Out and About

Summer Stargazing in the Northwest
A Family Guide to an Astronomical Education
by Emily Puro

Not only can Natasha Vartanian name the planets in our solar system, the southwest Portland 8-year-old can identify many of them in the night sky. Her 4-year-old brother Max recognizes the phases of the moon and delights in spotting Earth’s satellite during daylight. Eleven-year-old Chiara Forrester of north Portland built her own telescope a few years ago, as did southeast Portlander Abby Turner, now 14.

What do these young astronomers have in common? They’ve all been inspired by the enthusiasm of their parents and other members of the Rose City Astronomers (RCA), the Pacific Northwest’s largest amateur astronomy club. In addition to year-round meetings and dark sky “star parties” from spring through fall, these families gather every summer with hundreds of other astronomy enthusiasts at the Oregon Star Party (OSP), a long weekend of serious star watching in the Ochoco National Forest. The camping is primitive, but the dark skies draw amateur astronomers from near and far.

“In the middle of nowhere,” says Matt Vartanian, the group’s vice president of observing and Natasha and Max’s dad, “this whole community of astronomy-interested people (gathers). …We have a great time every night and during the day there are lots of activities. My kids just love it.”

Last year at the OSP, Abby Turner and her friends stayed up until nearly dawn peering through their telescopes. The girls are working their way through the Messier List – a popular guide to 110 of the brightest objects in the sky – and are well on their way to spotting them all. “They really challenge themselves,” says Abby’s dad Scott. “Every year it’s more and more difficult objects,” he adds, including “galaxies, very small, very faint.”

Getting Started
While OSP is an annual highlight for many RCA members, for a family with little or no astronomical experience it could be daunting. Happily, there are ample opportunities for beginners to explore the skies locally. RCA and OMSI host monthly star parties from March through September, weather permitting, at Rooster Rock State Park, about 25 miles east of Portland. The Perseid Meteor Shower is the summer’s big draw, when over 1,000 people are expected to gather at Rooster Rock State Park to view this annual phenomemon, which peaks at about 60 meteors per hour.

RCA members attend these public star parties to share telescopes and
binoculars as well as their enthusiasm and knowledge, providing an
excellent introduction to astronomy for all ages. “Many of the visitors who
attend the star parties have never viewed the craters on the moon or the rings of Saturn through a telescope,” says OMSI planetarium manager Jim Todd.

“People don’t believe they’re looking at it,” adds Scott Turner of the vivid view of Saturn’s rings. “They almost look at the front of the scope like you’ve put a picture up or something.”

OMSI’s Astronomy Family Camp offers another comfortable introduction to exploring the night sky with a weekend at Central Oregon’s Hancock Field Station. RCA members act as guides, introducing campers to the wonders of a truly dark sky. Aloha mom Rebekah Kilgore and her daughter Olivia, now 12, were treated to unhindered views of the Milky Way as well as numerous constellations, planets and moons when they attended the camp last August. During the day they learned ancient stories about the constellations and even viewed the sun through a special filter (don’t try that at home!). Having RCA members as guides made all the difference, says Kilgore.

RCA is an excellent resource for anyone interested in amateur astronomy, from the serious observer to the complete novice. Monthly meetings are open to the public and offer a wealth of information and advice. “You always want to share your passion with people and explain things,” says Turner. “That’s clearly what (RCA members) like to do.”

Members can borrow books from the well-stocked library and, after three months, can borrow telescopes. It’s a great way to explore different types of telescopes before purchasing one, and an annual family membership costs only $24.

Let Kids Set the Pace

Like any activity you share with your kids, it’s important to monitor and respect their interest level. “At first I was really excited,” says Vartanian of introducing his kids to the skies. “I wanted to get out the maps and the telescopes and tell them all this stuff and within two minutes their eyes glazed over,” he recalls. “You can easily overload them and then it’s no fun at all.”

Vartanian quickly learned that while his children weren’t interested in looking through a telescope when they were young, they enjoyed looking at the moon and imagining the sizes of and distances between objects in space. He took a step back and allowed his kids to set the pace and has seen their enthusiasm grow slowly but steadily. Now 8, Natasha is interested in using a telescope and wants to accompany her dad to more star parties in the year ahead.

And while you don’t want to overload kids with information, you don’t want to stifle their curiosity either. “There are some kids that will keep coming back and ask tons of questions,” says Turner of the children who look through his telescope at star parties. “They’re better observers than adults, in my opinion. They’ll look longer.” Parents often rush children to “give someone else a chance” with the telescope, he says, but Turner encourages kids to look as long as they want. Children often learn the most, he notes, when parents allow them to explore and discover on their own.

