ASTRONOMY UPDATES (05 December 2014)
Dennis Mammana
As our tiny blue world completes yet another journey around its life-giving star, I’d like to wish each of my readers, fans and friends a happy and healthy holiday season—in whichever way you wish to celebrate. I truly hope that your stars shine ever more brightly in 2015, and that our paths cross many times during the new year! -- Dennis
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01) “The Geminids: Rain of
Fire” (December 13/14)
02) “How Do We Know?” (December 14)
03) Exciting Desert Celestial Overnight (January 10/11)
04) Looking for a unique and cosmic Christmas or Hannukah gift idea?
05) Follow ol’ St. Nick’s journey!
06) Check the Northern Lights off your bucket list!
07) Other Cosmic Adventures…
08) Arrange for popular presentations in your area
09) Follow Me on Social Media
10) Subscribe FREE to my “Stargazers” column
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01) “The Geminids: Rain of
Fire” (December 13/14)
Join me and astronomers from Southern California on Saturday/Sunday, December 13/14, at the Borrego Springs Resort for my presentation “The Geminids: Rain of Fire”, and a fun night of meteor watching and telescope viewing of the desert sky. This terrific package at the Borrego Springs Resort includes: one night deluxe accommodations, delicious dinner, indoor slide program followed by telescope viewing of the night sky (weather permitting, of course) with expert amateur astronomers. Non-hotel packages are also available. For more information and reservations, please call 760.767.5700. Space is limited, and reservation deadline is Sunday, December 7, so don’t delay! http://www.borregospringsresort.com/pdfs/Special%20Events%20Packages.pdf
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02) “How Do We Know?”
(December 14)
How do we know the distances to the stars? Or what type of galaxy our Milky Way is? Or how much longer our sun has to live? Seems impossible to know these things, but astronomers are a clever lot, and tonight you will learn just how we figure out such seemingly unknowable facts.
The evening begins with a light buffet dinner, followed by the presentation; then it's out to the Springs’ Astronomy Park for some telescope viewing of the magnificent desert sky (weather permitting) with expert amateur astronomers. For more information and reservations, call the Springs at Borrego RV Resort at 760.767.0004 or visit: http://www.springsatborrego.com/stars.php No RV is necessary to join the fun, but programs do fill up quickly, so make your reservations today!
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03) Exciting Desert Celestial
Overnight (January 10/11)
What magnificent and sparkling desert sky we have in
January! On the night of Saturday/Sunday, January 10/11, join me for my one
of my popular overnight celestial campout with California Overland Desert
Excursions. In addition to viewing planets, star clusters,
stellar nebulae and distant galaxies with the 14-inch telescope, the weekend
includes a stirring excursion through the rugged Borrego Badlands in open-air
jeeps and former military vehicles, a mouth-watering chuck wagon dinner,
campfire and S'mores, all camping gear, as well as a full hot breakfast the
next morning. And more. All you need to bring is a pillow and a sense of
adventure! For details, call Joe Raffetto toll-free at 866.6.EXPLORE or
760.767.1232, or visit http://www.californiaoverland.com.
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04) Looking for a unique and cosmic gift
idea?
Yes, the holidays
are racing toward us like an out of control sleigh. This year, don’t just
promise the universe… deliver!
Treat your family or that special someone to one of my inspiring and
personalized tours of the cosmos above Borrego Springs—California’s only International Dark
Sky Community. Check out this unique opportunity here: http://www.BorregoNightSkyTours.com
Due to the program’s popularity at this time of year, spaces and
dates are limited, so reserve your spot today! And
be sure to check me out on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/borrego-night-sky-tours-borrego-springs
Or take the cosmos
home with you with my unique archival photographic prints of the “Stars
over Borrego collection.” These photographs feature the stunning and ever-changing
Borrego night sky; it captures the color, motion and majesty of the heavens in
ways one rarely sees and, by blending the terrestrial with the celestial,
offers the viewer a unique sense of perspective and wonder. Original prints are
available at the ABDNHA
Nature Center
(http://www.abdnha.org/store/index.html).
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05) Follow ol’ St. Nick’s journey!
It’s
getting exciting! Less than 3 weeks remain before the jolly ol’ elf
sets off from the North Pole on his annual round-the-world journey.
