My friend Maria is a skeptic in Atlanta (in fact, she’s a Skepchick in Atlanta). As it so happens, Dragon*Con is in Atlanta every year, and a bunch of sciencey types will be in attendance. Putting the two together, along with her incredible energy and motivation, Maria and the Atlanta Skeptics have organized a fantastic event: “A Full Moon in Cancer”, a star party the night before D*C, with my friend Dr. Pamela Gay and me hosting.
The event is in honor of Jeff Medkeff, an astronomer, skeptic, friend, and a wonderful man. Jeff died last year of cancer – regular readers may remember him as having named an asteroid after several skeptics, including me. Jeff loved astronomy and skepticism, and was planning on attending Dragon*Con last year, but the cancer got him first. All proceeds from the star party go to the American Cancer Society.
The star party will be on Thursday, September 3, 2009, at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College. They have fine facilities, and it should be a great event. The Moon will be up, as will be Jupiter – and that’s an unforgettable sight through a big telescope. Plus, Pamela and I will be there to guide you and to answer your questions about astronomy.
And it’s for charity, a good one. If you plan on coming to Dragon*Con, then why not come down a day night early and help out a good cause? Where else can you help fight cancer as well as get a chance to take in the whole Universe?
