The Dent County Astronomers is a small team of amateur astronomers who volunteer their time and telescopes to give the public inspiring views of celestials objects, like the Moon, planets, stars and much more. The team developed from a series of public astronomy outreach events hosted by the Bonebrake Center of Nature and History, in Salem, Missouri. The first outreach event was held at the Bonebr
ake Center in September, 2013. After the success of that event, the Bonebrake Center hosted more viewing events and some "telescope clinics". The clinics helped the visitors learn how to use their own telescopes. In 2016, the Bonebrake Center lead an effort to acquire two modest-size telescopes to allow kids to operate the telescopes at the viewing events. With funding from the Dent County Community Foundation, young attendees to the events were able to enjoy the process of aiming and controlling the new telescopes. They were active participants at the event, not just visitors. As the the team grew larger, they sought and found other viewing venues and new audiences. The Bonebrake Center location is convenient for the public. But the commercial, public and home lighting in Salem limits the kinds of sky objects that can be seen inside the town. The team was invited to participate in the opening day of Echo Bluff State Park near Eminence in late July, 2016. The dark skies of south-central Missouri are an unappreciated treasure of the state. And the Echo Bluff location provided a clear view of those wonderfully dark skies. From the Pinetop Bluff Pavilion area, park visitors can see the Milky Way, gas clouds forming new stars, clusters of stars and distant galaxies. So Echo Bluff instantly became a prime site for dark sky viewing, with large groups of energetic visitors. About the same time, the team was invited to deliver dark sky viewing events at Loggers Lake Campground, outside of Bunker. Like Echo Bluff, the Loggers Lake site enjoys dark night skies with almost no light pollution. The successful events at Echo Bluff and Loggers Lake led to more scheduled dark sky viewing events at those sites. As a indication of growth, in 2016, the expanding team of volunteers was able to deliver more viewing events than in 2014 and 2015 combined. In addition to nighttime viewing, team members have participated in the annual Serendipity event at Salem Upper Elementary School. The Serendipity event is an opportunity for students to interact with a wide variety of activities outside their classroom, including archery, music, fire safety, sports, and, of course, astronomy. The Dent County Astronomers continue to seek new ways and locations for sharing views and details of the universe in the night sky. And the group continues to look for new eager volunteers to participate in group's scheduled events. The team also continues to seek effective ways of interacting with the public. Social media websites, like the page you're viewing, can help connect visitors to the team's schedule and also continue contact between the team and public for sharing timely information about things to see in the night sky from home.
