The speaker will be former HAC member Glenn Minuth.
Glenn’s talk is entitled “An Update on SOFIA: NASA’s Airborne Telescope”.
The January 2017 edition of the Huachuca Astronomy Club newsletter, Nightfall, is now available for download. Submissions for next month’s issue can be sent to , our Nightfall editor.
The speaker will be Dr. Nalin Samarasinha, a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson.
Dr. Samarasinha received his PhD from University of Maryland where his studies focused on cometary science. A portion of his PhD work involved studying the rotational state of comet 1P/Halley — first “tumbling” comet or asteroid. Over the last three decades, he has investigated the dynamical and physical processes occurring in the comae and nuclei of many comets and he has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. Asteroid 12871 is named for him in recognition of his contributions to cometary science.
His talk will be about the global campaign to monitor comae of three comets which will come close to Earth in 2017 and 2018 where amateur astronomers can make significant contributions.
December 2016 Nightfall Newsletter
TheDecember 2016 edition of the Huachuca Astronomy Club newsletter, Nightfall, is now available for download. Submissions for next month’s issue can be sent to , our Nightfall editor.
The November 2016 edition of the Huachuca Astronomy Club newsletter, Nightfall, is now available for download. Submissions for next month’s issue can be sent to , our Nightfall editor.
The speaker will be Dr. Vishnu Reddy, an assistant professor at the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Dr. Reddy’s research focuses on understanding the behavior of solar system objects using a range of Earth and space-based assets. His work on asteroids and near-Earth objects is directed towards their impact hazard and asteroid-meteorite links. He uses the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, as well as other advanced instrumentation.
Vishnu’s talk will cover the threat to Earth from Near Earth Objects (NEOs).
The October 2016 edition of the Huachuca Astronomy Club newsletter, Nightfall, is now available for download. Submissions for next month’s issue can be sent to , our Nightfall editor.
The next Kartchner Caverns State Park astronomy program will be Saturday, October 1, 2016. The guest speaker will be Mr. Ken Zoll, the Executive Director of the Verde Valley Archeological Center. His talk will be given in the Discovery Center auditorium at 5:30 pm. Mr. Zoll will cover the results of his research in Archeo-Astronomy in Arizona. He has studied archeological sites across the region, and during his program, he will show links between pictographs and astronomical events.
Starting in the early afternoon, the Huachuca Astronomy Club of Southeastern Arizona (HAC) will have solar telescopes set up for observing the sun. If the skies are clear, we will see close-ups of sunspots and prominences through specially filtered astronomical telescopes. After sunset about 7 pm and weather permitting, everyone will have another chance to look through the HAC telescopes. Don’t miss the close-up views of the ringed planet Saturn, the red planet Mars, the Hercules star cluster (M13), and many other wonders of the night sky. Sunset will be at about 6:05 pm, and bring your jackets.
This event is open to the public. There is a $7.00 per-car entry fee (up to 4 adults). There is no additional fee for parking. The telescopes will be setup in the bus parking area.
For additional information about visiting Kartchner Caverns, visit: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/
Solar Observing at Kartchner Caverns:
Here’s a recent photo of Saturn by HAC President, David Roemer:
2016 photo of the Hercules Globular Star Cluster, by HAC President David Roemer. This star cluster has over 100,000 stars and is 26,000 light years away:
The speaker will be Megan Kiminki. Megan is a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona. Megan received a B.S. in Astronomy and Biology from the University of Wyoming in 2010, and an M.S. in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2012. Her research interests include star formation, massive stars, stellar kinematics, optical spectroscopy, and the development of user-friendly data analysis tools.
Megan’s talk will be entitled “Eta Carinae, the Supernova Impostor: A Tale of Three Cosmic Eruptions”.
The September 2016 edition of the Huachuca Astronomy Club newsletter, Nightfall, is now available for download. Submissions for next month’s issue can be sent to , our Nightfall editor.