Robb Walker: One Dark Sky

OneDarkSky is proud to participate in ALCon2012 by providing public outreach services. The evening of July 4, the Marriott Lincolnshire will host fireworks and a star party in honor of ALCon2012. The event is free and open to the public. OneDarkSky’s Robb Walker will be at your service to highlight the celestial wonders of our night sky.
Though the event officially begins at 8:30 pm, I will arrive and set up around 7:00pm for a bit of solar observing before the main event. So, arrive early if you’d like to take a look at our neighborhood star and see how it’s gearing up for its Solar Maximum in 2013. Once the sun sets and the stars come out, we will begin a celestial tour of the night sky to include (but not limited to):

Saturn
Mars
The Moon
Double and Multi-star Systems
Globular Star Clusters

After an intermission for a wonderful fireworks display, we will continue the “Oohs” and “Ahs” as we peruse the jewels of the night sky. If the weather cooperates and the sky is nice and calm, we’ll try peering a little deeper and see if we can check off some of the objects on the ALCon 2012 Observer’s Challenge list. In addition to telescope observing, we will also enjoy wide-field views with our naked eyes as we trace out constellations and asterisms and simply enjoy the majestic views of our greatest natural resource, the Dark Night Sky!

By Danielle Braff, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Chicago is known for many things. But being the perfect place for stargazing isn’t one of the Windy City’s traits. If Audrey Fischer has her way, though, it will be.

She wants to be able to look up into the sky — even in the Loop — and see the stars.

It’s a daunting task, so Fischer is taking it one star at a time through her organization, One Star at a Time, which aims to unite people from across the planet via the starry sky. This is only possible if everyone in every city can see the stars, which isn’t feasible in most urban areas. So Fischer is working to create star parks in Chicago and around the world.

Star parks are designated areas where the city’s lights are either off or directed downward through a type of shielded fixture that reduces glare, so that it becomes possible to see the starry sky.

Fischer is working with Gov. Pat Quinn and other political figures to reduce light pollution and put the stars back into the city. Right now, there are star parks. But if Fischer achieves her goal, we won’t need designated areas because you’ll be able to see the stars anywhere you stand. The sky’s the limit.

Q: How did you get involved with preserving the sky?

A: There was a need to reconnect people with their starry nights. These stars exist over every kid’s backyard, but they’re needlessly hidden. The technology exists today to provide the artificial light we need without giving away the stars. It’s a win-win situation. We only lack the will, and I believe that is due to a misunderstanding.

Q: Why is it so important to be able to see the stars in the sky?

A: Starlight belongs to each and every person in the world. A starry night gives people a reason to look up and to realize that others from around the globe share the same sky. Starlight is the path to closer understanding of our universe, each other and ourselves — and maybe it’s even a path toward peace.

Q: What is your favorite star?

A: Up until recently, I didn’t have a favorite star. However, sadly, my father passed away in early February, and I wanted to choose a special star that would remind me of him. It would need to be available in all seasons and to be seen even in the light-polluted skies. The perfect star to represent my dad is Dubhe. Dubhe and Merak are the two pointer stars in the Big Dipper. These guiding stars point to the North Star, and knowing this, one can never be lost. This is perfect, because their initials stand for dad and mom, who were my guiding stars my whole life.

Q: Where were you born?

A: In Chicago. I grew up in Chicago Ridge, then went to Orland Park for two years during high school. All the other years, I split between the Beverly area of Chicago andLakeview on the North Side.

Q: Do you have any children?

A: No. “Cheaper by the Dozen” is my favorite movie, and I really pictured myself with lots of kids. But ovarian cancer and a total hysterectomy on my 19th birthday put an end to that. However, I enjoy my nieces, nephews, godchildren and volunteering with the grade schools and Scouts with astronomy outreach.

Q: Are the stars your day job?

A: Starlight is volunteer work from the heart. I pay for my expenses through grooming puppy dogs by day. It’s a great job, and it’s just about the only job where it’s legal to get kisses from the clientele without upsetting your spouse. I started out with champion English setters, then started grooming my friend’s show dogs for the dog show ring. When I got sick from the cancer, I found out that this was a great part-time job that I could do in between the chemo treatments. Later on, I needed this to pay off my very high medical bills.

Q: What did you want to do when you were 13?

A: I wanted to become an astronaut. I remember the day my teacher advised me to be practical and to reconsider because very few people will ever actually go to space. If she knew I wanted to go to space to see the planet as a whole without imaginary borders and pray for peace, she really would have known how unrealistic I truly was.

Q: What would you do if you won the lottery?

A: I would buy the stars back.

Q: What was your favorite year of your life?

A: When I was 21. This was the year I was cleared from cancer, and I looked at life differently than I had before being diagnosed — especially since I was given a life expectancy of three months. I was done fighting for my life, so I could focus on living life in the most meaningful way I could. No longer would I look at something and think silently, “Oh, I wish I could do that.” I did it. Sometimes, it was very difficult, but I discovered that not only was it worth the effort, but success tasted better when it did not come easy.

Q: What’s something that was hard for you to do?

A: I wanted to go scuba diving, but I didn’t know how to swim. I was the only one who started out by doggy paddling the laps. Now I am a master diver and have dived with magnificent manta rays in the night dives. I’m also afraid of heights, but I wanted to hang glide. This was a huge challenge to overcome. I am still afraid of heights on a ladder or a high balcony, but I absolutely love to fly my glider in air shows, and I’ve even flown with hawks.

