A group of amateur astronomers have gathered at New Port Richey’s Starkey Park for 15 years, toting their telescopes to help the public get an intimate glimpse at planets, star clusters, meteors and galaxies.
The space enthusiasts’ latest gathering held particular meaning.
The Pasco Astronomers celebrated its 15th anniversary on Aug. 11 with a free public stargazing event the park.
(Kevin Weiss)
It was an evening where four planets — Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus — were each in prime viewing position.
The event, too, coincided with the first time the group met 15 years ago — a day when Mars was last closest to Earth, otherwise known as perihelic opposition.
Pasco Astronomers was established in 2003 by Joe Colontonio and Tom Wade, after a few county park officials requested some astronomy-related activities.
Since then, the club has sought to promote science and astronomy through public outreach programs, by providing telescopes and general space knowledge.
“It’s kind of nice to have people look through your telescope, and see the awe and the wonder that they experience,” said Wade, a retired pastor who studied astronomy at the University of South Florida. “The first time they see things up close — the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn — some of them are speechless.”
Added Colontonio: “We’re not really here for ourselves. We’re just here to enlighten people, give them something to do that’s cheap,” he said.
Plus, he noted: “It’s a good thing to have something free for kids to do, other than sit at their computers.”
Ward and Colontonio have since handed the club’s reins to Mark Hardies, mathematics and physics professor at St. Petersburg College, who’s had an interest in amateur astronomy going on 30 years.
Since he’s taken over, anywhere from 300 to 500 people — and as many as 1,200 — show up for monthly stargazing events, or “Star Parties,” as they’re colorfully called.
“I just enjoy that our whole purpose is to do this for the public,” said Hardies, who joined the club about 12 years ago.
He added: “It’s nice to be here to help the public see what’s available, to get them interested in (astronomy) and to give them a chance to see through a telescope, because quite frankly, most people don’t get that chance.”
As well as Pasco, club members venture from as far as Brandon, Lutz, Largo and Spring Hill.
And, many happily supply telescopes they’ve made from scratch.
Colontonio, for instance, brought along his own 10-inch truss-tubed Dobsonian he built 15 years ago inside a mirror lab at the St. Pete Astronomy Club.
“I just kind of winged it,” he said. “It took me like six months to grind the mirror.”
His personal interest in astronomy piqued 20 years ago after he bought his wife a telescope. “I got addicted seeing the planets,” he said.
But, nowadays, the club’s original co-founder mainly prefers to impart his astronomy wisdom to others, detailing subjects like Messier 37 and the Ring Nebula, all through the lens of his scope.
He explained: “I like to show the real dim stuff. People get a kick out of that because you don’t see anything but black sky, and then when you look through the scope, there’s something there.”
Jack Brockhurst, another astronomy enthusiast and club member, also supplied his own handmade scope — a 13-inch Dobsonian weighing over 130 pounds.
The New Port Richey resident said he’s been building telescopes for 40 years.
A machinist by trade, Brockhurst first constructed a small 3-inch scope. He eventually progressed to larger Dobsonians and German Equatorials measuring over 10 inches in diameter.
His collection of handcrafted scopes is now up to 11.
“I got what they call light bucket fever. I had to build bigger ones,” he said, jokingly.
Brockhurst still regularly likes to experience “what’s out there” in space.
But, like Colontonio, he also gets a kick from sharing his passion for astronomy with others. “My best reward is when I hear the oohs and aahs from the parents and the kids,” he said.
Aside from the regular club-goers, the 15th anniversary event drew several first-timers, like Tampa’s Raj Reddy and his group of friends.
“We just wanted to see the meteors,” Reddy said, “and, I also think it’s cool that you can watch other planets today.”
New Port Richey’s Greg Shimp and his son, Kevin, also were among the newcomers.
Besides peering at Mars and the other planets — “That’s something that we wanted to see,” Shimp said — the father and son learned to properly navigate an 8-inch refractor telescope purchased last year. “Mostly, we’re here for the help, kind of getting the (scope) set up,” Shimp said.
For information on the Pasco Astronomer’s Club, visit their Facebook page, Facebook.com/Pasco-Astronomers-169098913172928/.
Published August 22, 2018