Author: Roland Roberts

Equipment

I’m trying to reconstruct my “old” page of equipment information and hopefully, I’ll be able to add some links with pictures to what I currently have since this is ahem, a bit outdated. Of course, I may be too lazy to ever get it systematically organized.

Astronomy Day 2008

This is an international event which will be "celebrated" by tens of thousands of amateur astronomers by taking their telescopes outside and inviting friends, neighbors and passers-by to have a look.  This year, Saturn, always a crowd-pleaser, will be well placed for viewing.

Lunar Eclipse Visible!

[img_assist|nid=689|title=2008-02-20 Lunar Eclipse|desc=|link=node|align=undefined|width=640|height=640] Starting around 2 pm EST, the clouds rolled in and it didn’t look good for viewing. But around 8:30 pm the clouds thinned allowing a fuzzy moon to be visible through and between the clouds so we could see the eclipse begin. By 10 pm, the skies had completely cleared an we …

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Astronomy 001

I’ve been asked to lead an astronomy club for PS 102 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. That invitation sounded interesting, but….

How do you run an astronomy club for young children? It’s easy enough to do a sidewalk astronomy event for them and their parents, but there’s a world of differences when you’re it, the parents are not there and you have to maintain their interest and attention a lot longer than 60 seconds at the eyepiece.

So, I’m starting this "notebook" of experiences, lesson plans, and whatever else seems appropriate so I can keep track of what makes a successful club (and what makes an unsuccessful one!).

Lunar Eclipse

Well, the Eclipse Party is on, but the Eclipse will probably be eclipsed by bad weather here in NYC and other parts of the northeast. I’ve been working with Celestia to have a simulation of the earth/moon as seen from the Earth-Sun L1 point. That lets you see both the geometry that results in eclipses …

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