CAS members will be setting up their telescopes at Buffalo Park for the Flagstaff Star Party, Sept. 26-28, during the Coalition’s Celebration of the Night.
“We strive to help maintain this fragile natural resource that is gradually disappearing around the country due to light pollution,” said Klaus Brasch, a CAS board member and retired bioscientist.
CAS was founded more than 30 years ago as a not-for-profit organization to promote astronomy to the public and to champion dark skies in Flagstaff and its surroundings. Volunteer members can be counted on to bring their telescopes to public events and inform stargazers of all ages about cosmic objects in Flagstaff’s starry skies.
“I have valued Flagstaff’s dark skies since I moved here in 1990,” said CAS Treasurer Anne Wittke, also a member of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition (FDSC). “Being able to step into my driveway and see the gorgeous Milky Way arching overhead and picking out Orion and Scorpius, which I could never see in New Jersey, is always inspiring!”
CAS members meet at Lowell Observatory monthly and invite the public to hear presentations ranging from the origin of the universe to stars, galaxies and the search for life on other planets. In addition, CAS partners with Lowell Observatory, FDSC, the National Park Service and others to host star parties at dark sites like Buffalo Park, Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument.
“Other favorite events are sun-observing parties at local schools and Science in the Park during the annual Flagstaff Festival of Science,” said Brasch.
“We also have provided CAS volunteers to run telescopes at Homolovi State Park and Twin Arrows Casino to give visitors more chances to enjoy our dark skies,” said CAS Vice President Barry Malpas, noting that the organization has donated four large telescopes to Navajo Star School, about 25 miles east of Flagstaff.
“CAS membership is open to anyone interested in astronomy and related topics,” said Brasch. “Although most members have their own telescopes and even backyard observatories, that is not a prerequisite to join. All that is needed is curiosity and a willingness to learn about astronomy and related sciences.”
Many CAS members are active astro and night-scape photographers, whose work has been published in books and popular science publications, like Astronomy Magazine and Sky & Telescope Magazine.
“As a long-standing CAS member, I am old enough to remember when seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye, even in large cities, was still possible, but it is impossible now because of excessive and unnecessary outdoor lighting,” added Brasch. “Flagstaff is a rare exception to that and a model that many other communities are now trying to emulate. But even here in the world’s first International Dark Sky City, constant vigilance is needed to keep it that way. CAS is committed to doing so in tandem with the FDSC and Lowell Observatory.”
“And that’s why FDSC appreciates and celebrates the devoted members of the Coconino Astronomical Society as Dark Skies Champions,” said FDSC Executive Board Member Chris Luginbuhl. “They have been steadfast protectors of our starry skies and passionate about sharing the universe with others.”
CAS members will be setting up their telescopes at Buffalo Park for the Flagstaff Star Party, Sept. 26-28, during the Coalition’s Celebration of the Night. FBN
Courtesy Photo: The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest member of the local group of galaxies, which includes our Milky Way. About 2.5 million light years from us, it contains about a trillion stars and can be spotted by the naked eye under exceptionally dark skies. “It is a lovely sight, even with a medium-sized amateur telescope, and a truly magnificent and colorful object,” said Brasch, a member of the Coconino Astronomical Society who captured this image.
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