Upcoming Public Star Gazes
Continue to check this home page as weather could change the venue or postpone and possibly cancel a star gaze. Check-in again after 5:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the observing session for the latest info and update. (Image by club member Alan Davis, taken from Lookout Observatory.)
21 February 2020 – Friday night – The location for this star gaze will be
Lookout Observatory on the UNC Asheville campus, with a weather backup date of
Saturday, 22 February. While the event is free and open to everyone, pre-registration is required to attend. To learn more about how to register, please visit the UNCA Lookout Observatory website here. Sunset occurs at 6:17 p.m., with shuttle service beginning at 7:00 p.m.
13 March 2020 – Friday night – This public star gaze will be held at
Grassland Mountain Observatory in Madison County, with a weather backup night of
Saturday, 14 March. This event is free and open to everyone — registration is not necessary to attend. A temporary gate code, required for entry, will be provided on the day of the star gaze by 4:00 p.m. Directions to Grassland Mountain Observatory can be found here. Sunset occurs at 7:36 p.m.
26 – 28 February 2020 – Conjunction of Venus and the Waxing Crescent Moon
Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope
28 & 29 February 2020 –
3 Bright Planets Align in the Morning Twilight
Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope
5 March 2020 – Next Club Meeting
Thursday night, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. – In the Reuter Center’s Manheimer Room, located on the UNC Asheville campus. The meeting is free and open to everyone.
Feeling Small in a Big Cosmos – presented by Shane Larson, Ph.D., Northwestern University
The Universe is vast beyond anything humans can easily comprehend, and it is easy to become overwhelmed by the immensity, disheartened by how insignificant we seem. But in the vastness there is a glimmer of truth that we should hold onto and use to guide us: in all the vastness we are, so far as we currently know, the only beings capable of asking questions about our existence and our place within the Cosmos. We are the stars, come to life for the sole purpose of asking where we came from and why are we here? Read more…
