Another cold winter night, though not as brutal as the last observing session. As I was setting up, some kids gathered to watch a short distance away. Before I could invite them over to look, one of their mothers said, “Don’t bother that man!”
Her daughter replied, “It’s ok, Mom. I know that telescope man.”
It took me a moment, but then I recognized the girl from an observing session in Ft. Tryon Park back in autumn. She had been eager to look through the telescope, and had asked lots of great questions. So I reassured her mother that her daughter and I really had met before under similar circumstances. And that all of the children (and their parents) were welcome to look through the telescope.
It made for a great evening of astronomy with children — which is really what this is all about.
Location: Bennett Park, Washington Heights