Sidewalk astronomy [1] or street corner astronomy [2] [3] refers to the activity of setting up a telescope in an urban place on a for-profit or non-profit basis as entertainment and/or for public education.
Sidewalk astronomy [1] or street corner astronomy [2] [3] refers to the activity of setting up a telescope in an urban place on a for-profit or non-profit basis as entertainment and/or for public education.
Examples of people setting up telescopes on urban streets for public astronomical viewing go back well into the 19th century and maybe even further. [4] [5] [6] [7] Sidewalk astronomers and their telescopes have been a common sight in most big cities. [8] There are many examples in the past such as Frank Manning in New Orleans as early as 1930 [9] and Mr Grosser in Los Angeles in the 1870s, who not only set up a telescope but also an illuminated microscope. Some sidewalk "pitch men" charged the public to view astronomical objects through their telescope but other astronomers allow people to view for free. [6] [10] In more recent years sidewalk astronomy has come to be more associated with altruistic individuals or groups offering views of the nighttime sky as a free public educational service. [11]
Because the sidewalks tend to be in light-polluted areas, sidewalk astronomers often coordinate their activities at times when brighter celestial objects like planets, the Moon, and bright stars are visible. During the day, sidewalk astronomy often includes use of a solar filter on the telescope to allow people to view the Sun. Telescopes are often larger than the average available "department store telescope", sometimes very large. [2] [11]
With the advent and growth of organized amateur astronomical groups, sidewalk astronomy has come to be associated with public education about astronomy via free public viewing for anyone who wishes to look through the telescope. This usually involves individual or a groups of amateur astronomers with small-to-medium-sized telescopes. Organizations such as the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, founded by John Dobson, are organized around the idea of educating people about the universe they live in by having them look through telescopes. [12] [13] [14] [15] Dobson even promoted a design for large inexpensive reflecting telescope that he called a "Sidewalk Telescope", more commonly referred to as the Dobsonian telescope. [16]
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observational or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole.
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.
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John Lowry Dobson was an American amateur astronomer and is best known for the Dobsonian telescope, a portable, low-cost Newtonian reflector telescope. He was also known for his efforts to promote awareness of astronomy through public lectures including his performances of "sidewalk astronomy". Dobson was also the co-founder of the amateur astronomical group, the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.
A Dobsonian telescope is an altazimuth-mounted Newtonian telescope design popularized by John Dobson in 1965 and credited with vastly increasing the size of telescopes available to amateur astronomers. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified mechanical design that was easy to manufacture from readily available components to create a large, portable, low-cost telescope. The design is optimized for observing faint, deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies. This type of observation requires a large objective diameter of relatively short focal length and portability for travel to less light-polluted locations.
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A Sidewalk Astronomer is a 2005 documentary film about former Vedanta monk and amateur astronomer John Dobson. The film follows Dobson to state parks, astronomy clubs, and downtown streets as he promotes awareness of astronomy through his own personal style of sidewalk astronomy. The documentary includes voice overs by Dobson himself promoting his unorthodox views on religion and cosmology.
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The Astronomy Centre, also known as the Amateur Astronomy Centre, is an astronomical observatory located in northern England which is run by experienced amateur astronomers and is open to the public at certain times.
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