AFSIG monthly meetings will be held online, starting at 6:30 P.M. The presentation is open to the general public. To view the meeting, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy

Constellation of the Month:

None

Presenter:  None

No constellation of month.

Main Presentation:

Research Results from the Professional Astronomy Community

Presenter:  to be determined

This month’s main topic will be recapping several research results from the professional astronomy community that will be covering new discoveries about planetary formation, supernovas, as well as Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus.

AFSIG monthly meetings will be held online, starting at 6:30 P.M. The presentation is open to the general public. To view the meeting, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy

Constellation of the Month:

Hydrus and Phonix

Presenter:  David Evans

David Evans will be presenting Hydrus (not to be confused with Hydra) and Phonix for the constellation of the month.

Main Presentation:

Mercury

Presenter:  Doug Smith

Doug Smith will be wrapping up our slate of presentations on the planets with a talk on Mercury.

TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, August 6, 2021, and available online. The Main Presentation starts at 6:30 P.M and is open to the public. A Members Only Meeting will follow. Non-members may attend the Main Presentation via Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/.  Members should attend the meeting via Zoom.

6:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Preparing for Artemis: Understanding the Moon’s most important resource

Presentation:  Dr. Casey Honniball, from Goddard Space Flight Center is featured in this pre-recorded presentation about NASA’s Artemis program given to the Night Sky Network in May 2021. NASA’s Artemis program will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. Innovative technologies will allow the Artemis crew to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. A sustainable presence on the lunar surface requires in-depth knowledge of the Moon’s available resources. Perhaps the most important of these is water. In preparation for Artemis, the lunar water cycle is being studied to understand the source, transport and retention of water across the Moon. Dr. Honniball will discuss how we study water on the Moon from Earth-based observatories and how water may be used in future Artemis missions.

Presenter:  Dr. Casey Honniball is a research fellow in the NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Her current research focuses on characterizing water on the Moon and testing field portable instruments for use by astronauts during an extravehicular activity on planetary surfaces. She earned her Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of Hawaii in 2019. Recently Dr. Honniball and her team announced the direct detection of water molecules on a sunlit portion of the Moon using the air-borne telescope SOFIA. Since then, she has made numerous media and outreach appearances to talk about lunar water.

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6:30 – 8:00 pm:  Open to everyone (via Facebook Live)                                      Approximately 8:00 pm:  Members Only (via Zoom)

TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, July 2, 2021, and available online. The Main Presentation starts at 6:30 P.M and is open to the public. A Members Only Meeting will follow. Non-members may attend the Main Presentation via Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/. Members should attend the meeting via Zoom.

6:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Solar Cycle 25 and The Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers Solar Section (ALPOSS)

Presentation:  Solar cycles are on average 11 years, with the Sun’s sunspot activity during them transitioning from quiet to active and back to quiet in that time. At its quietest, the Sun is at solar minimum, where we are now. During a good solar maximum, the Sun will be covered with spots, and with the right filters, seen to be erupting with flares and huge prominences. Solar Cycle 25 is the current solar cycle. It began in December, 2019, with the Sun at its least active.  ALPO Solar Section Coordinator and long-time TAAA member, Richard ‘Rik” Hill will talk about the Sun’s current ramp-up, comparing the three major predictions for its increasing activity, and explaining how The ALPOSS observes this ramp-up, with its members contributing to the database of solar observations. Solar cycle predictions are very important; ‘space weather’ or conditions in space change much like weather on Earth. Solar outbursts lead to a range of effects, from breathtaking auroras, to the disruption of satellites, radio communications, the power grid, and yes, even smart phones.

