NEW MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

You asked and we found a way!!! Below are two new options for you to purchase or renew your membership plus our ongoing special membership sign offer.

Lifetime Membership – If you really would like to make a difference in protecting the night sky, become a Lifetime Member. For a one-time payment of $500 you can become a member of Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky for LIFE! In addition, Lifetime Members will be awarded a Lifetime Membership sign. This is a non-refundable membership.
We already have 2 Lifetime Members!!!

Prepaid Membership – If you would like to prepay your membership for five years or more you are now able to do that. This will save you time and it will be easier to make sure your membership is always up to date. This prepayment option is non-refundable.

For more information on these and all our membership options click here: Membership Options

Membership Sign Promotion - A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. For folks thinking of joining the BCFNS or renewing their membership, we are offering a free membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs. There are already 72 member signs out there!!!

Meet the BCFNS Board Members

Wayne Gosnell is The Founder and current President of the Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky. He is a retired United States Army Colonel and an Aggie but he also holds a Ph.D. from that school in Austin, the one with the big orange tower.

In the Army, Wayne specialized in international political-military relations. Following retirement from the Army, he and his wife, Martha, did two years of missionary work with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Southern Mexico. He later worked for five years in Bosnia and Herzegovina helping that country recover from war.

Having grown up in the West Texas oil fields back when the skies were still incredible out there, Wayne is passionate about preserving the night sky. Although he is fascinated by astronomy, that is not his primary motivation. He is simply awestruck by a pristine night sky. He comments that looking at the stars through a light polluted night sky is like driving through a beautiful forest with a dirty windshield.

At night sky preservation presentations, he is often heard to say, “Of all the forms of pollution mankind has foisted on the Earth, light pollution is the easiest and cheapest to fix…and it can be done in our own lifetime.”

Next Business and Brainstorming Session

Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 16th @ 9:00 a.m., at El Charro Restaurant in Johnson City. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to attend via Zoom, just let us know and we’ll make it happen.

Globe At Night Campaign

This Sunday, January 23rd, is the start of this month’s Globe at Night Campaign!

Globe at Night is a monthly, global citizen science campaign. Participating is fun, gets you outside at night enjoying the night sky and learning constellations all while contributing to important light pollution research!

Each month IDA Texas Chapter will post a video explaining how to find that month’s Globe at Night constellation.

Go to the IDA Texas Chapter Instagram page and see the video for this month's constellation:
@texasdarksky or go here to watch the video: vimeo.com

Visit GlobeAtNight.org to learn more about how to participate and how to submit your sky brightness measurements with their easy to use web application. Make it your new year's resolution to participate in Globe at Night each month!

Song Contest Postponed

We are sorry to announce that our song writing contest has been postponed until a later date. Concerns about COVID have caused us to make this decision. We want to be able to gather indoors this event and to have fun with no worries. So…hang on to those songs…don’t give up on us as we are looking forward to holding this event soon. In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to try your hand at writing a poem!

SAVE THE DATE: BCFNS Annual Gathering and Star Party -- April 26, 2022

Mark your calendar and wish on a star that we will be able to celebrate the night sky during International Dark Sky Week. The current plan is to gather at Los Senderos Ranch, home of Terri & Larry Seiler, at 6 pm on April 26th. We’ll have time to visit and hear about what’s been going on with BCFNS. Then we’ll enjoy some night sky viewing through telescopes on what we hope to be a perfect evening as we approach the new moon. Stay tuned for details in the near future.

COMING SOON: High School and Middle School Art Contest

We are planning to hold our annual Art Contest in April. More on this in the February Newsletter.

On Going News

Hill Country Alliance 2022 Calendar is still available for purchase at HCA Texas Hill Country 2022 Calendar

BCFNS Advisory Board – Are you willing to share your expertise? We would like to the advice of a CPA, a realtor, a developer, a contractor, a lighting fixture expert and other professionals who have a passion for the night sky. Contact us at: President@blancocountynightsky.org or join us at our February meeting.

Volunteer Opportunities at BCFNS Volunteers

Stat Report

Type	November	December	January
Paid Households	90	92	80
Household Members	166	171	159
Business Members	7	7	6
Facebook Group Members	520	535	544
Facebook Reactions	365	428	597
Instagram Followers	259	265	269
Instagram Reactions	71	74	46
Website Visitors (Unique)	1190	1120	613*

* Partial month