Starting on February 19th at 9:00AM, the Board of Directors of Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky will hold its monthly meetings at the Blanco County Community Resource Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281, Johnson City, TX 78636. Everyone is invited to attend these monthly meetings which are set for the third Wednesday of each month.

We sincerely thank El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Johnson City for allowing us to hold our meetings at the restaurant for the past 5+ years. We have simply outgrown the space we were using and needed a quieter location for Zoom calls. Hopefully we’ll still be able to pick up breakfast tacos to enjoy at the new location!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Blanco County News printed this picture on the front page of the January 1, 2025, edition for their “A Look Back at 2024” coverage of happenings around Blanco. BCFNS was pleased to partner with Blanco State Park Ranger Katy Tiedemann for their year-end presentation about the night sky and the star party. Many thanks to the Wizard of The Night Sky for his excellent work on behalf of our organization. Be on the watch for more appearances around Blanco County by the Wizard in 2025; you won’t want to miss him!

We have our own version of “A Look Back at 2024”. Click here to see some of our 2024 media coverage: BCFNS 2024 Media Coverage

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IDSC ANNUAL REPORT

The 2024 International Dark Sky Community (IDSC) Annual Report for the City of Blanco was submitted on January 27th. This report is required each year by DarkSky-International. Our President, Wayne Gosnell had this to share:

“The report is a compilation of the hard work that has been done over the past year to maintain Blanco's status as an International Dark Sky Community, a designation that is by no means permanent. We have to show progress year after year in reducing light pollution above and around the city.

Unfortunately, as our Sky Quality Meter readings indicate, we are losing ground and the readings are getting worse, not better. I attribute a large part of this to the many businesses in town that continue to violate the City's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance despite all our efforts.

The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) will continue to educate the community at large on night sky preservation issues and work for light pollution abatement.”

You are invited to read the entire report which is on our website under the News tab or just click the link here: 2024 IDSC Report

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NIGHT SKY MONITORING AT BAMBERGER RANCH

Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) has begun installation of a Sky Quality Meter (SQM) Cluster in Blanco County. BCFNS is going to install and maintain at least 13 SQM’s across the county as a part of its 10-year Action Plan to monitor sky darkness. Data from the SQM’s is uploaded to the DarkSky Texas database for analysis and to the Globe At Night at the University of Hong Kong database for integration into global data analysis.

Selah Bamberger Ranch Preserve chose to become a part of the SQM Cluster and installed SQM BC02 next to their observatory. April Sansom, Executive Director of the Preserve said, “We are really excited to have the SQM as a part of our monitoring and teaching experience.”

BCFNS SQM Project Manager Bob Heinonen said, “We love the enthusiasm for this project. The first continuous read SQM (BC01) was purchased through a generous donation as a proof-of-concept installation. It proved out and now we are looking for private citizens to donate use of just a few square feet on their property. All we need is a clear straight up look at the sky and a place to drive a T-post. There is no cost or work for the property owner.”

A $2,500 grant from the Hill Country Alliance is being used to purchase 5 of the SQM’s.

For more information or to ask about having a SQM on your property, contact dba@blancocountynightsky.org. For information on the SQM equipment, take a look at www.unihedron.com

April Sansom, Bamberger Ranch Executive Director,
Samuel Lartigue, BCFNS volunteer and
Drew Neyland, Bamberger Ranch Research Coordinator
after installing SQM BC02.

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JUST FOR FUN

The BCFNS Facebook Group Annual Poetry Contest has been in full swing since January 15th. Every year, just for fun (no prizes awarded), the contest invites its members to post their best effort at writing a poem about the night sky. No AI allowed only human intelligence! This year’s theme was “What is a Star?” Members have been enjoying each other’s poems and casting their votes. The deadline for submitting a poem has past, however, members of our BCFNS Facebook Group can still vote for their favorite poems until the end of the day on February 7, 2025. A winning poem will be announced as a post the next day. Just in case you aren’t a Facebook user, some of the poems will be featured in future newsletters. Our Facebook Group Administrator has taken a turn at writing some poems to encourage participation! Check out this one:

What is a star
We thought we could have some fun
And maybe even come up with a pun
So we started the Poetry Contest
To see who could come up with the best.
It only works if you submit one
But then you would have to come up with some
Ideas that keep you awake.
Or are really half baked.
Okay, so bring it on
January 15 starts the fun. *
* Bad poetry accepted with glee

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PARADE OF PLANETS

Hopefully the current cloud cover will clear out soon so that you’ll be able to view the Parade of Planets that will continue to be visible over the next few weeks. Take this opportunity to view our beautiful winter night sky. The constellation Orion is also visible. You can Google this parade and find the specifics. Here is one place to look: Parade of Planets

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BLANCO FOUNDERS DAY

BCFNS will be participating as a Community Partner in the 2nd Annual Blanco Founders Day event to be held in the square around the Old Blanco Courthouse on March 22, 2025, from 2-6 pm. Please stop by our booth to say “hello”, look through the sun scope and learn more about what we are doing to “keep Blanco in the dark”!

Event organizers have an awesome music lineup scheduled and expect an even bigger turnout this year. The community booth area was a great success last year providing information on all the available resources in Blanco County.

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ANNUAL ART CONTEST

BCFNS is excited to announce that we will again be sponsoring a Night Sky Art Contest for the Blanco County Middle and High School students with cash prizes being awarded to the winners. “On the Edge of Darkness” will be the theme; this describes Blanco’s night sky very well as sky glow is encroaching our area from the east and the south. It is always amazing to behold the student’s creativity! Their artwork will be posted on our Facebook Group page beginning in May.

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SAVE THE DATE

Mark your calendar for the BCFNS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP GATHERING AND STAR PARTY!

We are still working out the details, but the date is set for Tuesday, April 29th.

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Your membership is a road sign to others about our mission especially if you purchase and display a Membership sign! 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

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NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next Board meeting will be February 19th at 9:00AM, at our new meeting location, the Blanco County Community Resource Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281. You are welcome to join us.

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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

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.