On the evening of Sept. 17 will be a partial eclipse of the harvest moon supermoon as it is rising in the sky.
Full moons are always impressive, but supermoons are slightly larger than average because the moon is at or close to perigee, which means it is the closest to Earth in its slightly elliptical orbit. Since it is closer, it appears larger and is called a supermoon.
The eclipse will be visible from most of North America and all of South America. Europe, parts of Africa and Antarctica, and eastern Asia and Russia can also view it. It is unusual for it to be seen in so many places on our planet.
In Pagosa Springs, moonrise on Sept. 17, is at 7:11 p.m., so it is an easy time to be out looking at the partial eclipse.
September Stargazer ‘meeting’
This is a once-in-18.6-year possibility. Our “meeting” is not one night, but will include three possible major lunar standstill events.
Event 1: On Sunday, Sept. 22, Dr. J. McKim Malville will be speaking at the Community United Methodist Church on Lewis Street at 7 p.m. He was the University of Colorado professor who discovered that what attracted the ancient people to Chimney Rock was the major lunar standstill or this once-every-18.6-year happening of the moon rising between the two pinnacles, Chimney Rock and Companion Rock.
Malville is retired and in his 80s, so he may not be coming to Pagosa to speak very often and it should be well worth taking the opportunity.
Event 2: On Monday, Sept. 23, people will gather at the Chimney Rock amphitheater with the gate opening at about 8:30 p.m. to see telescope viewing, a program with guest speakers and, much later, a telecast view of the moon rising between the pinnacles.
It is noteworthly that the ancient people had a better view of the rising moon because they built their Chacoan Great House for that reason. We have not rebuilt the ruins to three stories with a plaza over the great kiva and another bigger plaza to the south of the Great House. At this time, it only will be visible from the edge of a cliff, where a person from Griffith Observatory in climbing gear will be roped off to be safe while telecasting it to us.
Event 3: On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the same thing will happen, but the gate will open at 9:30 p.m. and the viewing of the moon will be later.
Please check the most recent information in a SUN article or the website of the Chimney Rock Interpretive Association since the times and details may be changed.
Club activities
Our October monthly meeting will be on Oct. 3 at the regular time of 6 p.m. for a social hour and 7 p.m. program time.
We will have a member speaker, Tom Hanchet, who worked at Houston Mission Control for all of the Apollo missions. This past summer many people who worked on the Apollo programs gathered in Houston for the 50th anniversary reunion. NASA made a film of the highlights. He was a panel speaker. Hanchet will be sharing much with us.
Our November monthly meeting will be on Nov. 7 at the regular times. Our speaker, our very own professional astronomer, Dr. Andy Green, will be sharing his area of specialty: how galaxies are formed.
Our December monthly meeting will be on Dec. 5 at the regular times, with the program yet to be determined.
Space mysteries
calendars available
We will be selling them for $15 starting at the Malville lecture on Sept. 22. That is not to order them, but to have them in your hands to take home.
If the calendar is being given as a gift to a child, there is a special $3 discount.
James Webb Space Telescope locates Earth-like exoplanet
It is 6.5 times larger than earth and has many Earth-like features. It is being intensely studied. I don’t think that it can be better or closer-viewed, but everything possible will be done to find out more about this most Earth-like place to see if it has Earth-like inhabitants.
Information will most likely be released very slowly because in the past there was a huge fear that the discovery of alien life would send the world into a crazy mass panic.
How is that for an amazing discovery to think about because it will change life on our planet.
