Meet Rafael Gonzalez, your friendly neighborhood astronomer

Rafael Gonzalez holds one of his images of California Nebula. (Courtesy photo)

My buddy and I were about to begin a walk around Furman Park in Downey on a Friday night when all of a sudden we heard a friendly voice say, “Hey, do you guys want to look at the moon?”

My friend, kind of skeptical at first, said no but I was suddenly interested when I saw a professional telescope and heard the word “moon.”

We looked into the telescope and saw a Waxing Gibbous First Quarter Moon sitting in space so eloquently. For me, it felt as if it was staring at me directly in my eye.

Little did I know Ralf would inspire me to share his passion for astronomy with you.

He directly went into describing the moon and talking about its mountains. Before we knew it, half an hour went by and I was learning new information at a park around 8 pm for free.

I was enthused by his energy and knowledge. Oh, and my friend and I even held a meteor. I do not know when else that happens -- other than when you are looking for it -- but I am glad the opportunity found us.

Rafael Gonzalez is an astrophotographer and a board member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. Ralf got into astronomy when he was 13 at a sleepover. His best friend's brother-in-law, Bill Hall, set up his telescope to look at Jupiter on a summer morning and asked him if he was interested. The next morning, he was captivated by Jupiter and the four moons surrounding it. Ralf has always been fascinated with space and NASA since then.

Ralf is also a talented photographer and takes pictures of galaxies, nebulas, comets, the moon, and any planetary objects. Astrophotography has opened a whole new realm for Ralf but it was not an easy process in the beginning.

Trevor Jones, a Canadian YouTuber, was Ralf’s mentor on how to use cameras, telescopes, and software. Through time, effort, and practice Ralf has been able to transform his photographs into artwork. Now you can even purchase Ralf’s artwork and check out his photography on his instagram, @urbancityastronomer.

Although astrophotography and chasing the moon is not his career, it is what he is truly passionate about and is his number one hobby. During a separate interview Ralf said, “It is just one of those things I personally like sharing with people through social media. I’ll find myself on a Friday afternoon and I’ll go do outreach in our local community. I try to give people the opportunity to look through a telescope. I take a lot of joy, especially with kids because kids are too involved with their phones.”

Ralf thinks that looking at things from a natural light allows us to be more connected. Yes, our phones are great, we can all Google “picture of moon” and move on but it doesn’t give the same experience as looking at the moon from a telescope.

Ralf is always enthusiastic about meeting and engaging with strangers and sharing his telescope and knowledge about space. As from the last time we spoke, he mentioned there has already been at least 10,000 people who have looked through his telescope and he plans for those numbers to grow.

Out of those thousands of people, some of them have even been celebrities, including B.J. Novak, one of the writers and actors from the 2005-2013 sitcom “The Office.” So if you ever look through his telescope, you will be looking through the same telescope B.J. Novak did.

Ralf’s first venture was out at the Downey Landing by Chili’s. From there he took his telescope to the Columbia Memorial Space Center for the 2015 solar eclipse and there were about 170 people in line waiting to look through his telescope. This kind of attention inspired Ralf to create these opportunities for people who might take interest in taking a closer look at the sky.

Ralf answers your questions about space before you can even ask; he is definitely a gem in any community and you will be so lucky and happy if you ever run into him. He has been going to Furman Park for almost a month now and continues to venture out there along with other parks like Apollo and other local cities. So hopefully you will run into him one of these days or check out his social media where he often posts updates on where he is headed to next.

Another interesting way Ralf makes use of his hobby is catering star parties. What are star parties? They are simply birthday parties, anniversaries, gatherings, or events (for all ages) where Ralf will come and bring his meteorites, dinosaur bones, telescopes, cool tech equipment, knowledge, and passion to show you what you did not know about space. He charges per the hour and can stay up to four hours.

For questions about the star parties, you can contact Ralf through his social media which can be found below.

Ralf hopes to blow your mind when you experience his passion. His favorite part is seeing people’s excitement and smiles and says you can never put any amount of money on those encounters.

After learning from Ralf, I have taken more appreciation and interest in our sky above.

This is a reminder to look up.

Instagram: @urbancityastronomer
Facebook: @Rafael Gonzalez