Comments and anecdotes about the event:
On Thursday, November 7, five members of Kansas Astronomical Observers participated in the Wichita Heights High School annual Astronomy Night. The event was open to the public and we had many students, parents and families attend. One of the activities presented by the KAO volunteers was an inflatable digital planetarium on loan from Ft Hays State University. Around 90 persons attended the four 25 minute shows presented. We toured the constellations and stars of the night sky, travelled to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. On our return to Earth, we stopped by the Moon and watched the Earth rise over the limb of the moon, similar to how the Apollo X astronauts did in 1968. Other members of KAO set up their telescopes on the North lawn and chased views of the waxing crescent moon and Saturn between the clouds. Later, it cleared up a bit and they were able to view Jupiter and its moons. The green laser pointer was a highlight when used to point out objects in the sky, and got several “wow” comments. One of our newest club members, a professor from Wichita State University, had brought binoculars and was demonstrating how to use them and what could be viewed. Another club member had brought a laptop and was showing and discussing astrophoto images he had taken. Light up models of Earth, the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn were on display nearby, and folks seemed to really enjoy them and they were interesting conversation pieces. There were probably around 200 visitors, students and adult, and a rough guess that perhaps as many as 95% of the visitors had never looked through a telescope. The principal and other teachers were very enthusiastic and appreciative of the clubs participation in the event.