Join TAAA and other Non-Profits throughout the day at the Natural Grocers (7220 E Broadway). TAAA will have a solar telescope setup outside the main entrance (weather permitting) in the morning to safely view the Sun and any Solar Prominences and Sunspots. Follow the event on the TAAA Facebook Page for a real-time update on weather conditions.
Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – August 2019
NOTICE – NEW LOCATION!
Constellation of the Month:
Telescopium
Presenter: Ralph Means
Because this didn’t end up happening last month, Ralph Means will start the night with the southern constellation Telescopium.
Main Presentation:
Choose an Newtonian Telescope
Presenter: Alan Kleuse
For our main topic, Alan Kleuse will be showing us how to Choose an Newtonian Telescope.
Meeting Location
More About Location: This location is one block East of Country Club and one block South of Speedway Boulevard.
Parking: You may parallel park on the street or there is a small amount of parking on the South side of the Ward 6 building. You may also park in the south side of the Walgreen’s Parking lot (permission given by Walgreens).
Getting to Room: The front door is required to be locked during off hours, therefore enter the building on the SOUTH side (back). AFSIG will be meeting in the EAST room.
General Meeting – August 2019
NOTICE – NEW SUMMER LOCATION!
6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation
Title: Two Talks: Personal Observatory and CAC Update
Speaker 1: David Klein, TAAA member, amateur astronomy and astrophotographer, will talk about developing and running his personal observatory in Tucson. His New World Observatory has a fully-automated Exploradome.
Speaker 2: Ed Foley, current board member at large and former Treasurer of TAAA will share an update on TAAA’s Gateway to the Galaxy capital campaign and building project at our dark site Chiricahua Complex (CAC).
7:30 pm – Main Presentation
Title: From Tucson to the Moon (And Beyond)
Speaker: Dr. William Hartmann is a noted planetary scientist, artist, and writer. He received his B.S. in physics from Pennsylvania State University and his M.S. in geology and PhD in astronomy from the University of Arizona. He is Senior Scientist Emeritus at Planetary Science Institute in Tucson; the author of several books, including science text books, popular science nonfiction, and novels; and an artist with paintings displayed at the National Air & Space Museum. For this presentation, Dr. Hartman will focus on stories from his work during the Apollo years at UA’s Lunar & Planetary Lab, as well as his current and future projects.
Dr. Hartmann will take us on a journey of exploration, presenting stories from his days as an amateur astronomer and later a grad student under Dr. Gerard Kuiper at UA’s Lunar & Planetary Lab, and including his own discoveries and theories about the moon. He will also talk about his involvement in the origin of Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii in the ‘60s, his 30 years of experience on imaging teams for Mars orbiter missions, his development of a dating process for Solar System objects, and much more. This is sure to be a fascinating talk.
Planets of the Month: Summer 2019
by Erich Karkoschka
Planets for Summer 2019 (June – September)
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Mercury is visible all June until July 3 in the evening to the WNW just after sunset. In mid-June, it is the most obvious object in the western sky. August 3 -24 it is visible during dawn in the east. |
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Venus is a difficult dawn object until July 18. It will reappear September 18 low at dusk. |
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The Moon is New on June 3, July 2, July 31, August 30, and September 28. First Quarter Moon is June 10, July 9, August 7, September 5. Full Moon is June 17, July 16, August 15, and September 13. There is a partial Lunar Eclipse on July 16, visible in South America and further east. |
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Mars is above Mercury in early June. On June 18, Mercury passes close to Mars. Then, Mars slowly gets lower during dusk until it disappears in the glow of the Sun at the end of June for the rest of the summer. |
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Jupiter comes in opposition to the Sun on June 10 and is a great evening object all summer. It is moving toward Antares. |
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Saturn is just 30 degrees east of Jupiter. It is in opposition July 9 and will be a great evening object most of the summer as well. The brightest parts of the Milky Way are between Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky. |
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The distant, faint planets come in opposition September 8 (Neptune) and October 28 (Uranus). |
| There are two eclipses in July. A Total Solar Eclipse July 2, visible in South America, and a Partial Lunar Eclipse on July 16, visible in South America and further east. | |
Evening Under the Stars – at the Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (CAC) April 13
The next Evening Under the Stars at the TAAA Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (CAC) is scheduled for Saturday April 13, 2024
The gate will be open at 6:30 pm with the program starting at 7 and we will be observing until around 9:30. If you are still thinking whether to attend, this is a fantastic opportunity to view celestial objects under some incredibly dark skies using several large telescopes. We have a 40″ mirror Dobsonian, a 9″ lens Refractor, and a 14″ mirror Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that will be open for observing. We will also have several other telescopes open to observe through.
You will see galaxies millions of light years away, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, and lots more. Many of these are visible to the naked eye under our dark skies.
