by Kate Otto, Program Chair

A happy 2013 holiday season to all!  Thanks again to Rex Parker who gave the club a virtual tour of the University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon Sky Center at last month’s meeting.  The Mt. Lemmon Sky Center is an exceptional facility located at Steward Observatory’s “sky island” site just north of Tucson, Arizona.  The Sky Center builds on the extensive knowledge base at the University of Arizona’s Astronomy Department to deliver educational adventures to the public.  Since a number of our members expressed an interest, we are investigating a trip to Mt. Lemmon for a small group, more on this topic in the near future.

Thanks to those of you who volunteered to serve on the 2014 Program Committee.  A meeting invitation will be sent out once we have a convenient date for our first meeting.  I sincerely appreciate your input, ideas and involvement.

On December 10^th, we will finish 2013 with a lecture by Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer of the Joel N. Bloom Observatory at the Franklin Institute.

Speaking of the Franklin Institute, you can see “Space Junk”, a short film highlighting the reality of satellite space debris and provoking thoughts on how to deal with it, currently showing there at their IMAX Theater.