HOWARD
ASTRONOMICAL
LEAGUE
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HAL Meetings in 2024
HAL General Meetings (Open to the Public)
- We have resumed in-person General Meetings at
Robinson Nature Center (as well as on Zoom).
- For specific meeting dates, see the HAL Calendar.
- Additional information is announced via the HowardAstro Google Group.
- All HAL Meetings (and star parties) are held in locations which are smoke free by law. Help us protect our ability to use these facilities by not smoking.
General Meetings are held from 7:00PM to approximately 9:00 on the 3rd Thursday
of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
HAL Planning Meetings (Open to All Members)
Planning Meetings to discuss future club direction, events, meeting topics, outreach, etc. are open to all members. Attendance is encouraged.
They are usually held from 7:00 to 8:00PM on the 1st Monday
of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
Sometimes these meetings are rescheduled or cancelled due to holidays or board member unavailability.
Check our home page, posts to the HowardAstro Google Group, or the HAL calendar.
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2024 General Meeting Topics / Speakers |
Jan. 18 |
Thursday, January 18th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: The ZWO Seestar S50: The Next Generation of Smart Telescopes
Presenter: Grace Coventry, Head of IT Services Division, Space Telescope Science Institute
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Grace's Presentation PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
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Grace will be delivering a presentation entitled "The ZWO Seestar S50:
The Next Generation of Smart Telescopes". HAL has recently acquired a
Seestar
for use by our members at star parties and outreach events.
Grace will provide an overview of this exciting new development in the
field of amateur astronomy.
Specific subjects Grace will cover include:
- The smart digital telescope paradigm
- Two generations of smart telescopes
- ZWO Seestar S50 specifications and features overview
- A walkthrough of Seestar's observing modes
(Stargazing/Solar/Lunar/Planetary/Scenery)
- Image processing, with examples
- Uses for the Seestar
- HAL's plans for the Seestar
There's a lot of interest in the Seestar in HAL – a number of members
are acquiring them. Join us for a lively discussion about the future of
smart digital telescopes!
Bio: Grace Coventry is Head of the IT Services Division for the Space
Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. She is currently serving as
2nd Vice President of HAL.
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Feb. 15 |
Thursday, February 15th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Total Eclipse of the Heart: Is it Geometry, or Just a Phase
Presenter: Christine Hirst Bernhardt, PhD Candidate, Astronomy Professor
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
Eclipse Information
(Professor Bernhardt's links including videos)
This talk will interactively explore why we have eclipses, and why
we don't have them every month. We will explore the perfect
triangles that allow for eclipses, our unique place in space and
time which caters to this observation, some fun stories of eclipses
in the past and connections to civilizations (and colonization) and
finally learn how and where to see the eclipse in April.
Christine Hirst Bernhardt is a National STEM education leader and
PhD candidate at the University of Maryland. In 2021-2022 she served
in Congress as an
Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow
to advance education policy initiatives. Her passion for all things
space fostered the Excellence in Astronomy Teaching award and
participation on
NASA's SOFIA
mission. Christine identifies and
addresses national needs in Earth and Space education as the chair
of the
National Astronomy Education Coordinator team
and US member of the Global Leadership in Earth Science Education. Christine has
developed programs and curricula such as a high-altitude balloon
program, student space symposium and international space camp. She
holds Master's in both Space Studies and Science Education. Her
Doctoral research centers on international astronomy education and
teacher learning with a social justice lens. She is interested in
international science education and using Earth and Space topics as
a gateway to STEM in early learning.
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Mar. 21 |
Thursday, March 21st, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Laser Communications in Space
Presenters: Dave Israel, Chief Architect, Exploration and Space Communications projects division, with Armen Caroglanian
Moderator: Jimmy Acevedo
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
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Join us for an informal, panel-style discussion about NASA’s recent successes building
laser communications infrastructure in orbit. We’ll breeze through a brief overview
presentation of laser communications technology, then chat with
Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
(LCRD) principal
investigator Dave Israel (and possibly other guests). We plan to leave plenty of time
for audience questions, so please come ready to engage!
