Special to The PREVIEW
The San Juan Stargazers will not hold a regular educational meeting in October, but instead will gather on Friday, Oct. 23, to celebrate the third anniversary of the founding of the club and celebrate a successful summer of star parties at Chimney Rock.
We are continuing the legacy of the ancient astronomers who studied and taught others about the wonders of the night sky. This summer, visitors numbered in the hundreds and we served them with skill and enthusiasm. The most frequent comment was about the amazing attitudes of our volunteers, who shared not only their knowledge, but also their excitement about astronomy.
What’s not to be excited about with over 100 billion galaxies and so many wondrous sights to behold in our telescopes?
To celebrate all this, we will share a sumptuous dinner including delicious ribs. There will be hors d’oeuvres, salad, potatoes, baked beans and dessert.
A reservation must be made ahead, so please call (303) 995-2888 to claim your complimentary dinner. Later in the evening, our program will be one of laughter and appreciation.
We also will need to decide what to do in November and December since our regular meeting dates fall on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. We may change the meeting day in November and take a holiday break in December, but the group will decide.
If you want to become a member, there is still time to join for the 2015-2016 membership year, which includes receiving the outstanding astronomy magazine “Reflector.” For membership and directions to our celebration dinner, call Joan Mieritz at (303) 995-2888.
If you are a visiting amateur astronomer, you are invited to come and share your club activities. If you have an interest in astronomy, but lack a telescope, we will gladly teach you on one of four Chimney Rock Interpretive Association-owned telescopes. There is plenty of time this winter to get ready for next summer’s viewings.
The San Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs from all over the U.S. We have a great website, www.SanJuanStargazers.com, as well as an email address, sjstargazers@gmail.com, and a club phone number, 335-8286, to help communicate with the public.
Anyone interested in learning more about astronomy is invited to come to all our events.
