Public Observing Sessions
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From March through October, the TCAA holds monthly observing sessions
that are open to the public. The sessions are held at our observatory at
the Sugar Grove Nature Center, a dark sky site southwest of Bloomington.
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In 2010, we will hold the following observing sessions
Additional prominent sky objects such as planets, nebulae,
star clusters, and galaxies will be viewed when visible.
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| Date | Feature Object | Time |
| March 20 | Crescent Moon and Mars | 7:30pm - 9:30pm |
| April 24 | Gibbous Moon and Saturn | 8:30pm - 10:30pm |
| May 22 | Variable Stars | 9:00pm - 11:00pm |
| June 19 | Virgo Cluster of Galaxies | 9:00pm - 11:00pm |
| July 17 | Globular Star Clusters | 9:00pm - 11:00pm |
| August 14 | Planets and the Zodiac | 8:30pm - 10:30pm |
| September 11 | Stars of Red, White and Blue | 7:30pm - 9:30pm |
| October 16 | Perseus double star Cluster | 7:00pm - 9:00pm |
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A Typical Public Observing Session includes:
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Lecture about the featured object.
This 20-30 min. presentation,
held in the SGNC picnic shelter, includes images of and details
about the featured sky object as well as information on other
interesting celestial objects that might be viewed that evening.
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Sky tour using a laser pointer.
We step out under the stars to
point out the major constellations and planets, and to designate
the location of the featured celestial object for the evening.
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Telescope observing session.
We use the 12-inch Sugar Grove
Observatory telescope and other telescopes at ground level to
observe the featured object and other wonders of the heavens.
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You can download our 2010 Public Observing Session brochure.
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If you would like to arrange a special event for your group, please contact us.
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