The Madison Library has added an Orion Starblast 4.5” reflector telescope to its collection thanks to a generous donation to the NH Astronomical Society in honor of Silver Lake Postmaster Susan Stowbridge. Library cardholders will be able to check out the sturdy, tabletop telescope and gaze at the stars and planets from home.
Marc Stowbridge, a member of the Society’s Public Observing Committee, prepared the telescope for public use by attaching the lens caps and filling an accessory bag with a lens cleaning pen, a headlamp equipped with a red bulb (so as not to interfere with night vision), an Audubon guide to the constellations, and a planisphere (circular star chart). A laminated set of easy-to-follow instructions is also attached to the telescope. Using the telescope is similar to using a point and shoot camera: start with the finding scope to point the telescope at a specific object, then look through the lens and focus on the moon, planets, stars, or deep sky objects.
The NH Astronomical Society has sponsored over a dozen telescopes for local libraries. The inspiration behind making telescopes available for the public comes from the Robert Frost poem “The Star-Splitter,” in which Frost quotes local “hugger-mugger” farmer Brad McLaughlin, who burned down his house and spent the insurance money on a telescope:
“The best thing that we’re put here for’s to see;
The strongest thing that’s given us to see with’s
A telescope. Someone in every town
Seems to me owes it to the town to keep one.
In Littleton it may as well be me.”
The NH Astronomical Society (NHAS) is a volunteer nonprofit organization that promotes stargazing and astronomy by sponsoring programs like the popular skywatch held during Madison’s Old Home Week in August. The Madison Library will host a skywatch program on June 10 to introduce the library’s telescope and promote its use. For more information about NHAS and for a list of skywatch programs throughout New Hampshire, visit www.nhastro.com.
The Madison Library’s telescope is in need of a “foster parent,” an adult or teen who is interested in learning from a NHAS member how to maintain the telescope; contact Mary Cronin at the Madison Library at 367-8545 if you are interested in volunteering.