LAS CRUCES Area residents interested in astronomy will have several opportunities throughout October to learn more about outer space through multiple activities of the Fellowship of Las Cruces Area Rocketry Enthusiasts and Astronomical Society of Las Cruces.

The organizations will have several public outreach and education activities for the community this month, beginning with the Apollo 17 40th anniversary commemorative event Friday at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo.

Activities begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday and will include launch demonstrations of scale replicas of some historic White Sands rockets, a re-enactment of the Apollo 17 launch and a presentation by Dr. Harrison Schmitt and Jan Evans, widow of Apollo 17 command module pilot Ronald E. Evans, at 10:30 at the Tays Center.

Afternoon activities at the commemoration event include hands-on demonstrations, museum tours and special exhibits. Southern New Mexico Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy students will have an egg loft competition in the parking lot at the museum.

At 6:30, FLARE will present an Apollo 17 night launch re-enactment in the upper parking lot at the museum. Several rockets will be launched just before and after sunset.

FLARE and ASLC will also host Astronomy Day from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. Telescopes will be set up to observe the sun, moon and deep space objects. ASLC members will also be giving presentations

For more information about FLARE, visit http://www.flare-rocketry.com; for information about the ASLC, visit http://www.aslc-nm.org; for information about the upcoming commemoration events, visit http://www.nmspacemuseum.org and http://www.apollo40.org.

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Alamogordo, Las Cruces astronomy events on horizon