President Kevin Dehne shows off the Sunset Astronomical Society's new sign. Astronomical Society's 'Night Under The Stars'
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The 6th Annual Night Under the Stars was a huge success according to Kevin Dehne, the President of the host group, The Sunset Astronomical Society (SAS) and an assistant science professor at Delta College. Over 225 people (adults and children) turned out for the event that started at 5pm and concluded early Sunday morning.
Each Summer, late July or early August, SAS invites the general public to a night under the stars at Saginaw Township's Imerman Memorial Park, 3495 Midland Road (M-47) in Saginaw Township. This year, the Astronomical group offered seminars on Solar Observing, Light Pollution, Apollo Landing Sites, Mars Exploration, Using Telescopes and a general tour of the night sky.
Participants also got to see the planetMars close-up and in all its glory. During August this year, Mars is closer to the Earth than it has been for a very long time. Mars will be only 34.65 million miles away from Earth on Aug. 27. The next time Mars will be this close, according to Dehne, is the year 2287. The last time Mars got this close was almost 50,000 years ago.
The main draw of the star party at Imerman Park last Saturday night was to give people a chance to look through different telescopes. The telescopes on display ranged in price from $2,000 to as much as $10,000 per piece of equipment.
Mars is an added bonus to this years' event, Dehne said, because the group always schedules the event to coincide with the annual Perseid meteor shower. This year, the peak of Perseid is Aug. 13th. A number of meteors were visible during the night on Saturday.
(Below) Local astronomers set up scopes in preparation for a night of star watching. Over 225 persons attended the event at Imerman Park in Saginaw Township last Saturday night.
Below:(Left) Leah Underwood (age 8), Erik Dehne (7) and Katy Dehne (13) sell commemorative t-shirts at the annual star party. "Business has been pretty good," Katy Dehne said. "We've only got a few shirts left." (Right) President Kevin Dehne and Jack Underwood set up 'The Beast.' The Beast is a 13.1" Dobsonian Reflector Telescopeand one of the most powerful and therefore the most popular with star watchers during the night's activities.
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O. J. Cunningham |
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