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Boy Scout Troop Earns Astronomy Merit Badges  (2011-8-29) ⬅︎
On Night 1, the scouts from Troop 621 and adults arrived to find perfect weather for a Star Party. As we waited for the sun to set and twilight to end, the scouts spent time at the Starry Hill Observatory learning how to use telescopes and then in the Starry Hill Planetarium learning about the night's targets.

With twilight ended, the search for Deep Space Objects (DSOs) began. The scouts worked in teams as they hunted down one target after another using the different telescopes. The scouts demonstrated an awesome level of determination and persistence that resulted in great success!

To top things off, Jupiter rose in the east in stable skies allowing the scouts to explore its colored bands and many moons. Finally, a huge fireball -- a leftover Perseid -- exploded in the southern sky -- awesome!

On Night 2, the scouts returned to complete the requirements for the Astronomy Merit Badge. We spent hours in the Starry Hill Planetarium and Classroom learning about stars, constellations, galaxies, planets, our moon and more.

The scouts of Troop 621 are awesome. We'd love to have them back for another night of stargazing!