Stargazers gather at Star Park in Newberry

NEWBERRY – Although the sky was cloudy last year on June 5, Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. still spotted Venus start its eclipse of the sun through telescopes set up behind the Easton Newberry Sports Complex. That could have been the last chance some of them would get to see Venus’ transit in their lifetimes.

For about two years, the club has been meeting at this location behind the baseball fields, a small facility called Newberry Star Park, said Any Howell, club president.

With help from Doug Eng, club secretary and Easton Foundations outreach director, and the Parks and Recreation Department, the club now has eight observation pads to stand their telescopes on and a place to store equipment.

“Most members are recreational astronomers,” Howell said. “They enjoy looking at the stars and the moon and observing and learning about the heavens.”

The club is dedicated to public outreach and invites everyone who is interested in the moons and stars to attend International Observe the Moon Night on Oct. 12 at the park from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

It holds school outreach events, like the one at Hidden Oak Elementary School that will be on Oct. 10. Members bring their telescopes for the kids to show them the stars and the planets.

The idea is to regularly schedule school and public outreach events to stir up interest and astronomy education for the community, Howell said.

“We want to get Newberry schools more involved as well. If we can use the Star Park as a base to educate kids,” he said, “that would be fantastic.”

The organization, through cooperation with state parks, is planning to host a star showing for visitors at Big Shoals State Park.

The community is welcome to attend the club’s public meetings held usually every second Tuesday of every month at the Florida Museum of Natural History. One exception is the meeting on Oct. 8, which will be at the Santa Fe College’s Kika Silva Pla Planetarium. University of Florida astronomy professor Elizabeth Lada will speak about stellar clusters and our origins. The November meeting’s topic of discussion will be aimed at helping beginners choose a telescope.

The Alachua Astronomy Club, started in 1987 by Dr. Howard Cohen, a retired UF professor, became incorporated in 1997. It has 100 members and celebrated its 25th anniversary last December. Membership dues vary for individuals, ranging from $12 to $100, depending on age and college-enrollment status, among other factors.

                                      

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