Astronomy Club To Form In Pinetop-Lakeside

Have you ever wished you could see the rings of Saturn, or the craters on the moon, or maybe the polar caps of Mars through a telescope? Perhaps you own a small telescope and have tried to find these and other objects with it, only to be thwarted by the frustrations inherent in these small scopes.

The newly formed Pinetop-Lakeside Union of Telescopic Observers (PLUTO) can help you see and learn about all things astronomical. Beginning as a union of one, PLUTO is being organized by Bob Moody, an amateur astronomer for over 17 years. As a founding member, past president and past vice-president of the Arkansas/Oklahoma Astronomical Society (AOAS) based in Ft. Smith, AR, Bob has been an active promoter of education in the science of Astronomy since the beginning.

Bob's participation with AOAS events and programs, along with others, helped AOAS receive the 1998 Phi Delta Kappa "Outstanding Contributions by an Organization Outside Education" award. AOAS touched the lives of more than 50,000 people in and around the Ft. Smith area since it's inception in January of 1985. Check out AOAS and their activities at www.aoas.org.

Prompted by an excellent apparition of the planet Mars, the best since 1988, PLUTO seeks the cooperation of any amateur astronomers in the Pinetop-Lakeside-Showlow area. If you are an amateur astronomer and enjoy using your telescope to show the wonders of the night sky to friends and relatives, come to the organizational meeting of PLUTO on Sunday July 1, 2001. The meeting will be held in the community room at Pine Flat RV Park, 1051 Woodland Lake Road (right behind Chevron) in Pinetop. The meeting will start at 3 pm. Pine Flat boasts a fair observing site on the property, and an observing session will be held there that evening starting at 8:30 pm to view the Martian surface features, weather permitting.

For more information, contact: Bob Moody, 1051 Woodland Lake Rd Pinetop, AZ 85935 (928) 367-4657 e-mail: pluto@wmonline.com

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