The Kartchner Star Party will be held on Saturday, October 14 in the bus parking area at Kartchner Caverns State Park. Weather permitting, we will set up solar telescopes for afternoon viewing starting around noon.

Dr. Kaitlin Kratter of Steward Observatory will be giving a talk in the Discovery Center at 5:30 pm.

Weather permitting, there will be stargazing after dark. Astronomers setting up telescopes get free admission to the park (just tell the guard at the gate who you are and why you’re there and they’ll let you in free). Guests pay the usual admission but the star party is at no extra charge.

Kartchner has only recently earned the International Dark Sky Association’s Dark Sky Park status. Please come out and celebrate this remarkable achievement.

The October meeting will be held at 7 pm in the Library Commons at Cochise College on Friday, October 13. This is not our usual location. The Student Union is not available this month.

Our originally scheduled speaker had to reschedule, so this month’s program will be a presentation by our resident Solar System  Ambassador, Ted Forte, on the Psyche Mission to a metal world. The launch of the newly approved orbiter mission to the asteroid 16 Psyche has been moved up a year and a redesign of the spacecraft power system and an updated trajectory will shorten the trip to the asteroid belt