LYNN — Roughly two dozen people gathered at the High Rock Observatory Tower Wednesday night to observe the First Quarter Moon and the Ring Nebula, the first event in the observatory’s Starry Night program, which will host five more events throughout the summer.
People ranging from toddlers to teens to seniors climbed the 110 steps up to the observatory and were greeted by Lynn Amateur Astronomer Josh Judkins, a volunteer who helps run the program. Judkins explained how the telescope worked and answered questions about the moon and the observatory.
City of Lynn Community Development Director James Marsh said that the now 22-year-old program has brought Lynn residents, families, and organizations together since the Office of Community Development first restored the observatory with a Homestead Grant received in 1998.
Since then, Marsh said, Lynn Tech students built a computerized system to identify objects like nebulas and star clusters in the sky. When Marsh first began giving Tuesday night tours in the early 2000s, he said the program spread quickly.
“At 8’oclock we’d go up and whoever showed up got to use the telescope, look up through the telescope and see a variety of objects in the sky — whether it’s the rings of Saturn or Mars, or the moon on Jupiter, and it just blossomed. Word spread and more and more people came,” Marsh said.
This summer, Salem State University Astrophysics Professor and Astronomer Luke Conlin and Judkins run the program, leading tours twice a month for free.
Judkins came to volunteer at High Rock after moving to Lynn in 2017.
“I could see the observatory from [my house] and I knew there must be a telescope in there,” he said.
Since then, he has been helping the people of Lynn access and understand the night sky as often as possible.
“It is absolutely unique, and I don’t think people understand how unique it is. It is not uncommon for us to have people who have come from many states just to see this. There are very few cities that have a municipal observatory. I can’t even think of one off the top of my head,” said Judkins.
In 2019, The U.S. Conference of Mayors awarded the Starry Night program with a “livability” award, for being a unique program that draws people into the city. Marsh said that the High Rock Observatory is a unique “gem” that brings the community together.
Lidia Alvarado and her daughter Ariana Perez moved to Lynn in November and had been looking to get closer to the community. When Fernanda Perdomo, who had only been in Lynn for 10 days, found this program, they knew they had to come.
The group said their expectations were blown away when they looked through the telescope.
“I was amazed. I didn’t expect to see it so close. In my mind, I was like, oh my god, we are so blessed to have this observatory in Lynn,” Perdomo said. “We will definitely come again.”
“It’s just one of those gems in the city — like the golf course, like the marina, the woods, the auditorium, that my office is charged with putting to good use, and we’ve done that,” Marsh said. “You can see kids looking through the telescope for the first time, and they don’t know what to expect. And seeing Saturn’s ring live for the first time, and their eyes widen. It’s just incredible.”
Perez said that she thought the moon would look farther away, but when she saw it, “it looked like cheese. I think I might want to be an astronaut … or a doctor.”
“The whole universe is above us,” explained Judkins. “This is the people’s telescope. People can come here and observe the universe that we are in. We are the universe contemplating itself, we are stardust that has gained sentience and is able to perceive our place in the universe.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
Emma Fringuelli can be reached at [email protected].
