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/).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Historical Astronomer of the Month:
None
Presenter:
We will not be having an astronomer of the month presentation.
Main Presentation:
Nebula’s and the Variants
Presenter: Connor Justice
This month our main topic is on Nebula’s and the variants presented by Connor Justice.
Historical Astronomer of the Month:
Far East Indian Astronomers
Presenter: Douglas Smith
Doug Smith will be continuing our ongoing series of Astronomer of the month on notable Far East Indian astronomers.
Main Presentation:
Notable Astronomy Events 2023
Presenter: Connor Justice
Connor Justice will do presenting the main topic on notable astronomy events that will be occurring in 2023.
Title: Annular Eclipse, October 14, 2023
Presentation: While we all look forward to totality in 2024, a great observing opportunity presents itself to amateur astronomers in the U.S. this fall. An annular eclipse (when a ring of the Sun’s disk surrounds the Moon) will touch the Pacific coast and track across eight states before moving into the Gulf of Mexico. The path of this annular eclipse isn’t that far from Tucson. Michael Bakich’s talk will cover the details about an event that won’t happen again in the 48 states until 2046.
Bio: Michael E. Bakich was Senior Editor of Astronomy magazine for 17 years before retiring in 2019. He and his wife, Holley, then realized their lifelong dream and moved to Tucson. Michael continues work for the magazine as Contributing Editor. He has authored 14 books on astronomy, including Atlas of Solar Eclipses: 2020-2045.
TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, May 5, 2023. The Main Presentation will start at 6:30 P.M. Note that this month’s meeting will be online only. TAAA members will receive a Zoom link to attend. The public may stream via the TAAA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tucsonamateurastronomyasso2702
Title: JWST: Our First Year Capturing Light from the Dawn of Time
Presentation: In this talk, University of Arizona astronomer Kevin Hainline will discuss the exciting first year of NASA’s flagship space observatory: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). He’ll share stories from his time working on the observatory, and discuss highlights from the wealth of data that JWST has brought us: awe-inspiring planets, nearby nebulae, baby stars, and the farthest galaxies humans have ever seen.
Bio: Dr. Kevin Hainline is an astronomy professor and researcher on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam science team at The University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory. His research focuses on hunting for hidden supermassive black holes, and he’s currently using JWST to find and understand the most extreme, distant galaxies in the early universe. He received his PhD from UCLA in 2012 and spent three years as a researcher and professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire before moving to Tucson to work on JWST. Kevin has a passion for science outreach education, and has spoken about astronomy and our relation to the stars at events around the world.
