This Saturday, February 8, 2014, members of the
Astronomy magazine staff will put on a big public star party event at Pima Community College, East Campus, in Tucson, Arizona. This will be an all-day event with solar observing, talks, and nighttime observing. The campus is located at 8181 East Irvington Road, on the southeastern edge of the city, and the event will be held at and near the campus observatory.
The day of astro activities begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 9 p.m.
The speakers include Keith Schlottman, past-president of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA); Scott Kardel, president of the International Dark-Sky Association; Mike Reynolds, dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Florida State College in Jacksonville and a contributing editor of
Astronomy; and me. I’ll be speaking about comets.
Astronomy Senior Editor Michael Bakich will be on hand and running the show.
The event will be co-sponsored by Pima Community College, the TAAA, and the International Dark-Sky Association. Throughout the day, telescopes set up by members of the TAAA will show people views of the Sun. The college’s observatory, armed with a 14-inch scope, also will be open for viewing. The 70-percent-illuminated Moon, Jupiter, and selected deep-sky objects will provide great targets at night.
If you are in the Tucson area, join us for this second annual event. The city is the astronomy capital of the United States and also will be hosting the annual Gem and Mineral Show during this period, at which meteorite collectors flock to find new specimens. We welcome everyone at this great event, and I hope to see you there!