New residents on Whidbey Island, especially transfers here courtesy of the Navy, sometimes describe “life on the rock” as a place where there isn’t a lot to do.

According to Oak Harbor resident Michael D. Thompson, a retired Culinary Specialist First Class, they just need to walk outside at night, draw a breath of fresh air — and take a look up into the night sky.

“When you are out in the dark night with friends, looking up into the vastness of space, there’s just a certain feeling you get,” said Thompson, a member of the Island County Astronomical Society (ICAS).

“You can explore the wonders of the sky and stars — and there is always something to learn from them,” he said. “One of the things that we are blessed with at this duty station is the beauty of the surrounding water, mountains and the beautiful night sky.”

Another advantage of being on Whidbey, as far as ICAS members are concerned, is that light from artificial sources is not so intense here as crowded metropolitan areas, said Thompson.

A member of ICAS since 2003, Thompson said he did not know nearly as much about astronomy then as he does now.

“Three Navy chiefs, now retired, Dan Pullen, Bob Woessner and Rick Owens, had just founded the club shortly before I joined,” said Thompson. “They and the other club members were always teaching me and showing me things.

“Now when we host star parties, generally at Fort Nugent park, I’m always happy to see people come out, and I try to do the same for them,”  he continued.

Thompson said he spent much of his Navy career at NAS Whidbey as a single father. Between his duties at the base, and raising two small children, there wasn’t a lot of spare time for recreation. But one thing he did have was astronomy and that was something he could transport with him on deployments.

“When you’re out in the middle of the ocean, that is one place you don’t have to be concerned with light pollution,” said Thompson.

On the other hand, don’t expect to take a telescope with you and set it up on the flight deck or fantail, either. However, just using the naked eye one can see thousands of stars that are just not possible to view from heavily populated areas on land, he said.

Some of the spectacular sights he’s seen on deployment, without a telescope, include the Andromeda Galaxy.

“That’s our nearest neighbor, in the constellation Andromeda,” he said.

A great benefit of travel in the Navy is the chance to see constellations that you wouldn’t normally see in North American latitudes, such as the Southern Cross, and others, said Thompson.

“The constellations are differently orientated in the sky from different locations on earth,” he said. “Yet at times, while I was deployed to the Middle East, I saw constellations and stars that were the same ones as you might view here.”

The star parties hosted by ICAS take place in both summer and winter; naturally, wintertime events are more sparsely attended.

But for those willing to brave the cold, there are some things to see in the winter that are not as visible in summer, said Thompson.

Several interested observers attended the December star party hosted by ICAS at Fort Nugent park, including a family with four children. ICAS founding member Dan Pullen and Thompson treated the attendees to high-powered telescopic views of Jupiter, the North Star, the Pleiades, the moon and more.

Pullen asked one young star gazer, peering intently at the double star Albireo, what colors he saw.

“One looks kind of blue, the other one looks orange,” said the child.

Others’ answers varied, depending on the individual questioned, with guesses of blue/gold, or green/orange.

Pullen and Thompson both said that having a clear, dark sky is the most important contingency of a successful star party.

A good, clear, night sky is most easily found in dry, remote places, such as locations in Australia, or Arizona, said Thompson.

“But for me, any location that’s far away from the city, and light pollution, will work,” he said.

Another place that many Navy folks will visit sometime during their careers is Hawaii, which offers a great observatory on Mount Mauna Kea, with some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, said Thompson. A visitors center at 10,000 feet hosts star parties every night.

Purchase of an expensive telescope is not a requirement for the most basic night sky viewing, said Thompson.

“I do recommend a decent, low-powered, wide-view set of binoculars,” he said. “A lot of times, viewing the cosmos with a set of good binoculars can be just as rewarding, if not more so, as a telescope,” Thompson said.

Astronomy has offered him an enjoyable pastime, an opportunity to share scientific knowledge with others and something more, said Thompson.

“When I look up into the sky, every thing and every problem  seems so small,” he said.

“You start wondering about the mysteries that involve everything about the universe and how it relates to you and life in general.”

Island County Astronomical Society not only hosts star parties locally, they also attend larger star party events held throughout Washington and Oregon. For more information about ICAS, visit www.icas
-wa.webs.com

Star Party:

The Island County Astronomical Society will hold a Star Party beginning at dark on Friday, Jan. 13 at Fort Nugent Park in Oak Harbor. No telescope is needed and people of all ages are welcome to attend. The party will be cancelled in the event of cloudy weather. Call Dan Pullen at 679-7664 or email icaspub@juno.com for information, or go to www.icas-wa.webs.com.