Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park. Star Party open to the Public. Admission cost for entrance into Oracle State Park may apply.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will be observing the Moon, Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, and Star Clusters.
Great opportunity to look through a wide variety of telescopes. Weather dependent.
Events Schedule at Kannally Ranch House: 5:30 – 6:30pm Ranger-led workshop on how to use a telescope 6:30 – 8:30pm TAAA Star Party
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/)
Star Party-Tucson Mountain Park Ironwood Picnic Area
Tucson, AZ (West)
Viewing Location: Second Restroom area approximately 3/4 of the way in on Hal Gras Road.
Information: Great dark skies in Western Tucson. Star Party open to the Public. Cost: FREE. Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes. Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Go to this link (Eventbright) and search for: “Stargazing” and “Ironwood Picnic Area”, location: “Tucson” (event may not show up until about two months prior). These events may fill up early.
Join TAAA for an evening of stargazing to view amazing solar system and deep sky objects from a truly Dark Sky Park. You will see planets, nebulae, star clusters, double stars, galaxies millions of light years away, and lots more. We will have several telescopes for public viewing.
Observing location will be at Faraway Ranch just inside the entrance gate. Please try to use red light flashlights and minimize white light (to include cell phones) that will hinder your night vision.
Chiricahua National Monument website: https://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm.
Weather dependent — Follow the event on the TAAA Facebook page to get weather and other updates: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/.
Check back here or on our Facebook page closer to the event for any updates.
Viewing Location: Bus Lanes @ North end of Parking Lot
Information: Great dark skies in Northeast Tucson. Star Party open to the Public. Cost: FREE. Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes. Park gate may close before event end time, so arrive as close to start time as possible. Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. go to: Eventbright and search “Stargazing” and location “Tucson”. These events fill up fast so recommend registering early. Event may not show up until about two months out.
Saturn is 45 degrees high during the late evening. Rings are almost half open, the last time for several years.
Jupiter rises at 10 pm during early September, but close to sunset by late October. Its magnitude reaches -2.9, which is as high as it ever gets. Jupiter transits 73 degrees high during the morning hours.
Uranus is 10 degrees east of Jupiter at magnitude 5.7, getting closer to the Pleiades.
Neptune is between Jupiter and Saturn at magnitude 7.8. It reaches opposition on September 19.
Venus rises at 4 am, but later already at 3 am. It is high up by sunrise and is a large crescent in September, reaching half phase in late October. It is brightest in mid-September, and at -4.8, it is really bright. One could find it during daytime, for example around 9:30 am 65 degrees high in the south, or close to the moon September 11-12 and October 10.
Mercury is a morning object from September 15 to October 6, rising at 5 am below Regulus, which is below Venus.
The moon passes Jupiter on September 4, October 1 and 28. It is close to Pollux on the morning of October 7.
Arizona gets its second and last annular solar eclipse on October 14 with a maximum around 9:35 am. Tucson gets a good partial eclipse, while Four Corners (and parts of New Mexico) get the annular phase. A great event to watch, especially with a filtered telescope. Always use an approved SOLAR FILTER for observing Partial and Annular Eclipses.
TAAA hosts numerous classes and workshops for Members Only throughout the year.
Practical Astronomy – Workshop 1 – Star Hopping
Open for Enrollment
Place: TIMPA Date/Time: Thursday, October 19, 2023, 5:45 PM until completed
Synopsis: This is the first workshop in the practical astronomy workshop series. It will teach Star Hopping. The students will be taught the proper star hopping technique and equipment usage. Each student will use the supplied equipment to locate at least 2 targets (maybe more if time permits). By the end of the workshop the student will know what equipment to use and how to use it in order to locate targets using star hopping.
Practical Astronomy Workshop 2 – Constellation Locating and Identification – open for enrollment
Place: TIMPA Date: Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 Time: 6:30 PM until completed
Synopsis: This is the second workshop in the practical astronomy workshop series. It will teach how to locate and identify constellations. The students will be taught how to locate and identify the constellations without having to memorize the night sky. Each student will use the supplied equipment to locate several constellations. Students will learn how to use a planisphere and star atlas to locate constellations without memorizing the sky. This program provides the methodology for the observing requirements of the Astronomical League Northern Constellation Observing Award.
If interested you can register Below or contact the instructor Douglas Smith at: alcor@tucsonastronomy.org
PLEASE NOTE: due to equipment limitations there is a strict limit of 20 students for this workshop.
TAAA hosts numerous classes and workshops for Members Only throughout the year.
Upcoming Workshops Open for Pre-enrollment
Several workshops are being planned for the fall 2023/winter 2024 time frame.
• A Sketching/Logging workshop will be offered.
• A Constellation identification/locating workshop will be offered. Dates/Times are still TBD. They will be announced in the bulletin as soon as they are set.
If you are interested in enrolling in any of these workshops or would like additional information contact the TAAA Astronomical League Correspondent (ALCOR) at the information listed below.
TAAA ALCOR – Douglas Smith; Phone: 520-396-3233; E-mail: alcor@emergency
It will teach Star Hopping. The students will be taught the proper star hopping technique and equipment usage. Each student will use the supplied equipment to locate at least 2 targets (maybe more if time permits). By the end of the workshop the student will know what equipment to use and how to use it in order to locate targets using star hopping.
Stephen Ferris will be giving a presentation on Eyepieces and their essentials, which should help out anyone that is looking for some holiday gift ideas.
Second Presentation: Solar Observing
Presenter: Doug Smith
Doug Smith will be giving our second topic on Solar Observing.
Pete Hermes will be providing the astronomer of the month on George Hale.
He conceived and developed the world’s largest telescopes four times in succession — Yerkes Observatory (40-inch refractor), Mount Wilson Observatory (60-inch reflector, 100-inch reflector) and Palomar Observatory (200-inch reflector). https://www.mtwilson.edu/george-ellery-hale/#:~:text=The%20sound%2Dbite%20description%20of,(200%2Dinch%20reflector).
Main Presentation: Meade GOTO System
Presenter: Jim Knoll and Bob Rose
Jim Knoll and Bob Rose will be presenting the main topic on using the Meade GOTO system.
