PA News:
The Pajarito Astronomers will hold a County-sponsored Dark Night starting at 7:45 p.m. (sunset), Saturday, April 13 at Spirio Soccer Field, Overlook Park in White Rock.
Weather permitting, the public is invited to come out, wander among the telescopes and star gaze.
A crescent moon will be visible, as will the planets Jupiter and Saturn. There will be a tour of the winter and spring constellations, and there will be telescope views of double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend. Viewing will end before midnight. Call Steve Becker at 662-3252 for information.
About Pajarito Astronomers
The Pajarito Astronomers is a club consisting of approximately 60 professional and amateur astronomers from throughout northern New Mexico.
For annual dues of $8, club members are provided the Abrams Planetarium monthly astronomical events calendars and monthly newsletters that include both astronomical and club information.
Members may check out books from the club’s reference library. Members can also receive discounts on selected astronomy-related items. Membership form.
From late-spring to early-autumn, the Pajarito Astronomers Club holds County-Sponsored “Dark Night” observing sessions at Overlook Park in White Rock, New Mexico. These sessions are open to the public and occur once a month (on a Saturday evening near a new moon) when Los Alamos County turns off all the athletic field lights at the park.
A typical session will have 50-100 people looking through 5-10 telescopes, viewing galaxies, planets, star clusters, the moon, and much more. Weather permitting, observing sessions start at sunset and end before 1 a.m.
As a community service, the Pajarito Astronomers sponsors approximately six public talks each year in Los Alamos. Invited speakers cover a wide variety of topics in space science, astronomy, and astrophysics.
The club also provides awards at the Los Alamos science fair for space science and astronomy projects. Several times a year, upon request, club members provide constellation tours of the night sky, telescope tours of the night sky, or astronomy lectures to organizations or school classes.
And occasionally throughout the year, club members provide planetarium shows at schools or fairs. The planetarium is typically provided by the group requesting a show, or provided through Los Alamos National Laboratory’s educational outreach office.