The astronomy world’s own rock ‘n’ roll and blues band, consisting of members from the staff of Astronomy magazine and its publisher, is set to play as entertainment for ALCon 2012. On Saturday, July 7, the band will rock it out for attendees of the annual meeting of the Astronomical League at the Lincolnshire Marriott in Lincolnshire, Illinois, some 32 miles northwest of Chicago City Center.

Fronting the band are Wisconsin musicians Megan Bobo, seen by millions on American Idol, and Steve Kryscio, who sings and plays saxophone. The backing band consists of Keith Bauer and Jeff Felbab on guitars, Mike Soliday on bass, and Dave Eicher on drums.

The band’s repertoire includes classic rock such as timeless material from The Band, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Queen, and The Who. The band also plays blues from the playlists of the Allman Brothers Band, Jeff Beck, Howlin’ Wolf, Bonnie Raitt, Koko Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, and Muddy Waters.

The New Zealand International Starlight conference will take place at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand in June 2012.

This conference is recognized by the Starlight Initiative as the third of a series started in 2007 on the island of La Palma with the World Conference in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Observe the Stars, where the Starlight Declaration was adopted. It will address themes concerning

• the defence of the quality of the night sky,
• the right to observe the stars, the heritage of starlight,
• the issues of light pollution, the protection of observatory sites,
• the benefits of public outreach in astronomy and
• the cultural aspects of visual astronomy.

The Starlight Conference in New Zealand has been planned in conjunction with a bid we recently submitted to the International Dark-Sky Association for a Dark-Sky Reserve to be recognized in the Mackenzie Basin region around Lake Tekapo, and also in the nearby Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. A Starlight Reserve for the Mackenzie Basin was also proposed in the recent IAU-ICOMOS Thematic Study. We will discuss the concept, implementation and benefits of Starlight Reserves as a means of protecting the night sky, with the benefits for public outreach and astro-tourism, and for astronomical research.

In addition, several radio astronomers have pointed out that the issues of radio-frequency interference have much in common with issues of light pollution. We will therefore expand the topics under discussion to RFI and the development of radio-astronomy in New Zealand, especially the selection of radio-quiet sites. This is topical as New Zealand may participate with Australia in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio-astronomy project.

Earlier Starlight meetings were held at La Palma in April 2007 and in Fuerteventura (both in the Canary Islands) in March 2009. The New Zealand meeting will continue the progress made at these earlier meetings.

www.starlight2012.org

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
• Mike Simmons, President, Astronomers Without Borders
• Dr. Donald Parker, ALPO, Planetary Astrophotographer
• Dr. Dave Crawford, Co-founder IDA (remote presentation)
• Wally Pacholka, TWAN, Landscape Astrophotographer
• Dr. Jason Steffen, Kepler Mission Scientist
• Dr. Mark Hammergren, Adler Asteroid Expert
• Dr. Philipp Heck, Field Museum Meteorite Curator
• Dr. Hasan Padamsee, Physics Professor/Playwright, Cornell Univ.
• Vivian Hoette, Astronomy Educator at Yerkes Observatory
• Jeff Talman, Artist, Star Sound Installation, “Nature of the Night Sky”
• Dr. David Blask, Expert in circadian disruption/cancer/light pollution
• David Eicher, Editor-in-Chief, Astronomy Magazine

• Morning talks: Marriott Lincolnshire Resort on Wed, Thur, Fri; Morning & afternoon talks on Sat; Daytrips* on Wed, Thur, Fri.
• Very special early booking room rate at the Marriott $69+tax (reg $169)
• Daytrips: Fermilab, Yerkes, Sailing, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium
• Workshop at Yerkes: Outreach for the sight/hearing impaired
• Saturday Awards Banquet and Star Party
• July 4th Fireworks and StarParty on Resort golf course
• StarBQue, StarParty and chamber music concert at Ravinia
• AL Urban Observing Challenge
• Official NCRAL, ALPO and AWB events
• MWAIC Astro-Imaging Conference Wed, Thu, Fri pm sessions
• Qualified Teacher CPDU credits
• Dark Sky Advocacy presentations and roundtable forum
• Celestial Arts Contest: photos, songs, poetry, 3-min videos, art
*Day trips dependent on required sign-ups

This premier event has: astounding, clear, dark skies at its 8000+ foot elevation; excellent daytime exploration of the surrounding Rocky Mountains; speakers and activities for the entire family. Our theme this year will be “Apocalypse, Not!”. Come join us! For more information and registration go to our website: http://www.rmss.org

Part 1 – “Our Place Among the Infinities”

For a long time, the stars were merely pinpoints of light on the black backdrop of the heavens. Before massive mountaintop telescopes came along, all we could observe were the Sun, Moon, planets, their satellites, and the occasional comet. Today we know that those pinpoints of light are distant suns and that we live in a remote corner of one galaxy amongst billions.  For our first presentation, we’ll travel through our solar system, explore the star clusters and nebulae of our Milky Way Galaxy, and the countless other galaxies in this vast, infinite universe.

Time:

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Location:

Portage District Library

300 Library Lane

Portage, MI  49002

(269) 329-4544

Admission is FREE but we ask that you please register for the lecture series by contacting us at kas@kasonline.org. This will ensure we have enough materials for everyone.

Those participants that attend ALL FIVE parts will receive a Certificate of Completion. Only then will you be a full-fledged amateur astronomer!

Please visit our website for full details on the entire series:

http://www.kasonline.org/amastro.html