Cupids & Constellations at Norman Bird Sanctuary
by Francine Jackson
February 14th may have been one of the coldest nights this year, but, it was also St. Valentine’s Day, and the Norman Bird Sanctuary invited the public to its Cupids and Constellations night. The skies couldn’t have been more perfect for observing, despite our having to set up in the snow.
Twenty hardy souls came to listen to Education Coordinator Sara Poirier first introduce the winter sky via PowerPoint, including such beauties as the Heart Nebula, and the gorgeous Owl Cluster. Then, armed with hot chocolate, half the group went on a nature hike, while the others stayed with Sara, Jim Hendrickson and Francine Jackson to show the Moon, Jupiter, M42, and even the Owl Cluster, among others.
Suddenly, a giant cloudlike object began traveling across the sky. Jim recognized it as a part of the SpaceX USSF-124 that had launched just hours before. Using her 8-inch Dobsonian, Sara followed it for a while, and saw several satellites ejected from it.
When the nature group returned, several of them realized they were too cold to remain outside, but there were others who ventured to the telescopes to see images of the beautiful celestial objects.
Returning inside to grab another hot chocolate before breaking down our scopes, Sara declared the night a great success, and stated there will be other observing nights, preferably in the warmer weather.
