The Night Sky

Lectures on our Place in the Universe and the Constellations of the Seasons

What: The three seasonal series (six classes each) are designed for everyone from total beginners to experienced amateur observers. Whether you want to learn the constellations or have a telescope and want to expand your knowledge of viewing objects, these classes have something for you.

The focus is on learning the night sky in a "geographic" sense...locating yourself in our solar system, our Milky Way and our local galaxy cluster neighborhoods!
A few constellations are introduced in each class—their myths, history and interesting stars. We also cover deep sky objects such as the beautiful nebulae and clusters that never cease to awe and amaze. Planets are presented when viewable and all are presented over the course of a year. One class in summer is devoted entirely to our Moon.

After each class (sky conditions permitting), we go outside to locate the constellations just presented. We then move to the Observatory's telescopes to view objects within the featured constellations, until or beyond 10:30 PM (11:30 PM daylight time).

Basic topics are repeated in each series so that concepts become familiar. Persons who take all three Night Sky series (18 classes in all) will learn the entire sky viewable from our northern latitude. (The winter sky is split between the Fall and Spring Series).

Handouts: Detailed informational handouts are provided at each class. These may serve as excellent reference materials for all types of observing. The handouts are compiled from a large number of sources, and the observatory strives to make certain that they are useful, accurate, and up-to-date.

Where: At The Robert Ferguson Observatory (map). Park in the gravel area near the horse corrals just outside the gate to the Group Camp/Observatory site. You do not need to pay the park day use fee to attend the class, however you must obtain a parking pass from us and take it back to your car before the class begins.

When: Presentations begin promptly at the times noted at left and last approximately 90 minutes. Please arrive about 30 minutes early on your first night to check in and obtain a parking pass.

Back to top of page

Telescope Intensives

M1, the "Crab Nebula" photographed by docent Steve Smith

Observing Labs provide a night of intensive telescope observing devoted to a single topic. Attendance is limited to a small group. Each attendee gets lots of eye time at several observatory telescopes, with an annotated observing list of the targeted objects, guidance from the docents operating the scopes, a brief presentation explaining the night's topic, and more.

This is a special observing experience that few people get to have. You can expect to notice subtle detail that escapes more casual viewers. You will appreciate the nature of the objects you are viewing because they are related to the night's topic. All of this is made easy and is ready and waiting for you!

Each Lab is usually scheduled with a "rain check" date in case the sky conditions are unfavorable on the scheduled night. Thus, there are two opportunities for the session to occur successfully.

Below is a list of Observing Labs we offer.

Star Death: The End of Stellar Fusion
Stars are giant balls of gas so massive that their internal pressures and temperatures result in sustained nuclear fusion that generates tremendous amounts of energy. In this lab we examine what happens when stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, observing the various sorts of remnants different types of stars leave behind.

This lab occurs just once each year.

Diffuse Nebulae, Star Formation and
Open Clusters
We examine the formation of new stars in our galaxy from giant clouds of gas and dust, plus clusters of new stars remaining from this process and relate this to the spiral structure of galaxies. 

There are two different sessions of this lab, winter and summer, that complement each other. Taking both sessions provides a complete survey of the topic.

Binaries and Multiple Stars
Unlike our sun, many stars exist in gravitationally bound sets of two or more that orbit each other. Such systems have a special importance in the history of astronomy and continue to interest observers. There is a fascinating variety of such systems. They may have beautiful colors, be very challenging to observe, have dramatic changes in brightness, or contain unusual objects such as white dwarfs.

There are four different sessions of this lab, one for each season. Taking all four sessions provides a very thorough survey of these objects.