As night settled over Fremont Peak on April 27, a crowd of people followed the path of red lights to the Fremont Peak Observatory for a free program.
With six telescopes set up and the chance to hear a talk on the solar system, stargazers widened their understanding of topics such as the Orion Nebula, star clusters, galaxies and satellites that orbit the earth.
Hartnell College astronomy student Deisy Munoz brought along her two sons to take part in the evening.
“I’ve never seen through a telescope before so I am very excited,” she said.
In addition to the observatory’s main telescope, volunteers of the Fremont Peak Observatory Association shared their personal telescopes with eager participants. Among the volunteers were Ryan Clark and Danny Johnson of Monterey County.
“My thing,” Clark said “is when someone looks in the eye piece and they gasp. I love that sound.”
For Johnson, helping people experience the night sky in a new way was part of why he volunteered.
But he also does it for “a slightly selfish reason: when everyone leaves I get to use this site.”
Saturday’s program also included an daytime session with a telescope set up to view the sun.
Rob Hawley, treasurer of the Observatory Association, gave a talk on the sun. His evening talk focused on the solar system and black holes.
Addressing a group of mostly Boy Scouts, Hawley said, “At some point four to five billion years ago another sun lived its life. That nebula collapsed and formed our sun.”
While daytime attendees learned of sunspots and prominences, these image were not viewable through the telescope because the sun is currently in a “quiet cycle.”
“The sun was quieting down all week,” said Patrick Donnelly, the Observatory Association’s president. “Today all they see is a big yellow ball.”
Local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops participated in both the day and night programs in pursuit of merit badges.
“Our girls are earning an astronomy patch,” said Girl Scout volunteer Amber Quinonez of Seaside Troop 30502. “They build lasting friendships because they have to work together to get stuff done. Outdoor school is way more fun than indoor school so they pay more attention.”
Quinonez said she appreciated the work of the Observatory Association’s volunteers.
“We wouldn’t know what to do if we came up here ourselves,” Quinonez said. “We need that expert help and opinion.”
For the Observatory Association, getting people interested in astronomy was just part of the excitement of the day.
“Events like this get people up here in interesting territory. Earlier today we had wild turkeys and deer,” said Donnelly. “Plus they get to see the sky in a dark sky without all the lights. This gives people a chance to see a sky they normally wouldn’t see.”
Future public programs will take place on May 25 and June 1.
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