I'll be attending this with my 16" dob, along with a couple of other volunteers/scopes in Utah County. If anyone else wants to come help out that night, it would be appreciated!TIA,/Rich Tenney See message below... ------------------------------- I'm writing with more details about Timpanogos Cave National Monument's second Night Skies program this Friday, September 11th. I am looking forward to meeting you, Richard Tenney, and hopefully seeing the rest of you again! July's program was an excellent success with over 70 people in attendance over the course of the evening, despite spotty cloud cover. I learned an immense amount from Joel, Richard, and John, and I loved seeing the public enjoying and getting excited about night skies. Thank you again (and in advance) for using your passion and your expertise to start a tradition of dark sky programming in American Fork Canyon. I wanted to give you a few details about the components of the program and the associated goals we hope to accomplish. Much of the structure is similar to the last event, with some additions to meet needs we discovered along the way. - Two stations set up to provide information about light pollution and its effects on (1) human health and (2) ecological health. (Eliza Hawkins and I will again be the NPS interpreters working these stations.) - A station for you, the astronomers, to set up your telescopes and teach groups of visitors a bit about what they're seeing in the night sky and perhaps a bit about the equipment for doing so. (This worked great last time as the first hour was pretty limited viewing and equipment was the main focus. The large number of visitors in the second hour were well managed and included when John and others were able to present information to the of visitors who weren't physically behind the telescopes.) - Take-away information about the NPS's goals to protect night sky landscapes, as well as information about other organizations/groups that strive to do the same. - Take-away information about ways to reduce light pollution on the household and community levels. - A children's activity station with demonstrations about light pollution, including a light shielding demo and pollution magnitude readers. - Parking attendants/greeters who will intercept vehicles when they arrive in the parking area, direct them to turn off their lights, show them where to park, and orient them to the event. The location for this event should be easier to manage than the site for July's program. We will be at Pine Hollow Trailhead on SR 92 (about 7 or 8 minutes up-canyon from the Timpanogos Cave National Monument Visitor Center). We are hoping to set up on the end of the parking lot farthest from the road. This should allow for plenty of time/space for cars to park without flooding the program and participants with lights. (Thank you for your input and patience with this obstacle last time!) Regarding the night of the event, our advertising states that the event begins at 8:30 PM. With that in mind, Eliza and I plan to arrive around 7:15 PM to begin setting up. We're hoping volunteer astronomers, as well as volunteers from the NPS, can arrive between 7:30 & 8:00 PM. Let me know how that timing sounds to you. I'd be more than happy to rearrange things if you feel you need more or less time. Lastly, please pass this on to any other volunteers you know who may be interested in participating. Feel free to reply with any information you have about other volunteers as well as your expected arrival time and input about set-up (should you have any thoughts). Of course, email me with any questions or with information about getting involved in dark skies advocacy here in Utah. Thank you very much for your time, Cassidy -- Cassidy JonesPark Ranger Timpanogos Cave National MonumentAmerican Fork, UT 84003 cassidy_jones@nps.gov