Sky & Telescope - August 2024 - 84

ESA / WEBB / NASA / CSA / M. BARLOW / N. COX / R. WESSON
FOCAL POINT by Larry Faltz
A Lesson in Proper Outreach
What not to say to a 6-year-old just getting excited about astronomy
the Sun will expand beyond the Earth's
orbit. The Earth will be incinerated. "
There was stirring in the back of the
group, and a young boy maybe six years
old suddenly cried out, his voice full of
terror, " What's going to happen to the
Earth? Will we all be burned up? I don't
want that! " His father gently tried to
explain that this event wouldn't happen
for 5 billion years, but that only seemed
to increase his anxiety. At his age, 5
billion years and next year must be
indistinguishable.
The moment was both humorous
The Ring Nebula, as
captured in a near-infrared
image taken by the James
Webb Space Telescope
LIKE MANY S&T READERS, I enjoy
doing outreach. Our club, Westchester
Amateur Astronomers, is frequently
asked to have members spend a few
hours under the stars with eager adults
and children, introducing them to the
wonders and beauty of astronomy.
One clear and pleasant Saturday
night a few years ago, I found myself
surrounded by a group of about 15
adults and five children, members of
a local Audubon Society. We were at
a small nature preserve north of New
York City, and it was a perfect evening
for viewing. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
were visible well above the horizon, and
the brightest summer objects were on
display in Bortle 4-5 skies.
I did what many outreach hosts do:
I oriented to north by finding the Big
Dipper and using its " pointer stars " to
locate Polaris. I talked about the procession
of the constellations across the
night sky due to Earth's rotation. I identified
the brighter constellations and
84 AUGUST 2024 * SKY & TELESCOPE
the Milky Way and then used my 8-inch
Celestron CPC 800 to show planets and
celestial objects in detail.
As usual, Saturn's rings drew gasps
and cries of " they're not real " from
many in the group. Everyone had
certainly seen the rings in high-quality
images, but there's still nothing like
having their actual reflected photons
land on your retina for the first time.
The group was keen to hear scientific
and historical details. I encouraged and
answered many questions. When M31,
the Andromeda Galaxy, poked over the
horizon, we even got to talk about the
size and expansion of the universe.
Everything went well until I got
to M57, the Ring Nebula. Its surreal,
smoky improbability always motivates
me to explain how stars evolve - how
they enlarge as their hydrogen fuel is
consumed and blow off their outer layers,
with the remaining hot white dwarf
energizing the expanding nebular gas.
Then I said, " In about 5 billion years
and upsetting. We certainly didn't want
this enthusiastic child to worry about
something that could never affect him
or us, or to spoil his enjoyment of the
evening. Eventually he calmed down,
but I'm not sure his concerns were
really ameliorated.
Child psychologists tell us that
children develop their understanding
of time slowly over a period of years,
learning incrementally how to differentiate
past, present, and future and grasp
the pace of existence. Soon this boy will
comprehend that it's pointless to have a
personal concern about something that
will happen at an almost unimaginable
future time.
Yet, I wonder if his child-like fear for
the fate of our planet is a more authentic
sentiment than the easy denial that
comes from our adult comprehension
of " 5 billion years. " Maybe we should
be just as upset as he was for Earth's
destiny, not in 5 billion years but in the
next few decades.
Meantime, if there are young children
in the crowd at the next outreach,
I'll leave out that bit about our planet
getting fried!
¢ A retired physician, LARRY FALTZ is
a former president of WAA, a lifelong
astronomy enthusiast, and an S&T subscriber
for half a century.
Sky & Telescope - August 2024

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