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Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |  Member Astronomical League |
 Member International Dark-Sky Association |
| Monthly Meetings 2008 |
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| 29°39' N, 82°21' W Altitude: 50 Meters (more or less) |
Updated Apr. 8, 2008 | ||
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Location
POWELL HALL EXHIBITION CENTER
of the Florida Museum of Natural History
Located near S.W. 34 Street &
Hull Road intersection
(Western edge of UF campus
in UF's Cultural Plaza)
Gainesville, Florida USA
[Directions and Map]
Note: Meeting are usually held in the Lucille T. Maloney Classroom. However, during the summer, due to special classes at the Museum, we may meet elsewhere in the building.
NOTE: Powell Hall is located in the UF cultural complex that includes the Phillips Center for Performing Arts (CPA) and the Harn Museum of Art. Also across the street is the SW Recreational Center. Unless the CPA is holding a performance on the evenings when the AAC meets at Powell Hall, parking should not normally be a problem.
However, if an event is also happening at the CPA, people attending AAC events at Powell Hall should plan accordingly (arrive early! ).
Check the UF Calendar of Events to see when performances are scheduled at the CPA.)
At the present time there are no known conflicts with AAC meetings and the CPA during the first half of 2008. (The CPA 2007/2008 schedule will not be published until spring 2007.)
- All monthly meetings are free and open to the public (but why not become a member!)
- Check detailed schedule for any changes in time or location
- The AAC Executive Council also meets the first Tuesday of the month
Speaker Schedule
(Click on date to see details)
Date (2008) Guest Speaker Title or Topic January 8 Chuck Broward & Bob O'Connell The New "Golden Age" of Lunar Exploration February 12 Scott McCartney The History of the Optical Telescope: Part 2 March 11 Tyler Desjardins Characteristics of Active Galactic Nuclei and Correlations in Variability April 8 Tim Malles Astronomy and Space Art—An Artist's Impression May 13 Chuck Broward, Joe Haldeman,
Fred Heinrich & Tim MallesReview of the 2008 Winter Star Party June 10 Dr. Eric Ford Searching for Extrasolar Planets: Care to Join the Hunt? July 8 Dr. J. William Doyle How the Eye Works to Let You See the Stars August 12 Dr. Fred Hamann TBA September 9 Dr. Ata Sarajedini TBA October 14 Bill Helms How You Can Know, Absolutely and Unequivocally, Whether We Really Landed on the Moon, No Matter What NASA Says November 11 NASA Speaker? TBA December 6? None (Holiday Party) Help Celebrate Our 21st Anniversary
Details of 2008 MeetingsTuesday, January 8, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Chuck Broward & Bob O'Connell
E-Mail: oboblunar "at" aol "dot" com; cbroward "at" ufl "dot" edu
Title: The New "Golden Age" of Lunar Exploration
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
PARKING WARNING: The Phillips Performing Arts Center hosts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra the same evening as this meeting. (Performance begins 7:30 p.m. with many guests likely to arrive before 7:00 p.m.) Come early because parking spots may be at a premium. Parking is also available in the parking structure if you cannot find a space in the surface parking area.
Preview: Chuck Broward and Bob O'Connell will give a PowerPoint presentation on four current lunar spacecraft missions. Chuck will discuss Japan's SELENE lunar orbiter (nickname Kaguya)launched September 14, 2007 and China's Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter launched October 24, 2007. Bob will cover India's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, set for launch April 9, 2008 and the United States' Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)to be launched October 31, 2008. Chuck and Bob will cover spacecraft instrumentation, mission goals as well as the most recent data and findings from the two spacecraft already in lunar orbit. These four probes are just the beginning of a new international "Golden Age" of lunar exploration.
About the Speakers: Bob O’Connell has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Denver and nursing degree from Santa Fe Community College. He is currently a registered nurse at Shands at AGH. Bob got his first telescope at age 5, a Sears 2.4" refractor, and the first object he observed was the Moon. During the ensuing 40+ years, he has owned several other telescopes and currently uses an Orion 7.1" Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope in his lunar studies. His interest for the past several years has been researching the controversial issue of Transient Lunar Phenomena, on which he gave a presentation at the 2006 August AAC meeting with Don Loftus. Bob also gave a presentation to the club on Why and How to Observe the Moon in 2007 August.
Charles (Chuck) Broward is the AAC's Astronomical League Correspondent (ALCOR), and Amateur Telescope-Making (ATM) Coordinator, as well as an avid amateur observer and telescope maker. He is also our Astronomical League club coordinator. Chuck is one of the AAC's earliest members, was the club's first newsletter editor, a post he held for about seven years, and was the original designer of the AAC logo. (For more information on the club's history, see the AAC's 20th FirstLight Anniversary issue, 2007 December.) Chuck has been a frequent speaker at AAC meetings. Talks include October 1996 and 1997 November on purchasing a telescope; 1998 August on How to Make Your Own Telescope; 2000 October on The RLT ("Rather Large Telescope"); 2001 June as part of a Members' Medley of observing experiences; in 2002 March on The Messier Marathon; and 2005 June on The 2005 Winter Star Party / The Astronomical League.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Scott McCartney
E-Mail: scott "dot" mccartney "at" cox "dot" net
Title: The History of the Telescope: Part 2
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
PARKING WARNING: The Phillips Performing Arts Center presents "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" same evening as this meeting. (Performance begins 7:30 p.m. with many guests likely to arrive before 7:00 p.m.) Come early because parking spots may be at a premium. Parking is also available in the parking structure if you cannot find a space in the surface parking area.
