We are once again honored and delighted to feature a talk by Dr. Alan Stern, an aerospace executive and planetary scientist with experience on 30 space mission teams. But Stern also has one mission under his belt that he’ll detail in person at our July 20th Sky Watchers gathering at the Coal Creek Canyon Community Hall.

Stern’s talk is titled “My First Suborbital Spaceflight,” featuring details of his flight late last year as a Southwest Research Institute researcher on Virgin Galactic’s space plane mission – “Galactic 05.”

In this presentation, Stern will describe why research from commercial suborbital vehicles is such a powerful new tool, the experiments he conducted, the training he underwent to take the flight, and the work planned for his upcoming second research spaceflight mission, one that will be with NASA funding.

Alan Stern has an extensive space background, among them his leadership role for NASA’s New Horizons mission, the first and pioneering spacecraft to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt – making the farthest exploration of worlds in history. Come join us at the Hall for this truly inspiring talk.

Local Sky Watcher Leonard David will also give us an update on international space missions.

SUMMER STAR PARTIES!

Sky Watcher Carolyn Collins Petersen is offering two star parties this summer at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. They are scheduled for Friday, July 26 (rain date, July 27), and August 10th. Both will begin with an evening talk at Reverend Ridge Campground amphitheater at 8 PM and then move to Panorama Point from 9 to 11 PM for stargazing with telescopes! For directions go to the Park’s website at – https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/GoldenGateCanyon

In addition, the Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center is sponsoring Gilpin AstroDay at the Gilpin County Community Center (250 Norton Drive, Black Hawk 80422) during the day on August 10th, 2024 from 1 to 5 p.m. Festivities will include planetarium shows, talks, and more. Watch the Friends page at https://gilpincommunitycenter.org for more details closer to the date.

OUR AUGUST 17TH MEETING features Dr. Robert Zubrin!

Our rescheduled in-person meeting with Dr. Robert Zubrin will be Saturday, August 17th at 7 PM. Robert’s topic is his new book, entitled The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet which he will have for sale and signing. More about his talk in our Sky Watchers article in the August Mountain Messenger.

A special thanks to our wonderful sponsors, CCC Park & Recreation District.Here’s their website – https://www.cccparkandrec.org The Park & Rec-sponsored CCC Mountain Fest is on August 10thfrom noon to 4 pm at the CCC Hall. Great local fun – save the date! Look for more information about this event in the August Mountain Messenger.

Our meeting date, July 20th, is the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Come help us celebrate!

 

Links from John A segment on Titan transits