Members and guest only event! Dr. Francisco Reyes has invited AAC's members and guest to a special Star Party at UF Rosemary Hill Observatory in Bronson. Sun sets at 6:23 pm. Please arrive after 5:00 pm and 30 minutes before sun sets to set telescopes. You may drive up to 30" dome or the 18" dome to setup scopes but must park in parking lot which is right of Dorm (Dorm on left side of street) or both sides of street (in grass/dirt) before Dorm.
Observatory's 30 inch telescope is undergoing repairs.
Event Alerts - Go / No Go email will be sent to registrants by noon the day of the event.
AAC volunteers needed for a Star Gazing Outreach @ Hickory Ranch. Members with and without telescopes please register for entry to the event.
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is hosting campfire, music, food, and, weather permitting, star gazing at Hickory Ranch. Tickets are being issued by the Park will be limited to 200 visitors.
Sunset is at 6:28 pm with moon already up @ 31.7% illumination
Volunteers should arrive no later than 5:30 pm. Pick out several sky objects and note a few details about them to share. AC power is available, bring a long extension cord if needed. Temps fall after dark so dress warmly.
GO or NO GO will be posted here on AAC website and emailed to registrants by noon the day of event.
Point of contact for Alachua Astronomy Club is Lisa Eager, Star Party Coordinator @ 352-318-4074.
Join us for an exciting and interesting evening at the Florida Museum of Natural History!
Agenda:
7:00 - 7:30 General Meeting & Announcements 7:30 - 7:45 Refreshments 7:45 - Public Presentation by Richard Wright, Senior Engineer at Software Bisque
Topic: First Principles of Astrophotography
Biography: Richard S. Wright Jr. is a Sr. Software Engineer and Imaging Specialists for Software Bisque where for over a decade his focus there has been imaging and cross platform technologies. A frequent contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine and astrophotography webinars, Richard also authors a monthly Sky & Telescope Blog “Imaging Foundations”, and has written a book, “The Evening Show, Revealing the Universe Though Astrophotography”. His image gallery is at www.eveningshow.com. Richard was diagnosed with an incurable case of the imaging virus nearly two decades ago. Ongoing treatment takes place primarily in Central Florida or at his dark sky site in Okeechobee County Florida.
AAC Members, Newberry residents, and the public invited!
Free observing at Newberry Star Park. Residents of Newberry, and the public are invited to come out and join AAC members in observing the night sky.
Sunset is at 7:37 pm
Join us for our year long effort to view all the Messier Objects and receive an observing award from the Astronomical League! Bring a notebook to record your observations and a telescope. The club will provide telescopes if you don't have one. This program is suitable for beginners to experts.
Event Alerts- GO/NO GO email will be posted here and sent to registrants by noon the day of the event.
Members and guest only event! Dr. Francisco Reyes has invited AAC's members and guest to a special Star Party at UF Rosemary Hill Observatory in Bronson. Sun sets at 7:41 pm. Please arrive after 6:30 pm and 30 minutes before sun sets to set telescopes. You may drive up to 30" dome or the 18" dome to setup scopes but must park in parking lot which is right of Dorm (Dorm on left side of street) or both sides of street (in grass/dirt) before Dorm.
Silver Star Party Outreach
Looking for AAC members with telescopes to show off the night sky at Silver Springs State Park in Ocala. Members need to be set up before 7:30 pm for visitors starting at 8pm. Members without telescopes can help too! Please sign up if interested.
Sunset is at 7:45 pm. Moon rise is at 8:57 am and will be at 17.3% illumination, so the moon will be at the top of our observing list. Members should have a couple of items they would like to show off along with some information about them.
Lisa Eager (lisa.eager@alachuaastronomyclub.org) will be the contact for this event.
Directions:
Silver Springs has multiple entrances. Please set your GPS to "Silver Springs State Park, Campground and Museum Entrance, 1425 NE 58th Ave, Ocala, FL 34470".
Via US-441:
Take 441 South about 30 miles to FL-326 near Anthony. Turn left. Follow FL-326 for 6.4 miles then turn right at a light onto NE 58th Ave, AKA CR-35 or Baseline Road. Pass SR-40, Silver Springs Blvd (DO NOT TURN LEFT) and drive for another mile. Look for signs for Silver Springs State Park on the left.
Via I-75:
Take 75 South to exit 356. Turn left on FL-326 and drive for 9.3 miles. Turn right at a light onto NE 58th Ave, AKA CR-35 or Baseline Road. Pass SR-40, Silver Springs Blvd (DO NOT TURN LEFT) and drive for another mile. Look for signs for Silver Springs State Park on the left.
