Fairhill: Astronomy Night Held at Burial Ground

Denise Vacca assisted children as they looked through the telescope.
Young Raymond Cuatrato was eager to see some stars up-close through a telescope.
Raymond Cuatrato attended the astronomy event eager to see some stars up-close through a telescope.

The historic Fairhill Burial Ground held its fourth annual astronomy night on April 26, an event where children and adults from the neighborhood are encouraged to come out and join Astronomer Denise Vacca to take a look through the telescope and stare-gaze.

“I wanna see the stars and everything, because I have never seen them up-close before,” said young Raymond Cuatrato, whenever I go to look out the window, I never get to see them all that well.”

When asked if he had ever seen the planet Saturn, Raymond said that he had not. According to Chris Richardson, who was there assisting Denise Vacca with her telescopes, Saturn was to be one of the celestial bodies observed.

“Over in the west we’ll be having Jupiter, and a few star clusters,” said Richardson, “Later on, in the east we’ll be having Saturn coming up with the full moon.”

Denise Vacca assisted children as they looked through the telescope.
Denise Vacca assisted children as they looked through the telescope.

Richardson is studying Planetary Geology, which is not the same as the astrology as he presented to the children. He said he got into star-gazing as a hobby. Richardson works at the Franklin Institute mostly in Fels Planetarium doing live demonstrations.

Denise Vacca, the astronomer heading the event, worked at Fels before venturing off into her own venture.

“In 2004, I left Fels and now I have my own portable planetarium company,” Vacca said. “It’s called ‘Stars on the Move’ and I go to schools and camps to stare-gaze with the kids.”

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