May President's Message

by: Heather LeBlanc

Thanks to Jason Talley for hosting our April meeting at the St. Charles Parish Planetarium. Members were treated to a look at the night sky and then a sneak peek at a new show entitled Dynamic Earth. The new program sparked a lively discussion about the climate of the earth among our members. Jason also shared with us about an outreach event he is planning at the SCP Library in Luling this summer. NASA Climate Day will be held on Saturday, June 22 from 9 AM to 2 PM. He will need members with solar telescopes or solar filters to help make the day a success. If you would like more information, or to sign up to help, look for the featured thread on the club forum on our website.

The Baton Rouge Astronomical Society (BRAS) has invited PAS members and their families for a pot-luck lunch on May 18th at 11:00 AM, at the pavilion at the LIGO Livingston Observatory across from the Science Education Center. We will eat lunch at the pavilion then join the public for the Saturday Science events at 1:00 PM. BRAS will provide the main dish (most likely jambalaya), soft drinks, plates, forks, etc. Bring a side dish, if you like. Please email me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or respond on the forum to let me know if you (and your family) plan to attend so there will be enough of the main dish and supplies.

I would like to thank the 7 members who came out to make sure that Astronomy Day was a success. Many families came out to peer through a solar telescope, make a glow-in-the-dark constellation craft, see a planetarium show, and take a picture with Darth Vader. Special thanks to the 501st Legion for donating their time to enhance the experience for the children who attended.

For those of you who read last month's president's message, you will remember that I was planning to attend the Spring Scrimmage and complete my Messier observing program. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather I did not attend, though I did hear that those who stuck it out Saturday night did have some pretty decent skies. Hopefully I will be able to finish the program this summer while school is out.

On May 24 our meeting will be held at UNO in the Science building, room 1001. Tim Mann will present "Luling Skies", where he will discuss his setup in his very light-polluted back yard. He will also share pictures taken with his MallinCam. I hope you will all be able to make it!

Keep looking up,

Heather LeBlanc