Gus Gomez will start the evening off with a talk on defunct constellation Argo Navis, followed by Rob Halberg who will be discussing the astronomer Copernicus  for our main presentation.

6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation

Title:  Member’s Night

Speaker:  various TAAA members

 Reports by several TAAA members on a variety of topics.

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  The night sky of planet Vulcan: Exozodiacal light observations with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)

Speaker:  Dr. Steve Ertel is a German astronomer now working at Steward Observatory. He studies planetary systems through observations of their dust similar to that in our Solar System’s Kuiper Belt, Asteroid Belt, and zodiacal dust. He also studies the fate of planetary systems as their host stars evolve into giant stars and white dwarfs. Steve received his Ph.D. from the University of Kiel, Germany. He has worked as an observational astronomer at the University of Grenoble, France, and at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. As the instrument scientist of the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer at Mt. Graham, AZ, he leads the NASA-funded HOSTS survey for exozodiacal dust around nearby stars

Zodiacal light is one of the most elusive features of our night sky; visible in the West after dusk and in the East before dawn as a large cone of faint light stretching from the horizon along the ecliptic. Arizona’s dark skies make it ideal for observing its cause; sunlight scattered from zodiacal dust particles near Earth’s orbit. Surely, the night skies of many Earth-like exoplanets must show a similar feature. Studying exozodiacal dust can give us insights into their architecture, specifically for those exoplanets in the habitable zone. At the same time, the dust poses an obstacle to imaging habitable exoplanets with a large space telescope, one of NASA’s primary future goals. Dr. Ertel will present the efforts using the LBT to detect and study exozodiacal dust. He will also talk more broadly about how the LBT’s interferometer makes it the first 30-meter class telescope on Earth.

Come join us for a presentation from the fundamentals of amateur astronomy. Connor Justice will be discussing the constellation Virgo, followed by Doug Smith who will talk about the History of Astrophotography for our main presentation.

Topics to  be determined.

Main Presentation:

Jupiter and it’s Moons

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

Constellation of the Month:

Crux

Presenter:  Doug Smith

Doug Smith will start the evening off with a talk on the southern constellation Crux.

About the Astronomy Fundamentals SIG

The Astronomy Fundamentals Special Interest Group, is for all TAAA members, both new  and old, who want to learn about and share the multiple aspects of the hobby.

Meeting Location

The USGS Building is on the northeast corner of Park and 6th Street.  Free parking is available nearby after 5pm.

Contact Connor Justice at fundamentals[at]tucsonastronomy.org

6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation

Title:  Variable Stars, the AAVSO and the Astronomical League

Speaker:  Douglas Smith

Douglas Smith will present a history of Variable Star observing and discoveries, the importance of this work. A description of what a variable star is and the process that causes the variability. He will discuss the AAVSO and their purpose and look at their website. He will also discuss the Astronomical League’s three observing programs for variable stars.

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Train Wrecks Across Time: A History of Galaxy Mergers

Speaker:  Barry Rothberg, Ph.D.,  Large Binocular
Telescope Observatory

The collision and merging of galaxies is one of the most violent events in the Universe.  Galaxy mergers are far from rare, and are responsible for reshaping and creating galaxies, forming millions of new stars, enriching and forging new elements, and birthing and fueling the most powerful and destructive engines in the known Universe.  But galaxy mergers have not only reshaped the Universe over the last 13 billion years, but have served as a means of reshaping humanity’s understanding of astronomy and physics.  In this presentation, we will start on a journey beginning several centuries earlier, and see how galactic train wrecks have helped further the development of astronomical optics, altered and remade our basic understanding of physics, and inspired astronomers to see how the Universe is both vast and ever expanding.  We will also see how galaxy mergers will impact our own future. Our Milky Way galaxy and one of our galactic neighbors, the Andromeda galaxy, are hurtling towards each other, destined to collide and eventually merge. Our understanding how galaxy mergers occur and their outcome will serve as a means of seeing our own inevitable future.