Via I-75 and SR-40:
Take 75 South to exit 352. Turn left onto SR-40, Silver Springs Blvd. Drive 6 miles to NE 58th Ave, AKA SR-35 or Baseline Road. Turn right and drive for another mile. Look for signs for Silver Springs State Park on the left.
7:00 - 7:30 General Meeting & Announcements 7:30 - 7:45 Refreshments 7:45 - Public Presentation
Speaker: Howard Eskildsen
Topic: Observing and Photographing the Sun
Synopsis:
This presentation will provide a brief overview of current solar cycle activity and then concentrate on imaging the Sun. Various techniques will be discussed along with a demonstration of processing high quality solar images will be given during the session.
About the Speaker:
Alachua Astronomy Club (AAC) and Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) member, Howard Eskildsen, has been interested in the stars, Sun and Moon since childhood. In grade school he learned the stars from star charts in a book and spent hours looking at the sky and watching for meteors. His first telescopic views came from his high school’s sadly abused Dynascope that he restored to working condition. Later he made a 6” reflector and placed it on a pipe fitting mount per designs by Sam Brown and used it for observing when time permitted.
In the years that followed, he attended medical school and raised a family, which left little time for stargazing. Finally, after a quarter of a century hiatus, he returned to regular observing in 2002 when his wife, Fairy, purchased him a Meade ETX-125. Since then he has observed the Sun and Moon regularly and anything else in the sky when time permits. He has sent nearly 5,000 observations of the Sun to the ALPO Solar Section and has written a piece on solar photography for their website. He also provided photos and written material for Jamey L. Jenkin’s book, The Sun and How to Observe It, and has given several presentations on solar activity
Howard also observes the moon and has submitted more than a thousand lunar photos to the ALPO Lunar Section. He has also written articles for Sky and Telescope, The Strolling Astronomer, Selenology, and The Lunar Observer. His photos have appeared on spaceweather.com, LPOD, Astronomy Magazine’s Photo of the Day, National Geographic, and other web sites.
Members and guest only event! Dr. Francisco Reyes has invited AAC's members and guest to a special Star Party at UF Rosemary Hill Observatory in Bronson. Sun sets at 7:58 pm. Please arrive after 7:00 pm and 30 minutes before sun sets to set telescopes. You may drive up to 30" dome or the 18" dome to setup scopes but must park in parking lot which is right of Dorm (Dorm on left side of street) or both sides of street (in grass/dirt) before Dorm.
Sunset is at 8:02 pm
Members and guest only event! Dr. Francisco Reyes has invited AAC's members and guest to a special Star Party at UF Rosemary Hill Observatory in Bronson. Sun sets at 8:16 pm. Please arrive after 7:15 pm and 30 minutes before sun sets to set telescopes. You may drive up to 30" dome or the 18" dome to setup scopes but must park in parking lot which is right of Dorm (Dorm on left side of street) or both sides of street (in grass/dirt) before Dorm.
Sunset is at 8:20 pm
Speaker: Dave Froiseth
Topic: Space Weather
This presentation will cover space weather phenomena such as solar wind, geomagnetic storms and coronal mass ejections and the resulting effects on satellites, manned high altitude and space flight, radio communications, power grids, etc. Types of optical and radio telescopes used for solar monitoring will be covered, along with other monitoring systems and processes used for reporting forecasts and events. Organizations that perform space weather monitoring, forecasting and reporting will be included, as well as systems in development or planned.
Dave Froiseth is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who served as the Commander of the 55th Space Weather Squadron. He spent most of his Air Force career in Space Command tracking satellites, launching GPS satellites on the Delta II launch vehicle, writing policy for Air Force support to commercial launch and managing the Technology Safeguard Monitor Program for the launch of US built satellites in China and Russia. He also served on the Safety Investigation Board for the explosion of the Delta II/GPS IIR-1 only 13-seconds after launch. He then worked as an aerospace contractor at Cape Canaveral for 17-years which included serving as the Space Based Space Surveillance Program Office representative at Vandenberg AFB, CA for the processing and launch of the Ball Aerospace built telescope.
Sunset is at 8:32 pm
Sunset is at 8:29 pm
Speaker: TBD
Topic: TBD
Sunset is at 8:09 pm
Speaker: Lowell Observatory
Topic: Live Tour of the GODO Observation Deck and Clark Telescope
Description:
Join us for a live Webex tour of the newly opened GODO observation deck at Lowell. The tour will wrap up with a look at the recently renovated Clark telescope.
