One of Phil Wherry’s favorite activities as an amateur astronomer is deep sky observing; that is, glimpsing galaxies and other celestial bodies extraordinarily far-removed from the Earth’s orbit.
"Even though it’s a very easy and simply thing to do, it’s just awe-inspiring. The light you’re seeing left its point of origin hundreds of thousands — even millions — of years ago," said Wherry, who lives in Vienna.
The origins of light here in Northern Virginia are less mysterious: It emanates from houses, cars, street lights and buildings. While that makes astronomy difficult, it hasn’t discouraged the members of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC); with about 950 members, the 26-year-old club is the largest amateur astronomy organization in the U.S.
"It’s amazing how many amateur astronomers there are in this area given how the observant conditions here really aren’t that great — we have a lot of humidity and light pollution," said Wherry, president of NOVAC.
There’s a scale that astronomers use to measure the magnitude of a star, in regards to its overall brightness. The higher the number, the dimmer the star, according to Wherry. At a genuinely dark site, a star with a magnitude of seven could be visible; here in the D.C. area, seeing a four or five is more realistic.
"Astronomers complain about the light pollution, and I’m certainly one who does. But even in the relatively light-polluted area, there’s still a lot to see," he said.
NOVAC’S WEB SITE says the organization caters to the "interested beginner or an experienced amateur astronomer." Rob McKinney of Alexandria falls into that later category, having been looking at the stars since the late 1980s when he was living in Nevada.
The challenges for astronomers here, he said, go beyond battling light pollution — they also include getting away from that pollution.
"If you want to see something beyond the naked eye, you have to drive somewhere," he said. McKinney indicated that traffic and distance make getting away from the area to see the stars a task.
Wherry said one of the benefits of NOVAC membership is the opportunity to view stars on properties outside the area, via agreements between landowners and the organization. Members can simply open a combination lock on the property, set up their equipment and gaze at the stars.
Club membership is $30 a year, with additional family members added for $5 each. Full details can be found on the club’s Web site, www.novac.com.
Along with access to sites and to an e-mail list for members’ questions, Wherry said there’s a very practical benefit for novice astronomers. "One of the greatest features of the club is that we have a collection of 12-15 pieces of equipment that you can borrow. There’s no rental fee — you just leave a deposit that is returned when the equipment is," he said.
McKinney said having the ability to "test drive" this equipment — from children’s telescopes to solar scopes — is important for someone getting into the hobby.
WHERRY SAID that NOVAC is an inclusive organization, eager to reach out to non-members with monthly star-gazing events at sites in Fauquier County and Mason Neck Park, among other places. Education about stars and about astronomy as a practice are important for a hobby that can become quite costly.
"It’s not hard to spend a few thousand dollars on a telescope. There’s the subjective quality of the telescope to consider, but there are also aspects of the design and what you want to do with it," he said. "It’s become more difficult to buy a bad telescope. A lot of the junk isn’t really sold anymore."
Sometimes, Wherry said, a pair of good binoculars will do the trick for an amateur astronomer, but that a good telescope is the key to getting a glimpse at far-off galaxies, stars and even celestial objects closer to home.
After all, one of Wherry’s favorite moments as an amateur astronomer was simply tracking the International Space Station as it held in Earth’s orbit.