ASTROLABE Astronomy Club

Since its creation in 1997, the ASTROLABE Astronomy Club has met on the third Wednesday evening of each month at 7:00 p.m.. ASTROLABE Astronomy Club meetings are held on the second floor of the WLSC Warwood Center at 1610 Warwood Avenue, Wheeling, WV.

For the next 10 months, the first half-hour or so of the ASTROLABE Astronomy Club meetings will consist of a stand-alone presentation of the 12 part series "The Solar System Inside and Out". The "Solar System Inside and Out" is an informative tour of the solar system’s regions and objects starting with the Sun and moving out to the edge of the solar system. Each presentation will focus on a different part of the solar system and the main celestial bodies found there. Presenters for "The Solar System Inside and Out" series are staff members of WLSC SMART-Center. Each presentation will offer hands-on interactive activities appropriate for all age groups and is recommended for families, students, and educators. The 12 part series "The Solar System Inside and Out" is co-sponsored by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, WLSC SMART-Center, Near Earth Object Foundation, and ASTROLABE Astronomy Club.

The next chapter in the "Solar System Inside and Out" will take place on September 20, 2006. The topic will be "The Earth and Moon - our double world system". We will concentrate on the Earth as a member of a double world system with the Moon as a physical and emotional link for humanity to the rest of the solar system and the universe. The "Solar System Inside and Out" presentations are FREE to the public, with snacks and refreshments provided to those that attend. If the sky is clear after the presentation, members of WLSC SMART-Center, Near Earth Object Foundation, and ASTROLABE Astronomy Club will host a Sidewalk StarWatch for the public in front of the WLSC Warwood Center.

For more information please visit the website www.smartcenter.org or call during normal business hours at (304) 277-2308.

For future reference, the next ASTROLABE Astronomy Club meetings and the presentations of the next chapters in the "Solar System Inside and Out" series will be held on the following dates:

September 20, 2006 - "The Earth and Moon - our double world system"

October 18, 2006 - "Near Earth Objects - present threats and future resources"

November 15, 2006 - "Mars, the Red Planet - second planet for humanity"

December 20, 2006 - "The Asteroid Belt - and the several almost planets"

January 17, 2007 - "Jupiter, King of the Planets - its moons and its asteroids"

February 21, 2007 - "Saturn, the Ringed Planet - and its moons"

March 21, 2007 - "Uranus, The Edge-on Planet - and its moons"

April 18, 2007 - "Neptune, Last Planet Out - and its moons"

May16, 2007 - "Transneptunian Worlds - Pluto, Xena, Kuiper Belt, Scattered Disc,

Oort Cloud, and beyond"