Stargazing Canoa Ranch

Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Recreation for some stargazing at Historic Canoa Ranch. We will observe planets, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, galaxies, and lots more.

FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: Go to Eventbright and search for stargazing Canoa Ranch. May fill up quickly, so recommend registering as early as possible (event may not show up in Eventbright until about two months before).

Chiricahua National Monument Stargazing

TAAA Stargazing to view amazing solar system and deep sky objects from a 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.

Stargazing Tucson Mountain Park – Ironwood Picnic Area

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.

Tucson Astronomy Festival

Tucson Astronomy Festival at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park
Telescopes, Exhibits, Fun!

Brandi Fenton Memorial Park (Ramada #1)

ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Safe Solar viewing of the Sun – 3 to 6:30 PM
Hands-On Interactive Exhibits for Kids – 3 to 6:00 PM
Door Prizes will be given away at 6:30 PM – winners must be present
——-Grand Prize: Small Telescope——–
Other prizes for the entire family
What’s up in the night sky talk – 7 to 7:30pm
Night Sky Viewing – 7:30 PM to 9 PM
Kid-Friendly Scope viewing throughout the evening
No charge for any activities, donations will be accepted.
Bring your own telescope for help in setting it up and operating the scope.

Stargazing at Catalina State Park

Star Party-Catalina State Park
Tucson, AZ
Viewing Location: Trailhead Picnic area at end of road inside the park.
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Catalina State Park.  Star Party open to the Public.  Admission cost for entrance into Catalina State Park.  Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have 10 telescopes for astronomical viewing.  We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more.  Great opportunity to look through a wide 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/).

Additional details will be posted here and on Facebook as we get closer to the event.

Stargazing at Aqua Caliente Park

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.

Stargazing Aqua Caliente Park

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.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month: December 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is still high in the southwest at dusk and sets late in the evening.
Jupiter follows higher with a transit at dusk and sets just past midnight. On the 15th, we can watch Ganymede’s shadow until 8:18 pm (MST). On the 22nd, Ganymede transits Jupiter’s disk until 7 pm with its shadow following starting at 9:44 pm. On the 29th, Ganymede transits from 8:11 to 11:07 pm. All these transits occur on Thursdays.
Mars reaches opposition on the 7th, at the same time as the Full Moon occurs. Furthermore the moon occults Mars! The event lasts from 7:32 to 8:27 pm, a great sight even with just your eyes. The disappearance and reappearance of Mars lasts almost a minute. Have your telescope ready for this rare event! Mars shows a polar cap and details on its surface quite well due to its 17 arc-seconds diameter.
Venus can be found in the southwest during early dusk.
Mercury joins Venus from the 6th to the 30th, to the upper left of Venus. The prettiest sight is on the 24th when the crescent moon is next to both planets.
Uranus is just past opposition and well placed almost all night.

Neptune is still observable during the first half of the night 6 degrees west of Jupiter.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month: November 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn transits 40 degrees high during dusk. Its rings are still open by 15 degrees, which will not happen again until 2028.
Jupiter rules the night, 40 degrees east of Saturn. It is so bright that it can cast shadows at a very dark site. On the evening of the 2nd and 9th, Ganymede’s large shadow wanders across Jupiter’s disk.
Mars is the bright orange “star” in the east during late evenings. Its rising times change from 8 pm at the beginning of the month to before 6 pm at the end. After the first week, it is even brighter than Sirius. Its disk reaches 17 arc-seconds diameter, which shows its surface details quite well in a telescope. On the 30th, Mars is closest to Earth. Its distance is better than at an average opposition, and its altitude in Tucson reaches 83 degrees. Hard to beat!
Venus will start its evening visibility in December, with good eyesight even during the last days of November.
Uranus comes into opposition on the 9th. At magnitude 5.6 and 74 degrees high in the sky at midnight, it is within reach of naked eye visibility if you know where to look.
Neptune is visible in binoculars 7 degrees to the west of Jupiter.
Vesta is as bright as Neptune, but 20 degrees to the southwest in Aquarius.
The Leonid meteor shower might have an intense outburst around 11 pm on the 17th. This is just when the radiant rises in Tucson, which means we would only see a few meteors grazing the atmosphere. If it lasts for an hour, when the radiant will be higher, we may be in for a treat.