Title:  Constellation of the Month Gemini

Presenter:  Connor Justice

Connor Justice will be presenting on the constellation Gemini.

Title:  Comets

Presenter:  Stephen Ferris

Stephen Ferris will be discussing Comets for our main topic. 

Title:  Constellation of the Month Pisces

Presenter:  Pete Hermes

 Pete Hermes will give us a look at the Autumn constellation Pisces as our constellation of the month. 

Title:  History of Astro-photography

Presenter:  Doug Smith

And due to an attendee request from October, this months main topic is on the History of Astro-photography by Doug Smith .

Title: How Robotic Telescopes Revolutionized Binary Star Research

Astronomer Russ Genet will talk about the advances in robotic telescope imaging. Fairborn Observatory, founded by Dr Genet, installed their first robotic telescopes in a fully automated observatory on Arizona’s Mt. Hopkins in 1985. By 1989, a “farm” of seven robots was remotely accessible via 9600 baud modems. The Alt-Az Initiative explored whether the technology of large mountaintop alt-az, direct drive, research telescopes could be scaled down to improve smaller robotic telescopes. This led to the development of the PlaneWave Instrument’s 0.7-meter CDK-700 robotic research telescope now used by Astronomy Research Seminar teams. Seminar students, supported by amateur astronomers, obtain and analyze original data on a binary star and publish the results. More than 200 team papers have been published. Observations have evolved from using astrometric eyepieces on 6-inch telescopes, to remote observations using speckle interferometry on robotic telescopes such as the CDK-700. Gila Community College currently offers introductory and advanced astronomy research courses where several student teams collaborate in their research and paper writing. TAAA members would be most welcome to become team members. With the proper equipment, the TAAA’s 0.8-meter (32”) DFM telescope, recently installed at CAC, could be a major contributor to similar amateur and student published research.

Biography:

Russell (Russ) Genet is an Astronomy Instructor at Gila Community College. He has a BS in electrical engineering and a PhD in astronomy. Russ founded the Fairborn Observatory in 1979, pioneered the development of robotic telescopes in the 1980s, was the 52nd President of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1993-1995), and initiated the Astronomy Research Seminars in 2007. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association. An active instrument-rated pilot, Russ lives in Payson, Arizona with his wife, Cheryl, who teaches philosophy and world religions. Russ is the author or coauthor of many books and papers. See https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8020-3459 or visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Merle_Genet.

Title: Exploring New Worlds in Space: From Clay Tablets to the Pandora Space Telescope and Beyond

Modern science is opening a fascinating window on worlds around other stars. Ground- and space-based telescopes are now discovering new planets at an accelerating pace. Careful, high-precision observations now provide important clues on the atmospheric compositions of many extrasolar planets. Apai and colleagues completed the assembly, integration, and testing of NASA’s latest exoplanet telescope, Pandora, which is now scheduled for launch in January 2026. In this talk, Dr. Apai will review the search for new worlds in the solar neighborhood, and report on the goals and progress on Pandora. He will also explore the potential of the Nautilus Deep Space Observatory, with its constellation of large-diameter, lightweight space telescopes that offers a bold vision for the future of exoplanet exploration.

Biography:

Dániel Apai is Professor of Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, and Optical Sciences at The University of Arizona. His primary research interests lie in the fields of exoplanets, astrobiology, and innovative optical systems and architectures for space observatories. Dr. Apai earned his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Heidelberg University. He worked in the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Science Policy Group on the Hubble Space Telescope mission before joining the University of Arizona faculty in 2011. At UA, Dr. Apai leads the NASA-funded Alien Earths astrobiology project that focuses on understanding the formation and habitability of nearby planetary systems. He leads a team that characterizes exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres, with particular emphasis on understanding the connections between the properties and evolution of clouds and atmospheric circulation. Dr. Apai is leading the Nautilus Deep Space Observatory (NDSO) concept, and he is co-leading the technology development program that enables NDSO’s innovative design.