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Apr. 18 |
Thursday, April 18th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Weather in the Outer Solar System is Cloudy and Stormy
Presenter: Dr. Richard G. Cosentino, Staff Scientist at STScI
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
Provided after our meeting:
The clouds on the
outer planets
look very different from the
what we see here on Earth, but then at other times they look
more familiar than anyone might expect. I will talk about the
general morphology of Jupiter's atmosphere, it's distinct
banding and wind patterns, and of course the Great Red Spot.
The discoveries from the Juno mission and the circumpolar
cyclones at Jupiter's poles provide the opportunity to look at
the other outer planets that all have polar storms of varying
sizes. We will look at Saturn's Hexagon, the recent north pole
of Uranus coming into view, and large dark spots on Neptune.
I'm originally from Buffalo NY and went to undergrad at SUNY
Buffalo for Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics,
after which I worked for several years as a green building
consultant working for a small firm that collaborated with
architects on historical renovations and new buildings. Still
loving astronomy and after a ski trip to Colorado, decided to
change career paths and went back to school for astronomy at CU
Boulder and then moving to New Mexico Tech, right next to the
VLA to eventually earn my PhD in Physics. My PhD focused on
modeling jet streams in Jupiter's atmosphere and what we could
learn from observatories like Hubble and IRTF about waves and
turbulence from cloud structure. I went to NASA Goddard for my
postdoc where I continued studies of Jupiter's atmosphere,
including the Great Red Spot and smaller spots and storms, and
also worked on the OSIRIS-REx mission as an instrument
scientist for a spectrometer which aided in finding the sample
site for asteroid Bennu. I am now working in the instrument
division at STScI on the
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and
the calibration reference file pipeline.
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May 16 |
Thursday, May 16th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Great American Solar Eclipse of 2024: Collective Experience of the Howard Astronomical League
Presenter: Jim Johnson, Former HAL President
Artifacts:
Presentation PDF
| Jim's Eclipse Presentation
[PDF
or download
PPT]
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
Jim Johnson's Bio from 2022.
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Two years prior to the 2017 eclipse, then President Chris Todd gave a
presentation to generate interest in the eclipse and he provided many
thoughtful planning considerations. I know that I, for one, benefited
from this presentation. Just prior to the eclipse date, I asked
eclipse observers to record notes and images related to their eclipse
experience. I called these notes in to use as a basis for a review of
HAL's collective eclipse experience, which I presented at HAL's
September 2017 meeting.
At the June 2021 HAL meeting, I embarked on a three-part series of HAL
presentations that will culminate in a review of HAL's collective
experience at the 2024 eclipse. The series title is
The Great North American Solar Eclipse of 2024,
and the three parts are:
Part 1 –
An Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Solar Eclipses,
(June 17,
2021) A general guide to solar eclipses and solar eclipse observing.
Part 1: June 2021 YouTube recording
Part 2 –
HAL Lessons from the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017
(July 21, 2022). This presentation is the best “pre-game show” that I
can recommend to prepare for the 2024 eclipse. While each and every
HAL member or guest experience in 2017 was amazing, our collective
experience is something quite special and worth revisiting. I prepared
this presentation by starting with the with the 2017 collective
experience, and added notes to derive helpful lessons for the 2024
eclipse. This presentation provides a sense of the variety of sites to
which HAL members and guests traveled, their travel and lodging
experiences, various experiences with weather, traffic, observation
notes, and photos of sites, equipment, and the eclipse. This is a good
place for someone to get a sense of what to expect in April.
Part 2: July 2022 YouTube recording
Part 3 –
The Collective Experience of the Howard Astronomical League.
This part of the 2024 series has not yet been written, but I will be
soliciting your eclipse notes and images for compilation into HAL's
record of the 2024 eclipse. This compilation will be presented at the
May 2024 HAL meeting.
