Sisters will reach for the stars on Astronomy Day

Folks in Sisters will reach for the stars this weekend as the community marks National Astronomy Day.

The Sisters Astronomy Club, along with the Sisters School District, Sisters Science Club, and Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), is inviting the community of Sisters to the Sisters High School commons for this special event Friday evening, April 27, and Saturday, April 28 , from 1 to 5 p.m.

Kicking off the event on Friday evening at 7 p.m., David Ingram, chairman of Dark Skies Northwest (the regional chapter of the International Dark Sky Association), will show a movie called "The City Dark." This award-winning feature-length (70-minute) documentary by filmmaker Ian Cheney is about the loss of night, a definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. Beginning with a simple question, "do we need the stars?"

A minimal donation of $2 is requested. Following the movie, Jim Todd, planetarium manager at OMSI, will lead a star watch at the high school.

On Saturday, representatives from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Dark Skies Northwest, the Pine Mountain Observatory, and the Sunriver Resort Nature & Observatory will be on hand to answer questions, share information and make the celebration exciting.

An inflatable planetarium will show the night sky with explanations by Sisters High School science teacher Rima Givot. Telescopes will be set up for viewing the sky, with some fitted with filters for viewing the sun. Students and local amateur astronomers will demonstrate and exhibit various aspects of astronomy.

Astronomy experts will present lectures in the auditorium. At 3:30 p.m., a second showing of "The City Dark" will wrap up the Sisters Astronomy Day program.

For more information, contact Ron Thorkildson at [email protected] or 541-549-8846.