Educators learn to teach about stars

From the West Mesa to the East Mountains, Albuquerque has 30,000 acres of open space that people can survey, but the largest open space in the city is the night sky.

Jodi Hedderig, manager of the Open Space Visitor Center, said the center provides information about these 30,000 acres and access to trails, gardens and wetlands. On Friday, June 17, the center will switch its focus from the land itself to the stars.

For the event, “Evening With Saturn,” the center will conduct a Teachers’ Astronomy Workshop, where educators in Albuquerque will learn about available astronomy resources.

Afterward, there will be a star party, open to the public, where guests will take part in hands-on, astronomy-related activities with telescopes provided by The Albuquerque Astronomical Society and green-laser-guided tours of the night sky, with a special focus on Saturn.

Judith Stanley, education officer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, said astronomy is a good way to get students interested in physics, chemistry and math.

“We’re using astronomy as a gateway science. Every human being has looked up at the stars,” she said. “As human beings, we all have had that shared experience about wondering about the night sky.”

The Open Space Visitor Center is the ideal place for star gazing in the city, Hedderig said. Usually light pollution makes it hard for people to see the night sky, but because of the location there is a small amount of clear night sky available.

On June 17, the sun sets at 8:23 p.m. and the moon rises at 10:06 p.m., and the near-one-and-a-half-hour gap is the best time to see Saturn.

Although there have been concerns that smoke from the Wallow fire in Arizona will cloud up the night sky, Hedderig and Stanley said the event will still happen.

“(We) will also include a star lab, which is a blow-up planetarium that people can get into and see the night sky, as it would appear during that season. Whether the skies are clear or not, we can still hold this program,” Hedderig said.

Evening With Saturn
Friday 8-9:30p.m.
Open Space Visitor Center
6500 Coors Blvd.