Definitely a family event that is a great opportunity for kids. Although it is a bit of a drive from Tucson, you can spend the day at the Chiricahua National Monument, grab something to eat, then come over to our Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (CAC) for an evening of telescope observing. CAC is only about 15 miles from the Chiricahua National Monument.
There is no cost to attend but reservations are required so we can notify you by email how to get to CAC and let you know if there are any weather issues. Please email John Kalas to make reservations: euts[at]tucsonastronomy.org not later than Wednesday April 10th (PROVIDE number of attendees, vehicles, and contact email for notification of any event changes). We will also post any updates on our Evening Under the Stars Facebook Event page, so follow the event for any real-time updates. Hopefully we will see you at CAC!
Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – July 2019
NOTICE – NEW LOCATION!
Constellation of the Month:
Telescopium
Presenter: Ralph Means
Ralph Means will start the night with the southern constellation Telescopium.
Main Presentation:
Spaceflight History: Apollo 11
Presenter: Todd Baker
For our main topic, Todd Baker will be discussing Spaceflight History: Apollo 11.
General Meeting – July 2019
NOTICE – NEW SUMMER LOCATION!
6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation
Title: Seasonal Night Sky Objects
Speaker: Mary Turner, PhD
Mary Turner, TAAA’s appointed Chief Observer, takes us on a tour of the summer night sky. As usual in her popular talks, Mary’s use of astronomical data, images, and mythology brings the seasonal changes in the sky to life.
7:30 pm – Main Presentation
Title: From Stars to the Laboratory: Stardust in the Solar System
Speaker: Pierre Haenecour, currently a Postdoctoral research associate, will join the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Fall ‘19 as an Assistant Professor. Pierre holds a B.S. and M.S. degree in Geochemistry from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium, 2010) and obtained a Ph.D. degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University (St. Louis, 2016). His research background is in geochemistry and cosmochemistry, with his main focus being the building blocks and early history of the Solar System and the origin of life.
About 4.6 billion years ago, our Solar System formed from the collapse of a large molecular cloud composed of interstellar gas, ice, and dust. Although most of the original dust grains were destroyed during the Solar System’s early formation, a small portion remained intact inside asteroids and comets, and can be found today on Earth in some meteorite samples. These tiny pre-solar grains or stardust, formed in the ‘envelopes’ around stars or in material ejected by certain stellar explosions before the Solar System formed, are the only remnants of its original building blocks. Pierre will talk about pre-solar grains and present a case study on how coordinated laboratory analysis of these specks of dust provide constraints on their parent stars and formation histories.
Meeting Location
More About Location: This building is one block West of Steward Observatory. Go to West side of the round Observatory at Steward. Face West. You will be looking across a green mall area. The building on the West (direction you are facing) side of that green area is Modern Languages. It is a long building. Cross the green mall and proceed toward the South.
Evening Under the Stars
Evening Under the Stars Observing at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) Chiricahua Astronomy Complex. Want to stargaze from a dark site where the band of the Milky Way is clearly visible across the sky? You see so many stars it is hard to pick out the constellations. Twice per year, we open our TAAA Chiricahua Astronomy Complex (Turkey Creek area near Chiricahua National Monument) to the public for an observing session. You can observe through a telescope with a 40″ mirror and see galaxies over 100 million light years away. We will have several large telescopes to observe with.
Our Spring “Evening Under the Stars” will be Saturday June 8th 2019. The gate will be open at 7:15 pm with activities starting 7:30 pm. Come join us for an exciting evening of astronomical observing. The site is about 90 minutes SE of Tucson near the Chiricahua National Monument. If you have friends/family that live in that area, let them know. The event is weather dependent. Reservations are required. Please email John Kalas at jckalas[at]cox.net by Tuesday June 4th for reservations and directions.
Planets of the Month: May 2019
by Erich Karkoschka
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Mercury starts its best evening apparition of 2019 on May 30. |
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Venus rises during dawn and remains very low before sunrise. |
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The Moon is New on the 4th, barely visible on the 5th before 8 pm, near Aldebaran on the 6th, and near Mars on the 7th. The next first sighting of the crescent after New Moon will occur on June 4, when it will be easier to spot than on May 5th, but still be very thin. |
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Mars is visible during the early evening near Elnathm, passing MN35 in Gemini on the 19th. |
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Jupiter rises at 10 pm, when Mars sets, but by 8 pm at the end of May. |
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Saturn is 28 degrees east of Jupiter and a good morning object. |
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Dwarf planet Ceres is observable in binoculars. It is magnitude 7, moving from Ophiuchus into Scorpius. |
Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting – June 2019
Constellation of the Month:
Eridanus
Presenter: Ralph Means
Ralph Means will start the night with a talk about the southern constellation Eridanus.
Main Presentation:
NASA’s Deep Space Network
Presenter: Connor Justice
For our main topic, Connor Justice will be discussing NASA’s Deep Space Network.