What: These classes are designed for everyone from total beginners to experienced amateur observers. Whether you are just starting out and want to learn the constellations, or have a scope and want to expand your knowledge of viewing objects, the classes have something for you. The focus is on learning to appreciate the night sky in a "geographic" sense... appreciating our solar system, spiral arm, Milky Way, and local galaxy cluster neighborhoods... when looking up into the night sky!

Basic technical topics are repeated in each of the three seasonal series so that the ideas become clearer and more familiar. For each constellation, myths, history, star patterns, named stars, interesting and significant stars, and deep sky objects are presented and explained briefly. Major solar system objects are presented when they are viewable (and all are presented over the course of a year). One class in summer is devoted entirely to the moon. The observing time after class builds upon the concepts presented in the lectures.

Detailed informational handouts are provided at each class. These may serve as excellent reference materials for all types of observing. The handouts are compiled from a large number of sources, and the observatory strives to make certain that they are useful, accurate, and up-to-date.

Persons who take all three of the seasonal Night Sky series (18 classes altogether) will learn the entire sky viewable from our northern latitude. (The winter sky is split between the Fall and Spring Series.)

Where: At The Robert Ferguson Observatory (RFO), in Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park, off of Highway 12 east of Santa Rosa. Bring warm layers suitable for outdoor night observing.
(The Fall and Spring Series can be very cold. Summer nights are often chilly as well.)

When: The presentations begin promptly at the dates and times noted below and last approximately 90 minutes. Please arrive about 30 minutes early on your first night for check-in. After each presentation (sky conditions permitting), you will enjoy a review of the constellations in the actual night sky and learn how to find them for yourself. Also, the objects within the constellations will be viewed through binoculars and telescopes, including the observatory’s 24-inch reflecting telescope and 8-inch refracting telescope, until or beyond 10:30pm standard time or 11:30pm daylight time. Note that summer skies do not darken for telescope observing until well after 10pm.

Class Fee: $75 for the series of six presentations.  (Single session fee is $23, available after the first session if space allows.)
Note: For the purpose of attending these classes, the State Park Day Use vehicle fee is included in the class fee; no additional payment is required. However, the Day Use fee is required for use of the park at other times on class days. We will provide a parking pass during registration that you will need to display on your dashboard on class nights.

Registration: Send an email to nightsky@rfo.org for preregistration instructions. Otherwise, arrive one-half hour early on the night of the first class to register, as space allows.

2010 SPRING NIGHT SKY SCHEDULE

Feb 9, Check-In / Registration 6:30pm; Class starts 7:00pm

Asterisms and Constellations
The Seasonal Skies: "The Winter Hexagon"
Canis Major, Canis Minor, Monoceros, Puppis

Feb 16, 7:00pm

Celestial Poles and Celestial Equator
The Ecliptic
Gemini, Lynx, Cancer

Mar 9, 7:00pm

The Milky Way
Spiral Arms
Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Leo Minor

Mar 16, 7:30pm

Galactic Center and Anti-Center
The Galactic "Halo" & Globular Clusters
Hydra, Sextens, Crater, Corvus The planet Saturn

Apr 6, 7:30pm

The Seasonal Skies: Arcturus and Spica
Leo, Boötes, Canes Venatici
The planets Mercury and Venus

Apr 13, 7:30pm

Obliquity of the Ecliptic
Equinoxes and Solstices
Virgo, Coma Berenices, Corona Borealis