Many years ago I tried to view the Trifid Nebula with a 5″ diameter telescope. A dark sky was needed. My back yard in town was not dark enough. I scouted the neighborhood and found a dark place behind the local elementary school. An electrical outlet was also available to run the drive mechanism on the scope. As a precaution, I called the local police station and let them know my plan to be behind the school that night. They said ok to that.
Trifid Nebula M20 | Wikipedia | Hunter Wilson
Darkness approached. I drove to the school and set up and aligned my telescope. My eyes were dark-adapted after 20 minutes. I saw someone across the school yard walking their dog in the very dim light. I didn’t think they saw me.
The views of M20 were excellent. I could just make out the dark dust lanes visible in the reddish part of the image above. The image above is a time exposure revealing many details. It is not mine.
I was intent on pointing the scope to another nearby object when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see who it was. A bright flashlight was pointed directly into my face. My dark-adaptation was over. The person with the bright light in my face asked who I was and what I was doing. It was a policeman. That dog-walker had called to report a suspicious person behind the school.
I explained who I was. He put down his light from my face. I told him I had called that afternoon to let them know I was going to be here. He said I should have called just before I came over. The day shift doesn’t usually talk to the night shift about stuff like this.
I was reminded of this story when I read the Focal Point story on the last page of the August 2019 Sky & Telescope magazine. It was titled Encounters With Police by Dennis Kelly. He is an amateur astronomer and holds two criminal justice degrees. He encouraged amateurs to be careful and very transparent about what you are doing in the dark with weird looking apparatus. Bad things could happen and much of it by accident.
How I See It 
Good point. One can never be too cautious these days.
Too bad we’ve come to that.
Indeed.
Very interesting story,Jim. In the Navy, a complete turnover of information by the off-going watch is basic and mandatory. IMO, there’s no excuse for a police department failing to do the same. But, it is what it is.
I’m glad it turned out ok. I will be more aware of the possibility for mistakes in the future.
Eleven years ago, they legislated here in New South Wales that laser pointers were prescribed weapons which required registration. In our case, astronomical societies were exempt and members are allowed to own and use them without a permit. So there we are, once or twice a month, in a dark field behind a sportground with lasers aiming upwards from time to time, revealing our location to anyone passing by.
Following the enactment of the legislation, I envisaged our nights being constantly wrecked by over-zealous police racing into our field with headlamps and strobes to arrest us all for possessing prescribed weapons – or even shoot us for operating equipment that could be mistaken for missile launchers.
To my ever-increasing amazement, it has not even happened once.
And, I hope it never does.
This is sad from too many angles.
You did everything reasonably expected, yet still had to explain yourself to the authorities.
Someone merely inquisitive about the night sky has to literally hide behind a building to pursue the interest.
Most passers on that and similar walkways are trained to assume the worst.
Acts of depravity and debauchery at that time of night would illicit less suspicion by local law enforcement, perhaps.
Used to be I was concerned about a surprise by a wandering mean dog or curious raccoon. More to consider now.
[…] headlights driving towards me, and slowly, just as the ISS started to ascend into view. No, it was not the cops. But I had to make a command decision: keep tracking for the most visible part of the orbit, or […]
Something like this happened to me the very first time I went out with my telescope. The park I went to apparently wasn’t open to the public after dark. Lesson learned.
I hope you’ve been out since. 🙂
Oh yes, I have. I found another park that actually is open 24 hours. It’s a bit of a drive, but it’s worth it.
Good 🔭
Land of the free????
I bet the dog walker was not concerned about being stopped by police. Shame that we all seem to have the worst suspicions of each other these days.
Yes it is.
Slipping dodging sneaking creeping hiding out down the street – watch out for those cops. You don’t want Melanie having to come and bail you and your telescope out of jail in the middle of the night! 🙂
She might make me wait until morning.
[…] headlights driving towards me, and slowly, just as the ISS started to ascend into view. No, it was not the cops. But I had to make a command decision: keep tracking for the most visible part of the orbit, […]