Global Star Party in Bisceglie (Apulia, Italy) 25/04/15

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Apr 26

2015

by Arianna Ricchiuti

"We are surrounded by awful things. Everything seems to go wrong, but that's false. There's always somenthing we can do, especially as young people. It's up to us to change things."
These are the words that have inspired me and they belong to a biologist I esteem a lot. But of course, nothing of this would have been possible without a great life mentor and astronomy teacher. 

At first, I was afraid nobody would have come to the public observation of the Moon or that the weather would have been too cloudy. Nobody had done such a thing in my city before me. But as Chiara and I put my telescope at the centre of the plaza, many curious people started to come. 

I was given great satisfactions, both by kids and some old people who had never experienced an astronomical observation in their long lives. 
There is no better feeling than spreading your passion to the others. It's a difficult task, as we are all different and each person needs a particular approach.

After observing the Moon through the telescope, a man told me "It seems like a pizza!". Well, I answered it is more like cheese and he smiled. I mean, my answer was not a law of thermodynamics but was something that made that man happy and satisfied.

"But this is not a full moon!" a woman said after observing. She was torn, and was searching for a help. The evidence was in contrast with her mentality. 
"Well, yes! Tonight there is a quarter moon. Let's look up to the sky all together. Can you see it is half moon, can't you?". I was trying to solve her confusion. 
"Oh... Yes, I can. It is a half moon. Yes." the woman said, smiling. She realized what she was observing. 

To see someone's eyes shining and to revive someone's conscience is extremely rewarding. See you next time! 

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Up on the article, the poster I used to publicize the event.
The public observation of the Moon organised for the Global Star Party was free and lasted 5 hours. Many local newspapers publicized the event and, as it has been a great succes, I am going to repeat it once a month in the future.