CMC SKY Club annual fundraising raffle arrives March 23rd!

Black holes, dark energy, telescopes ( and free cookies too…..)

The student astronomy club at the Alpine Campus, the SKY Club, is having its annual fundraising raffle. The prize is a beautiful matted and framed photograph of “Orion’s Nebula,” taken by Jimmy Westlake through his 11-inch Celestron telescope.  Read on if you’re interested in supporting SKY CLUB and a chance to win this gorgeous print! Following are the invite details from Professor Westlake.

Orion's Nebula, seen through the Alpine campus Celestron telescope
Orion's Nebula, seen through the Alpine campus Celestron telescope

What you Get: A framed and matted 10″ x 15″ glossy print of the Great Orion Nebula taken on January 30, 2011, signed and dated by moi.  Overall framed size is 16″ x 20″ and is valued at $250 (not counting my signature).  Oh, and it would look awesome in your office or living room.  You really need something on that blank wall. 

Raffle Tickets: $2  each or 5 for $10.  What a deal!  Your chances of winning?  We anticipate selling around 500 tickets by the time of the drawing.  If 100 of those tickets are yours, then you stand a pretty good shot of being the winner!  If you only buy one ticket, well then, not so much.

Raffle Drawing: The winning ticket will be drawn and announced at the SKY Club’s public Astronomy Night program on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:00 PM in the Alpine Campus Library in Bristol Hall. You do not have to be present to win, although you will miss an excellent astronomy program if you are not present.  I will be presenting a program entitled “The Dark Side of the Universe,” all about black holes and dark energy and dark matter. You know…dark stuff. There will also be a telescope viewing, after the program, weather permitting, hosted by the SKY Club member. Oh, and free cookies, too.

Your Donation: 100% of the revenues from the photo raffle will go towards defraying the students’ costs of participating in the SKY Club’s 2011 Texas Trek, April 1-4, when a group of 16 SKY Club members will travel to the McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis Texas to spend a weekend observing through a 36-inch telescope and rubbing elbows with professional astronomers.

Here’s what you do:  Let me know by email how many raffle tickets you would like to purchase and include your phone number. I will immediately enter your name and phone number onto the ticket stub(s) and drop them into our drawing box.  You can then intercampus-mail your check or money order (made out to “The SKY Club”) to me at the Alpine Campus.  Next week, you might get a ringy-dingy from me or a SKY Club member with the good news that YOU WON!  But, even if you don’t win, you can sleep warm and snuggly at night knowing that you helped support the students of the CMC SKY Clu Questions? Just let me know. Thanks, in advance, for your support.

Good Luck!

Jimmy Westlake, Professor of Physical Sciences and SKY Club Faculty Advisor, CMC – Alpine Campus 970-870-4537