Our home in the universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, is 100,000 light years in diameter and a few thousand light years thick.  Our galaxy contains several hundred billion stars with our star, the Sun, two thirds out from the center.  We take 250 million years to make one orbit around the center of the Milky Way.  In the winter night sky we look out upon the outer arm of our spiral home.  But in the summer night sky we look in toward the center of the galaxy where an amazing amount of stars, star clusters and nebulae reside.

Join Northeast Nebraska Astronomy Club (NENAC) this Friday, September 2 at 8pm at the Lyons Library and this Saturday, September 3 at 8pm at the Decatur Sears Center.  There Pastor Gary Fugman will lead a discussion on our stellar home, the Milky Way Galaxy.  From Orion to Sagittarius, we have learned much about the structure of our home galaxy over the past 100 years.  We discuss this structure.  But more that that, from our dark skies without light pollution here in Eastern Nebraska, the view we have toward the center of our Milky Way in late summer is a view of the spectacular and the beautiful.  Come share that view with us this Friday and Saturday!

Then at 9pm weather permitting, Friday we will go 3 miles south of Lyons to observe the Milky Way and Solar Suystem planets with large astronomical telescopes at the Cory and Tracie Martin residence.  Saturday we will observe from Fugman Observatory on the south side of Decatur.  You are invited to bring your binoculars or telescope as well.  Free star charts will be explained and shown under the real night sky.

For more information on this and future NENAC presentations, please call pastor Gary Fugman at 349-1953 or google “nenacstars” and Keep Looking Up!