Wind Crest's Astronomy Club is Out of this World

Rob Datsko and Win Pendleton, residents of Wind Crest, the Erickson Senior Living community in Highlands Ranch, Colo., have been interested in astronomy for most of their lives.

Rob recalls pursuing his hobby as a nine-year-old boy in Ann Arbor, Mich., sitting outside with his first small telescope, mounted with rubber bands to a camera tripod. Win has a professional background in astronomy, having previously worked as a professor of astronomy and physics at what is now the University of North Georgia.

"The sheer beauty of some of the things you see, it's just a mind-expanding experience," says Rob.

With approximately 180 clubs and groups to join, Wind Crest has something for everyone. But residents can also start new clubs--that's what Rob and Win did to share their passion for planets with their neighbors.

A growing interest
After discovering their shared interest, the men began discussing plans for an astronomy club.

"Our first meeting was in January 2024 with 24 members in attendance. It's just grown from there," says Rob.

In only a year, it's already expanded to more than 100 resident members, with more coming all the time.

"Before we knew it, we had tons of others who were joining us!" says Win, who also taught physics for nine years at the Air Force Academy as part of his 26-year career in the military. After he retired as a professor, he lectured about astronomy and held stargazing parties throughout the country--including Wind Crest.

"At one of our stargazing parties, we were looking at the most distant planet in our solar system--Neptune--and it's 2.7 billion miles away," says Rob.

Looking up
Currently, the Astronomy Club of Wind Crest meets in the Red Rocks Room on the second Wednesday of each month. At some meetings, members enjoy recorded presentations about topics such as the best photos taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. At other meetings, residents experienced in astronomy give talks.

For example, Jonathan Ormes explained high energy astronomy (gamma rays); Dick Edgar shared his research about the Chandra X-ray orbiting telescope, and Dave Bohlin gave a talk about the sun.

Win has spoken to the club about black holes. He has also taught classes about astronomy as part of the Wind Crest Learners Group, which enables residents to take educational classes on campus.

"When I talk to people about things out there in the universe--its vastness, how big it is, how old it is--some of them say that they feel small and insignificant," says Win.

"Then I point out to them the amazing thing is that we, as human beings, have been able to discover so much about it, and that it shouldn't make us feel small at all. It should expand our view of humanity and what science has been able to discover."

Club initiatives
To expand the club's scope, the men have submitted a proposal to consider having an observatory built on campus. The structure would feature a roof that rolls back for a view of the night sky and be surrounded by seven-foot walls.

"We'd have a view of the night sky without any lights to distract us, and the walls would block any breeze," says Rob.

The structure would also provide a full-time home for the large, bulky telescopes members use and allow the club to hold monthly stargazing programs, he adds.

For last April's solar eclipse, Win built a solar filter to use with a large, donated telescope that he keeps in his residence. "That way, you can safely look at the sun during the daytime," he says. "It wasn't a total eclipse here, but a partial."

He continues, "We put the telescope on the patio in one of the campus neighborhoods, and we had several hundred people show up and look through the telescope during the eclipse. We talked to them about what an eclipse is and what they were seeing in the telescope. Most of them had never looked at the sun that way."

'Observe and connect'
"I just fell in love with the beautiful, dark night sky and astronomy," Win recalls. "Now, I love sharing the night sky with other residents. It gives them an opportunity to observe and connect with something so unimaginably vast."

To learn more about affordable, independent senior living at Wind Crest, request your free brochure to get the scoop on amenities, floor plans, and so much more.