Astronomy for everyone

All it takes is a single glance into the night sky to see how lucky we are to have such an amazing view. The Hot Springs County Library brought in a special guest to talk about our beautiful skies. Dr. Kevin Manning astronomer, author and national speaker, took the time to speak at the library about the celestial bodies hiding in the night sky.

When Dr. Manning was nine he saw the rings of Saturn for the first time and his imagination went wild. Traveling as a speaker allows him the opportunity to meet interesting people. Mostly, Dr. Manning wants to inspire people to look to the skies and fire up the imagination of young children.

The presentation was educational and fun. A full house took a virtual journey into the cosmos as Dr. Manning tried to convey the scale of the universe from the small to the very large. After the presentation everyone was invited outside to have a very close look at the moon's craters through Dr. Manning's homemade telescope.

Hot Springs County Library Foundation Board and Friends of the Library sponsored this event. Next month will be all about large fowl, as the library will have a raptor program in November.

For more information about Dr. Manning's presentation and how to make your own telescope got to http://www.lookuptothestars.com.