Lynbrook's Own Sidewalk Astronomer Tom Lynch!

I would like to introduce you to Lynbrook's own Tom Lynch of Sidewalk Astronomy. Mr. Lynch, who is an astronomy enthusiast, is helping to spread his knowledge with his handy dandy telescope. A few weeks ago, I had posted that Mr. Lynch was going to be behind the stores on Atlantic Avenue with his professional telescope showing people the moon, the stars, Saturn, and Mars if the weather permitted. My blog contributor Christina, who was very excited for this, called Mr. Lynch to see if he was still going to be there, since clouds had come in and it seemed like it would be canceled. He told Christina he was sorry and that it was indeed canceled but when the skies cleared up a few hours later he went out of his way to call her back letting her know that he would be there to show everyone the skies. This is the kind of action that instantly made me want to learn more about Mr. Tom Lynch. I took my husband and father over to look through the telescope and we all had a great time and after talking with Mr. Lynch realized that this guy is just plain awesome. He was incredibly knowledgeable, and gave away his information freely and really seemed to enjoy being presented with questions. He showed us the Moon, Mars, and Saturn (Saturn was CRAZY) and thanked us for coming! He thanked us, when we were the ones who had the benefit of his company. So few people do things for others just because they want to share what they know and are willing to go the extra length to do it. Mr. Lynch volunteers his time and his expertise to the masses and his only payment is the enjoyment of others. I reached out to him and asked him to answer a few questions and he graciously accepted. Here are those questions and great answers!

Sidewalk Astronomy in Lynbrook

1) How long have you been studying the stars?

I’ve been thinking about the skies for nearly all my life. I can remember as a little kid looking at the Moon and wondering what it was. I can clearly remember being in a car when I was very young (maybe 5 or 6) and watching the Moon in the sky. I was convinced it was following me, as it seemed to move around as the car changed directions. I have followed the space programs and read about astronomy since I was about 10 years old. I probably have more astronomy books than most neighborhood libraries. Now I’m an amateur astronomer and want to share my love of astronomy with other people.

2) What makes you so interested in astronomy?

The biggest reason I’m so interested in astronomy is because I was about 13 when the astronauts landed on the Moon. I was very interested in the space program and followed it closely from the Gemini program through the Apollo program. That made a lasting impression on me.

3) What made you start Sidewalk Astronomy?

Sidewalk Astronomy is a phrase that I believe was coined by John Dobson. He is a pretty amazing person. He invented the dobsonian mount for telescopes and decided not to patent it so that everyone could benefit from his work. The dobsonian mount is a simple and inexpensive way to mount certain types of telescopes. It is an alternative to much more expensive mounts with only a small loss of functionality. He was a monk for a while and also started a Sidewalk Astronomy program in San Francisco many years ago. My favorite quote from him is “If you own a telescope, you have a moral obligation to share the view!” So I’m just following his lead, in a very small way.

*what do you enjoy most about doing this?

The thing I most enjoy about showing people the sky is the reaction when someone sees the Moon or a planet for the first time through a telescope. Most people are really amazed. I get a lot of "Oh Wow"s and "Oh my God"s. That is really priceless, especially when it comes from a youngster. If I had a darker location to show people the sky I could do a lot more – point out and talk about the constellations, show other galaxies, globular clusters and nebulas but in Nassau County this isn’t easy – too much light pollution.

4) How many times a year do you bring your telescope out for public viewing?

I try to do it at least twice a month. Generally when the moon is visible in the early evening which is during the week leading up to a full Moon. I would do it more but the places that I can find lots of people are usually too bright from street lights to see anything more than the Moon and some of the brighter planets. People really enjoy the Moon as it is big and bright with lots of details – craters, mountains, riles, etc. The planets are a bit more subtle – smaller and sometimes hard to see. The galaxies, globular clusters and nebula are nearly impossible to see due to all the surrounding light.

5) What kind of telescope is it?

