Events

2017 Solar eclipse at SMV

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We’ve had some pretty large crowds at the SMV, but Aug. 21 of 2017 was one of the largest I’ve seen. Since we gave away 750 pairs of eclipse glasses, I’m estimating we had at least 800 people there. As you can see from the pictures here and below, it was pretty much standing room … Read more

Use Nextdoor app to arrange a neighborhood skywatch

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I used an app called Nextdoor last Saturday night to announce a skywatch that I wanted to hold at my local high school. The tennis courts at the school are perfect, because there aren’t any parking lot lights in sight. And the webbing they have up on the surrounding fence almost completely eliminates the glare … Read more

Skywatch at Tomahawk Baptist Church

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Ray Moody and I (Terry) had a good crowd at Tomahawk Baptist Church last Friday (8/4/2017) evening, and in spite of being alongside very busy Hull Street, we had a great time viewing the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Albireo (double star). I’m estimating about 60-70 kids and parents were there, celebrating the end of their … Read more

Nice Thank You letter from SPBC skywatch

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I received this email after helping St. Paul Baptist Church host a skywatch in July. They were a great bunch, and we had a good time viewing Jupiter, the Moon, and some double stars. And I was surprised and pleased to see Tiffany and Joyceline at the last SMV skywatch–now, that’s staying in touch. Hi Terry, We … Read more

Skywatch at Short Pump Middle School

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What a good group of kids–we had about 60 students and parents show up for the Short Pump Middle School skywatch. We started off in the auditorium with Madhup Rathi showed an astronomy slide show, and then we headed out behind the school to a fairly dark sky. Amazing–we could even see the big dipper … Read more

Chesterfield County skywatch

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Here’s an alternate use for a soccer field–Terry Barker led a Chesterfield County skywatch for about 20 people on April 28, at the Woodlake Athletic Complex (behind Clover Hill Elementary). The sky was pretty bright, but the Moon, Jupiter, and Mizar were easy targets. Information to sign up is shown below.

RAS presents STEM Fair awards

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Here’s an interesting idea–to avoid radiation danger to astronauts during space travel, shield them by scooping out a hole in an asteroid and place them in there. That’s exactly the point of Naren Kasinath’s science fair project this year. Every year, RAS (Richmond Astronomical Society) seeks out projects just like this, and others that relate to astronomy and space science.

Skywatch at Matoaca Middle

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We had a great crowd of about 50-60 students and parents, last night, March 2, with a perfect night for star gazing. Ray Moody, Madhup Rathi, and myself (Terry Barker) used our telescopes to show off the Moon, Venus M42, and a few double stars. We started off inside the school, where Madhup gave a Powerpoint presentation of what we were going to be looking at. This gave the kids something to anticipate before heading outside.

 

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Skywatch at Midlothian High

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Around 20 students and parents enjoyed the night sky on Dec. 1, using my (Terry Barker) telescope to to view the Moon, Pleiades, and double stars Albireo and Zeta Lyra. And we saw a great pass of the ISS passing almost directly overhead. As you can imagine, the sky in Midlothian is pretty muddy with light pollution, so there wasn’t much point in looking for the Andromeda Galaxy or other fainter objects. But, it was worth the trip when one young man shouted out his amazement at seeing the magnified Moon as soon as we started. I need to hire him for my next sky watch.

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