Everyone loves a beautiful night sky.
But, maybe you’d like to learn more?
What We’ll Cover
I’ll be visiting several Dayton Metro library locations this late Spring and Summer. Come and learn about:
- The tools and challenges of observational (specifically: optical) astronomy.
- Naked eye, binoculars, telescope.
- I bring a telescope on-site, and I discuss how to use it. Please note: These are daytime sessions, so we won’t be doing any “live viewing”.
- How astronomy began
- Learning the night sky
- Star maps
- Star hopping
- Identifying objects in the night sky: constellations, asterisms, individual stars, planets, artificial satellites, deep sky objects.
- Choosing a telescope.
- What to look for, and what to avoid.
- Major brands: Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Orion.
- Expectations vs Reality
- Events, like eclipses, comets, and meteor showers.
- I also have meteorite samples for everyone to see and touch!
- Computer software for sky-watching.
- I also talk about coordinate systems: How astronomers describe the positions of objects in the night sky. (Math is kept to a minimum!)
Audience
The content is intended for an audience as young as 3rd grade, but should be of interest to older kids and adults as well.
Please Note: The Dayton Metro Library events calendar lists this as “K-4”, but in reality I believe kids K – 1st grade, and maybe 2nd, will struggle a bit with this material. ALL ARE WELCOME, just be aware. Thanks!
Schedule
Each event lasts approximately an hour.
| Date / Time | Location (branch) |
|---|---|
| Monday, May 20th, 6pm | Trotwood |
| Thursday, June 6th, 6:30pm | New Lebanon |
| Saturday, June 8th, 2pm | Huber Heights |
| Saturday, June 15th, 3pm | Northwest |
| Thursday, June 20th, 5:30pm | West Carrollton |
| Saturday, June 22nd, 3:30pm | Wilmington-Stroop |
| Tuesday, July 9th, 7pm | Vandalia |
| Thursday, July 11th, 5:30pm | Electra C. Doren |
| Saturday, July 20th, 2pm | Miamisburg |
| Tuesday, July 23rd, 6:30pm | Burkhardt |
| Saturday, August 10th, 4pm | Kettering-Moraine |