Comets, Visible & Visited
The San Juan Stargazers will meet on Thursday, January 22; at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center at 7PM.
Comet Lovejoy has been visible with the naked-eye at times since late December. We will learn what’s going on with our latest visitor from the distant Oort Cloud and we will attempt to locate it for viewing.
Then the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Space Craft and lander, which completed a most unbelievable feat of setting down on a comet in November, will be up-dated. Stop and think about that for a minute: a spacecraft landed on a comet which is 2.5 miles across and is hurling through space. Rosetta was launched in 2004 and has been on a ten-year, 4 billion mile journey to meet up with the comet. The mission was accomplished by scientists from Europe, the US, Japan and the Soviet Union. When our government cut funds for space exploration various groups around the world have come together to work on space projects such as this. It is an amazing accomplishment.
On Saturday, February 21, we will have our first winter Star Party with the 20 inch telescope. It should be spectacular! Saturday, February 28, will be the back-up date and we will have no regular meeting on Thursday night. We have a member with a camper to share, so we can have regular “thaw-breaks” with hot chocolate, cider and what-ever else we need to make us feel warm. We cannot determine the exact location until we know how much snow is on the ground. If you want to attend, call the club number to make a reservation (no charge). Everyone will be notified on Friday or Saturday when and where to meet.
The San Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs from all over the US. We have a great web-site—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.
Our activities are open to the public and to anyone interested in learning more about our wondrous universe. Hope to see you!