Events

Astronomy Day 2004
April 23, 24

The Minnesota Astronomical Society invites you to join us at our annual 'Astronomy Day' celebration on April 23rd and 24th. Bring your family, your scout group, your science class or just yourself for fun-filled and educational activities appropriate for all ages.

All events take place at our Onan Observatory which is located in Baylor Regional Park in western Carver County, just north of Norwood-Young America.

Events and Activities

This year's events and activities include:

Evening star parties: Explore your universe. Telescopes will be available for public viewing of the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, star clusters and more both Friday and Saturday evenings, beginning at dusk and continuing at least until 10:00 p.m. each night, weather permitting. In addition to portable telescopes supplied by members of the Society, the observatory's permanently mounted telescope and the Society's 24" StarMaster Dobsonian telescope will be available for public viewing.
Daytime solar observing: Marvel at the ever-changing surface features of our nearest star, the Sun. Special equipment will provide safe viewing of massive sunspots, giant loops of gas erupting from the Sun's surface, solar flares and more!
PlanetQuest: Learn about the search for planets around other stars and how astronomers have already confirmed over 100 such worlds orbiting stars far outside our solar neighborhood. Society volunteers will help you locate several such stars visible overhead in our nighttime sky.
Seminars: Hear amateurs and educators talk about the many exciting aspects of astronomy -- the recent discoveries of the Mars rover missions, buying your first telescope, and more.
Demonstrations: Find out how you can create a mirror with a surface accurate to a millionth of an inch that can be used to build a high-quality telescope using only simple hand-tools and materials from your local hardware store.
A 'classic telescope rally': See the telescopes and equipment that transformed amateur astronomy.

Schedule

The Friday night star party will begin at 6:00 p.m. with solar observing and continue at least until 10:00 p.m. Astronomy exhibits and demonstrations take place continuously throughout the evening until 9:00 p.m.

On Saturday events and activities begin at noon. Solar observing takes place all afternoon. Seminars occur at regularly scheduled times throughout the day, ending at 6:00 p.m. Astronomy exhibits and demonstrations take place continuously until 9:00 p.m. The Saturday night star party will begin at dusk.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While telescope viewing is dependent on weather conditions, all other events and activities will take place 'fair or foul weather'.

More Information

A detailed schedule of events, seminars and other activities will be available in the coming weeks here on the web site. Check back often for the latest updates.

For more information regarding the Onan Observatory, including directions, please visit http://www.mnastro.org/onan.

If you have specific questions regarding our Astronomy Day activities send an e-mail to OnanInfo@MnAstro.org or leave a message on the Society's voicemail service at (952) 467-2426.

Information about Baylor Regional Park is available at http://www.co.carver.mn.us/Parks/baylor_regional.htm.

Carver County Parks is going to open up the campground for the weekend of April 23 & 24 with the astronomy day activities planned. The thirty-five utility sites can be reserved through the park office at 952-466-5250. Electric hook up will be available at each site, due to the possibility for freezing temperature at night water hook up will not be available at the sites, but the flush restroom facilities in the barn will be open and operational.

The Society's Astronomy Day events are part of a nationwide, grass-roots effort to introduce the general public to astronomy. For more information about the national observance of Astronomy Day, please visit the Astronomical League's Astronomy Day page at: http://www.astroleague.org/al/astroday/astroday.html

MAS Volunteers Needed

A successful Astronomy Day is only possible through the volunteer efforts of the Minnesota Astronomical Society's members. The following volunteer opportunities are available:

Set-up on Thursday night (4/22): Setting up tables and displays, general cleaning and sweeping up.
'Welcome center' staffing: Assist visitors and answer their questions about the MAS. (The welcome center staffing is coordinated by Patti Neavin and the Beginners SIG.)
Provide telescopes for the star parties: There is always a need for telescopes of all sizes for visitors to use during the evening star parties.
Assist with the operation of observatory telescopes: Onan keyholders needed to operate the Larson telescope, the 15x80 binoculars, H-Alpha solar telescope and other equipment.
Classic telescope rally: Display your 'classic telescope' alongside others (Questar, orange Celestron C-8, others).
Present PlanetQuest demonstrations: The presentations are simple, but training will be provided on Thursday night (4/22).
Present an astronomy talk or demonstration: These are delivered at various times on Saturday afternoon. These can bee ongoing, all day demonstrations (telescope mirror making, for example) or brief oral presentations (20-40 minutes in length).
Help with the volunteer pot-luck / cookout: There will be a pot-luck cookout on Saturday evening for all Astronomy Day volunteers. Volunteers are needed to procure food, drinks and serving utensils, help with set-up, cooking, serving and clean-up.
Clean-up: General cleaning and sweeping up, wiping down tables, taking out the trash. Takes place on the Sunday, 4/25.