The E.O.Wilson Biophilia center’s first Biophilia @ Night event was a great success. The NWFAA supported the event with four observing stations; one at the entrance to the center, one at the beginning of the nighttime trail and two at the end of the trail.
First in line was Dave Halupowski and Kennedy Odom with Dave’s ever popular binocular chair. They also manned a parallelogram mounted pair of binoculars on a tripod. The two were setup on the decking spanning the pond leading up to the visitor center entrance. Needless to say, the younger guest observers enjoyed the rotational flexibility of Dave’s chair.
Next in line was Dennis and Marietta Hausch with Dennis’ 12″ Dobsonian mounted reflector. Since the Biophilia event coincided with International Observe the Moon Night, Dennis’ target was the waxing Moon. He was located at the head of the nighttime trail and at the same time, adjacent to the bonfire destined to heat many s’mores into delicious gooeyness later in the evening. Dennis also handed out numerous NWFAA star gaze schedules as well as October sky charts.
At the end of the trail Tom Haugh and Ken Sharp setup scopes amongst the trees. Early reconnaissance trips to the center were helpful finding locations that had open areas in the tree canopy allowing narrow views of the night sky. Careful positioning allowed Ken to start his scope on Saturn while Tom initially sighted in on Mars. As the evening progressed and each target became obstructed by branches other objects were selected. The hikers were treated to very clear dark skies and we answered a lot of questions about the universe and Astronomy in general.
We had a great time and look forward to supporting the Biophilia Center whenever they call.