Astronomy club explores ‘Clouds of Andromeda’

Sisters Astronomy Club (SAC) is pleased to announce that accomplished amateur astronomer Mel Bartels will be the featured presenter at the club’s virtual Zoom meeting on Tuesday June 15, beginning at 7 p.m. His talk is entitled “The Clouds of Andromeda.” Using his own astronomical sketches, Bartels will tell a true story of an obscure little patch of light in the sky and how it came to be the center of one of our greatest astronomical revolutions.

Today we know that the Great Andromeda Galaxy, often called Messier 31 or M31, is a galaxy of a trillion stars, two and a half million light years away, the nearest grand spiral galaxy. Bartels will explain how astronomers think the Council of Giants gave birth to both the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way, and set in motion our fate to collide with each other, far into the distant future.

Bartels has written articles about telescope making and his observations that have appeared in Sky and Telescope and other magazines. He has appeared as guest speaker at various astronomy conferences, and his Telescope Walkabouts are a popular highlight at the Oregon Star Party.

The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 17823 Bartels in recognition for his contributions to amateur astronomy.

Now retired, Mel and his wife Barbara have recently moved to the Sisters area.

Access the June 15 Zoom meeting at bit.ly/34Vb49o.

Meeting ID: 459 487 0728

Passcode: 410828