Astronomy Night Co-Stars Families

They come bearing blankets, lawn chairs and binoculars and wielding flashlights whose beams are quickly muffled in astronomy-friendly red plastic. In the growing darkness, they make their way to a grassy field just off Ortega Highway.

There, amid the night sounds of nature, they peer through 10- to 12-inch telescopes in hopes of seeing some of the biggest names in the universe--the constellation Orion, the Great Nebula and the Big Dipper.

Mostly first-time stargazers, they gasp at the clarity of the craters of the moon. They ooh and aah at blue giants, stars 10,000 times more luminous than the sun. They marvel at the wisps of gaseous clouds that signal the birth of new stars in the star nursery, the Great Nebula.

It’s family astronomy night at Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy, a private, 1,200-acre reserve that’s open to the public for events such as the monthly stargazing nights coordinated by resident astronomer Bob Gill. Scheduled for this Saturday, the event begins at 8 p.m.

Gill, who has taught college-level astronomy for 20 years, donates his time to the conservancy and gets help from fellow members of the Orange County Astronomical Society.

The program is geared to adults and families with children 8 and older. They get pointers on how to find their way around the sky and which constellations to look for. They then take turns using the telescopes the astronomers have trained on various objects.

This time of year, the constellations Taurus and Gemini can be seen along with Orion and the Big Dipper, which lies in the constellation Ursa Major. The Pleiades, a star cluster of blue giants, will be up but the moon will be blocked from view. At the talks he leads, Gill weaves in some mythology. When he points out the structure of Orion--easily identified by a row of three stars forming his belt--Gill describes Orion the Hunter, helped by a pair of dogs, Canus Major and Minor, chasing Taurus the Bull.

Additional sessions are scheduled May 23 and June 20 and the conservancy hopes to add more astronomy nights each month.

Because the sky changes seasonally, there’s always something different to find up there, Gill said.

To sign up to see for yourself, call (714) 489-9778. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children.