Monthly Programs for the Starry-Eyed
Hal Jandorf sometimes worries that Southern California is drowning in a sea of lights. Once a month, he and a group go up to the Charles Temple Observatory at Moorpark College to take a look at the evening skies. They don’t always get that far.
“The light pollution,” he lamented. “It’s horrible.”
Jandorf, 41, who has been teaching astronomy at Moorpark College since 1984, organizes the Sunday Night Astronomy Program put on by the college’s community services department. The series gives serious and novice astronomers a close encounter with the heavens via the observatory’s powerful telescope.
Jandorf and Moorpark College astronomy lab instructor Dennis Leatart lecture on a different astronomical subject each month and show slides. A recent slide show about Jupiter included photographs taken by the Voyager space probe.
The observatory sits atop a hill on campus, strategically placed to take advantage of an area considerably less polluted by light. But the electric evidence of city life is not far off.
“See that?” Jandorf said, pointing eastward toward a bank of rolling hills silhouetted against a glow. “That’s Simi Valley, and farther down, Chatsworth.
“I have a switch to shut ‘em both off when we get ready to use the telescopes,” Jandorf said.
Since October, 1987, an average of 150 people have congregated each month at the observatory’s little amphitheater. Dressed warmly and sitting on blankets that protect them from the cool cement benches, astronomy enthusiasts of all ages are taught about constellations such as the seven sisters, Betelgeuse and Sirius, “the Dog Star.”
After Jandorf and Leatart are finished with their separate lectures and slide shows--some of which make use of their own photographs--they lead the participants to the observatory’s Celestron 14-inch-diameter telescope. Groups of 10 climb the 11 steps to the scope that takes them up to 900 times closer to their chosen astral subject. They step into the steel dome structure, dimly lit with red light, and are enveloped in New Age music emanating from a boom box.
The voyage begins.
“We are going to be looking at a globular cluster,” Jandorf said at a recent program.
“Sounds like something that accumulates on the bottom of my bathtub,” one participant said.
According to Jandorf, a globular cluster is a massive star conglomeration containing tens of thousands of stars, held together by the gravity of a black hole located in the middle.
In addition to the main telescope, Jandorf and his assistants also set up a number of other smaller scopes.
The next program in the series will be held 8:30 p.m. April 22, when spring skies ought to provide optimum viewing for stargazers.
May’s program will feature distant galaxies, and amateur astrophotography will be covered in June.
There is a $3 charge each month. No registration is necessary.
For information, call 378-1408.
LOOKING AT THE HEAVENS
Activities for people who want to put stars in their eyes:
* The Ventura County Astronomical Society holds monthly meetings featuring lectures and seminars by professionals and amateurs on a variety of topics. Slide shows, movies and panel discussions are given, along with equipment demonstrations and reviews. Observing sessions are also held each month at selected sites around Southern California. Field trips are taken to places such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Mt. Wilson. The society offers Starline, a 24-hour hot line for updated astronomy news and information on club events at 529-7813. Membership costs $30 per year for an individual or family. The group meets 7:30 p.m. on the third Friday of each month at the Moorpark College Science Building, Room 202.
* Ventura Parks and Recreation will hold “Spring Skywatch” 8 to 9:30 p.m. May 3 at Dennison Park, 7250 Ojai-Santa Paula Road, Ojai. Astronomer Ernest Underhay will lecture about stars, constellations and other heavenly bodies. A telescope will be available for viewing. There is a $5 charge. For information, call Ventura Parks and Recreation at 658-4726.
* Comet Austin, discovered about six months ago, will pass over Southern California during mid-April and will be appearing until the end of May. To see it, look toward the northeastern part of the sky about one hour before sunrise. “Although comets are unpredictable and sometimes nothing but duds, we have our fingers crossed that Austin will put on a show,” astronomer Hal Jandorf said.
