\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The San Juan Stargazers\u2019 regular monthly meeting will be Thursday, January 23, 2020, at the Chamber of Commerce Visitors\u2019 Center Conference Room located at 105 Hot Springs Blvd beside the San Juan River. \u00a0The meeting is from 7- 8:30 PM. (SHARP)\u00a0 Hot drinks will be served starting at 6:30 for social time as we gather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Our first brief topic will be the wonderful StarLab<\/strong>\nwhich is a portable planetarium that Mrs. Hinger, science teacher at the Middle\nSchool, has been gathering money to benefit all 1636 students of our school\ndistrict. It is an outstanding multifunctional\n$40 K piece of science equipment which includes programs, in addition to\nAstronomy, for weather, plate tectonics, geology and other areas. The Stargazers have made one $1000 donation,\nbut many members are intent on raising more money since it is such a worthy\nproject. There will be a report from our newly formed Starlab Fundraising\nCommittee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our regular program is from the series that we\nhave been studying for two years, called Experiencing Hubble: Understanding\nthe Greatest Images of the Universe<\/strong>. This will be the last lesson from\nthe series. It includes a written part and a video lecture by Professor David\nMeyer of Northwestern University. The\nlesson title is : HUBBLE\u2019S LEGACY\nAND BEYOND<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \nOne of Hubble\u2019s greatest discoveries was made by comparing 2004 and 2006\ndata. By doing so, Hubble astronomers\nidentified the first exoplanet which is a planet outside our solar system. The next big step is to image extrasolar\nplanets, but that will have to wait until the successor to the Hubble, the\nJames Webb Space Telescope is successfully launched. The Webb has extended several launch dates\nbecause EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT. The\nHubble is in an orbit around the Sun and was launched unknowingly with a huge error\nin its mirror. Astronauts had to visit\nthe Hubble to correct that error and many other times to make repairs and additions\nover the years. The Webb will not be\nable to have such visits from Earth because its location is over 1,000,000\nmiles away, far outside the Earth\u2019s orbit. There is one chance for the Webb and\nthere can be ABSOLUTELY NO ERRORS. Human\nbeings are not noted for their ability to achieve such a level of perfection. The\nmost difficult part is that the Webb will be a large telescope and must be launched\nwith every part folded together to be small enough to escape Earth\u2019s gravity. Once it arrives at its distant location, each\npart needs to unfold and remotely attach. It essentially will be remotely built from\n1,000,000 miles away. Every aspect of\nthe James Webb telescope is beyond amazing. It will be the greatest technological\naccomplishment of mankind. We are fortunate to have a part-time Pagosa resident\nworking on the Webb. He has reported to the\nStargazers several times over the past years when he can take vacation time. He\nwill hopefully give us an up-date this summer. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSince NASA has retired the shuttle program, nothing more can be done to\nkeep the Hubble working. It will\ncontinue to explore the cosmos for an unknown amount of time until its orbit\ndecays and it is burned up by the atmosphere. Our Thursday night lesson will provide details\nof what I have described including photos and images and it is well worth your\ntime to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have been selling our fabulous Astronomy\nMagazine Deep Space Mysteries 2020 Calendar<\/strong>. By accident, 2 calendars are still available\nfor purchase. There are exceptional photos with a detailed explanation to help\nyou learn the basics of Astronomy. There are notations of significant sky\nevents and phases of the moon. You can pick\nup a copy at the Chamber of Commerce Visitors\u2019 Center.<\/strong> Both Hillary & Rick can help you. The cost\nis $13. They are perfect to mail and they give the message everyday throughout\nthe year that you cared enough to send such an exceptional gift. Please stop by\nsoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n New people are always warmly welcomed at\nour meetings.<\/strong> I hope you can join us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nSan Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs\nfrom all over the US. We have a new web-site<\/strong>—www.sanjuanstargazers.org,\nas well as an email address, sjstargazers@gmail.com<\/a>\nand a club phone number 970-335-8286. Our club address is PO BOX 2217, P.S. 81147. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We welcome everyone who has an interest\nin learning more about our AMAZING UNIVERSE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The San Juan Stargazers\u2019 regular monthly meeting will be Thursday, January 23, 2020, at the Chamber of Commerce Visitors\u2019 Center Conference Room located at 105 Hot Springs Blvd beside the San Juan River. \u00a0The meeting is from 7- 8:30 PM. (SHARP)\u00a0 Hot drinks will be served starting at 6:30 for social time as we…
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