Last fall, the filmmaker Aislinn Sarnacki introduced herself at the Blue Hill Dark Sky Festival, requesting help filming a feature for a television show about Maine’s dark skies. She wanted just a few astronomers to gather so she could film us observing. With all the rotten weather this past winter, we canceled every scheduled shoot for months on end. Finally, when we were approaching the deadline at which Aislinn had promised to deliver the finished show to Maine Public Television’s Borealis program, during that long period of sub-zero and single-digit temperatures, we stole a clear night on barely a day’s notice. Filming was at Galaxy Quest Observatory because its access road was plowed, it would be easy to set up just by rolling off the roof, and it had a warming room readily available for thawing astronomer’s and camera crew’s hands. Aislinn is truly gifted, a wonderful ambassador for astronomy and all outdoor activities.
The full episode includes scenes about underwater drones and photographing wild animals, but the part showing just astronomy and astrophotography can also be seen separately.
