Greetings, fellow Denver Astronomical Club members. I hope that the end of our rainy streak has enabled you to get out under relatively clear night skies and enjoy some long-overdue stargazing. I missed the spectacle of Mercury being higher in the sky than Venus, heading back outdoors apparently just a minute or two after Venus set. I hope you saw it!
I hope also you are enjoying the new content from David Levy (Skyward) and Mark Laurin (Meet Your Fellow Astronomer) in The Denver Observer Online. We are always looking for new content from our members, namely, YOU! If you have a story about conducting astronomy research, doing public outreach or creating your own equipment (and those are just examples), please send it to our newsletter editor, Mike Lucibella, at editor@denverastro.org. We’d love to share what you’re up to!
You may have noticed that the DAS website was down for a few days recently. Fortunately, that problem has been resolved, but now is probably a good time to announce that the DAS will be bringing you a new website hopefully by the end of summer. The current website uses an old WordPress theme that is no longer supported, and it has become a great deal of extra, unnecessary work for longtime webmaster Darrell Dodge. The new website will have a fresh new look and some new features, which we hope will make the DAS online experience easier and more fun.
In the process of mapping out the entire current website, I documented everything in the archives to help organize the job for the folks who are helping with this project – Mike Lucibella and Tony Gojanovic. I became a bit sentimental, looking back to the days when we had a printed newsletter. Over the course of the last 20 years, there have been some longtime DAS members who have passed on, after making great contributions to the club. There were many DAS events documented in those pages, and one of the things I loved was the monthly featured astrophoto. I think that this is something that we should revive in The Denver Observer Online. I need someone to be responsible for accepting submissions and deciding which one to post every month, but let’s make it happen! I think our astrophotographers are eager to share their work and have the other members enjoy it, too. If you are interested in filling that role, please contact me.
One of the other things I realized, looking back at some old Observers, is the sense of community that was embodied by the DAS members back then. A lot of the members knew one another, worked together on projects, and went to star parties together. Granted, the club had far fewer members in the early 2000s. But I am excited by the progress that has been made as COVID becomes less of a concern. We are starting in-person events again on a trial basis, starting with the Open House held on June 19. Over a dozen of our volunteers brought telescopes to the lawn just south of Chamberlin to start sharing the skies with the public again. It is my sincere hope that as COVID wanes and we meet again safely, we rebuild a sense of community among ourselves, seeing old friends and making new ones. Please make an effort to come to events in person as they become available, meet your fellow members, and enjoy the company of one another. Yes, we’re all a little nerdy, but you and your fellow astronomers are amazing people.
See you here next month.