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Those of us that do school star parties know that they can be quite rewarding.  I believe the recent letter we received from a school teacher summarizes things quite eloquently:

"I wanted to thank you so much for your wonderful star gazing presentation at our school this past April.  It was enjoyed immensely by Fernley Elementary school students and parents alike.  I had many parents come and thank us for providing this opportunity.  At FES we strive to provide opportunities for parental involvement.  This created a great opportunity that everyone could enjoy.

It appears that spring is finally here to stay.  While we certainly needed the extra snow in the mountains to pad the area’s water supply, I for one am happy for the warm weather to stick around.

This also means that it’s time to unpack all of your telescopes, binoculars and other equipment that you may use to look at the night sky.  Spring, Summer and Fall are the best observing times here in northern Nevada and as you can see by the list of events to the left, we have plenty of events already planned.  Check out our calendar to see all of the events planned for this year.

We have events planned for all members of the community:

·         Public Star Parties. In addition to our regular telescope viewing at Rancho San Rafael Park on the first Friday of every month (weather permitting), we are asked by many park rangers to host activities during the summer months.  During these events we pull our telescopes out and view many of the brightest and most fascinating objects in the sky.

·         ‘Members Only Star Parties'.  Typically held at ‘Trapshoot’ and Wilson Commons Park.  Despite the name, these events are open to the public as well, but the focus is different.  Instead of looking at the same objects that we tend to look at public star parties, these events allow members to search for more obscure objects, play with a new piece of equipment and/or generally test their observing prowess.  In other words, we get to do what we want to do.    This might also be a good opportunity for a member of the public to get some training on how to use a telescope of their own.  However, be sure to contact us in advance if you wish to get some telescope training; we want to make sure someone will be available to help on the particular evening you wish to attend.