[The background above is part of an image by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Crescent Nebula.]

WHERE: AT EXPLORIT Science Center, 3141 5th Street, Davis.

TOPIC: SPACE ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

Saturday, May 25 at 8:00 p.m. at Explorit

Let’s explore the space art of “the most influential space artist of all time,” Chesley Bonestell. Our guide will be space artist and scientist Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant II’s book: The Art of Chesley Bonestell (published by Collins & Brown Limited, 2001).

Bonestell’s imagination and respect for scientific accuracy was responsible for sparking astronomical careers of hundreds of young men and women in the 1940s and later. Carl Sagan, perhaps the most famous popularizer of astronomy, said he really didn’t know how to visualize other worlds until he saw Bonestell’s paintings of the Solar System in such books as “The Conquest of Space” in 1949. The director of the Adler Planetarium, Joseph Chamberlain, claimed that without Bonestell’s art work, the NASA era might have been delayed for many years or it might never have happened at all.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who collaborated with Bonestell on the book “Beyond Jupiter” (1972) said that “Chelsey is the original Kilroy – he’s been there ahead of them all. Neil Armstrong? Well, Tranquility Base was established over Bonestell’s tracks and discarded squeezed-out paint tubes. The man not only moves across space, but also across time. He was present at our world’ s birth and has also set up his easel to paint its death...”

We will view slides of some of Bonestell’s most famous works, such as “Saturn as Seen from Titan” (1944), a painting that renowned space artist Kim Poor once called “The painting that launched a thousand careers.” So, join us for an imaginative adventure into space! Weather permitting, after the slide show, we’ll adjourn for evening views of the night sky.

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April's Meeting on Ancient California Skies drew approximately 13 hardy visitors. It was a partly cloudy, windy and rather cool, night. At the meeting, we discussed how the culture of the ancient tribes (or, more properly, “tribe-lets”) of the Sacramento region influenced their arrangement of constellations in the night sky. We heard some stories about the stars and learned a little about the complex cultural mosaic of indigenous peoples in our state. The peaceful nature and lack of military organization of local groups contributed to the tragic loss of many of the customs and myths of these ancient people when Europeans arrived in the 18th century.

From what we know of the importance of acorns, fish, bears, and other

elements of their environment, we drew “constellations” appropriate to these items. If you would like to know more about native American star patterns, I recommend an introductory collection of Native American myths assembled by Ms Dorcas S. Miller in her book Stars of the First People: Native American Star Myths and Constellations (1997).

Despite the clouds and generally bad viewing, we saw Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, Venus and Mercury. Thanks to all of you who braved the wind and cold to attend our meeting!

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Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society will be celebrating Astronomy Day on Saturday, May 18, 2002 from Noon until 10:00 PM At Rusch Park, 7801 Auburn Boulevard, Citrus Heights, CA 95610. The activities will start at noon and end at 8 PM. The evening star party (weather permitting) will be from 8 – 10 PM. Telescopes are needed for solar viewing and for the star party. Volunteers should contact Bud Bafia at 992-1869 or email budsvas@attbi.com. Check the SVAS web site at <http://svas.org/>

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Hope to see you on the 25th!

Sincerely,

Dennis

To Receive These Bulletins via E-mail Contact Dennis Smith at: d2smith@pacbell.net

The Astronomy Club is hosted by Dennis Smith with the assistance of Tim Feldman and other eager astronomy buffs. The club is for everyone - adults, children, knowledgeable or ignorant. Come to listen, look and learn, or to share your expertise or experience.