Celestial sights light up the night sky

Perched atop Wickets Island, celestial bodies lit up the night sky and while they appear to be no more than dim lights to the naked eye, a little help from a Wareham High School teacher helped people see the planets and stars of our galaxy like they never have before.

On Monday, Feb. 10, staff from the Onset Bay Center brought around 40 people to Wicket's Island on boats where they had lit up the walkway to the top of the island.

Once at the top, attendees could stay warm by the campfire while high school astronomy teacher Alfonso Navarro pointed two telescopes pointed at the sky.

The clouds parted perfectly for the event. Navarro said it was a great night for stargazing because it was much easier to see different celestial bodies in greater detail.

"I haven't seen Jupiter in quite a while and we could actually see quite a bit of detail that you normally can't see," said Navarro. "Mars is closer than it normally is so you could see details on Mars that I have never seen before."

The other sights in the sky included Venus, clusters of stars and different nebulae, which are the birthplace of stars. But nothing shined brighter than the moon.

Those in attendance described what they saw as "beautiful" and "absolutely fabulous" and that they were taken aback by a look into outer space.

"You were able to see all the craters on the moon which was really cool," said Amy Rossi.

For many, it was the first time they had gotten a good look at the planets and stars in person.

"It was the first time I had ever seen the Orion Nebula, it was wonderful," said Pam Norweb.