Observing at Raven Run was a good chance for us to be able to look through a variety of telescopes and see celestial objects different ways. Saturn was particularly spectacular Saturday night.

We will try to play our next observing around the full moon so we can get some great views of details on the moon.

Astronomy Club News

Dear Parents,

The forecast is great for our next observation and this Saturday (April 10) we will be able to observe at the Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. We will be joining the Bluegrass Astronomy Club. Instead of meeting at the school, I have provided directions to the nature sanctuary from the school that you can adapt to follow from your home. My phone number is 859-556-0360 and it is also listed on directions on the back side of this paper.

The main gate to Raven Run and the observing field will not open until around 8:45. You can arrive near that time and park personnel will direct you to the observing field. I will be there around 8:00 to set up the telescopes and if you have any difficulty, give me a call.

If you purchased a club t-shirt for your child, they may wear it to the event. You can always purchase a shirt at the following website: http://wheedesign.com/item/summit-astronomy-club-stargaze-value-t-shirt/437871361.html

Our next astronomy club meeting will be on Thursday, April, 22. We will try to schedule an observing near a full moon so the students can get a good look at the details on a fully lit moon. It is spectacular. It won’t be a good night for general star observation because of moon glow, but it will be a great time to see the moon up close. This will be coming up at the end of April.

The constellations that we are studying about currently are Leo, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Leo Minor. Leo and Ursa Major are bright while Ursa Minor and Leo Minor are significantly dimmer, but still fairly easy to spot. See if your child can point them out to you in the night sky.

Thank you for your support!

Astronomy Club News

Dear Parents,

There are now Summit Astronomy Club t-shirts available for your child to purchase online.  Of course, the t-shirts are optional, but it would be a nice item to have. They are custom printed and have a special astronomy design with the name of our club on them. They are available in numerous colors and sizes. The prices range from $12.99 for the basic white t-shirt to $22.99 for the premium style colored shirts. You can view the selections here:

http://wheedesign.com/item/summit-astronomy-club-stargaze-value-t-shirt/437871361.html

The March astronomy newsletter had the next club meeting on April 1. We will, of course, be on spring break that week, so the next meeting will now be Thursday, April 8. We will continue with our every-other-week format from there. April’s meetings will be the 8^th and 22^nd. We will shoot for Saturday, April 10^th as our next night-time observation and this time we will try to go to the Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. They have a local stargazing night open to the public once a month. Raven Run is about as good a dark sky site that we have access to the locally within reasonable driving distance. If we are rained or clouded out, we will reschedule the observation for another night at the Foley’s farm. Special thanks go to them for allowing us to meet there! Details will be sent home soon.

Have a great spring break!

Brian Henson

This is a picture I found online this morning. You can see the Zodiacal light (sunlight reflecting off of cosmic dust in the solar system) against the Milky Way galaxy.

A beautiful sight for sure. Click on the image for a larger version. Can you spot the Pleaides in the picture anywhere?

Here’s a great link from Orion Telescopes describing what you can expect to see through a decent telescope. Very informative.

http://www.telescope.com/control/learning-about-what-will-you-see-through-a-telescope

Last night’s observation went great. Lots of you came and got to see some things that you had most likely never seen before. The night sky is full of treasures for the curious eye. We didn’t even scratch the surface of what cosmic jewels are hiding in the darkness.

Some of you brought telescopes to use. If you need help getting it setup and properly aligned, ask your parents to bring it to school one day and we will get it working right. Telescopes need to be set up properly during the day before they will work right at night.

Can’t wait until next time!

This week’s observing that was scheduled from Friday night (the 12th) is going to be rained out. It has been rescheduled to next Thursday night at the Foley’s farm. The exact time and details will be released next week.

This is the way it goes with stargazing. We are completely at the mercy of the weather. Don’t worry, we will get out there soon.

In the meantime when the skies are clear, make sure you are learning the constellations Orion, Ursa Major (Big Dipper/Bear) and Canis Major and observing the colors and path that Mars and Saturn take.

This weekend looks to be a great weekend for observing. Clear skies and smooth atmosphere!

Astronomy Club Orientation

Important Things To Remember

• We meet every other Thursday at 3:30-4:15.
• The Astronomy Club’s website is: http://www.summitastronomy.com
• You will find club announcements, interesting articles/pictures and great astronomy resources there. We will refer to it in our meetings so check it often.
• My email address is brian@lexingtonsummit.org or carolinaborn77@gmail.com If you or your parents have a question, email me and I’ll get back to you..

Night-time Observation Information

• Our first nighttime observation is tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 12 OR Saturday, March 13 depending on the weather from 6:45-8:00 or 8:30. Where we will go and directions to get there will be sent home by next Wednesday, March 10.
• Stargazing is directly dependant on the weather – mainly how cloudy it is forecast to be.  It is necessary to be flexible with scheduling observing dates. If a date is postponed because of weather, we will reschedule it for the next best date.
• What to bring to a night-time observation:
  • Warm clothes until summer (it gets very cool at night even in Spring)
  • Your star chart – I will provide you with one or you can get it from the Club’s website (www.summitastronomy.com)
  • A flashlight with a red filter/covering (to prevent the bright light from ruining your dark-adapted eyes). You can purchase a roll of red cellophane from Hobby Lobby for cheap. If you have a flashlight you can use only for astronomy, painting over the light face with red fingernail polish works great too!
  • You may bring a telescope if you have one and know how to work it. You can ask me for help during an afternoon meeting if you are unsure how to operate it.
  • A bottle of water.

Astronomy Club

Tools of the Astronomer I

The Naked Eye

• Your eyes are the best tool you have for observing the night sky.
• In fact, it is best that you start out learning the night sky with just your eyes.
• You can see planets, star clusters, comets, meteors, and sometimes galaxies with just your eyes!
• It is important to find a dark place away from street lights and plan to observe for at least 20 minutes to give your eyes time to adapt to the darkness. Make sure your parents know (and you have their permission!) before going somewhere to observe – even if you are going in your backyard.

Things To Start Looking For With Just Your Eyes

• The Constellations – which ones do you already recognize?
• The sky’s brightest stars
• Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – all of these can be seen just by looking up (at different times of course)!

What You Need To Observer With The Naked Eye

• Sky map/Star chart
• Pencil and paper to draw what you see and write down special things you notice.
• Patience – learning the night sky takes time, there are a lot of stars up there!

Assignment For Next Meeting (Thursday, March 18)

• Look for Mars and Saturn and answer these questions:
  • What colors are they?
  • Where are they at in relation to each other?
  • Watch them over the course of a few nights, do they appear to follow a certain path? What is the name of this path?
  • Learn and be able to identify the constellations Orion, Ursa Major, and Canis Major. (circled on your star charts).