Presenter:  Richard “Rik” Hill’s interest in astronomy was galvanized at age 8 when a substitute teacher in his two-room schoolhouse in rural Oakland County, Michigan, brought a telescope to school and projected an image of the Sun. In the Navy, Rik served as a radar tech on a ship chosen as an Atlantic backup recovery ship for Apollo 8. Since 1975, he’s been a member of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO) and the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).  From 1979-1991, Rik operated the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak. In 1982, he founded ALPO’s Solar Section. In 1999, Rik began working with the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS), a near-earth asteroid search project, through which he discovered thousands of asteroids, naming over 120 of them before retiring in 2015.  In retirement, he is still the Coordinator for the ALPOSS. He also enjoys working at his home observatory, collecting fossils big and small, cultivating bonsai trees, vegetable gardening, and taking in rescue cats. Rik is married to Dolores Hill, who works on the OSIRIS-REx mission team to return a soil sample from the asteroid Bennu.

6:30 – 8:00 pm:  Open to everyone (via Facebook Live)                              Approximately 8:00 pm:  Members Only (via Zoom)

TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, June 4, 2021, and available online. The Main Presentation starts at 6:30 P.M and is open to the public. A Members Only Meeting will follow. Non-members may attend the Main Presentation via Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/. Members should attend the meeting via Zoom.

6:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Ivory Towers in Backyards

Presentation: Many astronomers dream of their own personal observatory in their backyard.  What are some of the options out there for individuals to have a small observatory only feet away from family and a soft, warm bed? Joseph Wright uses anecdotes and a lifetime of talking to a wide variety of audiences, including youth, to inspire people to become involved or more involved in astronomy.

Presenter: Joseph Wright’s  interest in astronomy started when he was a teen Boy Scout working on the astronomy Merit Badge at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, MO, Joe continued his interest as a member of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City, and by studying Architecture and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas. He has created construction for several small observatories. He is now employed by UA and Steward Observatory as an Instructional Specialist, as well as a high school teacher in Architectural Design, CAD/Drafting and Robotics. The winner of many honors and awards in his field, Joe is Solar System Ambassador with Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), an Airborne Astronomy Ambassador with The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the Sofia aircraft. And still more! He’s president of the National Sharing The Sky Foundation, and in his 17th year as Operations Manager of the Warkoczewski Observatory at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He resides near Excelsior, MO, and considers Tucson his second home.

AFSIG monthly meetings will be held online, starting at 6:30 P.M. The presentation is open to the general public. To view the meeting, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy

Constellation of the Month:

Camelopardalis

Presenter:  David Evans

David Evans will be giving us the highlights of the constellation Camelopardalis.

Main Presentation:

Pluto

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

Stephen Ferris will finish up the night with the main topic on Pluto.

6:30 – 8:00 pm:  Open to everyone via Facebook Live                              Approximately 8:00 pm:  Members Only

TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021, and available online. The Main Presentation starts at 6:30 P.M and is open to the public.  Non-members may attend via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/.  Members should attend the meeting via Zoom, since a Members Only Meeting will follow.

6:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Science for Everyone: Empowering Students with Citizen Science and More 

Science—including astronomy—is a messy process of discovery. And science education doesn’t always present the content in a way that actively engages students in the scientific process. At the same time, many science fields face challenges analyzing the wealth of data they collect. To help solve these challenges in astronomy, researchers have turned to citizen science through platforms such as the Zooniverse. These projects enable interested members of the public (adults as well as kids) to help analyze data by classifying galaxies, identifying features on Mars, or even isolating signals from meteoroids and near-Earth objects. Additionally, these projects create promising opportunities for students by broadening their science education to include contributions to ongoing research. And by integrating students’ research contributions with their typical science classes and relevant real-life experiences, students gain a greater appreciation for science and improve their abilities to critically examine, understand, and use data.

Presenter: Christine O’Donnell is a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University with a joint appointment between the School for Earth & Space Exploration and the Center for Gender Equity in Science & Technology. Her current research focuses on developing and assessing science education curricular materials, and her past work also featured research into galaxy formation and dark matter. Christine completed her Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Arizona in Summer 2020. Outside of her work, Christine enjoys crafting/making hobbies, like glassblowing, crocheting, and knitting, and spending time with her cat.