Sunspots & Social Sweating: My First Outreach Night

This was my first time helping with an outreach event—and I couldn’t have chosen a better one to start with. Astronomy went to market: a local night market, that is, and wow, it turned out to be way more of a party than I expected. There were food trucks, live music, beer, and rows of vendor tents. It felt like a full-on summer festival.

I was sweating bullets going in, a function of the scorching Florida heat plus predictable social anxiety.
And while I wasn’t sure what to expect, it turned out to be one of the most fun—and unexpectedly educational—evenings I’ve had in a while.

Scopes on the Sun

When I arrived, three telescopes were already set up and tracking the sun. Paul, Don, and Gary each brought different scopes, and they were all aimed at the same star—which was showing off some prominent sunspots!

I tried taking a photo through the eyepiece (harder than you’d think!), but I learned that with the right setup, you can attach a digital camera and get some amazing images. Definitely a mental note for the future!

The telescope row stayed pretty popular all evening, and I didn’t want to post any crowd shots without permission—so no telescope setup photo this time.

While bouncing between scopes, I started noticing a color difference I hadn’t expected. The sun looked more orange in two of the telescopes (Paul’s and Don’s) but appeared almost white in Gary’s. Turns out, different telescopes and filters can affect how true-to-color the image appears. Gary’s scope was actually showing the sun closer to its true color.

Blue Stars & Bonfires

That led to Paul and Gary sharing a little impromptu astronomy lesson that totally clicked for me.

Paul walked me through the stellar classification system using the mnemonic:

“Oh, Be A Fine Girl/Guy, Kiss Me”
It’s a way to remember the order of star types from hottest to coolest:
O, B, A, F, G, K, M.
Each type has a corresponding color and temperature:

• O = blue
• B = blue-white
• A = white-blue
• F = white-yellow
• G = yellow-white (our sun!)
• K = yellow-orange
• M = red (like Betelgeuse)

Then Gary chimed in with a great analogy: Picture a bonfire. The hottest flames at the top are blue and white. As you move down, the color shifts—yellow, then orange, then finally red at the base. The red coals are the coolest part. Same principle with stars.

I also learned our sun is considered a Goldilocks star, not too hot, not too cold—just right, and capable of supporting life.

Conversations, Kettle Corn & Good Company

Mary, our multitasking treasurer/newsletter-writer/general rockstar, held down the booth along with Beth, who was amazing at engaging passersby—especially kids, who loved the free stickers. I floated between the telescopes, the booth, and the food trucks, and even picked up kettle corn for Paul after he jokingly requested it.

I was happy to run into Courtney from the last meeting—she seems like a fairly awesome individual—and to spend more time chatting with Paul, Gary, and Mary (both of them!).

And I was especially excited when my niece stopped by with her little crew—her boyfriend and her son (my great-nephew, technically, but I just call him my nephew). He’s about eight, and I think it was his first time looking through a telescope—and he got to see sunspots! It was cool to share that moment with him and introduce them to the club.

This was a low-pressure, fun environment for easing into outreach. I didn’t run the booth, but I tried to make myself useful (Mary needs cold water? On it!) and just soak up the experience. Honestly, by the end of the night, I’d almost forgotten how nervous I was going in, and I felt a little more like one of the gang.

Tips, Treasures & Star Maps

Toward the end of the evening, Gary gave me a great tip for learning the night sky: use the monthly centerfold star map from Sky & Telescope magazine to start recognizing constellations, one night at a time. It’s a practical, hands-on way to get familiar with the night sky—and perfect for someone like me who’s still learning where everything is.

Then, as things were winding down, seemingly out of nowhere Paul produced a box of old astronomy goodies—magazines, booklets, and all kinds of stuff—and I was gifted an awesome little haul:

• Two back issues of Sky & Telescope
• One issue of Reflector from the Astronomical League
• And the Observer’s Handbook 2025 from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada(!)

That handbook? It’s kind of legendary. It’s an annual guide published by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, packed with observing tips, astronomical data, and detailed charts for the entire year. This is the kind of thing seasoned observers keep within arm’s reach—and somehow, now I have one!
Talk about a beginner’s treasure chest!

Outreach might still be a little out of my comfort zone—but now I know it’s well worth stepping into. And the next event (weather-permitting, of course) is in my very own neighborhood—which makes showing up even easier. Definitely looking forward to that!