2009 is the International Year of Astronomy celebrating the 400th anniversary of the year that Galileo Galeili turned his telescope to the skies and began discovering the wonders of the night sky.

• Public Stargazing at UK-Lexington Arboretum

  The Blugrass Amateur Astronomy Club will host public stargazing at the UK Arboretum:

  500 Alumni Drive
  Lexington, KY 40503
  (859) 257-6955
  

  Friday, September 25, 2009 beginning at twilight. There will be no rain date.

  Directions to the Arboretum

• Public Stargazing at Raven Run Nature Center, March-October 2009

  The Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club's public stargazing nights at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary begin in March 2009. Meetings begin around sunset and last two to three hours. There is no rain date. The main gate at Raven Rub is open for parking and park personnel there will direct you to the observing field.

  Persons with telescopes can drive up a dirt road by the barn (turn off just before the main gate) and park at the edge of the observing field.

  If the weather is partly cloudy, phone the park around 6:30 p.m. (272-6105) to see whether it's a go. If you would like to check on weather and seeing conditions, you can also check the Raven Run Clear Sky Clock.

  The last public stargazing event for 2009 at Raven Run will take place on Saturday, October 10.

• Winter Meetings

  Friday, November 6
  

  BGAAC will have its first indoor meeting on Friday, November 6th at 8:00 PM in the usual place, Room 179 of the Chemistry-Physics Building on the UK campus. Longtime member Dan Phelps will talk and present a slide show on "Astrobiology and the Precambrian Earth."

  Friday, December 18
  

  The club will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding at the Christmas Dinner Party on Friday evening, December 18th. (The Paleontology Club shares the dinner with us.) BGAAC will buy ice cream and cake and a member of the club will say a few words about BGAAC's first half- century.