I encourage all to review parts 1 and 2 as you complete eclipse
observing and travel preparations, and to get a sense of the kinds of
information that I will be asking you to collect for the 2024
collective experience presentation as the eclipse date draws nearer.
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June 20 |
Thursday, June 20th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Cosmic Visions
Presenters: Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett, Founders of The World According to Sound
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett from
the Ways of Knowing podcast are coming to talk about
Cosmic Visions,
their radio series about the history of astronomy. Their show takes
listeners from the first lunar calendars and the development of zero
to the discovery of exoplanets and gravitational waves. Chris and Sam
will talk about the stories in the podcast, how they made the show,
and what they learned about astronomy along the way.
Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett are the founders of
The World According to Sound podcast,
which started as a series of 90 second
podcasts in 2016 and has evolved into a series of award winning
in-depth audio programs. Their philosophy is that intentional,
communal listening is a way to reclaim autonomy in a visually
dominated world. Their radio show minimizes speech and makes sound
the focus, to give listeners a sonic space to have their own
thoughts. Chris Hoff began his career in audio as an engineer for
public radio and later podcasts. Sam Harnett started as a reporter
covering labor and technology. They first met as volunteers at KALW in
San Francisco, where they invented games to pass the time like who
could put the basketball through the metal triangle rafters of 1970s
public school architecture. They are currently producing their radio
program as well as performing live experiential shows.
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July 18 |
Thursday, July 18th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Two Years of Exploring the Universe with JWST
Presenter: Dr. Kelly Lepo, Education and Outreach Scientist, Office of Public Outreach, STScI
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
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Topic Description: The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's latest flagship space observatory,
released its first spectacular color images
in July 2022. This summer marks two years of the telescope’s
science operations. In this presentation, Dr. Kelly Lepo will take a deep dive into some of Webb’s latest
discoveries, including how galaxies in the early universe are not quite like what we expected, what glowing
dust can tell us about how stars form and die, and how we can observe the atmospheres of planets inside our
solar system and around other stars.
Bio: Dr. Kelly Lepo is an Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space
Telescope Science Institute, where she supports outreach efforts for the
James Webb Space Telescope. She received a PhD in Astronomy and
Astrophysics from the University of Toronto. During her time in Canada,
she made numerous local and national media appearances to talk about
everything from the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse to the Super Blue Blood Moon.
She previously served as the Coordinator of the McGill Space Institute,
taught physics at Gonzaga University, and helped build the Large Hadron
Collider at CERN.
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Aug 15 |
Thursday, August 15th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: SOFIA: The Last Flying Observatory
Presenters: Sachin(dev) Shenoy, Principal Staff Scientist
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy,
was a Boeing 747SP
aircraft modified to carry a 2.7-meter (106-inch) reflecting telescope (with an
effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches). Flying into the stratosphere
at 38,000-45,000 feet put SOFIA above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking
atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways
that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. In this talk I will present
a brief history of SOFIA, it’s technical achievements, instruments onboard, and
what it takes to be an airborne astronomer. I will conclude the talk with some
of the science highlights and discoveries that were enabled by SOFIA.
Sachin Shenoy is an astronomer working as a principal staff scientist at Space
Telescope Science Institutes (STScI) in Baltimore, MD and supports two
instruments: WFC3 onboard Hubble and MIRI on James Webb Space Telescope. Before
moving to STScI he was a senior research scientist at Space Telescope Institute
(SSI) in Boulder CO and was a part of SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For
Infrared Astronomy), Science Center at NASA’s Ames Research Center (ARC).
During his time at SSI and ARC he was working with three near to far-infrared
instruments: FLITECAM, FORCAST and HAWC+ onboard NASA’s SOFIA. Prior to SOFIA,
he was a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at Ames Research Center, staff scientist at
Spitzer Space Telescope Science Center, MIPSGAL postdoctoral fellow and adjunct
faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His science interests are,
understanding the physical and chemical properties of molecular clouds, effects
of star formation on the interstellar grains, creation and destruction of
organics in the interstellar medium and circumstellar disks.
