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Neighbors January 20, 2016 11:19 am

PHOTO GALLERY: Stargazers at Bruton Memorial Library find moon is not made of cheese

By Amber Jurgensen

  • L.J. Aleman, 6, looked at the moon.

  • Craig MacDougal presented the astronomy program.

  • Library Director Tonda Morris listened to the presentation.

  • Young and old attended the program.

  • Wyatt O'Bryan, 6, and his mother, JoAnna O'Bryan. Wyatt loves Star Wars and has aspirations to discover a new galaxy.

  • Jesse Star caught a glimpse of a star cluster.

  • Craig MacDougal brought his telescope to the astronomy program.

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Residents who visited Bruton Memorial Library Tuesday, Jan. 19, got a chance to explore the night skies. Astronomy enthusiast Craig MacDougal presented a program and then took guests outside for a closer look at the moon and the Pleiades star cluster. 

MacDougal has been interested in space since 1968, when he bought his first subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine with his allowance. Since then, he has worked at the Museum of Science and Industry's planetarium. 

Pleiades Star Cluster

The Pleiades Star Cluster is also known as the Seven Sisters. There are hundreds of stars in this cluster, but only a handful are visible to the unaided eye. They are fairly young stars, only about 100 million years old. 

 

“They still live at home, their mother still does their laundry,” MacDougal said. 

 

They are 130 parsecs, or 425 light-years, away. 

See the International Space Station

The International Space Station is visible from Plant City almost every day. You just have to know the times to look for it. 

Heavens-above.com has information on when and where you can catch a glimpse of the International Space Station. Don’t forget to change update your location when you first visit the website. 

 

TIP: The lower the brightness number, the brighter it will be.

 

Saturday, Jan. 23

6:32 to 6:38 a.m.

 

Sunday, Jan. 24

5:42 to 5:45 a.m.

 

Monday, Jan. 25

6:24 to 6:29 a.m.

 

Tuesday, Jan. 26

5:34 to 5:37 a.m.

 

Wednesday, Jan. 27

6:17 to 6:19 a.m.

7:37 p.m.

 

Thursday, Jan. 28

5:27 a.m.

8:19 to 8:20 p.m.

 

Friday, Jan. 29

7:27 to 7:30 p.m.

Looking for a Telescope?

One guest asked Craig MacDougal: What kind of telescope should I buy for my grandkids?

“An Orion telescope … The thing about Orion telescopes are that they they have a wide variety of telescope sizes and prizes. And everyone who answers the phone knows as much about telescopes as I do.”

Craig’s tip: You can get a good Orion telescope for as little as $60.

 

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