Activities

On my Recent Trip to Maui (May 2023) I was able to meet up with Stephen McGaughey (L), Vice-President of the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers Club on Maui. Steve and I have been corresponding with each other through the “Cloudy Nights“ Astronomy Forum since 2013 but this is the first time we have been able to meet face-to-face. Steve, myself, and Chris Thumen (who lives in Canada) collaborated on the creation of the “Multiple Star Observing Program“ sponsored by the “Astronomical League“. It is hoped that in the future all three of us can arrange a face-to-face get-together. This photo was taken in the heart of the city of Lahaina, just months before the catastrophic wildfire which destroyed the entire city.
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Steve McGaughy & Steve Smith
Steve Mcgaughy & Josh Hawkins walking the site
The Daniel Inouye Solar Telescope is the largest in the world
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The U.S. Air Force Maui Space Sueveillance Center (MSSC) tracks and photographs foreign satellites.
The 14,000 ft summit of Mauna Kea 80 miles distant is clearly visible.
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Looking toward Taurus with the ranging laser from the MSSC streaking across the sky.
The “Big Dipper” rises behind the MSSC Facility.

One year later (March 2024) my family made our way back to Maui for a spring-break vacation where I was again able to meet-up with Steve McGaughy. He gave me and my son-in-law Josh a tour of the observatory complex located at the summit of the Haleakala Volcano (El 10,023′) and showed us the amateur astronomy facilities. We stayed into the evening for a wonderful night of observing. (Click on the thumbnails for a larger view)

Myself (L) and Marco Prunotto (R). Marco & I co-authored the article “Azeglio Bemporad and the BEM Double Stars” published in 2017 in the “Journal of Double Star Observations“. Marco (who lives in Switzerland) and I have been corresponding for years but had never met face-to-face until business brought him to Colorado in March of 2019.
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The Douglas County School District which serves the city of Castle Pines, acquired a “StarLab” which is a portable inflatable Planetarium setup. When our neighborhood school “Buffalo Ridge Elementary” was scheduled to receive it for a week I was approached to put together a small program to present to the schools three 4th Grade classes. The curriculum consisted of an introduction to the solar System and the Constellations. It was a fun experience with 25 students at a time and myself all huddled up together inside the dome watching the program. The questions posed to me by the 4th graders were non-stop and very perceptive.
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A cluster of galaxies projected inside the dome.
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A Starry Sky projection from inside the StarLab.
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Castle Pines Astronomy Club at the February 2019 “Soup and Stars” meeting.
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