DISCOVERY
"It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it not stirring to understand how the world actually works — that white light is made of colors, that color is the way we perceive the wavelengths of light, that transparent air reflects light, that in so doing it discriminates among the waves, and that the sky is blue for the same reason that the sunset is red? It does no harm to the romance of the sunset to know a little bit about it."
Carl Sagan
Barnard's Loop
Jeremy Jonkman
Exploring
Trips to locations like the Pierce County Science Dome provides club members the chance to experience immersive learning programs like no other. The Science dome is a 58-seat digital planetarium that is the only one of it's kind in the South Puget Sound region. Located at the Ft Steilacoom campus, the dome is just completing an upgrade of it's projectors and computers that will improve upon an already great immersive experience.
Observing
Astronomy is essentially about time travel. When we look up in the night sky we see how things were before now. We see the sun as it was 8 minutes ago, Saturn 1 hour ago, our closest star to the Sun, Alpha Centauri 4.3 years, and the Andromeda galaxy we see it as it was 2.5 million years ago. Our telescopes and binoculars are really time machines letting us see back into time.
If there were a million amateur astronomers with telescopes and they were willing to let a few thousand people each look through their telescopes, there would be a chance for all the people in this world who wanted to see to see.
John Dobson (Sidewalk Astronomer)
Outreach
Did you know that anytime you share any aspect of astronomy, be it observing or the latest story from the web, you are doing outreach. An astronomy club is nothing if it can not connect with the public and share its love of the night sky. This is how a club grows. Outreach is rewarding because you get to share your passion with others that might be new to astronomy. It can be as simple as handing out star maps, inviting neighbors to look through your telescope, or take photos at club events.
Club booth at Tunes@Tapps
Education
Realizing we are all stardust is just the beginning
Astronomy is not just about looking up at the stars but asking how and why. Using the scientific process to figure out how the universe works and predict where it is going and sharing that knowledge with anyone that will listen.
“Ignorance is a virus. Once it starts spreading, it can only be cured by reason. For the sake of humanity, we must be that cure.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Seattle Astronomical Society
If you would like to leave comments or concerns about the Bonney Lake - Buckley Chapter with our parent organization please contact: board@seattleastro.org