On August 10-11th at the CU Mountain Research Station we'll be hosting a Retreat for observing the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Please find the attached registration form. We are limited to the first 50 people who reserve for each activity. Let us know which activities you and your family wish to participate in as soon as possible.



On Saturday evening we’ll sponsor a potluck dinner, afterwards Dr. Alan Kiplinger will give a short presentation: A Brief Introduction to the Mountain Research Station and Tonight’s Show in the Sky. CIPS will be providing lodging in the Moores-Collings Family Lodge and the rustic cabins for all who pre-reserve for Saturday night only. There are 8 rooms available in the lodge, each sleeps four. There are 20 cabins, each sleeps 2 people. As the onsite Dining Hall will be closed for the season we will be renting the kitchen in the Lodge so people may prepare meals Saturday and Sunday as needed. Anyone wishing to stay Sunday night will need to pay for their own lodging. Sunday night there will also be a potluck dinner and Alan will give another short presentation. There are excellent hiking opportunities, including Rainbow Lakes and going above the tree line on Niwot Ridge, while still being on University Property!

We will plan for the potluck dinner to start about 6 pm at the Moores-Collins Family Lodge. Following dinner in the Lodge Alan Kiplinger will give a talk: "A Brief Introduction to the Mountain Research Station and Tonight's Show in the Sky".

Nature Walk: Claire Lay will lead a nature walk Sunday afternoon. Meet at 1 pm at the Megaron.

If you are only able to join us for observing, plan to arrive before sunset. Finding your way at the MRS after dark can be very difficult.

About the Perseid Meteor shower:
This is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display. It is caused by fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle that orbits the Sun about every 130 years. New moon occurs on August 12th rendering the skies dark for the meteor show this year. This meteor shower gets the name "Perseids" because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as July 23, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. During the next three weeks, there is a slow build-up. It is possible to spot five Perseids per hour at the beginning of August and perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. The Perseids rapidly increase to a peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 (around midnight in Colorado) and then rapidly decline to about 10 per hour by August 15. The best equipment with which to observe the Perseids is a folding lounge chair and a blanket.

About the Mountain Research Station (MRS) and the U of C. Alpine Observatory (UCAO):
The MRS is an open research facility operated by CU’s Institute of Artic and Alpine Research. The MRS and is located just west of Peak to Peak highway about 8 miles north of Nederland and 28 miles from the Boulder campus (~45 min driving time). Camping is not permitted at the MRS but it is allowed at Brainard Lake and elsewhere. The UC Alpine Observatory has a 12” Meade Schmidt Cassegrain telescope housed in a 12-1/2 foot Ash Dome at an altitude of 9600’.