Thanks to the good folks at NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command),
their watch for intruders in our skies will also allow them to show the path of
Santa in real time. This year, track Santa’s voyage on Christmas Eve (http://www.noradsanta.org) so
you’ll know when he’s getting close! Ho Ho Ho!
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06) Check the Northern Lights off your bucket list!
The northern lights are reaching fever
pitch, and you know they’re on your
cosmic bucket list. Why now? Because auroral
displays typically reach their best as the sun’s
activity just begins its decent from “solar max”… which is
exactly where we are this winter & spring. The next solar max? Maybe in 2025. Time and space is running out for my Alaska Aurora Tour
(March 7-13), so make your reservations soon and don’t miss out on
Nature’s greatest light show! To learn more, call
877.707.7827 toll-free, or visit: http://www.melitatrips.com/destinations/2015/alaska/alaska2015.html
And be sure to mention my
name to receive top priority!
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07) Other Cosmic Adventures…
While I’d love to have you join me on my cosmic adventures—we always have such great fun—many other astronomically-related travel options are also available. MWT Associates is one of the best tour companies who specializes in astronomical travel, and features a stable of some of the world’s finest and most popular lecturers. I’m honored to have been part of this “stellar” team for the past 20+ years, and I encourage you to check out which other exciting celestial programs might interest you: http://www.melitatrips.com
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08) Arrange for popular programs in your area
Many of my fans have expressed disappointment that they cannot attend some of my popular presentations and workshops here in Southern California... but don't despair. Groups such as photo clubs, camera stores, astronomy associations, schools, libraries, etc. often host such programs, so if you know of organizations in your area that might be interested, please email me at mam...@skyscapes.com. Perhaps we can put something together in your area!
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09) Follow Me on Social Media
To receive more frequent and immediate details about celestial events, new photographs, cool astronomical discoveries and discussion (if you so choose)—more than I can possibly include in this newsletter—I hope you’ll join the increasing number of fans that enjoy my postings on social media. Several options are available:
Facebook: Go to my official page (http://www.facebook.com/DennisMammana), look at the top near my name and click the “Like” button; that’s it! (Oh, and hover your cursor over the “Like” button so you can click “Get Notifications”)
Twitter: Or keep up in even more real-time with my Twitter feed @dennismammana. Just go to https://twitter.com/dennismammana and click “Follow”.
Google Plus: Go to my page (https://plus.google.com/+DennisMammana) and add me to your circles.
Blog: There’s always more to write about, so I’ll hope you’ll check out my blog at http://dennismammana.blogspot.com. And, in the meantime I’d like to invite your thoughts on what might interest you for a future blog column.
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10) Subscribe
FREE to my “Stargazers” column
If you haven't yet subscribed to my weekly syndicated column "Stargazers" (now in its 23rd consecutive year), what are you waiting for? Just click the "Receive future columns by email" link at the bottom of the column... and let your local newspaper know you'd like to see it published there by clicking the "See this in your newspaper" link as well.
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/astronomy/stargazers.html
Don't let the universe
pass you by!
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As you’ve requested, I’m sending these astronomy
notices to you. Please let me know if your e-mail address changes, or if
you ever prefer not to receive these postings. And feel free to pass this
newsletter on to friends and encourage them to subscribe. Remember, I
will never sell, trade, lend, or leak your e-mail address to any other individual or organization—and only those who specifically request inclusion are added.
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As you requested, I’m sending these astronomy notices to
you. Please let me know if your e-mail address changes, or if you ever
prefer not to receive these postings. And feel free to pass this
newsletter on to friends and encourage them to subscribe. Remember, I
will never sell, trade, lend, or leak your e-mail address to any other individual or organization—and only those who specifically request inclusion are added.
To read these missives online, visit the archive at: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/MammanaGrams If you wish to reach me, you can do so not by replying to this site, but by my e-mail address: mam...@skyscapes.com For faster and more complete notices—and much more fun than e-mail—be sure to “Like” me on my official Facebook page: facebook.com/DennisMammana
_________________________
DENNIS MAMMANA (TWAN)
DennisMammana.com
Facebook.com/DennisMammana
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