What a pleasant night on LaGrange Mountain! Everyone’s food contribution was amazing, and we were so grateful to have so many on hand to enjoy some night sky fellowship. It was welcoming just to roll the roof back on the observatory and idly chat about space lore, especially in familiar …
Our First Fridays eclipse booth was well received by attendees of all backgrounds. We gave away 380 eclipse shades, and the two separate locations (information and observing) added to our visibility. Matthew Sherrill and I (and Mike Worthy’s scope!) were caught in photos taken by Allison Carter of the Times …
From our previous update post on the LaGrange Observatory, we updated the success of rolling the roof back for the first time in many years. Today’s trip to LaGrange Mountain completed several very important tasks in Phase I: Completing a lateral reinforcement to prevent rail movement when the roof load …
Hello, everyone! We had eight in attendance at our June 29th meeting (including two guests!), and had some upcoming events to plan. Here’s a quick rundown of what we discussed. Regarding eclipse advocacy for July 7th First Fridays: We will set up on Court Street, rain or shine. Booth setup …
For the first time in many years, sunlight bathed the whole interior of LaGrange Observatory on Saturday, as its roof gracefully rolled open once more. The picture in this paragraph doesn’t properly show the success, thanks to a late-afternoon shadow creeping across the project, but the first goal has been accomplished at LaGrange …
Hello, everyone! Things have moved very quickly in the previous two months since Mel Blake’s original visit to the LaGrange College Site. To use a garden analogy, it looks like our planting, weeding and pruning is showing signs of fruit. L. C. Lenz purchased building materials with the money we’d …
minute by minute ephemeris for best viewing of 2014 JO25 04-19-17 Hello, everyone! The link above is a text ephemeris I built with the JPL HORIZONS system for the Wednesday flyby of asteroid 2014 JO25. If you have an 8″ dob, you should be able to see the asteroid. It …
As many of you are aware, our club’s history is bound to the history of the LaGrange Living Historical Association through an observatory that was built within LaGrange College Site Park in the 1960’s. Because I’m a newcomer to the area, I cannot add anything to the narrative, other than …
I’m grateful for flexibility. Not just because this weekend was available when the previous one rained out, or because the crescent moon’s brightness on Friday provided the impetus to stay awake longer. Mostly, I’m very glad to have kept enough strength for holding binoculars upright for several hours. Silly as …
One good thing about the Astronomical League are the programs their members have compiled, to establish all kinds of observing goals for the backyard astronomer. From the Sky Puppy program for children ten and younger to Master Observers, or from analemmas to meteors, there’s a wide-ranging list of achievable goals …
