AAA President Message – October 2020

Happy October everyone!

This has always been my favorite month of the year – cool weather, clear skies, Halloween, and autumn foliage. What a wonderful assortment of happenings.

Unfortunately for many would-be astronomy observers, clear skies are just not possible right now. Fires have been raging on the West coast due mainly to climate change and the smoke has been ever present throughout the United States. Of course there is also the enormous immediate human tragedy of homes and towns being burnt and people and businesses being displaced.

But as always there is a lesson here. And I believe that that lesson is to pay attention to the science – we have been warned about the damage that we are doing to Earth. We also know that whether the concern is a virus, or polluting the atmosphere, humans have an amazing ability to help correct the damage being done. And just as mask wearing is a simple method of staving off an airborne virus, living in a cleaner world will result in less pollutants in the air, and therefore less damage to both the planet and the animals which reside on it.

It is important that the next time we look up and gaze at early remnants of our universe that we never forget it is beholden on each of us to be good stewards of our planet.

The opportunity to learn and better yourself, as well as the world around you, is an invaluable one. And AAA has so many classes happening right now, along with the steady rollout of returning to public observing events, as well as a rich community of people who want nothing more than to share their knowledge and learn from others, that I hope everyone reading this is a member of AAA and takes advantage of all that we have to offer.

Please join us in this never-ending road to discovery.