Pioneer School Star Party

by Bruce Jensen

Last night, February 22, 1999, four TACyons and other astronomers entertained hundreds of people and treated them to lovely views of the shallow sky (and a little deep sky, too) at the annual Pioneer Elementary School Science Fair in Union City, California. Somewhere around 400 - 500 (estimated) students, parents and friends attended the 2-hour fair showcasing the high-quality scientific experiments and displays of the Pioneer School Students. This reporter heard estimates that up to a third of the displays in the fair were about astronomy and space exploration, along with many fine exhibits on earth science, weather, engineering, biology and botany. The astronomers would loved to have seen some of these exhibits, but we had our hands joyfully full.

Beginning ahortly after sunset, the early arrivals were treated to lovely low-power views of Luna and the close pairing of Jupiter and Venus near the western horizon. Higher power views were not especially useful, for the most part, due to the turbulence of the low atmosphere, although occasional detail was seen on Jupiter. Far better were the moon and shortly thereafter, Saturn, which was to become the gem of the evening. The moon was a magnificent sight in every instrument up to medium magnifications, with unbelievable detail along the terminator drawing "oohs," "aahs," and exclamations of "Man, that's TIGHT!" from kids of all ages.

Soon, however, the focus turned to Saturn. At some moments, it seemed every scope was trained on the ringed planet with waiting lines up to 25 people long that seemed to never cease. And, with good reason...Saturn was one of the few objects to remain lovely and bright in the somewhat light-washed area outside of the cafeteria where the Fair was being held. With the Cassini division easy and either 5 or 6 moons visible at most times in the larger scopes, it was a fine sight. This reporter's scope was on Saturn most of the evening from 6:45 until it dropped behind an obstruction at about 8 PM.

Other views that people enjoyed included the Orion Nebula, looking fairly decent with filtration; several double stars, including Rigel, which showed itself very well at 145x in this reporter's instrument after Saturn was lost; and some brighter star clusters. It was an impressive short night, with many new friends made and (hopefully) many converts to the avocation of amateur astronomy. TAC flyers and information from the International Dark-Sky Association were made available all night, and several people of all ages expressed interest and concern in these issues.

One characteristic of the New Haven (Union City) School District that was especially pleasing to me was that the demographic makeup of the City includes people from all walks of life and ethnicity, with folks from every inhabited continent and background in significant numbers; and to see people from cultures spanning the globe, all joined in friendship at an event where everyone was equally able to enjoy the atmosphere and sights and displays, was truly inspirational. It made one's heart soar.

One small girl, apprently exuberant over the heady atmosphere and privilege of staying up and outdoors at night, was heard to exclaim, "Mommy, this is the best night of my whole life!"

Our evening ended with the visitors' numbers finally diminishing and the astronomers able to catch their breaths, some chit-chat as the equipment was packed up, and a few of us remaining to keep Vince Huang company while he got his temperamental car started on it's journey homeward. :-)

Thanks to Bob Czerwinski, Vince Huang, Paul Sterngold and Bob Booth for the generous donation of time and skill and showmanship and friendship - it was absolutely wonderful. A big thanks to Principal Rod Fivelstad, also an amateur astronomer and provider of a fine scope, for the wonderful idea and great party that Pioneer threw (and to which EVERYONE came :-). To those astronomers who were not able to make, NO PROBLEM fellows! We'll get more chances, and your enthusiasm was nonetheless greatly appreciated. Finally, special thanks to my sweet lovely wife Pamela, a fine Pioneer employee, for encouraging this operation, bringing my little boy to his first star party, and being on hand to help at some crucial moments. A great effort and superb show, everyone.