The Sky's the Limit

Astrophotographer Miguel Claro took the image from São Miguel Island in the Azores on April 5, 2014.

(Image: © Miguel Claro/www.miguelclaro.com)

International Dark Sky Week 2020 starts Sunday, April 19

By Elizabeth Howell

Some of the highlights from this year's IDA sessions include presentations spanning millennia of human interactions with the sky, including cultures from New Zealand to Guatemala and technologies from navigation to photography. Many of the talks are appropriate and exciting for both adults and children.

"Right now, families around the globe find themselves spending many hours at home together," Ruskin Hartley, IDA's executive director, said in a statement. "It's a perfect time to reconnect with the night sky — and International Dark-Sky Week provides a portal for that experience."

The IDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the sky and the nighttime environment, especially by encouraging the use of outdoor lighting that does not scatter into the sky. This Space.com story from 2018 shows how you can reduce light pollution.

Presentations will be available for free online on both YouTube and Facebook. You can also discuss on social media using the hashtags #lookuptogether and #IDSW2020. 

Wednesday, April 22 pre-dawn—Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak

https://www.space.com/23315-lyrid-meteor-shower.html

(Image credit: Starry Night)

The annual Lyrids meteor shower, derived from particles dropped by comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), runs from April 16 to 28, and will peak in intensity around 18:00 GMT on Wednesday, April 22. The best viewing time will be between midnight and dawn on Wednesday, with fewer meteors on the mornings before and after. The meteors will streak away from a point in the sky (the shower's radiant) near the bright star Vega, which will be high in the eastern sky before dawn. The Lyrids can produce up to 18 meteors per hour, with occasional fireballs. A nearly new moon will leave the skies nice and dark for this year's shower.

The 10 Must-See Skywatching Events to Look for in 2020

https://www.space.com/39231-top-skywatching-events-this-year.html

Moisture report for March

Tourist and second home owners are ask to not come to Ruidoso at this time

 PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO
https://www.cbs7.com/content/news/Village-of-Ruidoso-asks-visitors-to-say-away-during-public-health-crisis-569047681.html

RUIDOSO, New Mex. (KOSA) -- The Village of Ruidoso, New Mexico is asking visitors and vacation homeowners to stay away during this public health crisis.

The mayor issued an executive order that took effect Monday, that discourages all travel to Ruidoso and closes the Grindstone Lake and Alto Lake areas.

“It breaks our hearts to say this, but we are asking our visitors to stay home and postpone their trip to Ruidoso at this time,” Justin Huffmon, the Village of Ruidoso Director of Tourism, said in a written press release. “We know many visitors consider us home, but in the interest of social distancing and flattening the curve, we all need to do our part to eliminate the spread of COVID-19. We ask that you comply with our request to stay home and plan your trip to Ruidoso at a later date.”

Statewide, the New Mexico Department of Health is asking anyone who travels in from outside of the state to self-isolate for 14 days and monitor themselves for symptoms.

On top of that, New Mexico has prohibited public gatherings, closed restaurants to everything but drive-thru business, closed casinos, and limited hotels to only 50% of their max occupancy.

Small Mountain Towns

There seems to be this strange perception that mountain towns are safe in the wake of the current COVID-19 crisis. Safe to whom? Most of these small communities have limited medical resources, in fact, the town of Jackson, Wyoming only has 10 ventilators. All it takes is one asymptomatic person with the virus to potentially overload an already tiny medical center.

Does this situation sound particularly safe to an immunocompromised 65-year-old who lives here?

 
Mountain towns all throughout the U.S. are making the same plea to visitors: Please stay home. Visit Mammoth Lakes recently released a statement asking anyone who wasn’t a primary resident of the area to stay away temporarily. And while these statements might feel blunt to visitors, please understand that they’re hard to make. Small communities are largely driven by tourism. Cutting off this the essential source of revenue equates to a catastrophic loss of hotel, restaurant, and other customer service jobs. We’re already seeing this play out in Jackson with a large portion of the community currently unemployed. Rather than add stress to our already spread thin resources, consider making a donation to our local food bank.


Instead of going on an epic road trip right now, use your time at home to plan a vacation when the pandemic settles down. All these communities would love your business—just not right now. 

https://www.tetongravity.com/story/news/psa-mountain-towns-are-not-safe-havens-during-covid-19?bwf_dp=t&bwf_entry_id=65777&bwf_token_id=20114&bwf_token=YtKSP3DY3G6F8R4HPjvXl84lp

Moisture in February

Moisture report

FYI - since December report was missing: December had .58" and 2019 total was 23.18"

Sun Valley Water Board of Directors news

In Carrizozo, Sarah Mazur takes oath of office to serve as a Director on Sun Valley Water & Sanitation District Board of Directors.  If interested in serving your community on the SVW&SD Board, call 575-336-7998 for details