Preview: In May 2007, Scott discussed the early study of optics and lenses, the controversial origin of the telescope, and early refracting and reflecting designs. In this presentation, Scott will review the further development of the optical telescope from the 1700s to the present day.
About the Speaker: Alachua Astronomy Club member Scott McCartney has been actively involved in amateur astronomy since the age of ten. He is currently the programs chair and assistant webmaster for the AAC, and has previously served as secretary and board member.
Scott has a bachelor's degree in Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Florida. He is married and has three children.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Tyler Desjardins
E-Mail: omega86 "at" ufl "dot" edu
Title: Characteristics of Active Galactic Nuclei and Correlations in Variability
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Active galaxies, in contrast to normal galaxies, contain a compact object near the center called an “active galactic nucleus” or AGN. These objects are believed to be supermassive blackholes accreting material and giving off intense radiation along the entire electromagnetic spectrum, however the intensity of this radiation is variable over time. This talk aims to give a basic introduction to the characteristics and structure of the AGN as well as discuss possible correlations with variability.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Tim Malles
E-Mail: timmalles "at" aol.com
Title: Astronomy and Space Art—An Artist's Impression
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Tim Malles will give a brief history of astronomy and space art, from cave paintings to computer generated images. He will discuss the important contribution artist's have made in the development of the space program. Tim will also display examples of his own astro art and give club members the inspiration along with some basic knowledge and tips for creating their own space art.
Tim would like to invite club members to bring a piece of their own astro art that they have created to share, show and tell.
About the Speaker: Tim has been an active AAC member since 2001, serving as star party chair, board member, and volunteer at numerous public outreach events. He also volunteered in the construction of the Gainesville Solar Walk including the design and installation of the bronze information plaques.
See a Beautiful Example of Tim's Space Art — Lunar Eclipse (2008 Feb. 20)
(Artwork Copyright © 2008 Tim Malles)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Chuck Broward, Joe Haldeman, Fred Heinrich & Tim Malles
E-Mail: N/A
Title: Review of the 2008 Winter Star Party
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Next year the Winter Star Party will celebrate its 25th annivesary (February 21–28) with a special eight day event at West Summerland Key, Florida. This year this grand celebration of the heaven, hosted annually by the Southern Cross Society, brought out hundreds of amateur astronomers from around the world. Dark skies and a chance to view southern celestial objects not visible from most other places in the continental USA makes this one of the most popular and largest gatherings of amateurs. (Warm winter weather is also an attraction!) Hear AAC members who attended the 2008 Winter Star Party explain why this star party is a must for anyone interested in gazing at the stars.
About the Speakers: Chuck Broward, Joe Haldeman, Fred Heinrich & Tim Malles are all active members of the AAC. Chuck is one of the AAC's earliest members, is AAC's Astronomical League Correspondent (ALCOR), and heads the AAC Amateur Telescope-Making (ATM) group. He spoke to the AAC this past January. Joe is an award winning writer of science fiction. He has won every major award for his science fiction, including many Hugos and Nebula awards. Fred with his wife, Lucille, are registrars for the annual Winter Florida Keys Star Party hosted by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society. Tim has been an active AAC member since 2001 and is a professional artist. He was also our last month's speaker.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Eric Ford, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: eford "at" astro "dot" ufl "dot" edu
Title: Searching for Extrasolar Planets: Care to Join the Hunt?
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Cultural Plaza, Gainesville FL
Preview: During the past 15 years, astronomers have discovered over 200 planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. These discoveries have unveiled an unexpected diversity of planetary systems. While many professional astronomers are working hard to detect planets more similar to Earth, the detection of Jupiter-sized planets is within the grasp of amateur astronomers. Dr. Ford will provide an overview of what we've learned about extrasolar planets and describe how amateur astronomers are contributing to the field.
About the Speaker: Dr. Eric Ford is an assistant professor of Astronomy at the University of Florida. His research focuses on studying extrasolar planets and improving our understanding of planet formation. Dr. Ford received bachelor's degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 2003. He continued his research on extrasolar planets as a Miller Fellow at the University of California Berkeley and as a Hubble Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty of the UF Astronomy department in Gainesville. You may read more at Dr. Ford's website.
Note: Dr. Ford is the key note speaker for the 2008 Starry Night Program at the Florida Museum of Natural History (Apr. 17), a yearly event sponsored by the University of Florida Student Government in collaboration with the Department of Astronomy and the Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. J. William Doyle, M. D., Ph.D.
