Rev. Dave Ross will lead a "tour" of the summertime night sky, helping Lakesiders prepare for next week’s Perseid Meteor Shower. Bring binoculars and explore the summer Milky Way and discover one of the sky’s most fascinating deep space objects: Stephan’s Quintet, a distant group of five galaxies.
Stephan’s Quintet is believed to have inspired director Frank Capra’s vision of heaven in the classic film "It’s a Wonderful Life." Learn more in Ross’ presentation and then view the film at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, in Orchestra Hall.
Ross is a retired minister of the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, a longtime amateur astronomer and a volunteer at Camp Wanake in Beach City. Passionate about helping people explore the wonders of creation, he helped establish the camp’s observatory and telescope, which was dedicated in memory of Rev. Susan Brown and installed in 2024. Today, the observatory is a valued part of the camp’s summer and retreat programming.
His presentation about Stephan’s Quintet grew from a 2019 article he contributed to the Griffith Observer, the newsletter of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. That same year, he became a featured speaker at the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum Festival in Seneca Falls, New York, where he explored the theory that Stephan’s Quintet inspired Capra’s depiction of heaven. Ross hopes to return for the museum’s 80th Anniversary Festival this December, when a new theater featuring a celestial-themed ceiling inspired by Stephan’s Quintet will debut.
Ross served congregations throughout the Stark County area alongside his clergy spouse, Barbara Ross. Both are graduates of Hiram College and Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
