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" Navigating The Spring Sky "

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By: Chris Morisette

April marks the beginning of Galaxy Season.  In “Navigating The Spring Sky” Chris Morisette will present various references and methods to help you find your way around the cosmos.  In particular we’ll see how we can use The Big Dipper as a “sign post”, which will allow us to find and view several beautiful celestial objects, including some very cool galaxies.

Also… an announcement about an upcoming Spring Novice Lab will be presented.

Speaker Bio: Chris Morisette is HAS Novice Chairperson and an active member of the Houston Astronomical Society, North Houston Astronomy Club, and the Fort Bend Astronomy Clubs.  He is also a member of the University of Texas Astronomy Department Board of Visitors.  On clear Saturday nights you may find him volunteering at the George Observatory engaging with visitors and sharing his love of the night sky, or you may find him at the HAS dark site trying his hand at astrophotography.

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This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. To attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do so using the link below. You will receive an email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtdOCuqDMrH9LWIrD0tRlNPRdDizEqNzV0

You only need to register once!

Join us Thursday, April 4th, 2024, at 7:00 pm CT. See you then!

Amateur astronomers do what they do because they want to do it, because they are interested in how the universe works. Most of us are not professional astronomers, and most of us have no formal training in astronomy. We all start somewhere, and we’re all novices at some level.

To meet the needs of novice amateur astronomers the HAS has a novice presentation once a month, just before the general meeting (see the meeting schedule in the GuideStar newsletter). Recently, we have had presentations on:

  • Planning Your Observing Session
  • Alien Worlds & Mysterious Planets
  • A Tour of the Spring Sky
  • Observing Variable Stars
  • How Good are Your Scope and Your Eyes?
  • What’s New Under the Sun?
  • Astronomical Sketching
  • A Brief Tour of the Winter Constellations
  • The Hertzsprung – Russell Diagram
  • Archeoastronomy

The Houston Astronomical Society invites you to join us for the novice meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the regular meeting night of the society (see the GuideStar for the next meeting). We all learn something at the novice meeting!

Be sure to check out our collection of resources for the novice. This section is updated continuously!

"Beginning Astrophotography "

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By: Rich Wilbourn

Astrophotography can certainly be an intimidating pursuit even for experienced photographers. In this presentation, we'll show how to create beautiful images of the night sky with just a digital camera and tripod. We'll cover when and where to go, getting the best exposure, post-processing, stacking images and star tracking. There's a lot you can do with relatively simple gear. Starting out building on your successes like this will certainly help smooth the path to deep sky photography.

Speaker Bio: Rich Wilbourn grew up in Jackson, Mississippi during the heyday of the space program  which inspired a lifelong interest in astronomy.  He and friends started the local astronomy club there, the Jackson Astronomical Association, which continues to this day. At a time when telescopes were prohibitively expensive for the average teenager, Rich made his own 10" f/5 Newtonian reflector and even ground the mirror. He went on to study astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin and to intern at McDonald Observatory for two summers. After retiring from a career in IT and Project Management, he is enthusiastically pursuing a love of photographing the night sky. His other interests include wildlife and nature photography. You can see Rich's work on Instagram at @rwilbourn.

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This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. To attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do sousing the link below. You will receive an email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-2qpjkqEtO8VICFnKZE7SB2JxcX59aS

You only need to register once!

Join us Thursday, February 1st, 2023, at 7:00 pm CST. See you then!

See what Chris Morisette has to say.

 

The Winter Sky"

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By: Chris Morisette

Winter offers many wonderful celestial objects for viewing.  In “The Winter Sky” Chris Morisette will discuss methods for navigating the night sky using Orion as a signpost, will review several terrific objects available for viewing this time of year, and will provide tips on cold weather preparation.

Hear the whole presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHOh8I-3BJQ

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Did you miss the December 2023 Novice presentation because it was on November 30th? Not to worry. You can always catch up with past presentations from the HAS YouTube channel. Justin McCollum’s presentation is here. And to learn a little more about Justin, aka Professor Comet, take a look here.

"Uranus and Neptune: A History of Exploration and Discovery of the Icy Giants"

by Justin McCollum

 

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The outermost planets of the Solar System tend to be the most challenging for research and observations for all explorers and researchers of space. Uranus and Neptune are the icy giants of our planetary system, alien to the inner gas giants Jupiter and Saturn.

This presentation begins with the origins of the mythology of Uranus and Neptune, progressing to the discovery of both worlds. Changes in the different methodologies of scientific studies and the advancements in the observations of two icy planets will be part of this presentation.

New technologies, including the latest information provide new insights into this rarely explored region of our Solar System. Backyard Astronomy and citizen science projects are playing new roles in providing fascinating facts and rewarding challenges in exploring these planets. Observing or photographing details on these distant planets requires high magnification and is very challenging. Practiced on a regular basis, such observing will help make you a better astronomer.

