Reasons to Be Cheerful

I am a big fan of the Talking Heads and David Byrne. I admire not only his music but also his passion for social consciousness, which is evident in his music, art, and writing. In 2018, he launched the web site and lecture series Reasons to Be Cheerful. Over the years their articles have been a great source of hopefulness and inspiration. 

The title of one of their latest articles, West Texas Oil Country is Revealing a Sky Full of Stars, caught my eye as my son Brian and I visited Big Bend National Park and McDonald Observatory back in April and had driven through the Permian Basin. Imagine my surprise to find that the article showcased a photo taken on that trip, the one I now use as the header for this blog and described in the post The Road to the Stars. Thanks to the author for including my image and for providing proper attribution. 

The article itself discusses the encouraging progress being made to reduce light pollution in West Texas, with the assistance of the oil industry. If you haven't been to Big Bend, you should definitely put it on your bucket list as the night sky there is truly breathtaking and must be witnessed firsthand. And make sure to attend a star party at McDonald Observatory, where scientists are conducting valuable research and the visitor staff excels at explaining the wonders of the night sky. 

Personally, I feel protecting the dark skies of West Texas is something worthwhile. In addition to the article above, you can find out more about dark sky protection in the area at web sites for the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve and the International Dark Sky Association.

I still have addditional images and some video from our trip to share. Here is one of the Milky Way over Casa Grande taken from the Chisos Basin. This was captured with using the incredible Night Sight feature on my Pixel 7 phone. 

As always, click on images to see full-sized. 

The Bard and the Heavens

My wife Linda and I have a number of things about which we are passionate. This blog is representative of one: astronomy. We not only enjoy exploring the sky, day and night, but we enjoy sharing it with others. Inspired by pioneering sidewalk astronomers like John Dobson, we occasionally participate in "star parties", joining other amateur astronomers in sharing views of and information about the planets, stars and celestial events with the public.

Another of our passions is William Shakespeare, a bard (storyteller). Shakespeare was one of the most famous storytellers of all time. We are active supporters of local Shakespeare companies such as Shakespeare Dallas.  We not only enjoy their productions but believe in and support their efforts to make Shakespeare accessible and relevant to everyone in the Dallas area.

For a long time, we have had a vision of bringing these two passions together. About four years ago, we started discussing this idea with Jenni Stewart, Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Dallas (SD). She got excited about the possibility of doing something that brings the art of Shakespeare and the science of Astronomy together in a unique way, providing a special experience for the people of the Metroplex. This fall, working with Jenni and with Matt Cooper, the observing coordinator for Texas Astronomical Society (TAS), we finally made it happen!

On Thursday, October 3rd, 2019, SD continued their fall production of Macbeth, taking it from their home base in Samuel Grand Park out to a new venue in Coppell, The Sound at Cypress Waters. That evening, a conjunction of Jupiter and the Moon took place during the twilight period before the play and continuing on into the darkness of night. Per arrangements made with Jenni, a special area was set up next to the audience seating area. Matt and another TAS member Dennis Wardell brought out their telescopes and set them up while the audience was arriving to see Macbeth. Linda and I also set up one of our telescopes. Throughout the period before the play and during intermission, we treated people attending the play to views of Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn. They learned about conjunctions, lunar phases, the geography of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter (all four were visible), the rings of Saturn and more.

Based on reactions from the audience, I'd say the event was a smashing success. So much so, we had more telescopes out at performances over the next two nights.

So, what did starring at the sky have to do with Shakespeare or, in particular, the play Macbeth? Here is the flyer we handed out to people attending the viewing and the longer version made available on the Shakespeare Dallas event page on Facebook:

The Art of Shakespeare and Science of the Renaissance

The Art of Shakespeare and Science of the Renaissance (full version)

This is not the end, just the beginning... Jenni is already working on an idea to do an event specifically focused on Shakespeare and astronomy, this time at the main SD location at Samuell Grand Park. Stay tuned!

Images from the event

The Sound at Cypress Waters

Event planning: Viewing Direction of Moon at Site
PlanIt screenshot

Event planning: Expected Night Sky View
Stellarium screenshot

Telescope Setup, Preview with Shakespeare Dallas Staff

Pre-show crowd

Crowd growing during intermission

Dennis hosting viewers of all ages

Matt aligning his 22" truss-tube Dobsonian scope

Explaining the view through our
Dobsonian scope to a young audience member

Shakespeare Dallas production of Macbeth