Events - Event View

ATMoB has had New Year’s Eve parties at the Clubhouse on the evening of December 31st since The Millennium – the Year 2000 – except for December 31, 2020, December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022 due to COVID. There was only one time that it snowed the evening of December 31st, so that year’s party was held on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2009.

Last year’s party showed members’ preference to not drive on New Year’s Eve, expressing concerns about drunk drivers on the roads. The party started at 7:00pm and attendance rose to approximately 40. But at 10:30pm, almost as if a signal was given, all but 3 members left. Two more members arrived at 10:45pm, making 5 members celebrating together at midnight.

This year we will try a New Year’s Day party. The date is of course Thursday, January 1st . The start time will be 11:00am and the party will end at 4:00pm. Anyone who wishes to stay and observe may of course do so.

New Year’s decorations will be up, silly hats and beads will be available to change our appearance to a festive one, and if the weather allows we will do the one-mile walk up the hill, and down again, seeing nature and large radio telescopes along the road, and
getting some exercise.

Lunch will be potluck, so please bring an entrée, appetizer, salad, or dessert to share.
Julie Kaufmann will have us line dancing under the spinning mirror ball.
We will shout Happy New Year at noon and at 3:00pm, just to keep in practice.
There will be solar observing if weather permits and scopes are available.

For those eager to start the year 2026 observing the night sky, Saturn will be in Pisces, at magnitude +1.2, and will be setting in the West around 10:00pm. Jupiter will be in Gemini, magnitude -2.7, rising in the East. Neptune will be in Pisces, near Saturn. Uranus will be in Taurus near the Pleiades. Binoculars or a telescope are needed to see Neptune and Uranus. The Quadrantids meteor shower will be starting its show of bright
fireballs. The radiant is near the constellation Boötes. The peak is Jan 2-3, but the Moon will then be 100% full. The phase of the Moon will be waxing gibbous, 94.9% fully illuminated, rising in the afternoon and visible for most of the night. The Moon has much to see when it is close to full, especially the ray systems around craters.

Decorations will be put up on Saturday, December 27 starting at 10:00am, and taken down the following Saturday at the January 3rd work party starting at 10:00am. Help will be needed.

We hope you will join us on New Year’s Day at the Clubhouse to celebrate the start of 2026. Eileen Myers and Al Takeda