Local group meets behind church, views planets, stars with telescopes

Skylar Allen moves his long-focus, 140-inch reflector telescope into position behind Brooks Memorial in Atmore under a clear and starry night.

Allen and good friend, Randy Clark, have formed a small group that meets every now and then to look at the planets, including the Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, along with the many nebulas that are visible from Earth.

“The planet Mars isn’t as close as it was the last time we were out here,” Allen said.

Allen and Clark used to belong to the Pensacola (Escambia) Amateur Astronomer’s Association in the 1980s.

Allen said the planets are always cool to look at, especially Jupiter and Saturn.

Clark’s telescope, a Schmidt Casse Grain telescope, is digital and can track the movement of the Moon and other planets during the night.

When asked why the two of them partake in astronomy, Clark said it’s their hobby.

“Different things resonate with people,” Clark said. “Some like fishing. Some like racecars.

“We like stars,” he said.

Over the years, Allen and Clark said they’ve seen a lot, from a comet trail to a solar eclipse.

“We’ve seen several comets,” Clark said. “We’ve watched solar transits, when Mercury and Venus move between the Sun.”

Allen’s telescope is home made. He said he put it together with some plywood and grounded the mirror for the reflector. He’s able to rotate the telescope on Teflon squares.

Turnouts for the star gazing activity have varied, Allen said.

He said two gatherings ago, there were 25 people there.

“When Halley’s Comet came through, we set up and had more than 100 people here,” he said.