Sussex astronomer in search of stargazers

Sussex County Astronomy Society is looking for people interested in learning about the cosmos.

“Our purpose is to interest people in our hobby and try to spark an interest in kids to encourage them toward a future career in astronomy and natural sciences,” said Gerry Lyons, society public outreach coordinator.

The society meets 6 to 7:30 p.m., the first Thursday of every month at Milton Public Library. Throughout April, the society is holding public astronomy events in Lewes, Milton and Rehoboth Beach.

“We will have as many as six telescopes set up for the public to get a good look at what’s above our heads. Group members will answer questions and provide informative handouts. The gatherings are free and open to the public,” Lyons said.

One handout will be “The Unexpected,” featuring information about NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The observatory was launched in 1999 from Space Shuttle Columbia. Its view power is equivalent to the ability to read a stop sign at a distance of 12 miles.

Lyons has been an amateur astronomer for about two years. His telescope is a Celestron 14-inch reflector, equipped with motor drive and computer interface. Using a Mac iBook loaded with Sky Safari Pro software linked to the telescope, Lyons simply touches a star on the computer’s star chart and the telescope automatically moves to the target.

Lyons also has a camera designed specifically for the telescope. “I shoot pictures of deep-space nebula. That’s what I’m interested in,” he said.

Although Lyons’ telescope alone cost about $10,000, he said all it takes is a pair of binoculars to observe the night sky and learn about astronomy.

“We are strictly amateur astronomers at various stages in our own learning. We simply want to convey some of the passion for the hobby and whole field of astronomy,” he said.

The Astronomy Foundation, Astronomers Without Borders and Night Sky Network support the society providing handouts for public distribution and information about astronomy and astronomical events. Each event will have tables with a variety of handouts.

“We’ll provide you all the information you’ll ever need,” Lyons said. Events will be rescheduled if weather is inclement.

For additional information go to sussexastronomy.com, or call Lyons at 684-4106.