Pierce College students and local astronomy enthusiasts gazed at the vast night sky on Sept. 12, as part of the first Telescope Night of the new school year.
Telescope Night was hosted by Astronomy Professor Dale Fields on the second floor of the Center for the Sciences, offering an opportunity for participants to explore the wonders of space. The event gave attendees a hands-on experience with astronomy and helped them gain a better understanding of how the universe works.
“Every person on this planet is curious and they want to know what’s going on,” Fields said. “They look up at the sky, study it, and wait. They may have different names for different things, but they all get the same answer because we all share this sky together.”
Attendees were able to see dwarf galaxies, a couple of planets and globular clusters throughout the night.
Attendees waited in line at each telescope and took turns to look up at the night sky to view various sightings through the two telescopes that were provided for use at the event.
David Yakerson, a member of the board of directors for the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, which has 1,100 members, offered a glimpse of his observations.
“I just finished looking at the Dumbbell Nebula, which is 1,250 light years from Earth,” Yakerson said. “Now I’m looking at Messier Object 102, which is a spiral galaxy that is 50 million light years from here.”
Pierce student Bryce Jacobs, who was accompanied by his Persian exotic shorthair cat named Fig, said he learned more about the galaxy during the event.
“[The universe] is like infinity,” Jacobs said. “It just goes on forever. There’s no way you could stop, you could keep exploring, learning new things every day and it’s pretty cool.”
Jacobs said he previously took a class taught by Fields and he attends every astronomy event at Pierce that he can fit in his schedule.
“I came out here for all [the] events because I really loved [the] class,” Jacobs said. “I like coming out here and getting the chance to explore what’s new.”
