Due to the ongoing government shutdown, the AFSIG meeting for January has moved from the USGS building on campus, to ROOM 110 in the Education North Building at 1501 E Speedway Blvd (Google Maps). Parking in the area is free after 5PM, and parking lots are available to the east and west side of the building. A parking garage is located one block north Vine Ave and Helen Street (garage may have fees). I plan on arriving early to make sure signs are available to mark the room. 

*** SEE BOTTOM OF AFSIG MAIN PAGE FOR DETAILED LOCATION INSTRUCTIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION. ***

Constellation of the Month:

Scutum

Presenter:  Gus Gomez

Gus Gomez will start the night with a talk about the constellation Scutum.

Main Presentation:

The Milky Way

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

For our main topic, Stephen Ferris will be discussing The Milky Way.

Constellation of the Month:

Tucana

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

Stephen Ferris will start the night with a talk about the southern constellation Tucana.

Main Presentation:

Star Atlases

Presenter:  Doug Smith

For our main topic, Doug Smith will be discussing Star Atlases.

NOTE DIFFERENT LOCATION FOR THIS MONTHS MEETING.

THIS MONTH ONLY we will meet in the Kuiper Building of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, 1629 East University Boulevard on the U of A Campus, just east of Flandreau Science Center. Room 308/Third Floor Auditorium (there is a ramp and elevator).

See Map

ALSO THIS MONTH, no one is signed up to bring refreshments so anyone who has time, PLEASE bring finger foods to share and put them on the table outside the auditorium.

6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation

Title:  Member’s Night

Speaker:  Various TAAA Members

If you would like to give a presentation, contact Mae Smith, ssmith@email.arizona.edu.

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  The Parker Solar Probe: NASA’s Mission to Touch the Sun

Speaker:  Dr. Joe Giacalone has been a Professor at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory since 1993. He is Co-Investigator on the ISOIS (Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun) instrument on the Parker Solar Probe. This instrument will measure high-energy charged particles accelerated by magnetic fields near the Sun. Dr. Giacalone holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Kansas.

The Parker Solar Probe is truly a mission of discovery.  Launched in August of 2018, this historic, seven-year mission has already flown by Venus, and made its first close pass of the Sun — closer to the Sun than any man-made object ever.  It will get even closer in the years ahead; as near as 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s surface. Dr. Giacalone will discuss the mission, its goals, and what we expect to discover about the Sun.

Constellation of the Month:

Piscis Austrinus

Presenter:  Kay Lehman

Kay Lehman will talk about the northern constellation Piscis Austrinus.

Main Presentation:

Choosing and Using Telescope Eyepieces

Presenter:  Joe Jacoby

6:30 pm – NO Introductory Presentation

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Hayabusa2: Exploring Asteroid Ryugu and Implications for the Future

Speaker:  Adriana Mitchell is an undergraduate senior majoring in Optical Sciences and Engineering at the University of Arizona. She works with Professor Vishnu Reddy at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Dr. Lucille Le Corre at the Planetary Science Institute, on the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Hayabusa2 mission.

Visiting Near Earth Asteroids helps scientists understand conditions during the formation of the solar system and might help uncover where Earth’s water and organic materials originated. Adriana will discuss the large strides being made in asteroid exploration with the current asteroid sample-return missions; NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex mission to Bennu and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission to the asteroid Ryugu. She will explain the implications for these cutting edge missions and her involvement in the creation of imaging products critical for characterizing potential landing sites on Ryugu for JAXA.