Three local events to celebrate what's out there

No one knows what Galileo said when he first looked through a telescope and saw lunar mountains, rings around Saturn and the moons of Jupiter, but chances are if you look, you'll say "Wow!"

Try it yourself, for free, at a number of events celebrating the International Year of Astronomy, beginning with the Mount Trashmore Star Party on Friday.

Astronomy clubs and Virginia Beach public schools' planetarium will set up telescopes by the lake from 4 to 11 p.m. for visitors to get close-up looks at star clusters, comets, planets - whatever is up there in the sky. In addition, the multimedia presentation "View-Space" will run continuously in a tent "theater," combining still images, video, captions and music in a continually updated presentation linked to the Internet.

"This event wants people to see the same things in the sky that Galileo saw, to get the same 'wow' factor," said Charles Dibbs, planetarium director. "If it's clear, I expect thousands to come out." If rain or clouds interfere on Friday, the star party will be moved to Saturday.

The star party is part of the international 100 Hours of Astronomy, which celebrates Galileo's study of the heavens 400 years ago. Between today and Sunday, events around the world will be aimed at getting as many people as possible to look through a telescope at the sky.

"If the weather cooperates, this is going to be the biggest community star party we've ever experienced," Dibbs said. "We just want to share the sky."

Organizers ask that visitors bringing flashlights to the event cover them with red cellophane or some other type of red filter so white light does not interfere with night vision.

On Saturday, the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers will host an all-day solar viewing - weather permitting - at the Chesapeake Central Library. If it rains, there will be an indoor display and an opportunity to talk with the astronomers.

That night, the Virginia Air & Space Museum in Hampton will join many places around the world in celebrating Yuri's Night, named for the first man to travel into space, Yuri Gagarin. The event, for ages 18 and older, will feature music and other entertainment, a laser light show, a retro space costume contest, and sky observation with the Virginia Peninsula Astronomy/Stargazers club. Admission is $5. For tickets, call (757) 727-0900, ext. 705, or go to www.yurihr.com.

As the International Year of Astronomy continues, other local events will come up. On May 16, the Back Bay astronomers, along with Chesapeake Parks and Recreation, will host the Celebrate Astronomy Festival from 3 p.m. to midnight at Northwest River Park, featuring games, speakers, displays and demonstrations by local planetariums and universities, a small radio telescope, and solar observing.

Diane Tennant, (757) 446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com