders. Everyone waited patiently while telescope operators told those in their lines stories about the object they were viewing and answered more questions. I was fortunate that Lon Shelton, an accomplished astrophotographer, would be imaging that night. (Yes, the skies in rural Plaucheville were that good.) So I asked Lon to allow me to image along with him on his telescope platform, and he was kind enough to say yes. I am finishing a story for Astronomy on high-megapixel digital SLRs, and I needed more images to go with the story. Lon was super to work with, as was everyone. As with most imaging sessions, we had our glitches. The final one occurred when someone unplugged the power, signaling to all that it was time to call it a night.
I am one of those individuals who love to do astronomy outreach and education. It may sound strange for a Ph.D. to like these types of activities, but I love sharing the universe with others. I have had the opportunity to travel and speak at many events over the years. In all that time, Ken Stage and his crew put on one of the finest educational days I have experienced. I also found a wonderful way to finish up the event: talking about the Orion Nebula to three Avoyelles High School students who were genuinely interested in what they were hearing and especially seeing.
Do you have a meteorite question? Collecting tales? Successful meteorite hunts? A favorite meteorite or book? A must-see meteorite exhibit? Please e-mail me at mreynolds@fscj.edu. I will explore your meteorite questions and more each month!
Keep looking up!
Mike Reynolds
