Oct. 8 is National Astronomy Day and International Observe the Moon Night

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By Joan Mieritz

Special to The PREVIEW

The San Juan Stargazers will be doing their part for National Astronomy Day by having activities for children and adults on the lawn at Martie’s Mercantile on U.S. 160, across from the Ruby Sisson Library, on Saturday, Oct. 8.

From 1 to 4 p.m., we will have various fun and educational things for people of all ages to do to learn more about our amazing universe. The event is free, but we will have snacks for purchase to help our Astronomy Scholarship Fund.

On Saturday night, starting at 7 p.m., will be a new annual event called International Observe the Moon Night. We will join countries around the globe having gatherings to celebrate, observe and study our most precious and beautiful moon. This has been a tradition in China for centuries with neighborhood dances and parties. We will be meeting at Yamaguchi Park. Look for the telescopes on the sidewalk. We are hoping it will be a community celebration, so bring your festive spirit, curiosity and fun ideas. The observing is free, but we will have pop and snacks available to support our scholarship fund.

At both events, you will also be able to order beautiful 2017 astronomy calendars for only $10. They have amazing, literally “out of this world” photos for each month. They normally sell for more at stores and proceeds will also go to our scholarship fund. We are building up this fund so that we can reward interested students for their participation and work.

Our October meeting on Oct. 21 will be a four-year anniversary and end-of-the-year-at-Chimney Rock celebration dinner. We will have great food and happiness for our continuing success as a club. Please RSVP by calling (303) 995-2888 or 731-0186.

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, (970) 335-8286, to help communicate with the public.

Anyone interested in learning more about astronomy is invited to come to our events.