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.

The next morning (April 3, 2009), everyone was still in a happy mood from the great stargazing event the night before.  Although it wasn't the clearest sky, we were able to salvage the star party for the VIP guests to observe through the telescopes.  After all, isn't that what the "100 Hours of Astronomy" is all about?  After a hearty breakfast at our hotel, we had the rest of the morning to relax, or do a little sightseeing around town.  Philadelphia, as you know, is such as historical city with many museums and national attractions to choose from and visit.  We couldn't help but notice the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art building just down the street, whose steps were made famous in the Rocky movies.  Celestron Representative, Lance Lucero and I took a walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the morning mist, which was actually reminiscent of the original setting in the movie, and yes, we did take a trot up the steps and did the whole Rocky reenactment like all the other tourists who were present there as well.  How could we resist?  We still had a couple of hours to spare, and we continued on our sightseeing tour to see the most iconic symbols of America - The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  By then, a low pressure system was moving into the city and rain began to fall from the sky.  It was light at first, but then it began to pour like no tomorrow with lightning and thunder!  Tourists didn't seem to mind much though, as lines were still long to enter into both sites.  "This isn't looking good" I said to Lance, as we flagged a taxi to take us back to the hotel.  The Membership Event's star party was planned for the evening, and it would be awful if it was cancelled, but we still kept our hopes up high.

By late afternoon, it was time to get ready to head back to the Franklin Institute to attend the Membership Event.  I had taken an afternoon nap, but by the time I woke up and opened the curtains, miraculously, Sunlight began to shine through the windows!  It appeared that the low pressure system had moved on out over the Atlantic, leaving clearing skies and windy conditions in its wake. "Yes!" I said, as any kind of clearing is better than no clearing at all.  Suddenly, a rogue cloud appeared out of nowhere and dropped a heavy downpour.  Within minutes, the cloud had passed through, but a decision was already made with the Franklin Institute's staff to cancel the star party.  It was truly disappointing to hear, but somehow, I had a gut feeling that most of unstable weather would out of the way by later that evening.  You could call it the power of positive thinking. 

From 6 P.M. to 7 P.M., the Membership Event took place in the Franklin Institute's planetarium with hoer' dervs served to the 250 plus guests who were in attendance.  Celestron had a table setup inside the planetarium where guests signed up for the raffle drawing that was scheduled to take place immediately following the lecture in the auditorium.  The prizes included a Travel Scope 70, SkyScout Personal Planetarium bundle and the grand prize - a NexStar 130 SLT computerized telescope.  At the same time, Celestron Representatives passed out IYA posters, pens and orange Frisbees.  Once again, these items proved to be very popular giveaways.  A staff member came by and whispered that the skies were clearing even more.  Soon, word began to circulate that the star party could be reinstated.  Sure enough, we stepped outside and saw not a single rain cloud near our location.  Our prayers were answered!  The star party was back on again, so while our Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill, was busily conducting the raffle drawing in the auditorium, East Coast Sales Manager, Ed McDonough and I made our way back to the rooftop to prepare the CPC 800 telescopes.  For added peace of mind, we took along plastic bags to cover the scopes in a moment's notice, just in case if any signs of moisture appeared, but luckily, none were felt.  Of course, it was quite windy on the rooftop, but as the stars began to emerge from the evening twilight, we were thrilled just to have clear skies.  Ed and I conducted the telescope's Sky-Align procedure and gave Franklin Institute staff member, Natasha Prime, an early peek into the heavens.  Her excitement to see the waxing Moon's craters and the nearly edge on appearance of Saturn rings pretty much summed up how the rest of the evening would unfold.  Franklin Institute members began streaming onto the rooftop for a night of star gazing, while other members checked out the Galileo Exhibit first before heading up to the rooftop.  Long lines soon formed as everyone were eager to see the views.  Occasionally, a few clouds would pass through, but for the next 2.5 hours, the sky was mostly clear for great city and celestial viewing.  In the end, low clouds began to form and blanketed the sky, and we decided to call it a night, but the star party was a huge success, as nearly everyone present had the opportunity to look through telescopes, which was the goal for our "100 Hours of Astronomy" event at the Franklin Institute. 

Nearly all of the Celestron Representatives departed for home the following morning, but Michelle and I stayed an additional day to attend the Public Grand Opening of the Galileo Exhibit.  We met up again with Gina Focareta, of the Franklin Institute, who helped make sure our company table was set up in the atrium entrance near the IMAX theater.  As the crowds arrived, guests signed up for the raffle drawing, and we passed out catalogs, Frisbees, pens, IYA posters, and proudly displayed and talked about the Official Products of the International Year of Astronomy - The SkyScout Personal Planetarium (IYA Limited Edition) and the new FirstScope.  It was just great seeing all the happy people, especially the children who enjoyed wearing our orange Frisbees on their heads.  Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute and U.S. IYA Spokesperson, conducted the raffle drawing, along with Gina and a little help from "Galileo" himself.  Like the previous evening, the raffle prizes consisted of our new Travel Scope 70, a SkyScout Personal Planetarium Bundle and the grand prize - a NexStar 130 SLT computerized telescope!  A gentleman, who I spoke to just moments before, won the Travel Scope 70.  I seem to have a habit of talking to guests prior to a raffle drawing, and they end up getting their tickets drawn!  So far, it's happened 3 times in the last 2 years!  I kid you not!  The SkyScout bundle was won by a young lady, who's new to astronomy, and she got very excited once she learned what the SkyScout can do, and how she could learn about astronomy just by using the SkyScout.  She'll have a lot of fun for sure!  The NexStar 130 SLT was won by a young girl who just happened to come to the Franklin Institute after attending an Irish dance competition in the area.   You can imagine how surprised both she and her parents were when her raffle ticket number was called!  Congratulations to all the winners, and you certainly are all getting into the astronomy hobby at the most appropriate time - The International Year of Astronomy!

On behalf of Celestron, we would like to send out our most sincere gratitudes to everyone at the Franklin Institute for having us join you all for the unveiling of the "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy" exhibit and to partner together to showcase our products to all your distinguished guests during your "100 Hours of Astronomy" event.  It was such a pleasure working with all of you and establishing a great working relationship, while making new friendships too.  It's simply priceless.  We look forward to a long partnership with your organization for many, many years to come.  Special thank you to Dr. Dennis Wint, President and CEO of the Franklin Institute; Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer, Planetarium Programs Director and Official U.S. IYA Spokesperson; Gina Focareta, Assistant Director of Development Corporate Relations; and Natasha Prime, Manager of Corporate Sponsorship.  We look forward to seeing you all again someday.  The International Year of Astronomy continues on.