Stargazing @ Saguaro NP – East

Star Party – Saguaro National Park – East
Tucson, AZ

Great dark skies on the East side of Tucson at Saguaro National Park – East.
Star Party is open to the Public.  Event is free but NPS admission fees apply.
The 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/).

Stargazing @ Tumacacori National Historical Park

Event cancelled due to cloud cover

Starry Night in the Park – Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tumacacori, AZ

The 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.

Very dark skies in a rural setting with no city lights!
Star Party is open to the Public.  Park entrance fees apply.

Weather dependent.  For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).

Planets of the Month: February-March 2023

By Erich Karkoschka
Venus becomes brilliant at dusk. Venus passes Jupiter at 1/2 degree distance on March 1st. This should be a great sight
Jupiter is getting lower in the western sky and will be visible at dusk until March 29th.
Mars transits 83 degrees high, going from Taurus to Gemini. It still has an 11 arc-second diameter, great for observing its features in a telescope. But, by the end of March, it only will be 6 arc-seconds. Its magnitude decreases from 0 to 1.
Mercury finishes its morning visibility on February 18th and starts its evening visibility on March 26th.
Uranus can still be viewed at more then 70 degrees altitude in Aries, but it sets earlier and earlier as the month progresses.
Ceres has its opposition on March 21st at magnitude 7 in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.

Pallas moves 50 degrees south of the ecliptic in Canis Major at Magnitude 8.

Comet ZTF is fast moving at 6 degrees/day from Auriga to Orion at Magnitude 6. Best on February 6th. It will fade to Magnitude 11 by the end of March.

Stargazing at Saguaro NP – East

Star Party – Saguaro National Park – East
Tucson, AZ

Great dark skies on the East side of Tucson at Saguaro National Park – East.
Star Party is open to the Public.
The 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/).

Solar Telescope Observing at Saguaro NP East

Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Saguaro National Park – East for some Sun gazing at the park. We will observe the Sun through telescopes with appropriate filters so you will get to see sunspots, prominences, flares, and more.
The Sun is nearing its peak in the sunspot cycle so there is lots of activity on its surface.

This event is FREE and open to the public.  The telescopes will be set up in front of the Visitors Center.  This event may be canceled in the event of clouds/rain.

ONLINE – Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – June 2023

Main Presentation:  

Binocular Observing

Presenter:  Gus Gomez

Gus Gomez will be leading with our main topic on binocular observing.

Astronomer of the Month:

Johaan Bayer and Nicolas Lacaille

Presenter:  Connor Justice

Connor Justice will be presenting on Johaan Bayer and Nicolas Lacaille for our astronomer of the month.

ONLINE – Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – May 2023

Main Presentation:  

Telescope Collimation with a Focus on Reflectors

Presenter:  Doug Smith

Doug Smith will be presenting the main topic for the night on Telescope Collimation with a focus on Reflectors.

Second Presentation:

Astronomy Related App

Presenter:  Connor Justice

Afterwards, Connor Justice would like to show an astronomy related app prototype.

ONLINE – Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – April 2023

Historical Astronomer of the Month:

Edward Barnard

Presenter:  Connor Justice

Connor Justice will be presenting our Astronomer of the month presentation on Edward Barnard.

Main Presentation:  

Carbon Stars

Presenter:  Pete Hermes

Pete Hermes will be discussing Carbon Stars.

ONLINE – Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – March 2023

Historical Astronomer of the Month:

Japanese Astronomers

Presenter:  Doug Smith

This month Doug Smith will be presenting on Japanese Astronomers for our ongoing Astronomer of the Month series.

Main Presentation:  

Large Telescopes

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

For our main topic, Stephen Ferris will be discussion the last part of his series on Large Telescopes.