Chaco Spring Star Party
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Contact: G.B. Cornucopia, (505) 786-7014 ext. 243
Superintendent Barbara West announces that Chaco Culture National Historical Park will present an observatory open house and Star Party on Saturday, May 19, 2007. “We are pleased to present a night of spectacular astronomical viewing. The public is invited to attend the open house and view some of the best night skies in New Mexico.”
The Star Party will take place at the Chaco Observatory, located behind the visitor center at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The event will begin at 8:30pm. The staff will provide views of the sun with a solar telescope and other activities during the day.
The observatory will provide a 25" Newtonian, a 14" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, and an H Alpha solar telescope. These telescopes will be available for public viewing during the event. Slide shows of digital images taken with the above telescopes will be available for viewing in the image room. Members of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society will bring a variety of telescopes to be available for public viewing.
Superintendent Barbara West states “This will be a fun event for everyone. We encourage families to bring their children to Chaco to view our dark night skies and take part in our night sky program.”
The park is approximately 70 miles south of Farmington, off Hwy 550 on County Road 7900, and 7950.
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Did You Know?
A 20 km segment of Chaco Wash courses through the park. Its flows are derived from summer thunderstorms and winter snowmelt within a 2,175 km2 watershed. The wash is presently incised into a steep-walled arroyo which has a well-developed floodplain and a small inner channel on the arroyo floor.