Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, & Fireflies July 7, 2013

Fireflies and Constellations

Fireflies in Southold

Surrounding Custer Observatory is a large field owned by the Town of South. In the last few weeks there has been a noticeable burst of activity in the field at dusk! Thousands of Fire Flies are in flight across the field at dusk looking for a mate! I am new to observing Fire Flies although I remember them from childhood. I never gave them the closer look that they deserved after capturing them and putting them in a jar. My only goal at that time was to watch the blinking of their soft light in the dark. 

I recently became aware of a reported decline in our Fire Fly population and a Citizen Science project to keep track of Fire Fly populations across the United States. Seeing a friend, Steve Bellavia, post a photo of this night-time flurry of activity reminded me of the Citizen Science project and thought I should add the Custer location to the map of this project.

On subsequent nights I decided to try my hand at more night-time photography and photograph the soft light of the night-time flight of these fascinating childhood insects. At the same time I decided to catch some and put them in a large jar, something I have not done since I was young, only this time it was in the interest of science! I brought them indoors to photograph them and try to identify the species based on a photo ID page on on the Museum of Science's Firefly Watch website. According to their photos I had caught a Photorus firefly.

These fireflies produce a green light. In the sky is the constellation Scorpius and the straight blinking line in the sky is an airplane.

These fireflies produce a green light. In the sky is the constellation Scorpius and you can see part of the Milky Way on the left side of the image.

These fireflies produce a green light. In the sky is the constellation Scorpius, part of the Milky Way  and the straight blinking line in the sky is an airplane.

These fireflies produce a green light. In the sky is the constellation Scorpius and the straight blinking line in the sky is an airplane.

These fireflies produce a green light. In the sky is the constellation Scorpius and the straight blinking line in the sky is an airplane.

The Custer dome was rotating at the time of this timed exposure, a happy accident, so the dome opening appears larger then it is.

Constellation Photography

 Astrophotography of Constellations

Sky Rangers Workshop - September 29, 2011

Sky Rangers Outdoor Astronomy Interpretation Workshop
Acadia National Park, Maine
September 25 - 29, 2011

Bar Harbor Side Trip 
 

Carol-Anne Pugliesi, Chad Moore & Robert Sparks

Matthew Kantola & Pablo Nelson

Bar Harbor Ranger Station

Bar Harbor Shops

 Where Does Energy Come From?

Magnetic Fields

Jeff Zylland & Michael Marion Juggling during break

Constellation Stories

Nemeid #1 & Casseopeia

Cepheus & Andromeda

Sonia Berger & Cetus

Medusa & Pegasus

Andromeda, Cepheus & Casseopeia

Nemeid #1 , Sonya Berger & Casseopeia

Nemeid #1 & Casseopeia

Cetus

International Observe the Moon Night Event

The Custer Observatory, Southold, NY,  held a public event in observance of "International Observe the Moon Night" on October 8, 2011. We were pleased to have approximately 200 people visit Custer throughout the evening. It was great to see the large numbers of families last night enjoying a fun and educational evening with their children, many of them first-timers. 

The dedicated Staff at Custer Observatory works hard to give anyone with an interest in learning more about astronomy a unique personal astronomical experience. From looking through an eight-foot pair of binoculars, looking through one of our lawn scopes or visiting our Dome, visitors always walk away with a new experience. Our knowledgeable staff is always ready to answer any of your astronomical ponderings. It was a great night for Observing the Moon with great people. Come see for yourself!

David Barnett used a videoscope to project live images of the moon on the side of our shed while Alan Cousins manned a Dobsonian Telescope for visitors to get views of Jupiter and its moons.

Bill Crispino, from AOS (Amateur Observers Society),  showed visitors views of the moon and Jupiter from their mini dome on Custer's lawn.

An amateur astronomer, Rob, set up his telescope and allowed visitors to share his views of the night sky.

On very busy nights we hand out tickets to allow for an orderly visit to the Dome telescope where David VanPoppering showed visitors views of the night sky in our 25 inch Obsession Telescope.

Visitors enjoy a video about the Moon while they wait

How's this for a unique experience? A girl wanted to hold Jupiter in her hand instead of the moon so David Barnett obliged by projecting an image of Jupiter on our shed for photos.

Alan Cousins looking through the spotting scope to find Jupiter

David Barnett

Many thanks to Barbara, Justine, Rico, Bill F., Mike and all the other volunteers last night that helped with our event!