The third Thursday of each month offers us the chance to wonder at cosmic mysteries

By Marian Woodward

Special to the Gazette

People sat on the windowsills and stood in the doorways on a recent crystal-clear summer night to hear Smithsonian Astronomer Paul Ho talk about the night sky. It was the last in a miniseries of lectures describing the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's contribution to astronomical instrumentation given in celebration of the Smithsonian Institution's 150th anniversary.

The perhaps intimidating title of the lecture was "The Cool Sky: Infrared Submillimeter Astronomy," yet Ho succeeded in holding the attention of adults of all ages -- and kids as well. The colorful slide show helped. Even for those too young to understand the graphs, the vivid pictures of the stars and the planets were compelling, drawing everyone into the mysteries of the cosmos.

The audience of over 200 was assembled at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Phillips Auditorium on Garden Street. A similar crowd congregates there on the third Thursday night of each month to take part in this free event. The lecture whets the appetite for the telescopic viewing that follows. Imagine seeing Jupiter for the very first time-- this evening it was our solar system's largest planet that was the focus of the Dobsonian reflector telescope which the audience lined up to look through.

Astronomy buffs have been attending Observatory Nights at Harvard for over 60 years. "The feeling that I have when I view the stars and the planets is unexplainable," commented Michael Couglin, a resident of Cambridge. Couglin has become virtually a part of the Observatory Night tradition, having shown up on these evenings for the past 16 years.

Another faithful member of the family is John Mulroy, who's been making the drive from Reading for the past nine years to take a monthly look at the universe.

"It makes me feel special to observe what happened thousands of years ago through a telescope," said Mulroy, " It's the ultimate reality , it doesn't get any more real."

The passion that the group has for astronomy was shown by their camaraderie on the stroll from the auditorium to the telescopes on the roof, sharing conversation as they waited in line to see the stars. This event not only delivers information about our universe, but it also has a knack for bringing a variety of people together for a fun night.

The next sky show will be tonight at 8:00. But doors open at 7:30 p.m., so come early for a front row seat.

 

---

Copyright 1998 President and Fellows of Harvard College