On Thursday, Aug. 7, the San Juan Stargazers Astronomy Club will hold its regular monthly educational meeting.
The Aug. 7 meeting will be at the regular time of 6 p.m. for the social hour and 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 then fellowship hall. We keep the front doors to the church sanctuary locked.
During our social hour we have coffee and many kinds of drinks, plus people usually bring treats such as a dessert or a snack for those who didn’t make it home for dinner. If you haven’t brought something in a while, please grab a treat to share with the group.
This social hour is a great opportunity to visit with friends and to ask questions about astronomy. Usually there is plenty to talk about.
At 7 p.m. we will begin our educational program, which this month will be a presentation from Great Courses. These presentations are normally amazing and the one for Aug. 7 is exceptionally so.
It tells about our early solar system and how the early planets were not simply formed in their orbits, but migrated into place. There also was much commotion caused by bombardment of asteroids.
Everyone is usually overwhelmed with wonder at what they have learned from these presentations. This one may also be pretty entertaining.
This summer we have had some wonderful night sky programs for the public at Chimney Rock National Monument on Friday nights.
In August we will be gathering on Monday, Aug. 11, and Tuesday, Aug. 12, for the Perseid meteor showers. They are supposed to be really good this year. The gate will open at 7:30 p.m.
Each carload of people will be interviewed to find out their interests, needs and ages of children. People will then be assigned a parking and viewing location. People with young children need to be in an especially protected area. Some adults will be able to hike with carry-along chairs to a special location with an open view of the sky in all directions.
People from Pagosa Springs are always welcome to attend programs without a reservation. This is a great opportunity to enjoy Chimney Rock’s super dark skies. It is an especially relaxing time to experience our very precious national monument much like the ancient people did. We may or may not be setting up telescopes, but we will be doing tours of the night sky.
At this altitude, nights begin to cool rapidly after sunset, so bring appropriate layers of jackets, blankets and pillows for sitting on and covering up with to remain comfortable. Also suggested are fold-up, carry-along chairs, a regular flashlight and a flashlight with a red lens (which we have for sale and which does not interfere with night vision).
If you would like to join the San Juan Stargazers, you will also receive Reflector Magazine (available again in hard copies), 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 individual or family.
You can join the club at any of our meetings or on our website. Memberships can also be renewed online and the renewal deadline for next year is Sept. 30.
Check out our continuously changing website, sanjuanstargazers.org, with new information and spectacular photos.
We can be your connection to our extraordinary universe.
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