IN THIS UPDATE:

 

Announcements

  Go See "Old Fashioned"!

  MTH - S&S Sequel

  2015 Michigan Campout Registration in OPEN!

Dance of the Planets

  Venus, Mars and the Moon - This Friday Evening!

 

Dear Friends, 

 

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe!  There's been a lot of winter weather action lately, and we've had a wild time here in Cleveland... but nothing like the northeast!   Just a quick newsletter to touch a couple quick points.

 

If you have not done so, please like our Facebook page.  I usually post several items a day to that page, and there's a lot going on there that's completely different than this newsletter.  Please click like on that page, and share with all your FB friends!

 

* * * * *

 For more information about topics from Classical Astronomy discussed in this newsletter,

please check out Signs & Seasons, a

homeschool astronomy curriculum

(but popular with adult readers too!)

  

 

Visit our archive of previous editions of the Classical Astronomy Update newsletters, going back to 2007.

 

 If you haven't already done so, find us on Facebook and follow @JayRyanAstro on Twitter. 

 

Visit this page to subscribe to the Classical Astronomy Update and the Northeast Ohio Astronomy (NEOastro) newsletters.   

  

* * * * *

 

Announcements

  

Go See Old Fashioned!
 

I wrote a very long and detailed review of the new movie Old Fashioned.  But then my dumb email service somehow erased the whole thing!   Like Charlie Brown always says, "AAARRRGGGHHH!"  It seems that the enemy does not want good words to go forth about this movie! 

 

I can't hope to recreate that entire review, but let me just say that it is a cute, sweet, wonderful movie, very well acted and produced, both funny and moving, and hard-hitting with depicting real world circumstances, earning it a PG-13 rating.  So many Christian movies are corny and cheesy, but Old Fashioned is extremely well done, and has an important message. 

 

Don't go by the snarky reviews that are circulating in the mainstream press.   Old Fashioned showcases God's plan for true romance, how a man and a woman can hold back on physical intimacy for a little while in order to allow personal and emotional intimacy to blossom and flower. Here's what our friend Traci wrote:

 

I totally agree with Jay. To have your man enjoy a "chick flick" means they had done something right. Believable characters, humorous lines, well written script, all well done and enjoyable.

 

Reports have circulated in social media that showings for Old Fashioned have been sold out around the USA.  Our local theater was not scheduled to show this movie, but picked it up after we requested it.  The theater was quite packed at our showing.   Right now, the demand for Old Fashioned is exceeding the supply!  Positive word of mouth is spreading like wildfire! It seems like Old Fashioned might become a sleeper hit! 

 

Call and email your local theater, and ask them to add Old Fashioned to one of their screens, or to extend this movie for another couple weekends.  I tried it and am here to say that it worked!  We pray that this worthwhile movie garners the favorable attention it deserves.  

 

 

MTH - S&S Sequel
 

In the last newsletter, I mentioned that I've lately been working again on Measuring the Heavens, the sequel to Signs & Seasons.  Some have asked when MTH will be ready.  It's impossible to make any promises, since my day job and family commitments always take priority, but I'm tentatively hoping for a 2016 release.  I still need to finish the written portion, and the images for S&S took 16 months to create. It'll probably take at least that long with this project.

 

Remember folks, I do NOT make a living off Classical Astronomy!  I have a full time job and a busy family life as a homeschool dad!  Our "company" is not a "real" homeschool publishing company, like the ones that have a paid staff and customer service department!  It's a ministry of personal sacrifice, mostly me doing all the work, with help from Mrs. Ryan and the kids!  So things around here are ready when they're ready!

 

In case anyone would like a "sneak preview" of MTH, we will need some families to help "beta test" the work in progress.  It'll probably be a year or more before we reach that point.  Also, I would not be able to offer any payment for such editorial assistance, except an advance copy of the finished product and my deep thanks.  If this interests you anyway, please send me an email and I'll contact you when the time is right.

 

2015 Michigan Campout Registration is OPEN!
 

I'm happy to report that the registration has opened up for our August, 2015  campout at Muskallonge Lake State Park, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, along the pristine shores of Lake Superior. If you are interested in this event, beat the rush and signup for your campsite NOW!  I'd like everyone in our party to get a site in Section 1.  The Ryan family will be in Site 51, off in a corner.

 

As mentioned last time, it's a nine hour drive for us in Ohio, but some families are coming from even further.  Chicago and Minneapolis are within that same driving distance. Most everyone who came last year said it was the best family vacation they ever had!  Why not your family too?

 

People travel from all around the USA to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, but the UP is a well kept secret, one of the last bastions of pristine natural beauty in the eastern USA.  Plus, the night skies are pristine!  Inky black and CROWDED with stars!

 

The dates are August 11-15, but come and stay as long as you'd like!  Campsite registration at Muskallonge Lake State Park has begun, so grab your site now!  Also, join the Facebook group for this campout.  If you're interested in joining us, please send me an email to be contacted and notified directly with any updates.  

 

OTHER CAMPOUTS

 

Last newsletter, I asked if anyone was interested in a 2015 astronomy campout in Ohio or West Virginia.  I had only a couple relies, but no one answered who attended last year's Virginia event.  This was disappointing. In case there still is any interest, please send me an email to let me know.  Otherwise, I'll let the subject drop for 2015.

 

If anyone in other parts of the country is interested in organizing a local astronomy outdoor event, under dark skies in your own area, let me know.  However, I'm not in a position at this time to plan such events myself, and also provide a free program for participants.  

 

 

Moonfinder Storybook

 

Thanks to everyone who ordered a copy of our Moonfinder storybook after mentioning it in the last newsletter.

 

The next New Moon is February 19, and the next couple weeks would be an excellent time to start reading this book to your little astronomer! 

 

Moonfinder is created for ages 4-7, but the information contained therein is educational to learners of all ages!

Dance of the Planets

Venus, Mars and the Moon -- This Friday Evening!

 

The brilliant Evening Star Venus has been blazing in the evening sky throughout the winter. The red planet Mars will soon slide behind the Sun in its orbit, as seen from Earth, and has been drawing closer to Venus, as it prepares to disappear into the sunset. 

 

As reported in the last newsletter, on the evening of February 20, 2015, Venus and Mars will line up in the sky in a conjunction.  If that's not exciting enough, this pair of planets will be joined by the waxing crescent Moon, in a tight little cluster of heavenly bodies!  

 

 

 

Imagine how much fun that would be, being in your first month of reading Moonfinder with your little kids, and then to be able to observe a rare trio of bodies, with the Moon aligning together with these two planets in the evening sky!

 

After you see this cluster of bodies in the western sky, turn around and see the bright planet Jupiter blazing in the east, to the left of Orion, the king of constellations. 

 

As mentioned in the last newsletter, Jupiter and Venus will be drawing closer together over the span of the spring, and will share the western sky in June and July. We'll talk about this again, but in the meantime, do not waste the opportunity to start NOW to watch the amazing conjunction of Jupiter and Venus unfold in 2015.    

Til next time, God bless and clear skies,