GILPIN COUNTY - Have you ever wondered about quasars, black holes, or how many galaxies can be seen with the naked eye from Earth? 

Gilpin Astroday offered answers, education, and wonder at the Gilpin County Community Center on Friday, August 22, 2025. This was only the second time the event has been held, and many are already hoping it will return next year.

The Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center sponsored the event. President Carolyn Collins Petersen said, “This all got started when we offered some star parties a few years ago. Then I had the idea of asking the Fiske folks to bring a portable dome last year—that was our first AstroDay.”

The audience spanned generations, due to a combination of factors…but hinged on a mutual fascination with astronomy. Many Gilpin kids were at GCCC that day (no school on Fridays), and the senior lunch crowd spilled over into the day’s activities. 

Curious minds were piqued during the planetarium shows, and the educational presentations offered both historical context and modern perspectives on astronomy.

Lessons from the stars

One of the most engaging sessions explained what will eventually happen when our own Milky Way collides with the Andromeda galaxy. 

Despite the ominous sound, presenters reassured the audience that there’s so much empty space in space that most stars will pass through the space around the others. 

When the dust settles, they said, the result will be one giant galaxy nicknamed “Milkdromeda” (which I think sounds like an excellent name for an ice cream flavor and much better than "Andro Way").

The planetarium staff also walked participants through the first black hole ever discovered, Cygnus X-1. 

Using constellation maps, they showed how it was found in the “neck” of Cygnus, the swan. Demonstrations explained how matter is pulled from a neighboring star, swirled around, and sometimes flung out rather than consumed by the black hole’s gravity.

Supernovas and quasars

Petersen and other speakers also dug into phenomena that stretch the imagination.

A supernova, they explained, occurs when a massive star collapses in on itself and then rebounds outward in a massive explosion, scattering elements like iron and carbon into space where they eventually form new stars and planets.

Quasars drew equal interest. Once considered mysterious points of light, they are now understood to be powered by supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, producing energy so intense that it can outshine an entire galaxy. 

The most famous, 3C 273, lies billions of light years away, yet can still be spotted through telescopes as a tiny bright dot.

A shared sense of wonder

Astronomy is a subject that unites people—regardless of age, culture, or custom. The study of the planets, stars, and space is never-ending, with twists and turns keeping it exciting!

CU’s Fiske Planetarium brought an entertaining and powerful tool: a portable planetarium dome. The inflatable structure allowed visitors to view the night sky—and anything else in the known universe—using an overhead projector and Fiske’s planetarium data.

From the outside, it resembled a dark, puffy igloo, while the circular interior created a perfect space for gazing at the stars overhead.

Questions from children brought the science down to Earth. One excited youngster asked why we can’t feel the planet moving through space. 

The answer: gravity anchors us, and since everything around us—the air, ground, and atmosphere—is moving along with the Earth, we don’t perceive the motion. The planetarium’s offsite education team was able to explain this response without delving into advanced physics. 

Children, parents, and seniors alike enjoyed learning about the differences between planets and stars, how black holes work, and how to locate the center of the Milky Way. 

In the multipurpose room, talks ranged from the epochs of reionization and heliocentricity to Pluto and the spaghettification that occurs near a black hole.

Overall, Gilpin AstroDay brought together educated minds, amateur astronomers, and community members who were simply curious about the night sky.

And the answer to how many galaxies can be seen with the naked eye? Four! Andromeda, the Milky Way, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (which can only be seen from the Southern hemisphere).

Keep an eye out for next year's event to learn more about the mysteries and marvels of the cosmos.

You can support Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center by volunteering or donating. For more information, visit https://gilpincommunitycenter.org/.