An "Astronomy Night at the Spicer House" Presentation

They are mysterious, massive, and magnificent. Black holes have always captivated astronomers and have always found their way into sci-fi movies. Just recently (April 2019) have we been able to capture the first image of a black hole!

Come learn about these gravitational monsters and explore why they are present in our universe and what their significance is.

6:15 pm: Refreshments (cookies, hot chocolate)

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm: Presentation

7:30 pm to 8:00 pm: Telescopes (if clear)

Location: Spicer House

A Star Party

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

Before we reached the final frontier, Mars was only studied using telescopes from Earth. On November 28, 1964, humanity was sent the first close up images of Mars from a probe that flew by it called Mariner 4. Since then, humans have had close to 60 missions to Mars, 26 of which have been successful. This makes Mars one of the most explored planetary bodies in our solar system.

From Viking 1, the first martian lander, to Mars Insight, the most current mission, these robotic machines have made Mars their home and their numbers are growing! Come learn about these missions and more as we spend the night talking about the red planet and viewing its orange haze through our telescopes.

A Star Party

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

With about a week away from its full phase, the Harvest Moon is the perfect reminder of the many joys the fall season brings!

Throughout many civilizations, the Moon was always a mystical entity that found its way into mythology and romance. Today, it hangs up there in the sky reminding us that there's a place near home that longs for us to revisit.

A Star Party

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

With up to 50 meteors per hour, the Perseids are among the most active meteor showers. While best viewed in the late hours of the night, join us at Heritage Park's sled hill for a chance to spot a few of these "shooting stars". These specks of dust are remnants of a comet called 109P/Swift-Tuttle, and they move as fast as 60 miles per second!

In the event it is cloudy on Tuesday night, we will have a back up viewing the following night, Wednesday August 12.

The evening will be accompanied with some space-themed music by the Dangling Ganglion.

A Star Party

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

Humanity always reached for the stars, but it wasn't until the 1950's that we managed to go beyond the atmosphere of our planet and venture into the vastness of space.

Join us at Heritage Park for a summer evening filled with space themed activities that will include a model rocket launch!

A Star Party

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

The handle of the Big Dipper makes an arc - you follow that arc to Arcturus, the brightest star in our northern summer skies!

Come learn about this 37 light-year stellar neighbor, and join us in looking through telescopes at various other objects in the night sky.

A Star Party

8:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Location: Sled Hill of Heritage Park (Spicer House if Cloudy)

Our first star party of the season will feature our planetary sibling, Venus. This planet is similar in size to Earth, but is very different on the surface and holds several mysteries we are yet to solve! From our skies, it is the brightest object after the Sun and the Moon. Join us for an evening of Veneran delight and for views through our telescopes of the closest planet to us.

As with all our star parties, if the skies are cloudy we will meet in the Spicer House for a presentation instead.

An "Astronomy Night at the Spicer House" Presentation

The year 2020 has 366 days in it, thanks to February. Why does February have 29 days this year, but 28 on any other year? Why don't we make February 30 days and take away a day from two months that have 31 days instead?

Leap over to the Spicer House for a presentation that entails how the stars have shaped our calendar and why we add a day to February once every four years.

A workshop on how to use telescopes

Anyone who is interested in learning the basics of telescopes and how to operate them is welcome to join us for this free workshop. If you have a telescope and would like help on learning how to use it, bring it over! Our members will have several scopes set up to showcase how they work and how to use them. Later in the night we'll be at Heritage Park for their One Starry Night event.

2:00 pm: Brief Presentation

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm: Workshop

Location: Farmington Community Library - 32737 W 12 Mile Rd

An "Astronomy Night at the Spicer House" Presentation

We will kick off our 2020 season with a presentation on stellar signatures on Saturday January 25 at the Spicer House. Join us for a warm and colorful evening as we tell you about how we determine the composition and temperature of stars by the light that they emit.

Sharing the splendors of the summer sky and reenacting the story of the Japanese star festival. 

Hosted by the Farmington Community Stargazers. Discussing the fabulous phases of our sister planet.

Astronomy presentation for the women's education organization.

Discussing models of the mind and demonstrating bugs in our perceptual wetware.

Mountains that tower over our Everest, volcanoes that spew ice into space, whole planets that spin sideways and backward! Majesties and mysteries abound when EMU physics instructor Jesse Mason returns to deliver a guided picture tour of our planetary neighborhood. Weather-permitting there will be a telescope-aided night sky viewing following the presentation.

Monthly star party at local park, hosted by FCS. Discussing the Lyrids, Perseids, and how they differ from the Hamburg meteor event.

Providing telescopes and astronomers for the Nature Center's yearly Earth Hour Event.

Explaining telescope basics to beginning astronomers. Hosted by FCS.

FCS member and geologist Samer Hariri explains the origin of the Hamburg Meteor. Actual Hamburg meteorites on hand for inspection.

Jesse Mason presents the myth and astronomy of the most beloved constellation in the winter sky.

Celebrating two amazing decades in space with a guided picture tour of Saturn images from the Cassini space probe and looking at Saturn through a telescope.

Celebrating the spooky stellar phantasms in the night sky (a.k.a., deep sky objects) and looking at them through telescopes.

Sharing the joys of space with pictures of space ghosts, the story of Andromeda and looking through telescopes.

Giving a guided picture tour of the best images from Hubble Space Telescope's quarter century in orbit.

Presenting on the Great American Eclipse - what/when/where and how to enjoy!

Presenting on the Great American Eclipse - what/when/where and how to enjoy!

Presenting on the Great American Eclipse - what/when/where and how to enjoy!

Presented by the Farmington Community Stargazers.

Presenting on the Great American Eclipse.