Greg Halac, outreach coordination for Northern Colorado Astronomical Society, said his favorite part of sharing the night sky with the public is the reaction the first time someone looks through a telescope.

“The big thing is when people look through and you get the ‘oh wow’ response. That’s incredible,” he said.

Halac has been with the group since 2002. Interested in astronomy when he was a kid, he was reintroduced when he went to a star party in Wyoming.

“I was blown away by the dark skies and what I could see,” he said.

The group does several outreach programs, starting with its monthly meetings on the first Thursday of each month. The meetings are free, open to the public and take place at 7 p.m. at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Court, Fort Collins.

“We arrange a talk on some astronomy-related topic,” Halac said. It can range from people working in the field currently to members of the group that work in or are knowledgeable in astronomy.

“They are designed for the science-literate public,” Halac said, explaining that anyone with high school level science education will understand the presentations. The next meeting is March 2 and will feature Dr. Norm Buchanan from Colorado State University talking about the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).

For a more hands-on approach, the group offers free field trips for the public (depending on location, there may be park entrance fees). Halac said this year members plan monthly outings to Fossil Creek Reservoir Natural Area in Fort Collins and Devils’s Backbone Open Space in Loveland. During the summer months, they do about six trips up to Rocky Mountain National Park.

The next Devil’s Backbone trip on Feb. 17, has reached its capacity. Registration for the next one on March 18 will be through Larimer County, larimer.org/NRregistration. The next Fossil Creek trip is at 7:30 p.m. March 4, registration is open through the city of Fort Collins, naturetracker.fcgov.com.

“What we do is pretty simple, it’s kind of a free-for-all,” said Halac. Members of the group bring about half a dozen telescopes for people to look through. They answers questions and point out the different objects that are visible on that particular night.

“We talk to people about what they are seeing, how far away they are, how big they are and give them an idea of what they are looking at,” he said.

This time of year, Halac said there are a few objects that might be of interest.

“Wonder what the bright star in the west is? That’s planet Venus and you can come out and see the crescent shape,” he said. Jupiter will come back into the night sky next month and this is the best time to see Orion.

“You can see it in the summer if you get up at four in the morning. If you’re talking the early evening, Orion is one of the best this time of year,” he said.

About every three months, Halac said there are new things to see.

The group also goes out to work with schools and other organizations. All together, Halac said, members do about 50 events a year.

“It depends on the weather,” he said, as some get canceled or moved. During the winter, temperature is always a factor.

“We basically set a lower temp limit of 20 degrees. At that point it’s no fun for anyone,” Halac said. For those who plan on coming out for the group’s events, Halac has a few recommendations.

“Dress far more warmly than you think is necessary,” he said. This is not an active hobby, so dress for 20 (degrees) colder than what the temperature will be.

“You generate zero body heat doing this,” he said.

Halac recommended bringing along binoculars. You can see a lot with simple binoculars like brighter galaxies and nebulas.

“Just looking at the Milky Way through binoculars is pretty cool,” he said.

Kids are welcome. What they will be able to see depends on age and experience, but practice will help.

“It really depends on the age. We will try with any of them,” he said.

In addition to giving them a chance to see things in the night sky, these trips help to educate the public on light pollution.

The group works to find locations that are darker and away from town, but still the city lights can affect what is seen. They recommend not using flashlights as it can affect people’s vision and adjustment to the dark. If you need one, Halac said covering with it red cellophane and keeping it pointed down will help.

“Lighting practices in this area aren’t really great. There are cities and towns that do do an exceptional job,” he said. The group tries to raise awareness with the simplest idea, point lights down instead of up.

“When towns are aware of it, they do a pretty good job,” he said.

The difference is seeing objects against a black sky versus a gray sky that makes objects harder to see.

“Seeing this stuff in person is kind of amazing. It gives you a different sense of perspective of the universe and everything else and how insignificant the Earth is,” he said.

For a full schedule and more information, go to www.nocoastro.org.

Michelle Vendegna: 970-699-5407, vendegnam@reporterherald.com