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Nell Redhage, director of the Washington library, is excited to be able to bring an exhibit of this caliber to the Franklin County community and hopes people from all over the area will visit.
"We are pleased that our library was chosen as a site for this groundbreaking exhibit," said Redhage. "The exploration of space is a topic that fascinates everyone, regardless of their age, and the remarkable images in this exhibit show how far we have come in understanding the universe and our place in it. "The images of the rings of Saturn and of stars that have exploded are truly awe-inspiring. We hope the whole community will be able to see the exhibit, participate in some of the programs the library has planned and help Washington and all of Franklin County celebrate the International Year of Astronomy."
Special Presentations
As part of the exhibit, the library has worked closely with members of the Eastern Missouri Dark Sky Observers (EMDSO) to organize a series of free hands-on activities for people of all ages - from stargazing events and presentations on subjects like "How to Buy and Use a Telescope" to a build-a-planet family workshop and a Planet Fun Run/Walk.
Kicking off the activities will be a "Tour of the Heavens" presentation by members of the EMDSO Tuesday, April 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Washington city council chambers. The Friends of the Library will provide refreshments.
For novice astronomers, a presentation on how to buy and use a telescope will be held Thursday, April 30, at 7 p.m. at Rennick Pavilion at the Washington riverfront.
"This is for someone who maybe bought a telescope, but doesn't really know how to use it, or for someone who wants to buy a telescope, but doesn't know which one to buy," said Jerry Kelley, founder of EMDSO.
"We want people who may own a telescope . . . to bring them out that night," noted Redhage. "Members of the EMDSO will be giving hands-on information on how to use it."
A presentation on "Pluto: Its Demise and Resurrection" will be given by Angela Speck, the associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Missouri-Columbia, on Thursday, May 7, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Washington city council chambers. The lecture is free and anyone is welcome to attend.
Kelley noted he's especially proud to have Speck making a presentation because, as a woman working in science, she's an ideal role model for young girls.
"We hope to inspire more (young girls) to study astronomy," he remarked. Redhage agreed.
"Another purpose of this exhibit is to encourage young people to consider astronomy as a career," she said, "and we hope this exhibit will ignite an interest in astronomy for more of them, that they might get involved further."
Washington schools have been invited to view the exhibit as part of a field trip. For the older students, Redhage plans to have a member of EMDSO on hand to answer more detailed questions.
Stargazing
People who want to see for themselves what's up in the sky will have a number of opportunities beginning with a family stargazing night set for Saturday, April 18, at 7 p.m. in Burger Park in Washington (if it's too cloudy, the event will be held Sunday, April 19).
A series of teen stargazing parties will be held the week of April 20 at 7 p.m. at an observatory in New Haven, and Kelley will be conducting "sidewalk astronomy" on any clear night from April 10 through June 12, most likely on the Washington library parking lot at the corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets - although he may move the location around town.
"I'll probably have half a dozen telescopes set up, probably around sunset," said Kelley. "I'll probably pack up most nights around 11."
The gazing will be very informal, he said. He'll have his telescopes pointed at various points of interest and will simply "talk about what's in the sky."
Kelley said this time of year, people will be able to see the rings of Saturn and four to five of its moons, as well as a very close up image of the craters on our own moon. Earth's moon may seem a dull subject to some people, given that we can see it almost every night, but Kelley expects seeing it through a high-power telescope will impress people more than they might think.
"It will look like you're flying over a landscape," he remarked.
Uranus and Neptune also are visible this time of year, Kelley noted, but not until very late night/early morning.
Venus, which many people think of as an early evening sight, is actually only visible in the early morning this time of year, and Jupiter currently is on the far side of the sun.
Star clusters will be visible, but they will be small and faint, Kelley noted, especially with the amount of light pollution in the city and possibly coming off the moon.
Kelley said that over the six-week period that the exhibit will be in Washington, he expects there may be 15 clear nights for his "sidewalk astronomy." It will add up to a lot of hours on his part, but he's happy to do it.
"I'm a teacher at heart," Kelley remarked. "I get a kick out of the oohs and aahs the first time people see something like the rings of Saturn."
Build-a-Planet Contest
Families will have a chance to learn together with a Build-a-Planet workshop set for Sunday, April 19. The hands-on activity will be held at 1 p.m. in the municipal courtroom in the basement of city hall.
"At the workshop, we'll give families ideas on how they can build their own planet," said Redhage, noting they don't have to finish construction that day.
Families can pick any planet in our solar system to build, and they have until Monday, May 11, to enter it in a contest at the library. All of the entries will be put on display and judged by members of the EMDSO Tuesday, May 12.
The eight winning planets (one each of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) will be mounted along the Rotary Riverfront Trail for a Planet Fun Run/Walk Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m.
"The planets will be placed along the trail at distances that are relative to their actual distance from each other in space," said Redhage. "And we'll have information posted with each planet for people to read as they walk or run on the trail."
Also tying into the "Visions of the Universe" exhibit, The Missourian's Book Buzz Picks for May will be astronomy related, and the library's April storytimes will feature space-related books.
One of Only 40 Libraries
Washington is one of only 40 libraries in the country selected to host "Visions of the Universe: Four Centuries of Discovery," which is presented by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.; and the American Library Association, Chicago, through funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The library applied for the opportunity to host the exhibit last year after board member Cynthia Hoffman noticed information on it in the Missouri Library Association's weekly news and suggested Redhage might want to look into it.
"So many people in this area are in love with astronomy - I did as a child growing up in Hermann, where we could see everything (because there wasn't a lot of light pollution)," said Hoffman. "I just thought it would be something really good for the community, and Nell jumped on it."
There were a number of requirements built into the application, said Redhage - things like the number of family programming, field trips and public events that had to be included. She and the library staff were able to plan fun activities, but they are grateful to EMDSO for enabling the library to ramp up the depth of the programming.
The library's location also likely played a part in winning the exhibit, said Redhage, noting the sponsors were especially interested in selecting public libraries from small towns and rural areas that have limited access to NASA resources.
When Hoffman initially brought the exhibit application to Redhage's attention last year, she thought winning was "a real long shot." Now that Washington is gearing up to be one of the few hosts, she hopes people from as far away as St. Louis and St. Charles make the trip to see it.
"This is a huge deal for us," Hoffman remarked. "It's a phenomenal program, and it's a community builder.
"Given where the library is right now, all that we've accomplished over the last few years . . . there's just a lot of exciting things happening with the library."
This image of Mars is a composite of thousands of images taken by the Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Prominent features include the North Polar Cap (top center), the volcanoes of the Tharsis plains (left of center), and Mariner Valley (below center), a canyon ten times deeper and a hundred times longer than the Grand Canyon on Earth. Credit: Viking Mission, NASA
