The Aurora Borealis comes to Central Oregon
More than we bargained for!
by Eric Hanson
Photos by Sue Hanson
by Eric Hanson
Photos by Sue Hanson
I was a bit discouraged when I had to cancel the FANs Binocular Night Sky Adventure scheduled for May 3 or 4. Many volunteer folks had put in considerable work to make the event a success. Alas, outdoor astronomy and rain storms do not go well together. I rescheduled the FANs activity for May 10. Unfortunately, half of my specialized astronomy volunteers couldn’t help out on the new date. Would the same be true of the good folks who signed up to attend the event? Who knew? There was nothing to do but hope for the best.
By the time May 10 rolled around, I had managed to assemble six knowledgeable volunteers to help with the evening activities. (Thank you gang!) There were rumors that the Aurora Borealis might be visible. How cool would that be? We also had great free giveaway materials provided by Ken Press (sky charts and books), Jeff Scheetz (free telescopes!), Dark Skies International (dark sky educational materials). I threw in astronomy-friendly red lights. Arriving guests would receive a nice haul of astronomy gear.
Our fearless FANs President Robin Galloway began checking people in, giving out astro goodies and checking out FANs binoculars to those who needed them. As darkness fell, people gathered on the grass outfield on blankets or lawn chairs. I introduced our six astronomy assistants. Jeff Scheetz (FANs and PMO), Eric Holcomb (PMO), Darrell Knott (PMO), Robin Galloway (FANs), Jerry Minton (local amateur astronomer) and myself (FANs and PMO). Oh, by the way, PMO is Pine Mountain Observatory run by University of Oregon.
With introductions out of the way, we provided instruction on how to set up and use binoculars as well as “how our eyeballs work at night.” When it became dark enough, we started our observation session. I pointed out night sky objects with a laser and volunteers helped folks locate them in their binoculars. We started off easy with views of the crescent moon hosting amazing earth shine (aka the cosmic fingernail clipping). We progressed to stars and what colors mean. Next up was asterisms (google it) followed by double/binary stars, open star clusters and globular star clusters. (See object list at the end of this article.)
It was about this time, I realized it was becoming harder to see deep space objects. A peculiar diffused light was making the sky too bright to find objects to the north. What the heck is going on? Seeing is supposed to improve as the night goes on. Wait a minute! Is that the northern lights?
All of a sudden we all started noticing hints of color. Pale greens, reds, pinks and purples could be seen. Within a few minutes the entire northern hemisphere of the sky was filled with streaks of dancing color, constantly changing from streaks to curtains to shapes impossible to describe. OMG! The greatest solar storm in 20 years, a G-5, hit the earth’s atmosphere. Seeing the Aurora Borealis has been on my bucket list for many years and now here it was, in my own backyard. Our entire group gazed in awe. What a special treat. This is way more than any of us had bargained for. It didn’t matter that our binocular observation session was wiped out in green, purple and red light. This event was way too big to miss. What an inspirational gift! Gradually folks headed back to their homes. Some of us lingered until midnight. All of us, somehow changed by this very special night.
By the time May 10 rolled around, I had managed to assemble six knowledgeable volunteers to help with the evening activities. (Thank you gang!) There were rumors that the Aurora Borealis might be visible. How cool would that be? We also had great free giveaway materials provided by Ken Press (sky charts and books), Jeff Scheetz (free telescopes!), Dark Skies International (dark sky educational materials). I threw in astronomy-friendly red lights. Arriving guests would receive a nice haul of astronomy gear.
Our fearless FANs President Robin Galloway began checking people in, giving out astro goodies and checking out FANs binoculars to those who needed them. As darkness fell, people gathered on the grass outfield on blankets or lawn chairs. I introduced our six astronomy assistants. Jeff Scheetz (FANs and PMO), Eric Holcomb (PMO), Darrell Knott (PMO), Robin Galloway (FANs), Jerry Minton (local amateur astronomer) and myself (FANs and PMO). Oh, by the way, PMO is Pine Mountain Observatory run by University of Oregon.
With introductions out of the way, we provided instruction on how to set up and use binoculars as well as “how our eyeballs work at night.” When it became dark enough, we started our observation session. I pointed out night sky objects with a laser and volunteers helped folks locate them in their binoculars. We started off easy with views of the crescent moon hosting amazing earth shine (aka the cosmic fingernail clipping). We progressed to stars and what colors mean. Next up was asterisms (google it) followed by double/binary stars, open star clusters and globular star clusters. (See object list at the end of this article.)
It was about this time, I realized it was becoming harder to see deep space objects. A peculiar diffused light was making the sky too bright to find objects to the north. What the heck is going on? Seeing is supposed to improve as the night goes on. Wait a minute! Is that the northern lights?
All of a sudden we all started noticing hints of color. Pale greens, reds, pinks and purples could be seen. Within a few minutes the entire northern hemisphere of the sky was filled with streaks of dancing color, constantly changing from streaks to curtains to shapes impossible to describe. OMG! The greatest solar storm in 20 years, a G-5, hit the earth’s atmosphere. Seeing the Aurora Borealis has been on my bucket list for many years and now here it was, in my own backyard. Our entire group gazed in awe. What a special treat. This is way more than any of us had bargained for. It didn’t matter that our binocular observation session was wiped out in green, purple and red light. This event was way too big to miss. What an inspirational gift! Gradually folks headed back to their homes. Some of us lingered until midnight. All of us, somehow changed by this very special night.
