On June 5, the San Juan Stargazers will celebrate NASA’s 55th anniversary of the Apollo 13 “most successful failure” mission with Pagosa Springs’ own Tom Hanchett. Everyone is invited to join us to celebrate and learn.
Our next meeting, on Thursday, June 5, will be at the regular time of 6 p.m. for the social hour, which will include a welcome celebration with cake and a gift for Andy and Elodie Green’s new baby. He is the littlest Stargazer, and we welcome him with a heart full of love.
We will meet at our regular location — the Community United Methodist Church at 434 Lewis St. Please use the convenient parking lot and side door that leads into the kitchen and fellowship hall. (We keep the front doors to the church sanctuary locked.)
At 7 p.m., we will begin our Program with Carolyn Pyeatt giving a presentation to update the latest findings of the James Webb Space Telescope. These discoveries are getting more and more exciting. Pyeatt will soon be leaving Pagosa to be with her family during deployment.
Then, at 7:30 p.m., Hanchett will present NASA’s 55th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, which has been named NASA’s “most successful failure.” Hanchett will tell us how it got that name and other interesting stories from that and other Apollo missions.
Hanchett worked at Houston’s mission control, where he was the dedicated voice from the ground to the astronauts in space. And when the astronauts sent their famous message, “Houston, we’ve got a problem,” it was to Hanchett that they were speaking. Hanchett was truly in on everything and has an amazing perspective on our space program and details from so many of the Apollo missions.
Hanchett also has a valuable attitude about the world of work. I think that he should speak personally to every Pagosa student, so I am encouraging every parent to bring their child to our meeting to meet him. Hanchett has words of wisdom, and he is certainly one of the most fascinating men I have ever met. Each time Hanchett speaks at our Stargazer meetings I am so impressed and impacted by his personal attitude and outlook on life. I am going to have him write a special message on our San Juan Stargazer website for the benefit of every visitor.
June 5 should be a meeting you don’t want to miss.
Night sky programs
Our night sky programs begin at Chimney Rock National Monument on Friday, May 30, and June 20 and 27, with later dates in the summer. (See our website.) People from Pagosa are always welcome to attend our programs without a reservation. Just let us know that you are a local and we will fit you in with a ticket purchased at the gift shop.
We will try to have telescope viewing when it gets dark enough and if the weather permits without rain or, more seriously, lightning. We must be aware that Colorado has one of the highest incidences of lightning strikes in our nation and telescopes usually have metal parts that add to the danger.
The mountains near Chimney Rock are especially difficult because storms can start so quickly and blow over peaks. Then they can pass and be gone. We never cancel our programs because we can start out the night with pouring rain and end it with great viewing.
Our program will begin informally on the plaza while we wait for others to arrive. We may later include talks about the James Webb Space Telescope’s latest discoveries, a fascinating lesson about the life cycle of a star and an unbelievable survey of galaxies.
Some nights there may be a saga of how North and South America became inhabited given by one of the most famous anthropologists in the world, Dr. John Kappelman. Other nights we may take a walk to our Great Kiva and excavated pit house. We may take a tour of the night sky with Judith Jubb.
There is so much to learn that every program will be brimming with learning.
Upcoming
We hope to take part in the Fourth of July “Standing-Still Parade” where we can share astronomy lessons with all of Pagosa. In the middle of July, we will have a guest astronomer, Steve McAllister, who is in charge of the Westcliff observatory and is an outstanding expert on telescopes to help us improve our individual telescope skills.
About the Stargazers
If you would like to join the San Juan Stargazers, you will also receive Reflector Magazine, which is the publication of the National Astronomical League of which you automatically become a member. To join 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 you can join using PayPal on our website, sanjuanstargazers.org.
Check out our continuously changing website with new information and spectacular photos. We can be your connection to our extraordinary universe.
