Special Events
In addition to our monthly MoonGaze and our DSO outings to Leasburg Dam SP, ASLC regularly participates in a variety of activities:
Renaissance Faire
For the past several years, ASLC has participated in the Las Cruces Arts Council's Renaissance Faire. We offer daytime viewing of the Sun through solar and hydrogen-alpha telescopes. We also point a few telescopes at the moon and/or any bright planets that might be visible.
There are also displays of members' astrophotos. This is one of our best public outreach events of the year with hundreds of individuals visiting our booth and looking through our scopes. The event takes place each year during the first weekend of November.
The 2021 Renaissance Faire will take place on November 6th and 7th. Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be visible for daytime viewing. We'll also have special solar telescopes on hand for safe viewing of the Sun.
International Astronomy Day(s)
Each spring (and now each fall too), a Saturday is designated as International Astronomy Day. The spring date usually occurs close to the first quarter moon in late April or early May. The fall date is often near a 1st quarter moon in Sept/Oct.
The club's activities have varied considerably over the years. We were joined by the El Paso club and hosted hundreds of people at the soccer complex in 2010. We even gave away a telescope that year. Most years our efforts are more modest. The date usually coincides with one of our monthly MoonGazes, so we often combine the two.
Upcoming Astronomy Days... 09Oct2021, 07May2022, 01Oct2022, 29Apr2023, 22Sep2023, 18May2024, 12Oct2024
Messier Marathon
Most years toward the end of March, ASLC members participate in an all-night endeavor to attempt to view all 110 Messier objects in a single night. We are uniquely positioned to be able to view all 110 targets in a single night if the Moon is favorable.
'Messier objects' are a collection of star clusters, galaxies and nebulae assembled by French comet hunter Charles Messier during the late 1700's. He catalogued the objects because they weren't comets and were, therefore, of no interest. They turned out to be some of the brightest and most beautiful objects in the night sky.
There's no requirement to stay out all night. A lot of people just observe what they can for 2-3 hours, then go home. Newer astronomers can attempt the marathon using a GoTo telescope; more experienced members often try to locate the objects using only a star chart (or their memories). Several member have observed or imaged all 110 objects in a single night and have received a special MM observing award from the club.
A YouTube video was made by Rich Richins in 2009 showing all 110 objects captured in a single (very long) night.
Eclipses (solar/lunar) & Transits
Some years, our community is blessed with a special celestial event such as an eclipse or transit. When they occur, our astronomers will be there to observe and share the event if possible. For example, Las Cruces was well positioned for the 2012 annular solar eclipse. We ordered solar sunglasses for the community, and set up several solar telescopes for safe viewing. Hundreds of people stopped by to have a look.
We set up telescopes in town for the transit by Mercury in 2006 and for the (rare) Venutian transit of 2012. It will be 2032 before another transit of Mercury occurs and 2117 before another transit of Venus.
These types of events are infrequent, but significant enough that they are usually mentioned in the national press. We'll post information on our website and FB pages if we are doing an outreach event.
The next solar eclipse is April 8, 2024. It will be a partial eclipse from Las Cruces with the Moon covering about 80% of the Sun's surface. Upcoming lunar eclipses will occur on 19Nov 2021 (partial) and 16May 2022 (total).
