Astronomy is star-gazing, but it's a lot more than that. Whenever you encounter stories
in the news about space travel, planetary exploration, black holes, dark matter, dark
energy or names like NASA, Hubble, Cassini, New Horizons or speculation about multiple
universes, relativity/quantum physics, new devices for cosmic exploration or events like
comets and asteroids passing near Earth, eclipses, rainbows or discoveries like new stars,
galaxies, exoplanets, your are entering the realm of astronomy. The Astronomy Group's
purpose is to grapple with the concepts and terminology that form the background for such
stories so that members can interpret them with a decent level of scientific understanding.
Besides, these ideas are extremely interesting! Each meeting focuses on the astronomy news
of the month and takes a "deep dive" into one such topic. Using a planetarium-like computer
app, the group also examines the contemporary night skies, including the constellations,planets
and major stellar objects that should be visible. The group occasionally supplements this study
with actual star-gazing visits to such sites as the Emil Buehler Trust Observatory at Bergen
Community College. Join us and become a star! Or at least learn what stars are all about.
