In less than one year, Claudio T. Stabile has brought his Eagle Scout project from a mere idea on paper to life with several telescopes and an observatory he built on the North Field by the Polk Township municipal building.

“This is probably the biggest project I have seen. Claudio went all in on this one and set the bar high,” said Jeremy Livingston, Scoutmaster of Troop 102, during Friday’s grand opening star party.

Stabile’s love for astronomy began as a child, when he received his first telescope as a gift. He started attending events and learning all he could. He lives in Polk Township with his parents, younger sister Ava and younger brother Darius. He attends the Commonwealth Charter Academy.

Ava and Darius are also in scouting, and very soon Ava will be embarking on her own community project for her Girl Scout Gold Award.

“I think this project is amazing. He has loved astronomy since he was young. I am glad to see him pursuing it,” said his mother, Bernadette Stabile.

It’s a passion and a journey he has invited his father, Claudio M. Stabile, along to enjoy and educate others. The son has ignited the father’s appreciation of astronomy and Scouting.

“As his father, I am extraordinarily proud of Claudio’s accomplishments. He took an initial idea, presented it to Polk Township, successfully fundraised and worked with his troop to bring it to life,” he said.

Stabile’s family and some friends came around 4 p.m. to see the sun, look inside the observatory at all the equipment and hear his presentation.

“I have learned so much about our sun. It is the center of our solar system. Planet Earth, the other planets, and other items revolve around it. The sun is a near perfect sphere of hot plasma,” he told the audience.

Someone asked him how many Earths would fit inside the sun.

“More than one million Earths can fit inside it,” he said.

Daytime attendees took turns using the SolarMax and the filtered Dobsonian telescopes.

More attendees came around 8 p.m. for the nighttime star party, including troop members who would be camping overnight.

“As expected, we had troubles with the computerized telescopes but were able to target Andromeda, Saturn and Arcturus early on. We had plenty of snacks and pizza, space videos, s’mores over the fire and laser light shows to keep a crowd of up to 50 entertained,” said Claudio M. Stabile.

A senior member of the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society used the Dobsonian to show the crowd the Great Star Cluster in Hercules, the Ring Nebula and the Double cluster, said Stabile.

A few who remained awake at 1 a.m. were able to see Jupiter and its Galilean moons rise over the Eastern skies.

Stabile’s galactic pursuit began in November, when he made his first presentation to the Polk Township supervisors to build an observatory and host frequent astronomy events in the field by the township’s walking park.

However, that area is wetlands, so the supervisors suggested the North Field.

After approval, Stabile began building the shed and fundraising in June, when school was over.

Through the help of his father, his troop, Livingston, and the community, Stabile raised nearly $4,000.

He also received the support from his astronomy club, LVAAS, which donated a 10-inch Meade LX200, and a sponsorship from the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project/Sunlit Earth, awarding him a 90 mm Hydrogen Alpha SolarMax III telescope.

Throughout the summer, passers-by saw Stabile and his group of helpers working on various stages of the project - from pouring gravel for its foundation to hanging its sign on the front.

On Friday, his father called him “an excellent public speaker, knowledgeable about the science, and a sweet and charismatic conversationalist with his audience. As a dad, I could not be prouder.”