Novice Presentation- Via Zoom
"The Giants: Observing Jupiter and Saturn at Opposition."
by Debbie Moran
Many amateur and even professional astronomers will tell you that they became “hooked” on astronomy after the first time they observed either Saturn or Jupiter through a telescope. As awesome as theses first observations can be, both of these huge planets are captivating when observed over and over again.
August is a big month for the gas giant planets. Both are at opposition during the month, Saturn will be at opposition on August 2nd, and Jupiter on August 19th, when observing them is typically as good as it gets.
Novice Chairperson Debbie Moran will take us on a tour of both planets and tell us what to expect, and how to get the most out of your observation of these true gems of the night sky.
Speaker Bio: Deborah Moran has had a lifelong interest in astronomy since her childhood in Midland, TX where all the scenery is in the sky. She has been a long time member of the Houston Astronomical Society and has served in a number of capacities there, currently as Novice Chair in charge of programs for new members. She also participates in outreach programs and is a volunteer telescope operator at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park. She is the 2017 recipient of the International Dark-Sky association’s Hoag-Robinson Award for education of government officials about outdoor lighting issues. In 2010, her Woodside neighborhood became the first one within Houston city limits allowed to install low glare fully shielded decorative streetlights. For the past four years she has presented concerns about the choice of high glare white LED street lights in Houston to city officials and hopes that the Houston area will someday join other communities in moving to warm or soft white to amber LEDs which are recommended by the American Medical Association for their reduced glare and reduced disruption of day/night circadian function.
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Since we're all practicing safe social distancing, we have decided to bring our speaker to you virtually through the Zoom online meeting platform! You must register for this presentation in order to attend. You may do so by using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpdeisqj4uGtIjYfNNyceHRsj2fPzcmzet
Please watch your email, as you should also receive an email inviting you attend. The email will include any up to date changes (if any) on meeting times etc. You may also register using the link in the email, however it is only necessary to register once.
We'll have the online chat feature available to us during the talk, and once the presentation is over, we can open up the audio lines for more questions. I'm excited that this we're able to get together in this fashion, and I hope you can join us then. We hope to see you online with us on Thursday evening August 5th!
Joe Khalaf
President
Houston Astronomical Society
