Blanco Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Clay Rosenbaum (center) receives the first of 1200 protective eclipse glasses donated on March 22nd by the Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) for the students, faculty, and staff of the Blanco school district. Another 800 pairs of glasses will be presented to the Johnson City ISD. “The Total Eclipse of the Sun on April 8th will be spectacular but and we wanted to make sure all our kids will be able to watch it safely,” said BCFNS President Wayne Gosnell (left), “We did the same thing for last year’s Annular Eclipse. We think it is money well spent.” Coordinating the presentation is Vicki Guidry, BCFNS Vice-President.

JOHNSON CITY ISD

Johnson City Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Ben Eubanks receives 800 protective eclipse glasses donated on March 28th by the Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) for the students, faculty, and staff of the Johnson City school district.  Barbara Hudson, BCFNS Board Secretary (left) and Mary Thurlkill, BCFNS Volunteer presented the eclipse glasses.

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If you order right now, you probably will NOT receive your T-shirt in time for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on April 8th. But, even if it doesn’t arrive in time, you’ll have an awesome souvenir! We have 2 great T-shirts and both are available by scanning the QR Code below or by going to the My Texas Gifts section of our website at: Order Your T-Shirts Here

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ASTROPHOTOGRAPY by DAVID LOOSE

The Blanco Rainfall Records are now in the prestigious company of the astrophotography of BCFNS member, David Loose. The Redbud Café in downtown Blanco Texas has graciously allowed David to display his deep space photography, which is available for purchase. Below are a few of the images on display.

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2024 FACEBOOK POETRY CONTEST

We promised to share other poems from our contest in January. Here is the one submitted by Deborah Castro who has been a member of our Facebook page since September 29, 2021.

The Night is for Flight

The night is for flight, said the black shiny bird.
He stretched his wings and spread the word,
We will soar towards the moon, the stars and the horizon.
We will meet our families and friends and feast in the south for the winter.
Oh, it is a difficult challenge these days to navigate big bright lights over parking lots and haze.
Gather up your courage and let us take flight because we have only a few dark hours at night.
Dark skies are fading fast, please save what you can, do us birds a good favor and lend us a hand.

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BCFNS at the BLANCO FOUNDER’S DAY

We sure enjoyed our time at the Blanco Founder’s Day event! We’ll tell you all about it, with pictures, in next month’s newsletter.

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THIS NEWSLETTER

We hope you enjoy our newsletter and we are always looking for ways to make it better and more enjoyable. To that end, we invite your suggestions, comments and ideas for articles. In fact, if you would like to write an article to be published in our newsletter, we will certainly consider including it. Please send them to: newsletter@blancocountynightsky.org

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NEXT BOARD MEETING

Our regular Board meeting, which is open to everyone, will be Wednesday, April 17th @ 9 am, at El Charro Restaurant in Johnson City. If you would like to attend via Zoom, just let us know ahead of time and we’ll make it happen.

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CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER

We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion! The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”.

For those of you thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, we are offering a free one-year membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs

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

Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for your donation