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LOGAN, Ohio – The clouds separated, the roof opened and we all looked up: At Jupiter, at Saturn, and the searchlight in the sky calls us the moon.
It was not a perfect night to observe the stars. , thanks to the almost full moon and a row of clouds from the west. But that did not stop a crowd from coming together early last week at the new John Glenn Astronomy Park, located in the Hocking Hills State Park in southeastern Ohio.
Brad Hoehne, Park Director, explains why Hocking Hills is the perfect place for the new dark park of Ohio: far from major cities and highways. "The sky is glorious here," he said. "There are not too many places where you can go to see the night sky in a pristine state."
Located on state land, the park was developed by the Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park, a non-profit organization the state's flagship park. The organization has raised $ 1.1 million for its construction (and is still collecting money to create an endowment that will support the park's educational programming.)
This is about 39, a popular addition to the park, the most popular of Ohio. the sun sets. "This gives people something more to do at night," said Julieann Burroughs, chairman of the group of friends. "It's great for the area."
The name of the park comes from the late John Glenn, former astronaut and US Senator from New Concord. He became the first American to orbit around the Earth in 1962 and was a pioneer in space exploration; maybe his new eponymous park will inspire the next generation of space travelers.
The Dark Park is located on 4 acres just south of Old Man's Cave, about 1000 feet above sea level, on flat, unobstructed terrain. The park held its grand opening at the summer solstice, June 21, in the midst of a torrential rain.
A few days later, last Monday night, the soil was dry and the sky was clear (ish). Hoehne, whose day job is at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, drove from the city to show the new space.
Night programs, at least initially, are offered only on Fridays and Saturdays. But this week night, a crowd of dozens – a mix of locals, tourists and vacationers – spontaneously reunited to study the skies with Hoehne.
First: the moon, white chalky and cratered, seen through a portable telescope that enlarged the orb to 80 times its size.
"If you look really closely, you can see craters in the craters," said Hoehne, former president of the Columbus Astronomical Society. "It is disappointing to realize that the number of times the moon has been touched is tiny by the number of times the Earth has been affected. The solar system is a very, very dangerous place. Fortunately, collisions do not occur very often." 19659002] The park has 12 telescopes, housed in the small observatory of the park, equipped with a retractable roof. Two telescopes are stationary; 10 are portable and can be moved around the park.
The centerpiece of the new park is a circular square, 80 feet in diameter, which represents the sun. In the middle of the sun: Jupiter's bench, 71/2 feet in diameter, built to the scale of the sun. And in the middle of Jupiter's bench: the terrestrial sphere, 8 1/4 inches in diameter, mounted on a metal pole, at the scale of the sun and Jupiter.
Hoehne said that he originally wanted the terrestrial sphere and the Jupiter bench at scale distances from the sun's place – but that would put the Earth at more than 3 miles, near Old Man 's Cave, and Jupiter across the county line from Athens to Nelsonville. So he contented himself with the size on the scale, instead.
Other features of the new park in the light of day:
- An interactive sundial, which can tell the hour with just your body. Put your heels on the stone tile of the current month, and your shadow will point to the time of day. And yes, there are two time series on the dial, one for the late hour and one for the normal time.
- Notches in the wall of the square that frame the sunrise and sunset on the solstices of winter and summer and the spring and autumn equinoxes. "It's the Stonehenge version in Ohio," says Hoehne
Despite these daytime features, to truly appreciate this park, you'll want to visit the night.
The largest telescope in the park, a permanent facility inside the observatory. requires a stepstool to access. That's what Hoehne calls the park's "Wow Telescope" – "because we hope it makes you go wow."
Equipped with a 28-inch mirror, it is among the largest telescopes in the state, and certainly the largest
It was the telescope we used to inspect Jupiter. The largest planet in our solar system has looked 300 times larger through the lens: a gray-white sphere with dark streaks and a reddish-orange circle.
"We have the Red Spot today," explains Hoehne, explaining that "is actually a huge storm, visible only 45% of astronomers." The more we have four moons, it's pretty spectacular "
The southeastern sky of Ohio promises to be even more spectacular as the summer season progresses, and the Milky Way becomes visible in early August
supporters, first launched the idea of a dark park in the Hocking Hills more than a decade ago, after volunteering at a night program in the park d & rsquo; State: He remembers thinking: "Would not it be great if there was a place on public land, a place where nobody would chase you after dark, where you could just look at the sky? "
Cloudy night with a moon too bright: Yes, it would be great.
If you go: John Glenn Astronomy Park [19659002] WHERE: The New Dark Park, at 20531 Ohio 664, is located in Hocking Hills State Park in southeastern Ohio, about 3 ½ hours from Cleveland. The entrance is via a gravel driveway just south of the entrance to the Whispering Cave / Cabins section of the park (where the pavilion was located).
When: The park is open 24 hours a day, but the telescopes only come out for scheduled programs, which are currently scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights. Day programs are scheduled for Saturday afternoons.
For information: jgap.info
Astronomers with their own telescopes are welcome to bring their equipment any night. The park's Jupiter bench is equipped with several power outlets.
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