E-Mail: TBA
Title: How the Eye Works to Let You See the Stars
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Dr. Doyle will cover the working of the eye, as well as complications such as Dry Eye, Presbyopia, Cataracts, and LASIX.
About the Speaker: Dr. Doyle is an associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida's College of Medicine. Dr. Doyle obtained his medical degree and doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Florida. After graduation, he pursued an ophthalmology residency and glaucoma fellowship at the University of Florida. He joined the UF faculty in 1992 and has received the prestigious Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s. Dr. Doyle is director of clinical research for UF’s Department of Ophthalmology. His interests include all glaucoma and cataract surgeries.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Fred Hamann, Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: hamann "at" astro "dot"ufl "dot" edu
Title: TBA
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: TBA
About the Speaker: Dr. Hamann received his Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY) in 1987, and subsequently worked as a research fellow at the Carnegie Observatories, the Ohio State University, and the University of California at San Diego, before joining the faculty at UF in 1999. Main interests are studies of quasars, active galaxies, galaxy evolution, early-epoch star formation, elemental abundance evolution, circumstellar environments of pre- and post-main sequence stars, nebular astrophysics.
Professor Hamann is becoming a tradition at AAC meetings. He has unselfishly spoken to the AAC numerous times in past years including May 2004 (Twinkle, Twinkle, Huge Explosion: The Story of Gamma-Ray Bursts), February 2005 (From Darkness Into Light: The End of the Dark Ages), and July 2006 (Life on the Edge: The Story of Eta Carinae). His wonderful talks are always interesting, informative and enthusiatically received. And they are easily understandable by even novice star gazers.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Ata Sarajedini, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: ata "at" astro "dot"ufl "dot" edu
Title: TBA
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: TBA
About the Speaker: Dr. Sarajedini received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale in 1992, and did postdoctoral research at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory as well as at the University of California in Santa Cruz. He was on the faculty of Wesleyan University until joining the astronomy faculty at the University of Florida in 2001 along with his wife, Dr. Vicki L. Sarajedini, who is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronomy. Dr. Sarajedimi research interests include stellar populations, galactic structure, distance scales, precision photometry, WIYN Open Cluster Study, and HST Globular Cluster Treasury.
Professor Sarajedini captivated his audience in March 2004 with his his stunning talk on the (The Eating Habits of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies). Like Dr. Hamman, who will speak next month, his presentation should again thrill the audience with his current presentation
Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Bill Helms, AAC President
E-Mail: president "at" floridastars "dot" org
Title: How You Can Know, Absolutely and Unequivocally, Whether We Really Landed on the Moon, No Matter What NASA Says
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: TBA
About the Speaker: Bill Helms is the President and past Programs Coordinator of the AAC. He has a Bachelor's degree in Physics and a Master's degree in Management from Florida State University. Bill retired to the dark skies of North Florida after a 35-year career with NASA at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), where he was a Firing Room launch console operator for both the Apollo lunar landing missions and the early Space Shuttle missions. While at NASA, Bill designed launch complex instrumentation for the Space Shuttle, and designed the Hazardous Gas Detection System used at the launch complex for over 20 years. The instrumentation he designed was credited with saving three shuttle missions from launch with potentially catastrophic hydrogen leakage. Bill established and managed KSC Instrumentation Development Labs for 20 years. He has been awarded two NASA Exceptional Service Medals.
Bill has been an amateur astronomer for 35 years, and is a percussionist in the Gainesville Community Band.
This is Bill's fourth presentation to the Alachua Astronomy Club; he has previously given talks on purchasing a telescope in November 2005, reviewed lunar atlases, books, and maps in February 2006, and "Building the Suwannee Skies Observatory" September 2007.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 7:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: NASA Speaker?
E-Mail: TBA
Title: TBA
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: TBA
About the Speaker: TBA
Saturday, December 6, 2008 (Tentative), 6:00 p.m. EST (dinner served at 6:30 p.m.)
Speaker: None but lots of fun!
Title: "Holiday Party" and Celebration of AAC's 21st Birthday!
Location: TBA
Preview: AAC will hold its annual December holiday party — a potluck dinner. (There will be no regular Tuesday meeting in December.) Club will buy drinks and paper products. (There will be a food sign up sheet at our October and November meetings — see below.)
Food to Bring: If you miss signing up at the October or November meetings, please respond to webmaster@floridastars.org and indicate what food dish you will bring:
- Wings, ham rolls, cheese & crackers, finger sandwiches, taco salad w/chips, dessert or other (please designate)
- Also indicate the number of adults and children (give ages) who will attend.
Last year we celebrated our 20th anniversary. This year we celebrate our club's 21st anniversary! Good food, games, our traditional astro slide quiz, lots of prizes, sci-fi space music, and an astro video!
Begins approximately at sunset. Lasts till whenever.
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