I'd like to wish a hearty WELCOME to our newest members and their
friends: Taylor Christy, Cliff Hedgepeth, Tamara Dykes, Dan Rodgers,
Penny Dudley, Joseph Merritt, Twila Driver, Dean Vines, and Lester
Chevallier.
To Grandpa Cliff I'd like to say, "Good for you!" for working with
your granddaughter Taylor to share the beauty and wonder of the night
sky. I have three very young grandchildren, ages 3 yr, 1 yr, and 5
months, but I look forward to the day I can take each of them out
stargazing, and show them the awesome expanse of God's Creation.
To those who have just joined, I encourage you to get as active as
possible as soon as you can. If you don't have a telescope yet,
don't buy one! Come to some of our Skywatches and other observing
events, as well as some of our outreach events. Look through the
telescopes of our members, ask questions, and decide what the best
scope for YOU will be, at the best value.
Come to the monthly meetings and catch the "fever". Take that
opportunity to talk to members over coffee and cookies and learn
about
stargazing and what to look for in a telescope. (Pun intended.)
If you MUST have something to look through, buy a moderately priced
pair of binoculars and get a star chart so you can start learning
your way around the sky. It's like learning a new town by looking at
the road map. Learn the constellations and where they are in the sky
tonight. Visit the BBAA Web site
() and my Solar System Ambassador
Web site (see address below) and get more links and references to
scads of sites where you can learn all about the solar system and
space.
Finally, log on to the backbayastro group
() on the Web, to get the
latest scoop on what's happening in the club. We're glad you joined!
George Reynolds
BBAA member and NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
www.geocities.com/pathfinder027/spacex.html
