Viewing Location: Bus Lanes @ North end of Parking Lot
Information: Great dark skies in Northeast Tucson. Star Party open to the Public. Cost: FREE.
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.
Park gate may close before event end time, so arrive as close to start time as possible. Weather dependent.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. go to: https://bit.ly/ticketsEE
These events fill up fast so recommend registering early.
Saturn is well visible during the early evening. It sets around 8 pm. Soon it will be too close to the Sun. When it reappears in the Spring, Saturn’s rings will only be half as open as now.
Jupiter transits during dusk. It is very high and good for telescopic observations. On the 20th, Ganymede is transiting the disk after 10 pm, visible as a dark spot.
Uranus is high in the evening sky east of Jupiter.
Neptune is west of Jupiter.
Brilliant Venus is best observed between 5 and 6 am, just before down starts.
Mercury joins Venus, visible until the end of the month. It is to the lower left of Venus around 6-7 am. There is no other star at similar brightness in this area of the sky. If you see one, it is Mercury.
Mars is within half a degree of Mercury on the 27th. Since it is a magnitude fainter then Mercury, it may require very clear air to make it out naked eye. Binoculars will easily show this close pair.
We all have seen images of each planet in our solar system until they’re ingrained in our culture’s collective psyche, but how did we get those images? In “From Planet to Pictures,” Max Lipitz will take the audience on a grand tour of the solar system, and do far more than just repeat the usual statistics about the planets, moons, asteroids, and whatever Pluto is now. Max’s presentation will be about the robotic emissaries we sent to learn about these celestial objects, the journey they undertook and the discoveries they made.
Biography: Maxmilian (Max) Lipitz could best be described as a strange amalgamation of NASA obsession, photographic prowess, and insatiable curiosity. He’s a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technologies Imaging Science Program; a highly interdisciplinary field that combines physics, math, computer science, and engineering. And whether he’s developing image processing algorithms to turn people into Simpsons characters or restoring a 31-year-old digital camera just because, Max puts his whole heart into everything he does. In the past he’s worked with Dr. Robert Kremens to develop next-generation probes (“Kremboxes”) to monitor wildfires in the thermal and visible spectrum, providing valuable data that could save thousands of lives. Currently Max works as a scientist at Tucson-based GEOST.
Presentation: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter after thirty years: A retrospective of what happened and what we learned
On March 23, 1993, Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker and David H. Levy discovered a comet that had been fragmented into more than 21 pieces. Two months later they learned that the comet would collide with Jupiter. The collision happened between July 16 and July 21, 1994, thirty years ago. David H. Levy’s presentation will offer a retrospective of what happened, and what humanity learned about comets, about Jupiter, and about the origin of life.
Biography: TAAA member, David H Levy, is arguably one of the most enthusiastic and famous amateur astronomers of our time. Although he’s never taken an astronomy class, he has written over three dozen books, has written for three astronomy magazines and has appeared on television programs featured on the Discovery and the Science Channels. Among David’s accomplishments are 23 comet discoveries, (the most famous being Shoemaker-Levy 9), a few hundred shared asteroid discoveries, an Emmy for the documentary Three Minutes to Impact, five honorary doctorates in Science and a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2010) which combines astronomy and English Literature. Currently, he is the editor of the web magazine Sky’s Up!, and has a monthly column, Skyward, in the local Vail Voice newspaper. David continues to hunt for comets and asteroids, and lectures worldwide.
Countdown to the beginning of the Partial Solar Eclipse as viewed from Tucson (Monday April 8, 2024, 10 am-12:36 pm, with maximum at 11:19 am):
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
If you can’t make it to Totality, seek out an event in your area to view the Partial Eclipse. The entire U.S. will at least see a partial eclipse during the event. IMPORTANT: You MUST WEAR APPROVED SOLAR GLASSES to view any part of the partial eclipse or observe using a safe solar filter on a telescope or a telescope that is made specifically to observe the Sun. Be wary of knock-off glasses. Approved Solar glasses should be marked with ISO 12312-2 or 12312-2:2015. Do not use if they have scratches or holes. Purchase only from reputable sources.
In TUCSON, we will see about an 75% Eclipse and will look about like the below image at maximum.
Partial Eclipse at about 75 percent. The view from Tucson, AZ at maximum. Image by Bernie Stinger
Don’t miss the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse! If you are able to make it to the centerline to see Totality, it is certainly worth it. The centerline is a very narrow path and the only place you can see Totality. The closer you are to the middle, the longer Totality will last. The Eclipse enters the U.S. in Texas, moves through the midwest along a NE path toward the NE U.S., and exits the U.S. in Maine. Use the links below to see the Path of Totality. The Total Eclipse will look similar to the below image.
Image of 2017 Total Solar Eclipse by TAAA Member Bernie Stinger
If you are in the Tucson, Arizona area during the Eclipse our club will have Telescopes set up to safely view the sun during the event at Flandrau Planetarium (UofA Mall).
How to Photograph the 2024 Solar Eclipse – by Mike Shaw, presented to the Minnesota Astronomical Society, Jan. 2024. By permission of the MAS and Mike Shaw (www.mikeshawphotography.com).
Presentation: THE BIG EVENT: Total Solar Eclipse, April 8, 2024
Get ready for 4½ minutes of darkness — in the middle of the day! On April 8, the path of a total solar eclipse will track from Texas through Maine. And it’s not that far from Tucson. But where should we go? What should we look for? And, most importantly, what do the climate statistics say about our plans? Michael Bakich’s talk will cover the details about an event that won’t happen again in the 48 states until 2044.
Biography: Michael E. Bakich was Senior Editor of Astronomy magazine for 17 years before retiring in 2019. He and his wife, Holley, then realized their lifelong dream and moved to Tucson. Michael continues work for the magazine as Contributing Editor. He has authored 14 books on astronomy, including Atlas of Solar Eclipses: 2020-2045.
Star Party @ Tucson Mountain Park – Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area
Tucson, AZ (right next to Sonoran Desert Museum)
Viewing Location: Small side loop on East side of main loop.
Information: Great dark skies in Western Tucson. Star Party open to the Public. Cost: FREE.
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
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Go to this link to register: https://bit.ly/ticketsEE
These events may fill up early.
