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Astronomy Day Photos:  Page 1   Page 2

Astronomy Day 2002 was held on April 20th at the Coronado Shopping Center in Albuquerque, NM.  Once again, the event was organized and hosted by The Albuquerque Astronomical Society, and was a complete success.

In addition to a TAAS  informational booth and solar viewing,  this year's show included a few additions to the norm.  The TAAS Starlab was used for Spectral Analysis and slideshow demonstrations, Ray Collins gave live mirror grinding demonstrations, and Brock Parker unveiled his 18" trailer mounted telescope, towed by a Harley Davidson Motorcycle.  It was all quite a show.  Many thanks to the people who spent their time and efforts to make Astronomy Day a success.  If I list them all here I would risk missing someone (as I have in past years), so I will refrain.  Big thanks also to Pete, Mae Jeanne, and the crew at Coronado Center.

However, I would like to make note of one particular member's marathon efforts.  After spending his Friday night with the set-up crew, Dale Murray spent his entire Saturday along side Bruce Levin offering solar views through his Tele Vue refractor while braving hot, dusty 45 mph winds that continuously tried to blow his scope over.  When the weather front finally passed, he joined the cold, windy Astronomy Day Star Party at the UNM Campus Observatory.  TAAS member Dale Murray is this year's Astronomy Day Marathon Man.

Invitations were made to almost every Astronomical Institution in NM early in the year.  Many thanks to the great groups that joined us, including: The Lodestar Astronomy Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory (Starfire Optical Range), the Institute of Meteoritics, Explora Science Center, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (VLA), the Young Astronauts Club, and the New Mexico Space Society,  the Apache Point Observatory, the National Atomic Museum, and the Santa Fe Community College Planetarium.

 Astronomy Day Photos:  Page 1   Page 2