Welcome to Houston Astronomical Society

" Cosmic Clocks "

By: Chris Morisette

In “Cosmic Clocks” Novice Chair Chris Morisette will present a survey of nine different techniques for determining the age of objects in our cosmos.  Here he’ll discuss radiometric dating, crater counting, stellar spectroscopy, gyrochronology, magnetic activity, asteroseismology, dynamical age estimation, red shift dating, and CMB radiation measurement.  The talk will include a description of the underlying principle of each technique, when its applied, examples of its application, and advantages/disadvantages of each method.  At the end Chris will literally “build a watch” and unveil his version of a “Cosmic Clock”!!!

To see the video, click Cosmic Clocks.

CANCELLED ----Astronomy In The Park - Memorial Park

Saturday, August 2, 2025    8:00PM

The event begins at 8:00PM.

LOCATION DETAILS: The Clay Family Eastern Glades is at the eastern end of Memorial Park, one of the nation's largest urban parks. The lush, open areas of this part of the park offer ample space for telescopes, binoculars, and appreciating the Houston night sky. The North Lakeside Pavilion is a shelter at the northern end of the Clay Family Eastern Glades

Hope to see you there!

Joyce Almaguer-Reisdorf
 

“Observing Programs of the Astronomical League”

By: Aaron Clevenson

Astronomical League Observing Program Director and Secretary

The Astronomical League has promoted Observing Programs since 1967.  Aaron Clevenson, an AL Observing Program Director, will give a presentation of where the Observing Program Division has been, where it is today, and where it is going in the future.

Currently there are over 70 Observing Programs offered, covering everything from novice to Expert, Naked-Eye Observing to Telescopes, every imaginable type of astronomical object, and some specialty categories for the adventurous.

At the conclusion of the talk we hope you will decide to tackle one or more of the Observing Programs, you should have the information you need to determine which Observing Programs are for you, and how to approach them.

To see the video, click Observing Programs of the Astronomical League.

" Gems of the Summer Sky "

By: Chris Morisette

Summer offers a wide array of fascinating objects for viewing.  In “Gems of the Summer Sky” Chris Morisette shows how we can continue to use The Big Dipper, as well as adding “The Keystone”, “The Summer Triangle”, and “The Teapot” to our repertoire of navigation signposts to help us find and observe some wonderful star clusters and nebulae.

In addition, a short supplement entitled “The Vera Rubin Observatory” will be presented.  We’ve all seen some of the beautiful images from this new telescope, here we’ll explore a bit about the mission of the observatory and the background of its namesake.

To see the video, click Gems of the Summer Sky.