Stargazing made easy

POPLAR RIDGE - Twilight settled quickly as the night sky took over the dome-shaped ceiling. Leaning back in comfortable reclining chairs, more than a dozen people stared at the ceiling, mesmerized by the number of stars that began to appear.

Gathered in the Southern Cayuga School District planetarium, and with the assistance of head astronomer John Rusho, stargazers traveled light years through space, observed first-hand a 300-year-old storm, and imagined a black hole in the universe.

"Tonight, Saturn and Jupiter are the main attractions," Rusho said, as he pointed out the planets located overhead. A long-time amateur astronomer and telescope maker, Rusho also teaches astronomy and physics part-time at Onondaga Community College.