And

And

Texarkana Texas Independent School District

present

January 23 through February 3

Dave Alford former director of SPAR Planetarium in Shreveport , LA now Director of Blue Moon Observatory in the Winding Stair National Recreation Area of mountainous Southeast Oklahoma will travel to Texarkana ISD with the Blue Moon Traveling Observatory system. Blue Moon Observatory will provide Stargazing and astronomy classes on the campus of area schools for 2 weeks contact your school for dates at your school.

“The Bear”

Blue Moon Observatory’s portable 20 inch reflector telescope.

This is our primary scope when traveling to schools and other remote locations for public and private observing.

Call or email Dave today to plan your universal experience.

918-385-1013

dave@abcstar.com

For more information contact your school or visit:

Classes will include much on the grade 5 testing standards. Observing will be nightly (weather permitting) on each campus following the days classes and activities.

Observing during the event period will include some or all of the following targets and will help to cement the ideas and concepts touched in classes via first hand observations by students, parents and teachers.

Possible targets for Sky School Texarkana TX ISD January 23 through February 3, 2006 :

The Pleaides star cluster also known as The Seven Sisters. An open cluster which contains over 400 stars only 5 or 6 of which can be seen with the eye alone.
The Great Orion Nebula a grand collection of hydrogen gas shrouding a stellar nursery of blue-white hot young stars, 1600 light-years from earth and more than 2500 light-years wide.
Ringed Saturn the favorite sight in all the sky. One of our own solar system’s giant gas planets Saturn’s image floating in the black velvet circle of the telescope will awe and inspire students to discover the universe.
The Bee Hive Star Cluster lingering near Saturn what a super sight in wide-field instruments.
The Waxing Crescent Moon visible only during the 2^nd week of the program and then only on Feb. 2^nd and 3^rd will show great details of craters and mountains due to the sharp solar angle.
The red planet Mars mythical god of war from ancient times.

Star Gazing Tips:

Please understand all outdoor portions are (weather permitting) and nobody can guarantee weather conditions that will allow observing of the sky. We will make every effort to provide our programs but clouds, rain and the threat of sever weather can force cancellation of any outdoor event. Our first consideration will be the safety of our patrons and staff, followed by the protection of our equipment.

Follow all school rules while on campus. Your principle, teachers and security team are in charge. Follow their instructions at all times. Mr. Dave will keep you informed what we are going to see and what you need to do the see everything but remember your regular leaders are in control.

Wear warm protective clothing. Your event is set for January and early February. GOT IT! Even on what seems to be warn southern nights the night air can and will drain your body heat. Wrap up, wear a coat and a hat and gloves. Layer your clothes you can take off some if you are too warm. But if you are too cold you are just going to be miserable and even in danger. Hypothermia is a life threatening condition caused by loss of body heat. Don’t risk it DRESS WARM! OK!

Don’t come if you are in a hurry. We will give our kids plenty of time at the scope and you will get plenty of time when your turn comes. Mr. Dave will try his best to entertain you while on line. But the very nature of a telescope dictates standing in line and the number of people in line determines how long we stand. Take advantage of the time to visit with your neighbors and family. We will post the times for each target on the web page prior to your viewing night and on a sign at the school during your session. If you want to see a certain target, come close to the posted time. To see everything we spot you will need to get in line several times. Mr. Dave will announce when we are changing targets so new lines can form.

Please don’t bring electronic music devices we will be playing Star Gazing music and other music interferes with our sound system so people can’t hear what is going on.

Be prepared for bugs, we live in the south and all it takes is a couple of warm days to bring out the buzzers and the bitters. So we suggest you keep mosquito / bug repellent available. We will have some but it’s the one thing we are really stingy with. We will share it for $5 bucks a shot, Wink, Tee Hee!

Eat and drink high carb snacks and warm drinks, hot coco, coffee, candy, popcorn, and other high carb stuff helps you stay warn and energized for out door events. Fuel up and enjoy the night.

More Star Gazing, Camping and Outdoor tips can be found on our web site, visit.

www.abcstar.com