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: https://bit.ly/ticketsEE
These events fill up fast so recommend registering early.
Presentation: The Reopening at Kitt Peak National Observatory: One Year In
Vanessa Gressieux presents an exploration of the current public outreach offerings at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Learn about the Observatory’s history, its long shut down after Covid-19 and the Kitt Peak Fire, and its new schedule of day and nighttime astronomy tours, and other events. Vanessa will touch on some of the scientific projects being conducted at Kitt Peak, which visitors can learn more about on tours to the telescopes involved. Learn why Kitt Peak is considered one of America’s premier tourist attractions, as well as an important astronomical research facility.
Bio: Vannessa Gressieux is a University of Arizona alumni with over 12 years of astronomy outreach and education experience. She is also a proud member of the TAAA and volunteers annually at the Grand Canyon Star Party. In addition to her role as the Guide and Docent Coordinator at Kitt Peak National Observatory, she has served as Solar System Ambassador with NASA and JPL.
Presentation: Exploring the Moon with Seismology: From Apollo to Artemis
Over 50 years ago, Apollo astronauts installed the first extraterrestrial seismometers on the lunar surface. These instruments recorded thousands of moonquakes (earthquakes on the Moon). Now, we’re heading back to Moon with modern seismometers as part of the Artemis missions. Lunar and Planetary Lab’s Angela Marusiak will discuss what we learned from Apollo, what we can learn from Artemis, the implications for future exploration, and how the University of Arizona is involved.
Bio: Angela Marusiak is an Assistant Research Professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. She received her Bachelors in Geophysics & Planetary Science from Boston University, and her PhD in Geology from the University of Maryland. She spent two years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a postdoc before joining the faculty at UA. Her research focuses on the science of planetary seismology and development of relevant instruments. Her mission involvement includes InSight (Mars), Dragonfly (Titan), and Artemis III (the Moon). events.can be found at https://www.astrobin.com/users/astronewbie/
Presentation: Dark Sky Southern Arizona 2.0: The Hits (and Misses) Of Our First Year and How Our Region Can Reclaim Its Leading Role
Light pollution is a longstanding concern in the Tucson area, which in many respects is the home of the global dark-skies movement. After going dormant during the pandemic, the Southern Arizona Chapter of DarkSky International (formerly the International Dark-Sky Association) was rebooted in mid-2023. In this talk, John Barentine will describe the motivations that led the group to restart the chapter along with the progress they have made toward achieving the strategic goals of their first three-year period. He will also give an update on regional light-pollution trends and opportunities that can strengthen this region’s leadership on outdoor lighting issues.
Bio: John Barentine is the Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC, and was formerly the Director of Public Policy for the International Dark-Sky Association. He earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and previously held staff positions at the National Solar Observatory, Apache Point Observatory, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Throughout his career, he has been involved in educating the public about science. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. The asteroid (14505) Barentine is named in his honor. His interests outside of astronomy and light pollution research include history, art and architecture, politics, law and current events.can be found at https://www.astrobin.com/users/astronewbie/
Venus is setting around 8 pm. It is only visible for a short time right after sunset. It is slowly getting better visible.
Saturn has its opposition on September 7 (opposition means it is opposite of the Sun from Earth, is usually at its closest to Earth, and is visible all night). Its rings are only 4 degrees open..
Neptune is 10 degrees east of Saturn. It comes into opposition September 20.
Uranus is now rising before midnight, 6 degrees south of the Pleiades.
Mars is rising around 1 am. It passes 5 degrees north of Aldebaran on August 4. Both are first magnitude with similar orange color.
Jupiter in Taurus gets passed by Mars only .3 degrees to the north on August 14. This means you can see both planetary disks in a telescope in the same field of view.
Mercury has a good but short morning visibility from August 29 to September 19. On September 9 it passes .5 degrees north of Regulus. While Mercury is easily visible, Regulus is 2 magnitudes fainter and close to the limit of visibility.
The Moon passes 1 degree north of Venus on August 5, 1 degree south of Antares on August 13, .5 degrees from Saturn on August 20. It is near Mars and Jupiter on August 27, near Mercury on September 1, and near Venus again on September 4. It occults Saturn on September 17 from 4:14 to 5:04 am. The same evening brings a small partial lunar eclipse right after sunset, from 7:12 to 8:17 pm (PDT or Tucson MST) September 17. Visible throughout the U.S.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 12. Best viewed from a dark site in the early morning hours, but you may see some during the evening hours.
T Coronae Borealis COULD become a bright nova during these two months. Look for it in the Corona Borealis constellation, which is a curve of stars high to the west early evening (highest at 6 pm and setting around 1:42 am). It is near the constellation of Bootes (which looks like a kite or ice cream cone and is anchored by the bright star Arcturus (find Arcturus by following the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to Arcturus — “Arc to Arcturus”) T Coronae Borealis is to the south of the upper star in the constellation (furthest away from the brightest “Alpha Star” constellation star). If it goes Nova, it will become very bright for a short period of time (probably a few days). It will outshine the Alpha star. Watch for news then go spot it. It will appear very bright. Last time it went Nova was in 1946. T Coronae Borealis is a double star (cool red giant and a hot white dwarf).
Mercury is visible all month at dusk. It is best in the second week of July.
Venus is also visible all month at dusk. If you look before 8 pm, you will see Venus very low in the WNW. If you look after 8 pm, you see Mercury much higher and further left. They could be mixed up if you look at 8 pm because Venus may hide behind the horizon.
Saturn rises around 10 pm. In a telescope it shows its rings almost edge-on.
Mars rises around 1 am and gets 30 degrees high by dawn. It moves closer to Aldebaran which is of the same magnitude and almost the same color.
Jupiter is 40 degrees east of Mars at the beginning of July and thus rises much later, but the distance shrinks to 8 degrees by the end of the month for a close August 14 conjunction.
Uranus is .6 degrees north or Mars on the 15th. Neptune is close to Saturn.
The first minor planet and dwarf planet Ceres is in opposition on the 5th low in Sagittarius. At magnitude 8, one can find it in binoculars.
The extremely thin moon sits between Mercury and Venus on the 6th. It is more difficult to find than Mercury. The next evening the moon is very easy to see above Mercury. On the 30th, the moon joins Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran, all close together.
The most impressive event is the occultation of Spica by the moon on the 13th from 7:54 to 9:14 pm. At the disappearance, dusk is still bright so Spica is probably not visible naked eye, but great in a telescopes. At the reappearance, the bright limb of the moon makes it challenging to see Spica at the very moment of the event.
