See the stars and planets up close at Lodi Lake
When night falls on Friday, Lodi Lake will be a little darker than usual.
Those who attend Stars at the Lake are counting on it.
The parking lot street lamps will be turned off for the star party being hosted by the Lodi Lake Nature Area Docents and the Stockton Astronomical Society — the first at the lake. With less light, those peering through the SAS members’ telescopes will hopefully get quite a show.
“Well, if it’s clear — and that’s the big thing — the moon will be the first thing (people see),” said Douglas Christensen, a volunteer with the astronomical society.
The moon will be out before sunset, which should be at 8:18 p.m. on Friday.
A few minutes later, at about 8:25 p.m., Jupiter will appear in the southwest. Then, Saturn will rise to the southeast. A few telescopes will focus on each sight so that star partiers can get a good, up-close look.
The docents have been working hard to bring more scientific events to Lodi Lake. While most of those events have focused on biology, natural sciences or the environment, the docents wanted to do something a little different.
“It deals with science and the outdoors, which is what the docents do,” said Julie Giometti-Wahl, the City of Lodi’s docent coordinator.
The star party will be a lot of fun for anyone interested in astronomy, even if they don’t have much experience, she said. Volunteers from the Stockton Astronomical Society will be able to explain what people are seeing through the telescopes, and answer any questions.
“The folks that have the telescopes are very much in tune as to what is up there and what they can see,” she said.
At 7 p.m., as the star party sets up, visitors to the lake will be able to explore the Discovery Center. The center houses displays that show how the animals that make their home in the lake’s riparian wilderness live.
“There’s a lot of little interesting things in there,” Giometti-Wahl said.
The center was last open on July 4, and both children and adults had a great time exploring, she said.
Then, as the evening grows darker and the telescopes are set up, the Discovery Center will close and the attention will turn to the stars.
“I’m just excited that this is happening,” Giometti-Wahl said.
Astronomy in the Park
If you can’t make Stars at the Lake — or it fuels a new obsession with the night sky — head over to Oak Grove Regional Park on Saturday evening. The park north of Stockton is a regular host to Astronomy in the Park, also led by volunteers with the Stockton Astronomical Society.
The park still deals with a little light pollution; it’s nearly impossible to escape in the Central Valley. But its location between Lodi and Stockton means it gets dark enough to see galaxies and globular clusters with a telescope.
There’s a nice globular cluster in the constellation Hercules, Christensen said.
“It’s a big ball of stars!” he said. “Our galaxy has several hundred of them.”
The Oak Grove Nature Center will host some astronomy-based activities starting at 7:30 p.m., and sunset will be at about 8:15 p.m.
Anyone who is interested in more astronomical activities is welcome to get in touch with the Stockton Astronomical Society, Christensen added. They often head up to the darker skies of the Sierra foothills where they can see a lot more, he said.