Reynolds Field Station Booth at Geological Society of America Connects 2026 Conference October 11-14, 2026 Denver, CO
RFS is pleased to announce the Reynolds Field Station booth at Geological…
RFS Hosts Astronomical Society of Las Cruces for Telescopes & Geology Fest June 4-6, 2026
RFS hosted the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces (ASLC) for several fun-filled days and nights of science adventures on June 4-6, 2026. Our ASLC guests brought their telescopes, our own Mark Leonard and How Pope put together RFS’s new 10″ Apertura Dobsonian Telescope, and we got to put our new ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Stacking Telescope through its paces. During the daylight hours, Thomas Valenzuela, who is one of ASLC’s Directors and also a long-time RFS geology alumnus, gave the astrophysicists a crash course in field geology. They got to hike through RFS’s spectacular canyons, and visited one of our giant fossil trees. At dinnertime before the sun went down, ASLC’s team was entertained with technical talks. Dr. Brian Hampton, NMSU Professor, gave a great lecture on the tectonic and sedimentary basin setting and history of the rocks at RFS. A-Lan Reynolds gave a talk about the paleoclimate, and the plants and dinosaurs that roamed RFS when the rocks were being deposited on our landscape, transporting themselves 84 million years back in time, to get a feel for how life looked and felt like then. We challenged the astrophysicists to contemplate possible orbital dynamic causes of the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum which caused extremely high temperatures globally at the time, including at RFS.
We were also treated to an excellent talk by our own Sebastian EvridgePope, a rocket engineer for Blue Origins working on the New Glenn rocket. He discussed the current state of the US and China space race to the moon, and entertained a lively discussion with the astrophysicists. Rani Bush gave an informative talk about the latest news about New Mexico’s Spaceport America.
A great time was had by all!
The penultimate experience, our entire group was truly humbled by Thomas Valenzuela’s generosity in sharing a sunset blessing ceremony before the last night of star viewing, which touched us deeply. Thank you so much Thomas for your amazing and wonderful spirit.
The skies were patchy with clouds, but we still got some good pictures and viewing in between the clouds, and the ASLC veterans stayed up long into the nights viewing through their telescopes.
Here are some iPhone photos of stargazing activities:
And a few astrophotos taken with Seestar telescopes:
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RFS Supports Friends of Field Camps & US Geoscience Field Education Programs
Reynolds Field Station’s leaders provide leadership and support to Friends of Field…
New Mexico State University and Perot Museum of Nature & Science Achieve Spectacular Field Season May 25 – June 5, 2026
A dynamic multi-disciplinary group of researchers, professors and students from the Perot…
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We are passionate about the sharing the amazing environment and scientific learning opportunities at the Reynolds Field Station. We encourage you to Contact Us about ways you and your institution can participate in exploring and contributing to the science and appreciation of this natural wonderland. We are a 501(c)(3) public charity and welcome donations that will enable travel expenses, grants and scientific equipment for learners who need assistance participating at the Field Station.