Barbara Whitehead
The SBR Astronomy Club is a learning and observing club, with group leaders but no dues, no formal meetings, and no officers. No telescope is required. Please come out and enjoy the night sky with us. We also post area star parties on our GroupWorks site.
Back in 2019 SaddleBrooke SkyGazer members living at SBR started a backyard observing group. About a dozen folks signed up at the SBR Club Expo. We met in peoples’ backyards and shared views of the night sky through our telescopes. We had one star party near the Villas with 15 to 20 folks showing up.
In 2020, we decided to form an astronomy club and at the SBR Club Expo, we had an additional 40 or more folks sign up. A kickoff meeting and a star party were organized for March and then COVID struck and all was cancelled. The kickoff meeting finally happened May 20, presented by Fred Aylstock at La Hacienda.
On June 2, we had our first star party since COVID by the community gardens. We set up six telescopes and had more than 40 guests. All present were able to view the night sky. We observed Venus, Mars, the Big Dipper, and many stars and galaxies. The International Space Station flew over at 9:08 p.m. and shortly afterward, the clouds rolled in.
The next group meeting at La Hacienda will be early August where we will have a show-and-tell, where you will be able to see many telescopes and ask questions. We are trying to book on a Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. so that you can also enjoy the happy hour going on, and we will have an astronomy trivia set up with prizes. The next star party will be in September, which is a great time to see Jupiter and Saturn (my favorites) and many other objects.
Notifications will go out from GroupWorks with the dates and times, so check your links on GroupWorks, or join our club by going to www.groupworks.com, then press “Groups” in the main menu and enter your passion (astronomy) and ZIP code to find us. Message one of the group leaders to request membership. If all else fails, email me at [email protected].