Join us at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument for an evening of stargazing under extremely dark skies at a historic location. Few locations in the U.S. have skies this dark!
TAAA will have volunteer astronomers with Telescopes setup and viewing Planets, Nebulas, Galaxies, Star Clusters and more, under the dark skies of Southern Arizona!
Star Party is free but national park admission fees apply.
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park. 3820 E Wildlife Dr., Oracle, AZ 85623 Star Party open to the Public. Admission fees for entrance into Oracle State Park 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.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook event page: TAAA Facebook Events page
Join us at the Tubac Presidio State Historical Park in Tubac AZ for an evening of stargazing under truly dark skies at a historic location.
TAAA will have volunteer astronomers with Telescopes setup and viewing Planets, Nebulas, Galaxies, Star Clusters and more, under the dark skies of Southern Arizona!
Truely dark skies at a scenic location – Picacho Peak State Park Star Party is open to the Public. Event is free but park 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 at a really dark location.
This talk’s title may seem an odd juxtaposition of words, until Father Christopher Corbally runs through the 440-year history of the Vatican Observatory. Learn about the Papacy’s long-standing interest and support for astronomical research, including Pope Leo XIII ‘s 1891 formal refounding of an earlier papal observatory into The Vatican Observatory in Vatican City. In 1935, with urban growth brightening Rome’s sky too much, the Observatory was officially moved to the Papal Summer Residence at Castel Gandolfo, southeast of Rome. But Rome’s population kept growing, making the skies above the Observatory still too bright. In 1981, the Observatory founded the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG) in Tucson. Father Corbally will discuss how VORG has grown, including its construction in collaboration with Steward Observatory of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham, AZ. The VATT, now 31 years old, recently became robotic. Father Corbally will explore the new era of observations this update can bring.
Bio: Father Christopher Corbally is a Jesuit priest and research astronomer. Born near London, England, he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1963, and holds degrees in philosophy (Licentiate 1968, Heythrop College, a Pontifical Academy in England), physics (B.Sc. 1971, U of Bristol, England), astronomy (M.Sc. 1972, U of Sussex), and theology (B.A. 1976, Heythrop College, London Univ., with a Pastoral Diploma in 1977). In 1983, he obtained a PhD in astronomy at the University of Toronto (Canada). Since then, Father Corbally has been based at the Vatican Observatory Research Group, UA, where he was its Vice Director until 2012. His primary interest is probing the personalities of stars via their spectra, and with an anthropologist-biologist colleague, investigating the challenges to humans of traveling and living in space.
Caption: Father Corbally at Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) Credit: Vatican Observatory
Venus is setting more than three hours after the sun. It is high at sunset in the south/southwest, not around the west as usual.
Saturn transits at dusk. Its rings will be going edge-on within three months.
Jupiter gets into opposition on the 7th at magnitude -2.8 and diameter 48 arc-seconds. It is getting closer to Aldebaran. Ganymede (largest Jupiter moon) and its nearby shadow transit Jupiter’s disk on the 15th from 7-10 pm Arizona time and then on the 22nd after 10 pm.
Mars is approaching its January 15 opposition at magnitude -1.2 and 14 arc-seconds diameter. On the 7th Mars is stationary only 2 degrees from the Beehive cluster. It is moving towards Pollux again.
Uranus and Neptune are evening objects between Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus is near the Pleiades.
Mercury becomes a dawn object starting on the 12th, visible 6-7 am. Around the 24th, it is visible as well as it ever gets from Arizona’s latitude. It is moving above Antares that is less obvious.
The minor planet (15) Eunomia comes into opposition on the 14th in Auriga, a binocular object at magnitude 8. It transits 89 degrees high.
The Moon makes a very close approach to Mars on the 17th around 2:30 am, 17 arc-minutes from the lunar limb. After the New Moon at the end of the year, it shows its thin crescent on the first day of 2025. Two days later it makes a bright pair with Venus.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the 13th.
Sunsets are already getting later. The Winter Solstice is December 21st.
Star Party – Saguaro National Park – East 3693 S Old Spanish Trail Tucson, AZ 85730
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.
Star Party at Catalina State Park – Tucson, AZ Viewing Location: Trailhead Picnic area at end of road inside the park. Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Catalina State Park. Star Party open to the Public. Admission fee for entrance into Catalina State Park.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have approximately 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.
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: ((4) Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association | Facebook)
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. go to: https://bit.ly/ticketsEE These events fill up fast so recommend registering early.
