By Joan Mieritz | San Juan Stargazers
The San Juan Stargazers Astronomy Club’s monthly meeting is Thursday, April 6, in the Community United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 434 Lewis St.
Please use the doorway right off the large parking lot to the east of the church. (The front doors may be locked.)
If you would like coffee/tea, snacks and some stimulating conversation, you can arrive at 6 p.m. for our social hour. From 7 to 8:30 p.m. sharp is the meeting and program, the topic being the remarkable planet Uranus, which is the only one that appears to rotate on its side. The information to be given is very unique and interesting.
There will be two deep sky viewing nights, on Friday, April 14, and Friday, April 21, both at our Meadows East location. Call (720) 626-9304 for directions. These are both very important viewing nights to practice using our club telescopes and to get your own telescope working well before we put on two night sky programs each month of the summer, starting on May 19 with a Stars and Galaxies Program that includes telescope viewing from the Chimney Rock upper parking lot.
Also in April, the Chimney Rock Interpretive Association is offering a two-day training session on April 28 and April 29. On April 29 we actually visit the site for a special tour. We encourage our Stargazers to attend at least one or both days of training so we all know more about our fabulous location. Lunch is provided both days. Please RSVP at the Chimney Rock Office, (970) 731-7133, to verify the timing. When you are a Stargazer and work at the night sky programs you actually also become a Chimney Rock volunteer and after 20 hours of volunteering can attend Chimney Rock events without cost. Stargazer members can, of course, attend all of our events with no cost.
In May our monthly meeting will be on May 4 at the Methodist Church with our program topic being the planet Neptune. It will be at the same location and same times as usual.
On May 12, starting between 7 and 8 p.m., we will meet at the Chimney Rock upper parking lot. We will be testing all the telescopes and making sure everything is organized for all our summer activities, including 10 star parties, Life at Chimney Rock with a solar telescope, two nights watching the Perseid Meteor Shower and ending with a total solar eclipse on Oct. 14. It will be an exciting summer.
If you would like to join the San Juan Stargazers to take advantage of a summer filled with excitement and learning, come to one of our events.
When you join the club, you will also receive Reflector Magazine, which is the publication of the National Astronomical League of which you automatically become a member. To be part of both groups and get an excellent astronomy magazine, annual membership is only $25 per family.
You can join the club at any of our events or, soon, also on our website. We are also giving to new members a fabulous booklet to help you learn constellations. It is an absolute treasure.
The San Juan Stargazers Club is part of the Astronomical League, which includes over 250 clubs from all over the U.S. and more than 20,000 members.
Our local group has a website, www.sanjuanstargazers.org. Check it out. We are again using the email address sjstargazers@gmail.com. Someone will be responding to messages, so try it.
We welcome everyone to learn more about our amazing universe. We hope to see you soon.
