If you’re at a Chicago park in the evening and see a group of telescopes and people eagerly waiting to look through them, you’re probably about to meet Astro Joe and his astro crew of volunteers who are there to help you explore the Chicago sky.
The Chicago Astronomer, an educational organization, will be hosting free skygazing events at city parks this weekend and in August. Founder Joseph Guzman, or “Astro Joe” for short, and the group will be at Bloomingdale Trail Park from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday to set up telescopes and guide people through exploring the cosmos.
“We’re going to show people the moon. Mars is out, so we’ll talk about Mars as well,” Guzman said. “We’ll pick out some binary stars and star clusters as well.”
Guzman founded the Chicago Astronomer in 2004 after being approached by numerous curious people when skygazing near Adler Planetarium.
“I would bring my small telescope to the lakefront next to the planetarium, set it up and look at the moon and planets, and people would come up all the time and say, ‘Can I take a look?’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah! Come on!’ and we’d start to talk, and they would often ask, ‘How can I get in contact with you? I’d like to do this again!'”
At the time, Guzman had no response. “I never gave it much thought,” he said.
Soon after, he began collecting emails to send out information about where he’d be setting up his telescope, and when.
“I collected hundreds and hundreds of emails,” Guzman said. “It was getting to be a job, so I created the Chicago Astronomer organization, and from there it took on a life of its own.”
Guzman, who is an arts and cultural partner of the Chicago Park District, and other Chicago Astronomer volunteers set up telescopes in city parks that people can look through. These events are a part of the City’s Night Out in the Parks series, which aims to promote equitable access to local artists’ works, according to Park District spokesperson Irene Tostado.
“We attend to thousands of sky lovers in the city and show them the wonders of the cosmos,” Guzman said. “We can show them the surface of the moon and its craters, even the surface of the sun without burning people’s eyes out.”
The Chicago Astronomer hosts skygazing events once a month at The 606 Trail and at other parks. After its event this Friday, the Chicago Astronomer crew can be found next at Bloomingdale Trail Park on Aug. 20 and at Carter Park on Aug. 21.
“Our crew bring out their own telescopes, set them up and allow the public to view the skies through them,” Guzman said. “We also get members from the public who bring out their telescopes and want guidance on how to use them and find things in the sky, and we help them along, too, during our events.”
As a lifelong resident of the Heart of Chicago neighborhood, Guzman first found his passion for astronomy when he was around 4, and he used to lay in the backyard and search the cosmos through his dad’s binoculars.
“People often ask, ‘How did you get into astronomy?’ and I always answer, ‘Well, astronomy got into me,’ Guzman said. “I never knew what I was looking at then. I just knew I had an attraction toward the heavens.”
Guzman pursued his passion by attending college classes during his early 20s and then followed along with the latest discoveries in the field of astronomy by watching lectures and self-directed reading in the years after. He was able to focus even more on the hobby after retiring in 2002.
Now, he teaches astronomy to students at After School Matters, a nonprofit organization that offers Chicago’s high school students after-school and summer learning opportunities.
“We talk about everything you think of about astronomy and space and man’s space travel,” Guzman said. “Normally kids across Chicago public schools aren’t taught astronomy. Here they can indulge to their hearts’ content.”
Guzman is also a telescope volunteer at the Adler Planetarium and lectures at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Public Library and various schools in Chicago.
“It’s great fun. If you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life, and I love what I do and could talk about astronomy forever,” he said.
Westchester resident John Napoletano, who met Guzman at Adler Planetarium in 2005 as a fellow telescope volunteer, is a member of the Chicago Astronomer. He said Guzman attempts to spark people’s interest in astronomy and enable them to explore the city skies.
“Joe always says, ‘The skies are free,’ but it takes somebody with Joe’s charisma and his appeal to put things together for people who may be interested on their own but don’t have access to telescopes,” Napoletano said.
Guzman said he hopes to draw more people, especially kids, into the field of astronomy through the free Chicago Astronomer events.
“I would like everyone to have the opportunity to look through a telescope,” Guzman said. “People go through their entire lives without even touching a telescope, and that’s a shame. We’re changing that.
Those interested in exploring the galaxies with Astro Joe and the Chicago Astronomer can sign up for upcoming event information by reaching out to chicagoastronomer@gmail.com.
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