Monthly Meeting for October to Prepare for the October 14, 2023 Annular Eclipse
San Juan Stargazers Astronomy Club Monthly Meeting is on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
Wednesday, October 11, will be a gathering at the Ruby Sission Library from 4 to 5:30 to help people prepare for observing the eclipse & to buy your NECESSARY solar glasses. ($2.00)
Saturday, October 14, will be an Annular Solar Eclipse REQUIRING THE USE OF SOLAR GLASSES.
We stress solar glasses because looking at an eclipse without them can cause BLINDNESS!!
(Even just “sneaking a peak” at it is very risky to your eyes!)
The Stargazers will hold their regular monthly educational meeting on Thursday, October 5th at the Community United Methodist Church on 434 Lewis Street. Use the parking lot & enter at the door right off the parking area. (We leave the front doors locked.)
There is a social hour starting at 6PM with coffee/tea and treats. (You can bring something to share if you would like, since no one signed up to bring a treat.) At 6:30, we will have brief team meetings such as: telescope, hospitality, new members, education, technology, and club perks, if there is a need to continue with plans started last month. If you did not select a team on your membership form, you can pick one tonight & then let Dena know your choice. We would like everyone to be on a team. You can be on more than one.
At 7PM the meeting will begin with a brief welcome. As a result of our club survey, the board decided that our educational programs will be the first thing we do & will start no later than 7:10. When we don’t have a speaker, the educational part of our program is prepared by Ann Marie Kemp. For the past year we have been studying our Solar System. The title of this lesson which we started last month is Comets, the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. We will be looking at what lies at the outer edge of our solar system. What you will learn is so amazing. This is one of the lessons that leaves us with a sense of absolute wonder. The second part of our program will include a game preparing us for the coming eclipse. If you want to win, study about eclipses before the meeting. If you are not that motivated, you can still be a winner & learn a lot by participating in this game.
For those who are not club members, but want to be well prepared for the eclipse, there will be a program at the Ruby Sission Library on Wednesday, October 11, from 4 to 5:30PM. Solar glasses will be available for purchase ($2.00)
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, WHEN THERE WILL BE AN ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE CALLED “RING OF FIRE”, WHICH WILL BE WONDERFULLY VISIBLE HERE, BUT YOU MUST USE ECLIPSE GLASSES. A partial solar eclipse will be visible in all 48 contiguous U.S. states plus Alaska. Pagosa is about 50 miles from the path of the best viewing. (check Google) We are at about 90%. In Pagosa, it will begin at 9:13 MST, Annularity begins at 10:34, is at maximum at 10:35 (the ring of fire) and ends at 10:39. The partial eclipse ends at 12:09. The morning of the Eclipse there will be a program at Chimney Rock National Monument. The price of the program includes a pair of solar glasses.
Club notes for the future: At our November Meeting on the 2nd, Dr. Andy Green, our member-Astronomer who worked at the Australian National Observatory will share with us his specialty—Galaxy Formation. That should be so interesting.
On Friday, November 10th will be our 11th Anniversary Dinner & end-of-the-year celebration. The dinner is free for members & will be held at the church. What would make it a “real party” for you? Share your ideas with a Board member.
At our December Meeting new members will be getting their Blue Notebooks filled with Tours of the Night Sky for the Year. Members need to find their copy that was given to them last year because we do not have extras & we will complete the pages for the entire year. We will go over how it is to be used & you can start dazzling your relatives & friends by being the “Astronomer of your Dreams,” showing everyone the constellations & other night sky objects which are different every month. Anyone who still joins can get this fabulous & priceless gift, but copies are limited. It was prepared by our amazing member, Judith Jubb.
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 & get an excellent astronomy magazine, annual membership is only$25/ family. You can join the club at any of our events or now you can join using Paypal at our web=site: sanjuanstargazers.org. Check out our recently improved web-site with much more information & fabulous pictures.
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