Fun Handouts for Solar Street Astro

It's wintry here in Reno, but clear days are on the way soon, then I will begin doing solar programs. I received these really neat handouts from the nice folks at NASA/SOHO Outreach office. It is an 8.5" disk of the sun, with a scale model of the earth that is punched out so the user is able to do different scale exercises in regards to the earth/sun relationship. I cannot wait to use these! These will help me to fulfill my goal of helping others to understand to universe in fun, unexpected ways.

Trusty 10" Coulter Odyssey

Well, it's baaaack. You never can kill one of these old workhorses. This scope is one of my favorites to use for outreach. The optics are ok, heavy cardboard tube, plumbing piece focuser, built like a tank. Note the high tech milk carton case underneath! But it is easy to look through, and winter star clusters and nebula look great in it. This eclectic scope was donated to me several years back, and thousands have looked through it. Perfect for stellar evolution street sessions early next year!

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-06-08

What a Fun session this was! I had 53 visitors, lots of great questions, group participation, super kids, cute dogs, and great weather. I went home tired, hungry, but very satisfied. Thanks to all my visitors for being soooo awesome.

Karen, Hisako, Jennie and dogs stopped to enjoy the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and picked my brain about telescopes and other sundry astronomy stuff. This was Karen's second time encountering the street astro guy and is getting excited about this astronomy thing. It is very contagious!

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-06-08

Even our Sparks P.D. takes time to get Astrofied

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-06-08

How do we go from the Moon to the stars, to stellar evolution, to stellar mass? Just ask Susan and son. I'm the guy holding the notebook and I'm really wondering how to field all these questions at once and man a telescope at the same time. An educator's dream!

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-06-08

This is the West family and others getting a fun filled Moon experience and telescope observation of our Moon. Mrs. West had excellent questions about the Moon's phases , which she got to model with the inflatables. Who says you can't do astronomy during the day!

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-04-08

Here we are bringing astronomy to the public. This family was just awed by the Moon.

Sparks Marina Street Astro 12-02-08

Local resident Joel stopped by to see what was going on and was treated to views of the Moon and Jupiter before going to choir practice. He left singing the universes praises!

Summit Sierra Mall Street Astro 11-30-08

This was our first outing to Summit Sierra Mall in Reno. I was not sure about what type of reception we would have, but in 2 hours time we had 85 visitors! The movie theater manager was good with us being right out front, had one of their workers help me set up and mall security helped to spread the word about event. Talk about service!

Summit Sierra Mall Street Astro 11-30-08

What a happy and inquisitive family here. Totally enjoyed the views and info about the planets. This is what sidewalk astronomy is all about. They really enjoyed the NSN posters.