MIRA Astronomy Club Quarterly Meeting

Gather with other club members to get updates on upcoming events, be entertained by (and learn something from) our guest presenter, and learn of tools and resources available to club members.  And, of course, (re)connect with old and new friends.

Meeting agenda:

Announcements

Upcoming club events
Available club resources

Featured Presentation

"'Let Them Count the Star-Swirls' - Astronomical Time in the Poetry of Robinson Jeffers"
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) included scientific astronomical observations and theory in his poetry, not merely as a poetic device but as a way of finding an answer to the place of humans in the vastness and indifference of the cosmos.   This presentation will provide an introduction to the life of Jeffers and then discuss Jeffers' poetry, exploring the relationship between the astronomical and the poetic.  Copies of the poems will be provided.  See below for more details.

Other Topics

Yosemite Star Party Re-Cap
"MIRA telescope clean-up day" (Jean Perkins)

Fan Mail!

Q&A

Adjournment

Our guest and featured presenter is  Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts, who serves as President of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation.  A Professor Emeritus at Monterey Peninsula College where he taught English, humanities, public speaking and American studies for 32 years, he is the author of two books of poetry and co-author of two translations.   He served for many years as poet-in-the-schools for the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts.

Tor House was the home of poet Robinson Jeffers and his wife Una.  Almost all of the structures, including the 40' high Hawk Tower, were built from stones, some weighing 500 pounds or more, brought up from the beach below and set in place by Jeffers working alone.  The property, maintained and cared for by the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was designated a National Historic Landmark in December of last year.