Nine-year-old Charlie Proctor waited in a long line at Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Friedman Observatory Wednesday night for a chance to spot a rare green comet through the biggest telescope he says he’s ever seen.
“I’m just so interested in comets,” he said. “I’ve seen a meteor shower and it just amazes me what’s out there.”
Once he reached the front of the line and climbed the stairs to the telescope, his mom gave him a boost up to its eyepiece.
“I think I see it!” he shouted, his voice amplified by the dome structure of the observatory.
The observatory normally opens to the public on clear Friday nights, but they added extra hours this week for a chance to see the green comet, officially known as C/2022 E3 ZTF, as it passes by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years.
Wednesday was the first night the observatory was open for comet viewing, and Dr. Violet Mager said they expected around 300 people, far more than the usual crowd of 15-30.
“Right now we've got a pretty long line waiting to get into the dome,” she said. “They’re moving quickly through there so that people can come in.”
Mager, an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, worked on setting up a smaller telescope outside the dome and fielded questions from people in line about how to take a class on astronomy.
She said seeing the Hale Bopp comet inspired her to pursue astronomy in the first place, so she knew seeing the green comet would inspire others.
“It’s for everyone,” she said. “I think of just humans in general, looking up at the sky and wondering what’s up there. It’s been that way for thousands of years, ever since humans came onto the earth.”
The observatory will also be open on Thursday, Feb. 2 and Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