So Much to Learn
During RCA meetings from June through September, Chiara Forrester’s mom Jenny introduces children between 6 and 12 years old to astronomy in a playful “kids club” setting. She adapts games like Twister and Pictionary to teach astronomy concepts and makes edible crafts like “dirty snowballs” (ice cream rolled in chocolate cookies) to illustrate the concept of a comet. She gives the kids a chance to use a telescope and teaches “star party etiquette” so they won’t disrupt serious observers when they attend the gatherings with their parents.

A homeschooling mom with a master’s degree in education, Forrester is passionate about the educational value of amateur astronomy. “Emphasize the science,” she says. “Talk about the difference between Aristotle and Galileo. Aristotle did no scientific observation or real inquiry while Galileo did, and in doing so he proved Aristotle wrong.” Discuss the difference between Ptolemy’s earth-centered model of the universe and Copernicus’s sun-centered model, she adds, and visit astronomical sites if possible when traveling. At Arizona’s Chaco Canyon, for example, ancient buildings are aligned with the paths of the sun and the moon as well as with each other. “These structures are immense and they’re incredibly unique,” says Forrester. “It’s an amazing feat of astronomy (for kids to see).”

Share ancient stories about constellations, she continues, and learn the names of objects in the sky so you’ll be able to explain what your kids are seeing. Take every opportunity to view the night sky with your children. Paradoxically, Forrester notes that “In the city, the constellations are actually easier to pick out because there are fewer bright objects visible, so the main pieces of the constellations are easier for kids to see.”

Cosmic Connections

Serious observing is a hobby for the intrepid. It can take hours to reach truly dark skies and the best observing happens in the middle of the night when it’s very dark and very cold. Patience is essential, adds Abby Turner, who recalls spending at least half an hour finding one particularly elusive object. But the payoffs for those with a passion are immense.

Among the hobby’s many benefits, says Scott Turner, is “windshield time,” his term for the hours spent driving to star parties with his kids. “To me, it’s one of the best ways to spend time talking to your kid,” he says. “You open up subjects that are sometimes hard to open up or you just find out more about what they’re doing.”

“Amateur astronomy is a really wholesome thing. It can be very family oriented,” adds Vartanian. “The amateur astronomy community is a really tight one and there are a lot of great friendships that have been created from this.”

No Better Time, No Better Place
Oregon has some of the best dark sky viewing in the country, says Todd, a happy combination of sparsely populated areas, the state’s unique terrain and ocean air flow that keeps the skies clear and dark. With ideal conditions from spring through fall, there’s no better time to get started, but be prepared to get hooked. “A lot of times parents get into (astronomy) for the kids,” says Vartanian, “and they end up getting more into it than the kids do. That happens a lot!”

Regional Observatories

Some observatories have limited hours for public viewing. Call or visit the Web sites listed for information before visiting.

Haggart Observatory, Oregon City; depts.clackamas.edu/haggard; 503-657-6958 x 5665; located at the John Inskeep Environmental Learning Center of Clackamas Community College

Pine Mountain Observatory, 30 miles southeast of Bend; pmo-sun.uoregon.edu; 541-382-8331.

Sunriver Nature Center Observatory, Sunriver; www.sunrivernaturecenter.org; 541-598-4406.

Goldendale Observatory, Goldendale, Wash.; www.perr.com/gosp.html; 509-773-3141

The Oregon Star Party

Serious astronomy buffs gather at Indian Trail Spring in the Ochoco National Forest (about an hour east of Prineville) for the annual Oregon Star Party each August. The event boasts plenty of activities for kids including Lunar Phase and Astronomy Bingo, solar viewing, scavenger hunts, crafts, games and storytelling as well as youth telescope mentoring. For details, visit www.oregonstarparty.org.

Astronomical Resources

Organizations

Rose City Astronomers; www.rca-omsi.org 503-255-2016. Visit the Web site for a list of upcoming star parties, dark sky viewing sites in the region, and tips for beginners. Monthly meetings are held the third Monday of every month at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Avenue, from 7 to 9 p.m. and are open to the public.

Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers; www.vancouversidewalkastronomers.org: Another local amateur astronomy group.

Books

Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope and How to Find Them by Guy Consolmagno, et al (Cambridge University Press, 2000)

Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson (Firefly Books, 1998)

Emily Puro is a Portland freelance writer and mom.

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