An Orion SkyQuest 12g which is a 12 inch dobsonian reflector. It is 12 inches wide and about 5 feet long. It has a dobsonian mount (a la John Dobson) and a primary mirror at the bottom of the tube which focuses and reflects light back to a secondary mirror and then to the eyepiece. Most people are familiar with a refracting telescope that has two lenses – one at the beginning of the tube and one at the end. The reflecting telescope is generally wider and captures more light and therefore can give better views. Each type has its advantages but I think reflectors give you more bang for your buck than refractors.

6) How can parents get their kids interested in astronomy?

I wish I knew. I don’t think you can make it happen. My thought is to show kids interesting things in the sky and hope it plants a seed that grows into a love of astronomy.

*Any child friendly activities that they can do at home?

There is an organization called the Night Sky Network that has lots of activities for kids. There are funded by NASA and try to generate an interest in astronomy. I’ve been thinking about trying to bring some of their activities to Lynbrook. I haven’t worked out the details yet but if there is enough interest I will try to get something going.

There is a Young Astronomers program that AOS runs on Long Island (see www.aosny.org for details). Several members of AOS use the Night Sky Network materials and other resources to put on a program on astronomy for kids.

7) What stars are the most visible from your telescope?

It varies throughout the year. Right now the Summer Triangle is very prominent. It consists of Vega, Altair and Deneb. Vega is part of the constellation Lyra, Altair is part of Aquila and Deneb is part of Cygnus. There are a lot of really spectacular things to see in and around the Summer Triangle – the Ring Nebula, Brocchi’s Cluster, Albiero (a double star) to name just a few.

Most stars are not very impressive through a telescope but some are very interesting. Some stars vary in brightness over time and some stars (like Albierio) look like one star with the naked eye but are actually two stars close together when seen through a telescope.

One problem with living in a urban area, like Lynbrook, is that all the various lights (street lights, store lights, house lights, etc.) reflect off dust and moisture in the air and dim the stars, making it impossible to see all but the brightest stars. This is called light pollution and it has stolen the beauty of the night sky from all of us. If you go to a rural spot away from all the lights you will see thousands of stars each night. Here in Lynbrook you are lucky to see 50 and most of them are barely visible.

The issue with many lights is that they direct light to the sky and not to the ground where people want the light. This not only decreases the beauty of the night sky but also wastes energy and money. No lights would be best for seeing the sky but more efficiently designed lights would affect the view of the sky less and save energy/money. Some municipalities have passed laws requiring more efficient lighting but not enough of that has happened in our area to improve the view of the night sky.

I go to Robert Moses State Park occasionally and it is relatively dark there so I can see a lot more than I can see in Lynbrook, especially with my telescope.

8) What was the most spectacular thing you have seen via telescope or just in general?

I really enjoy looking at globular clusters. They are balls of stars - a bunch of stars that are close together. Sometimes they are 20 or so stars and other times they are hundreds of stars. They can be a really awesome sight in a telescope. I’ve only had my current telescope for about a year and a half so I haven’t seen all the things I want to see. There is a lot of stuff to see and I have barely scratched the surface.

9) I see on your card that you are a part of "Amateurs Observers Society of New York (AOS)." What is that all about?

AOS is a Long Island astronomy club. I’ve been a member for about 15 years or so. There are a lot of members with a tremendous amount of knowledge about astronomy. The club does a lot of astronomy outreach. They go to libraries, outdoor concerts, Jones Beach Nature Center and other places to show people the sky. I’ve participated in many of these events. AOS meets the first Sunday of each month (except July and August) at Hofstra University (see www.aosny.org for details).

AOS members man the telescopes in a NASA sponsored program run by Hofstra University called Music and Astronomy Under the Stars. They set up telescopes at outdoor concerts across Long Island and show people the sky during and after the concerts.

Thank you Mr. Lynch from all of us, for volunteering you time for the education and enjoyment of others, what you do is truly special and we really appreciate it.

Please like Tom Lynch on Facebook for dates of upcoming sidewalk events!