Giant telescope offers glimpse of winter skies

Marc Jacquet, right, works with Larry Berz, director of the Francis Malcolm Science Center and a faculty member at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, to adjust the giant Goliath telescope for a view of the universe on a recent wintry night. (Courtesy of Larry Berz)

CARIBOU, Maine — On Saturday evening, Jan. 12, a small party of students, faculty and staff from the Francis Malcolm Science Center and the Maine School of Science and Mathematics braved the bitter cold to share views of the universe with residents.

FMSC Planetarium Director and MSSM faculty member Lawrence Berz drove the team as they brought the superior 20-inch “Goliath” Dobsonian telescope, arguably the largest active telescope in The County to date, to the Caribou Hannaford supermarket.

The crew hosted stunning views of the waxing crescent moon through Goliath, along with support from two smaller telescopic instruments. Handouts rounded out the experience for Caribou residents and shoppers of all ages, detailing current activity and purposes of the Francis Malcolm Science Center and the Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

According to Berz, future sky-watching experiences are scheduled for both mid-February and mid-March.

All these annual free events aim to arouse and stimulate astronomical interest locally, he explained, in anticipation of both the upcoming total lunar eclipse of Sunday/Monday, Jan. 20/21, as well as a coming total eclipse of the sun, which will darken Caribou and surrounding Aroostook communities on April 8, 2024.

Sidewalk astronomers from the Francis Malcolm Science Center and the Maine School of Science and Mathematics gaze at Caribou’s winter sky at -10 degrees during a recent night skywatching session with giant telescope Goliath. Gathered are, from left, Marc Jacquet, Larry Berz, Logan Madden, Ryan McDonald, Dr. Richard Barrans, Milica Samardzic and Taesu Joo. (Courtesy of Larry Berz)