Mary Turner presents her popular seasonal talk about what to see in the summer night sky, as well as fascinating myths and facts about each object. Learn about bright planets, meteor showers, and all else accessible, to the naked eye, binoculars, and/or telescopes.
Bio: Dr. Mary Turner received her Ph.D in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA). She is currently the Technical Fellow in Optical Design for Edmund Optics, where she designs custom optical systems for a wide variety of applications, including camera systems, machine vision applications, free-space communications and other laser systems. Additionally. Dr. Turner is a lecturer for the University of California-Irvine, teaching courses in optical design. She also lectures at UA in various aspects of optical design, and has authored chapters in several technical references relating to the field of optical design.
Presentation 2: A History of the Grand Canyon Star Party
TAAA member Jim Knoll will review the history of the Grand Canyon Star Party, from its humble beginning by a dedicated member of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) to the premiere outreach event it is today. Grand Canyon National Park is a perfect location as a Dark Sky Park at 7,000 feet with incredible views of the Milky Way and the rest of our Universe. The Star Party is co-hosted by TAAA and the National Park Service. It is held annually in June, near the New Moon, and is free and open to everyone in the Park. We typically set up between 50 and 60 telescopes and provide daytime and nighttime observing over 8 days and nights, with around 125 volunteers. GCSP draws over 15,000 visitors yearly. The 2024 Star Party was the 34th in the series. The 35th Grand Canyon Star Party will be held June 21-28, 2025. Additional information: https://tucsonastronomy.org/upcoming-events/grand-canyon-star-party/.
Bio: Jim Knoll joined the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association in 2004. Since that time, he has been involved in many TAAA activities, particularly outreach events. He has been the School Program Coordinator, and is currently the Coordinator for Tucson Stargazing Adventures (paid star parties). Jim is also the Chiricahua Astronomy Complex Director, the Library Telescope Coordinator, and most recently assumed the role of Coordinator for the annual Grand Canyon Star Party (GCSP). As GCSP Coordinator, he oversees a planning team of several TAAA members to orchestrate the yearly event in conjunction with the National Park Service.
Caption: Over 1,200 visitors a night at GCSP, 2018 / Credit: Dean Ketelsen
Presentation: SHARK-VIS Ushers In A New Age of Planetary Imaging
Since Voyager images in 1979 revealed volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon Io, (the most volcanically active world in our solar system), Io’s surface has been monitored by both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. In his presentation, scientist Al Conrad presents the highest resolution images of Io ever obtained from a ground-based telescope. Taken by the Large Binocular Telescope’s new instrument, SHARK-VIS, they show evidence of a recent major resurfacing event on Io, and usher in a new age of planetary imaging by using adaptive optics at optical wavelengths. Scientists hope monitoring Io’s eruptions will shed light on the tidal heating mechanism responsible for Io’s intense volcanism, and, according to Conrad, “Io, therefore presents a unique opportunity to learn about the mighty eruptions that helped shape the surfaces of the Earth and the moon in their distant pasts.”
Bio: Dr. Al Conrad, associate staff scientist at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1994. Before joining LBT in 2014, he worked as a software engineer and support astronomer at both Lick and Keck Observatories, then at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, where he led the development of the adaptive optics system for LINC-NIRVANA (near- infrared imaging instrument). At LBT, Al has served as the point of contact for commissioning of several instruments. His current duties include the science archive, SHARK-NIR (infra-red instrument), SHARK-VIS, and others. His research interests include asteroid systems and developing novel techniques to study comets, planets, and the moons of planets, in particular Jupiter’s moon Io. He enjoys cycling, sailing, and outrigger canoe paddling.
Jupiter’s moon Io imaged by SHARK-VIS on Jan. 10, 2024
Presentation: Following Pluto’s Heart: A Look into Pluto’s Past and Present
When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew through the Pluto system in 2015, it revealed a geologic surface of surprising complexity, which further hinted at the dwarf planet’s unusual hidden depths. The characteristics of Pluto’s thick ice shell and its potentially long-lived subsurface ocean, as well as the composition of its rocky core, remain active questions. The answers to these questions have critical implications for how icy bodies and ocean worlds form across the outer Solar System. In this talk, I will focus on the Sputnik basin, Pluto’s largest impact basin, and investigate its formation conditions, morphology, and proposed association with geologic features elsewhere on the surface. By reproducing the giant impact that formed Sputnik, I can reconstruct Pluto’s evolution over geologic time.
Bio: Dr. Adeene Denton is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory interested in giant impacts and their influence on the history, evolution and tectonic activity of icy satellites, ocean worlds, and Kuiper Belt Objects. Adeene received bachelor’s degrees in History and Earth Science from Rice University in 2016, her MS in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science from Brown University in 2018, and her PhD in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science from Purdue University in 2022. She uses a combination of numerical tools, from shock physics codes to finite element modeling, to explore the effects of giant impacts, which begin in the first few seconds after impact and can extend for hundreds of millions of years. She is passionate about integrating numerical modeling, fieldwork, and everything in between to approach planetary problems. Asteroid 16883 adeenedenton is named for her research on impact processes on outer Solar System worlds, including Pluto.
Caption: Heart of Pluto / Credit: NASA/NEW HORIZONS TEAM
TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, May 03, 2024. The Main Presentation will start at 6:30 P.M. This will be a ZOOM ONLY meeting. TAAA members will receive a Zoom link should they wish to attend remotely. The public may attend online through our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/. It will be posted to YouTube afterwards.
Presentation: TAAA Member Image Sharing
Our May 2024 meeting features TAAA members sharing presentations of astronomy interest. Among these will be several April 8th eclipse experiences, (from the sublime to the disappointing), with visuals. If you would like to participate, please contact Jim Knoll by April 30th at jimknoll@tucsonastronomy.org. Also, contact him with any questions.
Election:
At this meeting we will also have results of our 2024 Leadership Election (online ballots to be sent out on April 26).
Credit: Voxvine.com for NASA April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
Star Party – Saguaro National Park – East
Tucson, AZ
Great dark skies on the East side of Tucson at Saguaro National Park – East.
Star Party is open to the Public. Event is free but NPS admission fees apply.
The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more.
Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes.
Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: TAAA Facebook Events page
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park.
Star Party open to the Public. Admission fees for entrance into Oracle State Park apply.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will be observing the Moon + Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, and Star Clusters.
Great opportunity to look through a wide variety of telescopes. Weather dependent.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook event page: TAAA Facebook Events page
Star Party – Anamax Park, Sahuarita, AZ
Viewing Location: Field 4 in the middle of the soccer field
Great dark skies just South of Tucson.
Star Party open to the Public.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have telescopes for astronomical viewing.
We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more.
Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).
The New Moon on the 8th brings a partial solar eclipse in Tucson during late morning It is total on a path from Mazatlan in Mexico, through Texas, to the Great Lakes. The following day, the thin crescent can be seen just before 8 pm.
Venus rises during the dawn and may be visible naked eye, at least during the first half of the month.
Mars is rising earlier, but it still is not very high when dawn starts.
Jupiter is visible in the west after dusk. By the end of the month it sets at 8 pm, just as it gets dark.
Saturn starts the month just to the lower left of Mars. On the 10th, both planets are only half a degree apart from each other. Both have the same brightness, but not the same color. By the end of the month, Saturn is much higher than Mars, and its rings are quite narrow.
Uranus gets passed by Jupiter on the 20th when they will be only half a degree apart from each other.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is in the vicinity of Jupiter and may be fifth magnitude. It is heading south and is getting really low after mid-month.
