Stargazers detail upcoming party and fundraiser

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By Joan Mieritz

Special to The PREVIEW

The San Juan Stargazers monthly meeting for October will not be our regular Thursday night at the Chamber, but will be on Friday, Oct. 25, and is called our “End-of-the-Year Celebration” for having completed nine star parties at Chimney Rock and is also our seventh anniversary dinner. It will be at a private home and “part-time museum” you will want to see and is for members and guests.

We have invited Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) members who helped us at the star parties since their support is essential. It takes a lot more than a row of telescopes and two speakers to have a successful experience for dozens of visitors each night. Safety is critical, so we all work together in many ways to ensure that everyone has a wonderfully memorable time, including the volunteers. Our volunteers get the best benefits of being in a remarkable setting on the high Chimney Rock questa (not the top of the pinnacles) and viewing the glorious night sky, including the ever-brighter Milky Way, each time they come.

You must make a reservation for dinner this year and can then get the directions. Please call (303) 995-2888 or our club number, 335-8286, by Thursday, Oct. 24. The time is 6 p.m. and the cost is $5 for a delicious Italian dinner with pasta and salad. The fabulous dessert will be provided by CRIA to thank us for our hard work (and we thought we were having fun). Hope to see all you stargazers and CRIA Night Sky support people. It will be a party that is “out of this world,” like only stargazers can do.

2020 Deep Sky Calendar

The year passes so quickly and it is time to get your 2020 Deep Sky Calendar. It is even more beautiful than last year.

If you study all the information on the calendar, it is comparable to an astronomy class without exams. Each day has a listing of objects visible in the night sky. The fantastic monthly images are described in great detail so that after 12 lessons you have a sampling of all categories in the field of astronomy.

I give one to each of my grandchildren so we can talk about it and have fun learning together. It is an easy Christmas gift to mail that is a reminder every day all year that you care enough to share the universe.

It is a fundraiser for our Scholarship Fund. Each calendar is $13, but there is an increasing discount for people getting multiple calendars. You can call the RSVP numbers to get calendars.

The San Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs from all over the U.S. We have a wonderful new website, www.sanjuanstargazers.org, as well as an email address, sjstargazers@gmail.com, and a phone, 335-8286.

We encourage everyone to develop an interest in learning about our amazing universe. It is fun to live amazed.