Beyond the Telescope: A Storyteller's Guide to the Night Sky With Star Lore Historian Mary Stewart Adams

Wed, 03/26/2014 - 2:37pm

When: December 12, 2013 at the Downtown Library

Mary Stewart Adams, star lore historian, Fairy Tale Moons creator, and program director for the Headlands International Dark Sky Park (two miles west of Mackinaw City), weaves together contemporary understanding of our celestial environment with the star lore of ages for this engaging journey through the night sky.

Human beings can, on average on clear evenings, see between five and seven thousand objects in the sky. Scientists, using telescopes and satellites, have been able to identify over 900 million. A story is unfolding in this space between the seven thousand objects seen with the naked eye and the 900 million objects identified by scientists -- a story of our understanding of who we are, where we come from, and where this all might be going.

Mary Stewart Adams addresses this subject as a storyteller and sky observer and will discuss the necessity of imagination and inspiration in our developing sense of ourselves in our celestial environment. She will discuss recent discoveries such as the comets Pan-STARRS and ISON; the celestial configuration with Venus as evening star preparing for Winter Solstice; Jupiter's position in our evening skies; the Geminid and Ursid Meteor Showers and much more.

This event is in conjunction with the Fairy Tale Moons exhibit on display at the Downtown Library from December 3 through January 14. For this exhibit, star lore historian Mary Stewart Adams and her sister, artist Patricia DeLisa, researched and explored our best-loved folk and fairy tales in order to reveal, through their art and language, our connection with the stars overhead each month.

Check out some of the books and tales that inspired the artwork of Fairy Tale Moons!