Rebecca Mueller/Winonan

Despite the cold weather and overcast skies, community members gathered for Astronomy Night at Great River Bluffs State Park on the evening of April 13.

The event was hosted by geoscience professor Jennifer Anderson and the Winona State University Astronomy Club.

About 40 community members joined Anderson and the Astronomy Club students. These community members included college students, faculty members, students in Anderson’s Senior University astronomy class “Our Universe, Our Home,” and parents and their children.

“This would be an amazing area,” Anderson said. If the skies had been clear, the state park would have offered an open, dark sky environment that is perfect for stargazing. The park is about 14 miles south of Winona and distanced from the bright lights of town.

Anderson saw this first Astronomy Night as an experiment. She hopes to hold similar events every semester. Saturday’s event gave her and the Astronomy Club a chance to do a run-through and work out any kinks.

“Astronomy Club likes to make sure that we get out and get the community involved in astronomy,” Mimi Danicic, the current president of Astronomy Club, said. In addition to Astronomy Night, the student organization also hosts StarBQs, holds fundraisers and helps with public nights at the Winona State observatory.

The event included several indoor activities all led by Astronomy Club students. Participants began at the entrance to the park office and made their way through the adjacent rooms. In the first room, they could hold real meteorites, look at a scale model of the solar system showing planetary sizes and learn fun facts about the state park.
In the adjacent rooms, participants enjoyed children’s activities. There were also opportunities to buy hot chocolate, hot cider, treats, astronomy-related craft projects and Astronomy Club shirts that glow in the dark.

Some Astronomy Club students were scattered throughout the building asking trivia questions about the park and about various astronomy topics.

“It’s very unfortunate that we’re not getting clear weather,” Mark Brown, an Astronomy Club member in charge of operating the telescopes outside, said. The Astronomy Club brought two sun scopes and two telescopes in hopes that the clouds would disappear.
Around 6:30 p.m., Anderson gave an informal talk that covered several topics. She began with a telescope demonstration outside, then brought everyone back inside for a presentation. The audience was encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation.

During the presentation, Anderson discussed sunspots, the size of the universe, the effects of light pollution and the Chelyabinsk Meteorite. She also discussed celestial objects that might have been visible that night, including the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and the Orion Nebula.

“It’s a really good partnership that we hope to continue on,” Mike Dunker, a naturalist at Great River Bluffs State Park, said. He has been working closely with Anderson and the Astronomy Club to ensure that the event ran as smoothly as possible. The Astronomy Night event is intended to raise awareness about both astronomy and the state park.

Half an hour after the community members headed back home, the Astronomy Club packed up their materials as the clouds finally dissipated.

Brown and Amelia Malmberg quickly reassembled one of the telescopes, and the remaining crowd looked briefly at Jupiter, the moon and Saturn before the clouds returned.

Contact Rebecca at [email protected]