Presenter: Dennis Means
Dennis Means will start the night with a talk about the southern constellation Caelum.
Presenter: Ralph Means
For our main topic, Ralph Means will be presenting “Discussion of some Messier Objects”.
Speaker: Douglas Smith
Douglas Smith, Program Coordinator from the Astronomical League, will present a summary of the AL’s NEW observing programs added since February 2018. He will give us a heads up on the next Astronomical League observing program workshop. And he will discuss the upcoming Messier Marathon in March. Signup sheets will be available at the Feb meeting.
Speaker: Dr. Eric C. Pearce has been with Steward Observatory since 2016. His primary area of research is developing advanced systems and techniques to discover, track, and categorize artificial Earth-orbiting satellites. Dr. Pearce was previously Telescope Group leader at the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project office in Pasadena, California. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
Dr. Pearce’s presentation focuses on the global network of telescopes and radar systems used to track nearly 5000 satellites and 14000 other man-made objects currently orbiting Earth. The nation’s ability to detect, track, identify, and maintain custody of these objects is essential to safely use space for both civil and military purposes. This mission is the primary responsibility of the U.S. Air Force Space Command. Dr. Pearce will explore the history of our role in developing this mission, our current stage of development, and future challenges. He will include information about its revitalization of astrographs (telescopes designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography).
TAAA Stargazing to view amazing solar system and deep sky objects. You will see planets, nebulae, star clusters, double stars, and lots more. We will have several telescopes for public viewing. Observing location is either Echo Canyon or Faraway Ranch and will be updated as we get closer. A talk is scheduled before observing Bonita Campground Amphitheater at 6:30 pm with observing from 7:30 – 9:30 pm. Please try to use red light flashlights and minimize white light (to include cell phones) that will hinder your night vision. Chiricahua National Monument website: https://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm. Weather dependent — Follow the event on the TAAA Facebook page to get weather and other updates.
Join Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and the National Park Service for the 32nd annual Star Party. The Star Party will be June 18 – 25, 2022. We average 50 telescopes for 8 nights. You will see Solar System planets, Galaxies Far Far Away, Star Clusters — some with several hundred thousand stars, Nebulae, multiple star systems (some with as many as 6 stars), and lots more. The skies are so dark you can clearly see the band of the Milky Way overhead. We start with a talk in the Visitor Center Auditorium about an astronomy topic at 8 pm. Observing at the telescopes goes from sunset (about 8 pm) to 11 pm. This event is free and open to anyone inside the Grand Canyon (park entrance fee required). For additional information, check out our Grand Canyon Star Party Webpage at: https://tucsonastronomy.org/upcoming-events/grand-canyon-star-party/. or visit the Grand Canyon Star Party webpage at: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm.
We have a naked eye (from a dark site) comet visible (arrow). It is Comet 46P Wirtanen. Ed Foley, one of our TAAA members, took this picture from our Chiricahua Astronomy Complex dark-sky site during last weekend’s events (Saturday December 8, 2018). You can see one of our observatories as well. Those present observed it through several telescopes. It was also observed at last Saturday’s Ironwood Picnic Star Party and will be observed at this coming weekend (December 15) Agua Caliente Park star party.
Murphy-Wilmot Library will host a star party, supported by TAAA. We will have several telescopes set up to observe some great solar system and deep-sky objects.
Event will be Wednesday February 12, 2019 from 5:45 – 7:45 PM.
Speaker: Mary Turner, PhD
Mary Turner, TAAA’s Chief Observer, takes us on a tour of the winter and early spring night sky. Mary’s use of astronomical data, images, and mythology brings the seasonal changes in the sky to life.
Speaker: Dr. David Horvath from UA’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, is a planetary geophysicist investigating the interaction of processes acting on the surface and interior of terrestrial planets. His research focuses include Martian volcanism, the ancient hydrologic cycle of Mars, and the current methane-based hydrologic cycle of Titan. Dr. Horvath holds a PhD in Geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines.
Volcanism is widespread in the Martian geologic record, manifested as large shield volcanoes, extensive plains of flood basalts, and potentially global coverage of explosive volcanic ash. While most Martian volcanic activity occurred between ~3 and 4 billion years ago and has generally decreased over time, isolated, young (<500 million years old) volcanism is observed. Dr. Horvath will discuss the geologic record of volcanism on Mars, focusing on some of the youngest volcanic surfaces and their implications for observations by the recent InSight Mars lander.
Presenter: Gus Gomez
Gus Gomez will start the night with a talk about the constellation Scutum.
Presenter: Stephen Ferris
For our main topic, Stephen Ferris will be discussing The Milky Way.
by Erich Karkoschka
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Saturn is still visible at dusk very low in the southwest until Dec 15. |
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Mars at magnitude 0 transits at 6pm and sets at midnight. It is moving fast through Aquarius. |
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Neptune is easy to find on Dec 7 when it is only 15 arc-minutes from Mars. |
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Uranus transits at 9pm 68 degrees high in Pisces. |
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Venus is magnitude -4.9, the brightest possible, high during dawn. |
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Mercury is visible well below Venus from Dec 4 to Jan 4. |
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Jupiter joins Mercury starting Dec 9 first below Mercury. On Dec 21, the pair is only 1 degree apart. Afterwards, Jupiter will be higher than Mercury by 1 degree per day. |
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The moon will be first visible on Dec 8 as a very thin crescent next to Saturn. On Dec 14 it shines below Mars. |
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The Geminids meteors will be very active on Dec 13 an 14. |
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Winter solstice occurs on Dec 21. The length of the day stays near 10 hours all month, but sunrise and sunset both get delayed by about a quarter of an hour during December. |
Join Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association & Astronomy Magazine for our annual Tucson Star Party @ PCC East Campus. We will be observing from 10 AM – 9 PM. Solar viewing during the day along with other interactive exhibits. During the evening, we will have several telescopes set up to observe solar system & deep-sky wonders such as planets, galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and lots more. Bring your own telescope if you want and we will have extra volunteers to help you if required.