The Bretzfelder Park Committee and the Forest Society are hosting “Darkness in the Daytime” on Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. at Bretzfelder Park in Bethlehem. The talk will be presented by Douglas Arion, PhD is the director of Mountains of Stars, a public science outreach and education program.
Join the Forest Society to learn more about the Great North American Eclipse on April 8. For the second time in seven years, the moon will cover the sun and create a total solar eclipse. This time the total eclipse will cross northern New Hampshire providing Granite Staters with front row seats to the astrological event. What do we know about the sun, and how are we connected to the universe by experiencing this amazing event? A truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, the total eclipse is not to be missed.
About the Presenter:
Douglas Arion, PhD is the director of Mountains of Stars, a public science outreach and education program that engages the public with ‘environmental awareness from a cosmic perspective’ and is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy and Donald D. Hedberg Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Entrepreneurial Studies at Carthage College. He founded the college’s Griffin Observatory and led observing programs at Yerkes, Steward, and Kitt Peak National Observatories.
He co-founded Galileoscope to provide high-quality, low-cost telescopes for worldwide promotion of science education. Initially launched for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and the International Year of Light 2015, more than 270,000 are now in use in over 110 countries, and a new edition featuring solar filters for the upcoming eclipses is now available.
Arion led the effort to create the AMC Maine Woods International Dark Sky Park, which protects over 100,000 acres in Maine, the last substantial dark sky region in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. He launched the production of Defending the Dark, a documentary on dark skies in Maine that has been shown on PBS across the United States and at several major film festivals.
Arion is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, has received the Distinguished Service Award from Sigma Pi Sigma (the physics honorary society), the Volunteer Leadership Award from the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Dark Sky Defender Award from the International Dark Sky Association. He serves on US and international commissions on protecting astronomy and space environments.
The Bretzfelder Park Family Educational series is presented each year in winter and summer by the Forest Society and the Bretzfelder Park Committee.