Galilean Nights: Spontaneous Stargazers
Today, it seems a horrifying act of censorship. A gifted scientist takes his theories about the world to the authorities of the time, expecting change and enlightenment. Instead, he is met with charges of heresy and publicly ridiculed. Eventually, he is sentenced to house arrest and forced to live out his remaining days as a prisoner in his own home, trapped by the knowledge that the world is wrong and he is right.
This scientist was Galileo Galilei, and he discovered that the planet Jupiter had moons, a fact that disproved the geocentric model of Earth in which the universe revolved around our planet. Although it was not appreciated in Galileo’s lifetime, the theory was eventually proven to be true. Four hundred years later, the world deems Galileo’s discovery worthy of celebration rather than condemnation.
And so a celebration has been planned. Organized by the International Astronomical Union, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. The IAU stated in a press release that the event was planned to “stimulate world interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science.”
To commemorate this historic anniversary, the IAU hosted an event called 100 Hours of Astronomy, where astronomers, amateur and professional took to the streets to look at the skies. The event was so popular that the IAU decided to create a new event, called Galilean Nights, which will take place over the night of Oct. 23 to 24.
According to Donna Smith, task group member for Galilean Nights, the event focuses on seeing Jupiter and its moons. During the 100 Hours of Astronomy event, it wasn’t possible to see the planet. Galilean Nights gives those who participated in the prior event a chance to see them now instead.
Smith also said the event was designed not for present astronomers, but for people who would otherwise never consider looking up at the night sky through a telescope.
“The purpose is to take your telescope out to people,” said Smith, who suggests places such as street corners and movie theaters for the event. She says bringing astronomy to the public is the best way to interest others in the science because people will only go out to a big observatory or buy a telescope if they’re already interested.
“The whole idea of the event is for astronomers to be reaching out to as many people as they can,” said Smith.
But some astronomers are trying to reach out to more than street corners. Elias Jordan, an amateur astronomer from Kansas, is planning a “star party” for Galilean Nights with a twist: he’ll be broadcasting the event over the Internet.
It’s not something new for Jordan, who did a similar webcast for the 100 Hours of Astronomy. He said the event “turned out to be overly successful,” and this inspired him to do the same for Galilean Nights.
According to Jordan, webcasting can be done three different ways, all of which involve a Web site known as Ustream, a Web page where users can post live videos for others to watch. The simplest way is to connect a webcam to a computer, and point it up at the night sky. This creates a simple ‘naked-eye-view’ for the event.
If a webcaster wants a better, more dynamic webcast, Jordan said, he can instead move the webcam and computer around the star party, and put the camera’s lens up to a telescope so that viewers can see an enhanced view of the skies.
The last, and most complicated way to webcast a star viewing event is to have a group webcast, as Jordan hopes to do for Galilean Nights. In a group webcast, multiple webcasts are set up at the same time in different places.
Jordan said he plans to have two Galilean Nights groups in his area, which epitomize the two distinct aspects of the event. The first, he says, will be centered in town, and the second will be about 30 miles away at a nearby observatory.
“You get a much, much better view outside of the observatory,” he said, adding that the event taking place outside the city was more for established astronomy groups than the average person.
“We’re just trying to give the public the ability to mimic Galileo,” Jordan said.
Here at Marquette, students who hope to look to the night sky might be served best by turning to the Physics Club. Amongst other activities, including building trebuchets and periodically launching rockets, the Physics Club hosts star nights periodically for interested students.
Physics Club president Victoria Salas said the Physics Club plans to have a star night Sept. 25 to 26, during the first quarter moon. She said they considered an event for Galilean Nights but nothing had been decided.
“It’s up in the air,” said Salas. “It depends on the interest in our other star night.”
Salas said that there were potential problems other than a lack of interest. For example, she said the weather has to be warm enough for students to remain outside. It’s also difficult to find people who know how to use a telescope, she said.
The Manfred Olson Planetarium at UW-Milwaukee is offering stargazing nights throughout October and November starting at 8:30 p.m., and the Milwaukee Astronomical Society Observatory, in New Berlin, is offering a public observation night on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Tags: astronomy, Galilean Nights, Galileo, International Astronomical Union, Manfred Olsen Planitarium, milwaukee astronomical society observatory, physics club, stargazing
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