General Meeting –October 2019

6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation

Title:  Seasonal Night Sky Objects

Speaker:  Mary Turner, PhD

Mary Turner, TAAA’s appointed Chief Observer, takes us on a tour of the fall night sky. As usual in her popular talks, Mary’s use of astronomical data, images, and mythology brings the seasonal changes in the sky to life.

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  A Nightwatchman’s Journey: The Road Not Taken

Speaker:  David H. Levy. A renowned amateur astronomer, David has never taken a class in astronomy, yet has authored over three dozen books, written for three astronomy magazines, and appeared on TV programs featured on the Discovery and the Science Channels.  Among David’s accomplishments are 23 comet discoveries, the most famous being Shoemaker-Levy 9 that collided with Jupiter in 1994, a few hundred shared asteroid discoveries, an Emmy for the documentary Three Minutes to Impact, five honorary doctorates in Science and a PhD which combines astronomy and English Literature.  Currently, he is the editor of the web magazine Sky’s Up!, and has a monthly column, Skyward, in The Vail Voice newspaper.

With slides and music, David’s presentation will focus on his most recent book, A Nightwatchman’s Journey: The Road Not Taken; the autobiography of one of today’s most enthusiastic and famous amateur astronomers. David will share how his passion for astronomy began in his native Canada, and his 19-year search for comets until he found his first in 1984. (He has gone on to find 22 more.) David will also share his love for astronomy in literature, his personal struggles, and why he subtitles his autobiography, “The Road Not Taken.” Expect a fascinating lecture from a nightwatchman who continues to hunt for comets and asteroids, and lecture worldwide. Refreshments and a book signing ($35 a copy) will follow.

* Voting will be held at 7:30 meeting on two proposed TAAA bylaws changes. *