Co-Hosting with KikaSilva Pla Planetarium – Santa Fe College
The Planetarium will be showing "Forward! To the Moon" at 7 pm. Tickets for the show are through the Planetarium.
AAC volunteers are invited to set up telescopes in the courtyard in front of the Planetarium starting at 6:00 pm.
Sunset is at 7:10 pm, moon rise is at 5:45 pm, 94.5% illumination.
Will email a GO or NO GO by noon the day of event to registrants. Will also post on website.
Event coordinator contact Lisa Eager
352-318-4074
lisa.eager@alachuaastronomyclub.org
Exclusively for AAC members!
AAC has organized a dark sky star party at one of the darkest skies on the east coast!
Sunset is 7:02 pm.
Arrive at least one hour before sunset for setup and to get familiar with the observing field before dark.
Please review the Star Party etiquette for Chiefland. http://shorturl.at/cgkMO
You need to register to attend and receive directions to observing field.
Event Alerts - Members please register to attend. A "GO" or "NO GO" will be emailed to registrants by noon the day of the event. Your need to be registered for me to send you updates! Also, please double check weather conditions before heading out to Chiefland.
Agenda:
7:00 - 7:15 General Meeting & Announcements 7:15 - 7:30 Short topic presentation by a club member
7:30 - 7:45 Refreshment break
7:45 - Public Presentation
Speaker: Jessica Li - UF Astronomy
Title: UV Emissions Surrounding Galaxies
Abstract:
The circumgalactic medium (CGM) and intergalactic medium (IGM), the tenuous gas surrounding galaxies represent a significant portion of matter in the universe as indicated by both theoretical and observational studies. This faint and diffuse gas is not well studied since it is very challenging to observe. Studying the CGM is essential for understanding astrophysical principles that govern the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies throughout the universe. It is believed to be the reservoir of gas and material that is both the source and regulator of star-forming fuel, controlling the exchange between the intergalactic medium (IGM) between galaxies and interstellar medium (ISM) within galaxies. We advance our understanding of these processes through ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopic CGM emission line observations in high redshift galaxies in addition to instrumentation work for balloon-borne and space telescopes that target low redshift galaxies. I present four distinct but interrelated projects that combine observational astronomy, instrument building, and technology development. This includes quasar observations from the Palomar Cosmic Web Imager (PCWI), instrument work on FIREBall-2 (Faint Intergalactic-medium Redshifted Balloon) telescope and Aspera SmallSat mission, and technology development of UV reflective gratings.
About the Speaker:
Jess received her B.Eng. with a triple major in physics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering in 2015, and her M.S. in mechanical engineering in 2016 from Stony Brook University. At Brookhaven National Laboratory, she worked as a mechanical design engineer for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, and the Short Baseline Near Detector. Jess graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics and worked on a combination of UV astrophysics and instrumentation. Her thesis projects included: 1) analyzing Palomar Cosmic Web Imager data to understand the circumgalactic medium around quasars, 2) developing the Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Balloon Telescope calibration system, 3) working on the Aspera SmallSat mission's grating characterization testing, and 4) measuring novel small-scale gratings manufactured with electron beam lithography for technology development in UV spectroscopy (collaboration with UIowa). She is continuing to work in UV astrophysics and instrumentation here as a postdoc with Keri Hoadley.
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Member's Corner Speaker: Warren Schmitt
Topic: My Work with Skylab
The Far Out Journal Club invites you to join us for an online conversation with ranger Rader Lane
From the outer limits of the Milky Way, the Alachua Astronomy Club has started the Far Out Journal Club. Produced by Rich Russin and hosted by past president Terry Smiljanich, the goal is to have a personal, in-depth visit with the authors, artists, musicians, curators, and other cultural icons who bring us the vast world of cultural science and science fiction.
Get ready for a special evening as we host Rader Lane for an online conversation about his career as an interpretive park ranger at the Grand Canyon National Park where his dark sky initiatives have earned him national and international awards.
Rader Lane
Park Ranger
Division of Interpretation and Resource Education
Grand Canyon National Park
About our Guest:
Rader Lane has been an interpretive park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park since 2010. His main duties involve connecting visitors emotionally and intellectually to the night skies through formal talks, digital media, and outreach.
He manages the park’s Dark Skies Program, which includes the largest night sky festival in the National Park Service—the Grand Canyon Star Party—and other programs like the award-winning Astronomer in Residence Program and the Astronomy Volunteer Program. He works with a team in the park to measure the quality of the dark skies, retrofit park lighting, and maintain the park’s International Dark-Sky Park status.
His management of the Dark Skies Program helped earn Grand Canyon National Park the International Dark-Sky Place of the Year Award in 2019 from DarkSky International.
Rader has received numerous awards and accolades at art exhibitions and film festivals for his experimental night-sky films—he is a two-time recipient of Best of Show at the international-juried art exhibition on night skies, called Night Visions.
He was honored with the National Park Service's National Freeman Tilden Award for his interpretive work on night skies in our national parks in 2019, the highest award given to an interpretive park ranger in the National Park Service. In 2024, he was awarded with DarkSky International’s Dark Sky Defender Award.
In 2025, the IAU named asteroid “30280 RaderLane” in his honor. In his free time, Rader enjoys reading, writing, backpacking, playing chess, playing music, and taking long walks in the dark.
To further enhance your enjoyment of this episode, The Far Out Journal Club recommends you check out these links prior to the session.
https://www.grandcanyon.org/protect-grand-canyon/projects/dark-sky-preservation-and-programs
https://www.grandcanyon.org/experience-grand-canyon/residency-program/astronomer-in-residence
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm
Join Zoom Meeting:
Http://bit.ly/FarOutJournalClub
https://sfcollege.zoom.us/j/91733146162?pwd=Ib7KD0Sd1UKU8cbeUR0u7bxbOzmSOj.1
7:00 - 7:15 General Meeting & Announcements 7:15 - 7:30 Members Corner:
Speaker: James Albury, Planetarium Director and host of the YouTube Series "The Sky Above Us"
Topic: TBD
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Member's Corner Speaker: Rich Russin
Topic: H.H. Ninninger, Master of Meteorites