 

Our speaker: Justin graduated from Portland State University with an M.S. in Physics. Since 2005, he has been a Physics Laboratory Coordinator and departmental Astronomy instructor. His accomplishments include graduating at the top of his cohort in the postgraduate certification on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with UT Austin McCombs School of Business in August 2023. Justin has also volunteered at the George Observatory since 2005 and has served in different club officer positions in several Houston area astronomy clubs.

 

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. To attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do so using the link below. You will receive an email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

Novice meeting Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvcOGqqT4jE9ScsQxtECGdR1Grj_c_VbTX

You only need to register once!

Join us Thursday, November 30th, 2023, at 7:00 pm CDST. See you then!

"Imaging the Total Eclipse"

Don Selle, speaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL5FPuQE7_I

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On April 8th, 2024, many locations within the State of Texas will experience a total solar eclipse. This is an awesome natural event that should not be missed. While the eclipse will not be total in the Houston area, traveling somewhere within the state to experience totality is very highly recommended. A 99% eclipse is nowhere as breathtaking as totality.
 
Many eclipse observers will want to photograph the event. Eclipse photography can be challenging, but with a little know-how and the right equipment, even first-time eclipse observers can safely photograph the eclipse with great results.

" Tour of the Autumn Night Sky "

by Chris Morisette

 

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Goodbye Summer inferno and hello cool(er) nights!  Autumn is great time to get out under the stars as a plethora of beautiful and exotic deep sky objects present themselves.  Couple that with a solar and lunar eclipse in October and this year’s fall viewing cannot be beat.  Novice Chairperson Chris Morisette will provide a brief review on how to navigate the night sky using celestial signposts, then take us on a tour of the autumn night sky.

In addition, Chris will present a brief talk regarding “Space Observatories”, discussing their purpose, numbers, and missions.  At the end of the meeting your input will be requested for the 2024 Novice presentation program.

Our speaker:

Chris Morisette is HAS Novice Chairperson and an active member of the Houston Astronomical Society, North Houston Astronomy Club, and the Fort Bend Astronomy Clubs.  He is also a member of the University of Texas Astronomy Department Board of Visitors.  On clear Saturday nights you may find him volunteering at the George Observatory engaging with visitor and sharing his love of the night with them, while totally having fun operating the telescopes there, or you may find him at the HAS dark site gaining experience with astrophotography.

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. In order to attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do so using the link below. You will receive a email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApc-itrT0jEt2BHJGsMeI73itTxMIaft57

You only need to register once!

Join us Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 7:00 pm CDST. See you then!

"Exploring Gobular Clusters"

by Justin McCollum

 

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Globular clusters are a natural congregation of stars born together in primeval clouds of Hydrogen and Helium in the early periods of the Universe. Globular clusters from the time of discovery in 1665 through the analysis of extragalactic globular clusters with the latest space telescopes constantly provide new information about the earliest ages of the Cosmos and the evolution of stars. Despite the latest results of scientific data and spectral insights into these fascinating structures, there are many unknowns and mysteries about globular clusters. The continuous discovery of globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy is a hot field of astronomy even in the early 21st century.

This presentation will discuss the history of astronomical analysis of globular clusters, from their discovery to the latest information and theories about the nature of globular clusters. Tips and methods for observing globular clusters are a part of this discussion, combining photographic and spectrographic analysis to reveal the mysteries of globular clusters.

Our speaker: Justin graduated from Portland State University with an M.S. in Physics. Since 2005, he has been a Physics Laboratory Coordinator and departmental Astronomy instructor. His accomplishments include graduating at the top of his cohort in the postgraduate certification on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with UT Austin McCombs School of Business in August 2023. Justin has also volunteered at the George Observatory since 2005 and has served in different club officer positions in several Houston area astronomy clubs.

 

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. In order to attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do so using the link below. You will receive a email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclcO-ppjIuHdZA4NbQrFLaswRd3VRplLg2

You only need to register once!

Join us Thursday, September 7th, 2023, at 7:00 pm CDST. See you then!

Interested in astronomy and don’t know where to begin? Well, you’ve found the right place!

Why not come and join us as a guest? We can help you learn to use your telescope or binoculars. And if you don’t own an instrument, we can give you some practical advice on how and where to begin.

Should you become a member, we’ll even loan you a telescope to get you started. We’ll have star parties during the year and you can have an opportunity to learn from experienced observers.

We have a meeting for the beginner at 6:30 pm on the first Friday of each month at the Trini Mendenhall Community Center located at 1414 Wirt Rd. This meeting is followed by a General Membership meeting at 7:15 at which all sorts of interesting presentations are featured.

Want to learn more about what we’ll be doing this year? Point your mouse to Meetings and then to Novice Meetings or send me an e-mail for a personal invitation

The schedule is not cast in concrete, so if there is a consensus for change we will do so. Please plan to attend. All HAS members are invited; you don’t have to be a novice! Any questions may be directed to me, Debbie Moran.

We expect to hold several Novice Star Parties during the year. These activities will be announced in advance and, of course, all HAS members are invited.

Debbie Moran
Novice Program Chair