Sidewalk Astronomy - Takin' it to the streets

onight, for the second time in as many weeks, I took my telescope to the new local bikepath / walkway and set it up for random passersby to have a free look at the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. I've been a member of the Sidewalk Astronomers for several years now, and this is what we do.

The group was founded by John Dobson back in the late 1960s in San Francisco. Some young friends he had got interested in astronomy were turned away from a local astronomy group because they were "too young" to join, so they founded their own, and "sidewalk astronomy" was born. I met John several years ago at a series of cosmology lectures he was giving. The following year I took his telescope making class. Since then, I've been active on-and-off with the group; mostly off in the last few years.

Then a funny thing happened in March: I received a phone call from the head librarian of the El Sereno Public Library. At their request, I had taken my telescope there years before and set it up for the children to look through. The program director, Mrs. Ali, was now calling me to bring my telescope back. We agreed to a Wed. in April for me to return, from 6 - 8pm. I lugged my telescope equipment out to the car and made the hour-long drive to the library. I had a good time and the children there were very appreciative. In the 2 hours I was there, 40 or 50 people looked through my telescope.

One thing that always seemed an obstacle to children and adults alike was that they all appeared intimidated by my telescope. It is a large, expensive-looking piece of hardware with odd angles and a massive tripod support that was difficult for people to maneuver around. I wanted to do this sort of thing again, so I bought another telescope, identical in size/power, but a much simpler design.

A week later, out of the blue, I received an email asking for volunteers to go to a high school in Lakewood and set up for the students there. They expected 300+ students to attend. I agreed to go, taking my new, lighter, more portable telescope for the 90 minute drive to the school. The telescope saw "first light" the night before from my front yard, where I gave my new neighbor and his son a mini-tour of the sky. They were thrilled. The program at the school went off without a hitch and the different mount/design, (called a "Dobsonian" after John Dobson who came up with this design) made it much more "people friendly".

While at the school, I ran into an old friend who is also a member of the Sidewalk Astronomers. He asked me if I'd help him the following night at a "language school" in downtown Los Angeles. We rode there together in his truck and caught up on old times during our trek. When we arrived, I asked him how he'd found the school. They called him out of the blue 5 years before. It turns out that my friend had graduated from that very school over 40 years before. He goes there 2 or 3 times a year with his telescope and has become an inspiration to the students, since he came to America, not speaking the language, and has gone on to work with NASA.

Since purchasing this new scope, I've made a committment to myself to take it to the Chandler Bikeway in Burbank every Wednesday night during the warmer months. People there are hesitant at first, but next thing I know, I'm surrounded by a small mob of enthusiastic, excited people with lots of questions about the stars and planets. A common occurence is people rushing home to grab their kids and bring them back to have a look. Interestingly, when I used to do this with a friend in front of the local movie mega-plex on the weekends, we often heard the questions: "What's the catch? Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?" The person asking could never understand that someone would do this for free. Out on the Chandler Bikeway, not one person has asked that. They don't even question my presence; they are just grateful for the opportunity I provide. There is none of the cynicism we encountered at the mega-plex, though I do hear: "You do this for free, on your own time? That is so cool! Thank you!"

The bikeway is currently 2 miles long, though it is being expanded. I want to set the telescope up at different residential intersections of the bikeway each week, since I know that not everyone walks the full length of the path. When I first came up with this plan, I was worried about having problems with the police. To minimize any problems, I set up the scope at the quieter intersections and set up off the main path in the common area near rest benches. The police have come by both nights and I haven't had any problems. So far, both times, fun was had by all. And I look forward to setting up my telescope again next Wednesday.