Page 58 - Astronomy - October 2017 USA

hat’s new in astron- subject while I was in Arizona in Dave White. He and his wife, Sunni,
omy these days? February 2016 for the fourth annual graciously hosted me for the week.
Why does the Moon Tucson Star Party. This event runs White is a machinist and a
look bigger when it’s from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on a Saturday, designer of parts for large mining
near the ground? and it’s grown in popularity each equipment, but his interests lie in
WWhat star is that? year. The East Campus of Pima other places as well. Like space. As
Such questions are rare when I Community College hosts the gath- he and I enjoyed Tucson’s marvelous
meet with astronomy hobbyists. ering, members of the Tucson warm, clear evenings, he would ask
When I’m with family, non-science- Amateur Astronomical Association questions about the sky, and I would
oriented friends, or the general pub- set up telescopes for the public to reply. His follow-up questions clued
lic, however, these are the only types gaze through, and Astronomy publi- me in to whether or not he under-
of questions I get. And now, after cizes and sponsors it. stood my answers, and that made
more than four decades in astron- After conducting interviews, me actually think about them.
omy education and popularization, being the subject of interviews, and Does that sound funny? Who
I’m wondering if I’ve been giving making certain everything was gives an answer without thinking
good answers. ready for the daylong event, I relaxed about it? Often, it’s an expert —
I started to think about this under the stars with my friend someone who has dealt with a

58 ASTRONOMY • OCTOBER 2017