Tag Archives: Astronomy

Stargazing @ Saguaro NP – East

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: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).

Stargazing @ Saguaro NP – East

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: (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).

Stargazing @ Tumacacori National Historical Park

Event cancelled due to cloud cover

Starry Night in the Park – Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tumacacori, AZ

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.

Very dark skies in a rural setting with no city lights!
Star Party is open to the Public.  Park entrance fees apply.

Weather dependent.  For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).

Oracle State Park

Star Party-Oracle State Park
Tucson, AZ
Viewing Location: Kannally Ranch House
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park.  Star Party open to the Public.  Admission cost for entrance into Oracle State Park may apply.  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 wide variety of telescopes.  Weather dependent.

For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/). There is generally a talk and other events also taking place. Check the Oracle State Park website for additional information. Check TAAA Facebook Page or here for any updates as we get closer.

Stargazing Canoa Ranch

Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Recreation for some stargazing at Historic Canoa Ranch. We will observe planets, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, galaxies, and lots more.

FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: Go to Eventbright and search for stargazing Canoa Ranch. May fill up quickly, so recommend registering as early as possible (event may not show up in Eventbright until about two months before).

Chiricahua National Monument Stargazing

TAAA Stargazing to view amazing solar system and deep sky objects from a Dark Sky Park. You will see planets, nebulae, star clusters, double stars, galaxies millions of light years away, and lots more. We will have several telescopes for public viewing.

Observing location will be at Faraway Ranch just inside the entrance gate.  Please try to use red light flashlights and minimize white light (to include cell phones) that will hinder your night vision.

Chiricahua National Monument website: https://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm.  Weather dependent — Follow the event on the TAAA Facebook page to get weather and other updates: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/.

Check back here or on our Facebook page closer to the event for any updates.

Stargazing Tucson Mountain Park – Ironwood Picnic Area

Star Party-Tucson Mountain Park Ironwood Picnic Area
Tucson, AZ (West)
Viewing Location:  Second Restroom area  approximately 3/4 of the way in on Hal Gras Road.
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 (https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/).

FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Go to this link (Eventbright) and search for: “Stargazing” and “Ironwood Picnic Area”, location: “Tucson” (event may not show up until about two months prior). These events may fill up early.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – October 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Jupiter is the most obvious planet, shining brightly at magnitude minus 3 all night. It just had its closest opposition in 50 years.
Saturn is 40 degrees to the west of Jupiter. It is first magnitude in an area of the sky without bright stars.
Mars rises at 10 pm and later in the month by 9 pm. It outshines all surrounding stars of the winter constellations until Sirius rises in the morning. It becomes interesting to observers with a telescope as its diameter reaches 15 arc-seconds, sufficient to see its surface detail.
Uranus rises after dusk in the constellation of Aries. It can be found naked eye if you know exactly where to look and have fairly dark skies.

Neptune is a binocular object 10 degrees to the west of Jupiter.

Mercury is visible during dawn in the first three weeks of October. It is often a challenge when it becomes visible, but around the center of its visibility period it should be quite obvious around 5:30 am low in the eastern sky.
Vesta is at 7th magnitude and thus even brighter than Neptune. It finishes its retrograde opposition period in Capricornus.
The Moon covers two planets. It occults Uranus on the 11th from 9:54-10:29. Ingress and egress take about 12 seconds due to the 4 arc-second disk of Uranus. On the 24th, it occults Mercury after sunrise. Only specialists will be able to locate Mercury in their telescope, and the moon will be invisible as it is not illuminated. Mercury will suddenly dim over 10 seconds and then be gone.
Orionid Meteor Shower. Parent Comet: Halley’s Comet. Peak is the early morning hours of October 21st around 3 am. Some may be visible late evening on the 20th. Comets will appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion. Will need a dark sky to see very many (10-20 per hour).

Tucson Star Party

Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) in conjunction with Editors from the Astronomy Magazine and Pima Community College (PCC) East for some astronomy talks, solar observing, and evening stargazing.

Astronomy Talks and Safe Solar viewing of the Sun 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
 (All Talks in the Observatory area, Room EC-M102)
Talks:
— Galaxies — David J Eicher, Astronomy magazine 2 p.m.
— 2023 & 2024 U.S. Solar Eclipses — Michael Bakich 3 p.m.
— (Topic TBD) — Alan Goldstein 4 p.m.

Campus Information & Tours 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Solar Observing at the Observatories 2 – 5 p.m.
Night Sky Viewing at the Observatories 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Evening observing of planets, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, galaxies, and lots more through several telescopes.

Observing will be at the south end of the PCC East Campus near the astronomy domes.

Follow our Facebook event for any real-time updates or adjustments due to weather at:  TAAA Facebook Events page

 

Stargazing Canoa Ranch

This Star Party is cancelled for tonight.  The cloud cover is forecast to increase as the evening progresses to the point that it needs to be cancelled.

Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Recreation for some stargazing at Historic Canoa Ranch. We will observe planets, star clusters, multiple star systems, nebulae, galaxies, and lots more.

FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: Go to Eventbright and search for stargazing Canoa Ranch. May fill up quickly, so recommend registering as early as possible (event may not show up in Eventbright until about two months before).