The 100 Hours of Astronomy is one of the cornerstone projects for the International Year of Astronomy.  Imagine a round-the-clock, worldwide star party for 100 continuous hours which includes live webcasts, public outreach and of course, telescope viewing!!  The 100 Hours of Astronomy event has finally arrived and Celestron Representatives are spread out at various locations from coast to coast to help out with the "world's largest star party" to have as many people view through a telescope like Galileo had done 400 years ago.  While some Celestron Representatives are participating at the Irvine Spectrum and Griffith Park Observatory events in Southern California, a few of us are also attending the grand opening of "Galileo, The Medici and the Age of Astronomy" exhibit, along with the "100 Hours of Astronomy" kick-off at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA.  For the first and probably the last time ever on U.S. soil, one of Galileo's two remaining telescopes is now on display, along with various other instruments such as dials, spheres, hourglass, pendulum clock and more, as well as paintings and writings from the archives of the Medici family of Italy.  This exhibit runs from April 4 through September 7, 2009.

Celestron Representatives attending the Franklin Institute's events includes Celestron President & CEO, Joseph Lupica Jr; Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill; Purchasing Manager, Lance Lucero; East Coast Sales Manager, Ed McDonough; and Community Relations Coordinator, Kevin Kawai.  This morning, before the Press Event began, we were given a VIP, behind the scenes tour of the museum and some of the exhibits by Franklin Institute's Assistant Director of Development Corporate Relations, Gina Focareta and Manager of Corporate Sponsorship, Natasha Prime.  After taking a tour through the museum, which included an amazing walk through of a giant human heart, we were brought up to the museum's observatory, where a 10" Zeiss refractor stood housed under a roll-off style roof.  The sky was a bit hazy, but the telescope operator present was kind enough to open the roof and let us peer through the big telescope to view the Sun.  What an impressive telescope and observatory!  We'd like to come back for an observing session at night someday.  The Franklin Institute will now be using all Celestron CPC 800 telescopes, which were donated by Celestron, in addition to the big Zeiss refractor for their public outreach programs.  When we arrived, all 4 CPC 800 telescopes were already assembled and ready for first light.

The opening and welcoming remarks, which were broadcasted live over the internet, began the "100 Hours of Astronomy" and "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy" events.  Speakers included the President & CEO of the Franklin Institute, Dr. Dennis M. Wint; Chief Astronomer, Director and U.S. Spokesperson for the International Year of Astronomy, Derrick H. Pitts; CEO of Office Panerai, Angelo Bonati; and the Director of the Istituto e Museo Nazionale di Storia della Scienza of Florence Italy, Paolo Galluzzi, to name a few honored speakers.  The exhibit was perfectly timed to take place during the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first usage of the telescope for scientific purposes, and the "100 Hours" cornerstone project for IYA. A question and answer session followed for the audience to ask questions regarding Galileo, his telescopes, what he viewed, and the significance of celebrating the impact Galileo had on the world.  At the conclusion of the ceremony, we were escorted to the rooftop of the Franklin Institute, where a live, streaming webcast was being conducted with students who explained how they built their own telescopes.  Shortly thereafter, I was chosen to give a telescope demonstration with a different group of students, so I happily obliged and covered telescope basics and showed them what our computerized telescopes were capable of.  The students were very attentive and so amazed to hear about today's telescope technology, but it's too bad it was overcast and in daylight because as you know, night observing is when our computerized telescopes really puts on a grand show.  After my demonstration concluded, the hosts took back the microphone and gave a talk about our two "Official Products of the International Year of Astronomy" - our award winning "SkyScout Personal Planetarium," which identifies and locates celestial objects, and the new "FirstScope," which pays tribute to the astronomers who made such a significant impact in astronomy and science.  The FirstScope is a 76 mm Dobsonian style, tabletop reflecting telescope, which is elegantly designed with great optics.  Both the SkyScout and FirstScope drew many inquiries from people everywhere.

The VIP Opening Event Gala took place in the evening with over 500 contributors, dignitaries, the Governor of Pennsylvania, celebrities and local media.  It was quite an experience to walk the "blue carpet" at this formal event.  The lecture began after the buffet, so we made our way back to the rooftop for the VIP star party.  The weather was "iffy" most of the day, but there were enough pockets of clearing, so we decided to carry on with the star party.  We aligned 4 CPC 800 telescopes and strategically positioned the scopes at various objects such as the Moon, Saturn and a couple of local landmarks.  As soon as the lectures concluded, the Franklin staff members escorted the VIPs to the rooftop for the star party event.  The Moon and Saturn played peek-a-boo throughout the night, but when the objects did make a brief appearance, guests were very delighted to view some of the same objects that Galileo once observed many centuries earlier.  Despite the weather, the view of the city was breathtaking at night, and everyone happily posed for pictures.  Photos from this event are already uploaded to the Flickr Photos on CelestronLife, or just follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/celestron-blog/sets/

Tomorrow evening, the Membership event will take place.  Stay tuned for Part 2.