Dark Sky Stargazing

Each month the Margret and H.A. Rey Center holds Dark Sky Stargazing, which is FREE and open to the public thanks to our generous sponsors, the Snowy Owl Inn, Golden Eagle Lodge, and New Hampshire Astronomical Society. A knowledgeable volunteer from the New Hampshire Astronomical Society sets up a telescope and shares the wonders of the night sky with visitors. Here is what our March volunteer, Dave McDonald, had to say….

“I had the privilege to share the wonders of the night sky with 45 people at the skywatch at Curious George Cottage at Waterville Valley.

It was a clear night with some haze low in the westerly direction.  People came and went through out the evening from 6:45 - 9:00.  I would say there was consistently 15 people always there until 8:30 or so.  Some were getting cold so only a few hardy soles stayed until 9:00.  I used my 8" Orion XT with 25 and 10 mm eyepieces.

I introduced the folks to the concept of star color - which most never bothered to notice.  We viewed Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Capella to compare color.

We looked at M42, the Pleiades, Praesepe, double cluster in Perseus, Mizar.  I always love hearing the "WOW" factor.  Jupiter was certainly a favorite with all four Galilean moons showing with IO on one side and the other three on the other.  We looked at other random "empty" pieces of sky and demonstrated what can be seen with the aid of a telescope.  More "WOWs."

As our time was ending Arcturus was rising over the mountains in the east.  Sparkling as a bright jewel, the few that were there to see it were amazed at how it shimmered so many different colors.  A good time was had by all…”

You can stay for the whole two hours or just a few minutes, but you won’t be sorry you came. If the sky is clear there is always something interesting to see.

Join us for Dark Sky Stargazing. See schedule below.