Part of the joy of astronomy is to gaze up in the heavens and enjoy the spectacle of looking into the vastness of space. And for many, another part of the joy of astronomy is learning about space science. I like to highlight opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area for both of these perspectives, and one of my favorite places to both learn about space and also enjoy gazing into the heavens is on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, where the public is invited to take part in monthly lectures by leading astronomers, and immediately afterwards, enjoy the heavens through telescopes provided by our local astronomy club, the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers (
SFAA). The 2012 season of lectures kicks off this Saturday April 21st with Dr. Alex Filippenko of UC Berkeley, talking about the upcoming
Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse in May, and the
Transit of Venus in June. I'll be there giving a night sky tour following Dr. Filippenko's lecture, and the weather is cooperating so a good evening is in store.
More information here.
The annual dark sky awareness event called
Globe At Night comes to a close this week. The public around the world is invited to find one of three bright constellations and estimate how many of the stars in the constellation are visible from your location. By submitting your results online, you contribute to a world-wide database of sighting, helping to build a global map of light pollution and to raise awareness of this issue.
No matter where you are, you can find astronomy events on the
Night Sky Network. Check out this great resource and Get Involved today!
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