While Greg Snowman’s name might prompt good-natured suggestions that he glances skyward for flurries, instead the astronomy expert studies the skies regularly for constellations, stars and the wonders of the universe.
Snowman will instruct others on stargazing when he conducts a Night Sky Tour beginning at 9:15 p.m. Aug. 4 at Pfeiffer Nature Center’s Lillibridge property at 1974 Lillibridge Road in Portville, N.Y.
Admission to the program is $10 for Pfeiffer members, $15 for non-members and ages 13 and under will be admitted for free. Minors must be accompanied by an adult, however, and registration is requested by Aug. 2, said Beverly Jones, nature program coordinator at Pfeiffer. All proceeds will benefit Pfeiffer, which is nonprofit, and will provide an honorarium to the presenter.
“We held this program two years ago and it was a great success,” Jones said. “I would love to have as much enthusiasm this year … he has an amazing telescope.”
Vicki Schmidt, executive director of Pfeiffer, said she was pleased that Snowman will return to do the program after a year off.
“We don’t like to run the same programs back to back,” Schmidt explained. “Although it was very well-attended and it was really a neat program. But we want to keep it fresh and not offer it too often because people won’t have a tendency to come.”
Snowman, who had provided stargazing programs as an environmental education specialist at Cherry Springs State Park in Coudersport for six years, now provides the programs at his own property in that community.
“We have private property located outside Coudersport, just off Route 44 between Coudersport and Cherry Springs” where stargazing programs are now conducted, he stated.
Snowman said he will conduct a laser-guided tour of the constellations found in the night sky during the upcoming Pfeiffer event. In addition, participants will observe deep space objects that include galaxies, star clusters, nebula and planets through the telescopes.
“We’ll look and see the visible planets like Jupiter, Saturn and Mars,” Snowman said. “What I have is a video camera specifically made for astronomy … the camera has a color sensor in it, so by working with the exposure I project live color images on a flat screen TV.
“We’ll all be looking at the same thing at the same time in color,” he added. “It helps bring in the detail of a distant galaxy and things like that.”
During the presentation, Snowman will share the legends and myths that surround the various patterns in the night sky.
Snowman said his program at Pfeiffer is expected to be approximately two hours in length. Participants should bring blankets or chairs to sit on and wear relatively warm clothing in the event the night air is cool.
Snowman noted the first 15 minutes of the program will be used to give the participants’ eyes time to adjust to the darkness. He said any handheld lights should be covered with red cellophane or a red filter. Snowman explained that this will help preserve the visitors’ night vision during the program.
On a final note, the event will be held if cloudy or clear, but will be canceled if it rains.
Participants should contact Pfeiffer the day of the event if the weather is questionable.
For more information on the event or to sign up, contact Pfeiffer at (716) 933-0187 or visit the organization’s website at pfeiffernaturecenter.org.
