There will be an informal gathering of anyone interested in viewing the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on Monday 12/21/2020 just after sunset. Several club members will be on Jon Wood Astronomy Field with telescopes.The two planets set around 7:30 pm so don’t come late or you’ll miss it tonight! Non-members should arrive before dusk as the state’s gate at Elliott Trail locks at 6 pm. If necessary you can park outside the gate and walk down to the field to join us. (Please don’t block the road or the gate.) All are welcome.

COVID safety protocols are in effect. Please be considerate of others by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.

For more information about the 2020 conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, see https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn

Date: Monday, 12/21/2020

Time: 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM Eastern

Location: Jon Wood Astronomy Field, Elliott Trail, Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, Mansfield, GA 30055

If you REALLY want an astronomy “fix” despite the cloudy weather, please note that the Georgia Regional Astronomers Meeting (GRAM) will hold its get-together Saturday morning, December 12, 2020 online via Zoom.

The GRAM event will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and consist of presentation of papers about various astronomicaltopics by professionals, graduate students, educators and amateur astronomers.

The link to this Saturday’s meeting is: here
The length of each presentation will be about 12 minutes, according to this year’s event chairman, Dr. Gregory A. Feiden, Assistant Professor of Astronomy & Observatory Director at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega (where the conference was to be held before the Covid pandemic arrived).

Several Atlanta Astronomy Club and Charlie Elliott Astronomy Club members are also members of the Georgia Regional Astronomers organization itself. Our own Richard Schmude, who is a professor at Gordon State College in Barnesville, will be speaking about “Visibility Times of Mars’ Afternoon Clouds” at 9:30 a.m.

There are no dues or membership requirements (except Georgia residency), so membership in the Georgia Regional Astronomers is open to others in the AAC and CE Astronomy Club. Note that this is the only gathering of the organization each year.

While the past meetings “traveled” each fall from one Georgia university or college to another, this year’s GRAM will be online and all are invited. Assuming that the pandemic ends by next fall, the 2021 GRAM event is scheduled to be at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia (date to be determined).

We will have a meeting followed by observing on November 14, 2020! Facemasks and social distancing are requested.

A tech talk will be given at 3:00 pm. The main meeting will begin at 3:30 pm. Both will be held in the Campbell Building on Murder Creek Church Road, rain or shine. We will have observing afterwards on Jon Wood Astronomy, weather permitting. See our home page for more details.

Sunset will be at 5:32 p.m. Astronomical dusk ends (and maximum darkness begins) at 6:58 p.m.

The Elliott Trail automatic road gate at Marben Farm Rd. closes for incoming traffic at 6 p.m., so be prepared to enter the gate code if you arrive afterwards. The gate opens automatically for outgoing traffic as you approach it to leave.

We will be having a meeting followed by observing on October 10, 2020! Facemasks and social distancing are requested.

The meeting will begin at 5 pm in the Campbell Building on Murder Creek Church Road, rain or shine. We will have observing afterwards on Jon Wood Astronomy, weather permitting.  See our home page for more details.

Sunset will be at 7:36 p.m. Astronomical dusk ends (and maximum darkness begins) at 8:59 p.m.

The Elliott Trail automatic road gate at Marben Farm Rd. closes for incoming traffic at 7 p.m., so be prepared to enter the gate code if you arrive afterwards. The gate opens automatically for outgoing traffic as you approach it to leave.

Our next monthly observing night will be on September 19, 2020, weather permitting, on Jon Wood Astronomy Field. Informal observing with social distancing. No program. Facemasks are strongly suggested.

Sunset will be at 7:36 p.m. Astronomical dusk ends (and maximum darkness begins) at 8:59 p.m.

The Elliott Trail automatic road gate at Marben Farm Rd. closes for incoming traffic at 7 p.m., so be prepared to enter the gate code if you arrive afterwards. The gate opens automatically for outgoing traffic as you approach it to leave.

Mark your calendars! Our next scheduled observing night on the astronomy field will be on August 15, 2020, starting at sunset.

The entrance gate on Elliott Trail is now open until 7 PM. This is a change from the early closing time of 4:30 PM while the Conference Center was closed due to COVID-19. (As always, the gate opens automatically for cars to exit.)

On Saturday, June 20 the Charlie Elliott Chapter of the Atlanta Astronomy Club will have an informal observing night on Jon Wood Astronomy Field, weather-permitting. We will NOT be at the Campbell Aquatics Building. Start time is 7:30 PM.

• While the latest official announcement from the Georgia governor’s office has lifted the 25-person limit on gatherings, we remind all attendees that the CDC’s 6-foot social distancing requirement remains in effect.  Also, facemasks are strongly suggested.
• The Elliott Trail automatic road gate at Marben Farm Rd. closes for incoming traffic at 4:30 PM, so be prepared to enter the gate code when you arrive. The gate opens automatically for outgoing traffic as you approach it to leave, so no code is required to exit. [Gate codes are issued to current members of the Atlanta Astronomy Club. Contact a CE officer or committee chair if you need help with this: http://ceastronomy.org/blog/home/officers.]
• We will have a VERY brief business meeting at 7:30 PM to elect our officers for the upcoming year and to distribute a few awards (short and sweet — no program, no talks).
• Attendees are invited to bring a camp chair and their own drink, sack supper, carryout food, or snack so we can sit and socialize for awhile after our short meeting (articularly if it’s cloudy!) We will not be sharing food due to COVID-19 guidelines.
• Sunset at our location will be at 8:48 PM. Astronomical dusk ends at 10:31 PM with the Sun finally 18 degrees below horizon and “full darkness”.
• All attendees are invited to stay for observing while maintaining Georgia’s social distancing requirement.
• Because this will be on the Jon Wood Astronomy Field and not indoors, we will reschedule if the weather is bad.

Visit our Facebook Page for updates and more info at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ceastronomy/. There you’ll find a welcoming group of people sharing ideas and tips as well as organizing ad-hoc observing and imaging sessions on the Jon Wood Astronomy Field.

Meetings have been temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 health crisis. For the current status of our club’s events, please see our calendar. National events from the Night Sky Network are also displayed on our calendar -most of them virtual and free!

For up-to-date information on the  current situation for COVID-19 please visit the Georgia Dept of Public Health and the CDC websites.