Sachin is an avid bird watcher and loves the outdoors, frequently volunteering
for National Park Service, Mobile Earth and Space Observatory (MESO), Astronomy
on Tap, and local/city parks and recreation. He also enjoys cooking, traveling
and long-distance running.
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Sept 19 |
Thursday, September 19th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: The Past, Present, and Future of Lunar Sample Analysis
Presenter: Dr. Sarah Valencia, Assistant Research Scientist, University of Maryland/NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center
Artifacts:
Meeting PDF
| Video Recording on YouTube
| Chat Log
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In this talk I will discuss the biggest lessons learned from the analysis of
Apollo samples,
current advances in sample analysis, and look toward to the
exciting return of Artemis samples.
Dr. Sarah Valencia is a lunar geologist at the University of Maryland College
Park and NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center through the
Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology II
program. Her research focuses on
the formation and evolution of igneous lunar rocks using both lunar samples
analysis and remote sensing techniques.
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Oct 17 |
Thursday, October 17th, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: Space Shuttle Stories
Presenter: Astronaut Thomas Jones
Presented by Howard County Library System in partnership with
The Maryland STEM Festival and HAL.
Quick Zoom Link.
More options on home page.
Note: This special meeting will not be at RNC. It wil be at:
Howard County Library System Elkridge Branch,
Belmont / Hockley Room,
6540 Washington Blvd, Elkridge, MD 21075.
To attend in person, you must preregister!
Scroll to the bottom of the
library's event page.
Space Shuttle Stories: Firsthand Astronaut Accounts from All 135 Missions --
"Experience all 135 NASA space shuttle missions ever flown through the words of
the astronauts themselves in this spectacularly illustrated volume. With more
than 600 photos from the NASA archives, this guide is perfect for fans of
space history and spaceflight."
"Astronaut Tom Jones provides readers of all ages with a definitive look into the spirit,
challenges, enjoyment, and faith that accompanies Earth-orbit exploration.
Space Shuttle Stories takes us inside the lives, the risks, and the dedication of those
men and women who are reaching for the stars." —Harrison H. Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut
and geologist.
Tom Jones
is a veteran astronaut, planetary scientist, pilot, author, and
speaker who completed four space shuttle missions and three spacewalks in
helping build the International Space Station. Jones has authored six books,
including Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir, and has written for aerospace
magazines such as Air & Space Smithsonian, Aerospace America, Popular
Mechanics, and The Planetary Report. A senior research scientist for IHMC, he
appears regularly on television news as an expert commentator for space
exploration and science stories.
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Nov 21 |
Thursday, November 21st, 2024 beginning at 7:00PM
Topic: TBD
Presenter: TBD
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Abstract: TBD
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TBD |
Postponed until February 2025.
Topic: AI-based Surveying of Exoplanet Atmospheres
Presenter: Dr. Reza Ashtari, Exoplanet Astronomer at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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Abstract: Producing optimized and accurate transmission spectra from telescope data is
a manual and labor-intensive process. Using artificial-intelligence-based
processing, we automate and optimize the data reduction and model-fitting
required for processing light curves and spectroscopic data from exoplanet
transits with the
Eureka! pipeline
for Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
observations.
Using AI-based processing of HST transit observations, we present a
standardized, homogeneous survey of exoplanet atmospheres. Spanning a range
of exoplanet-types
from hot Jupiters to sub-Neptunes, this AI-enabled
science provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of exoplanet
atmospheres to date. Using this tool to perform large-scale, data-driven
comparative exoplanetology, we have identified long-sought after trends in
cloud-formation for both the Jovian and Neptune/sub-Neptune regimes of
exoplanets.
Bio: Reza is an exoplanet astronomer at The Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory. He received his PhD in Electromagnetics from Auburn
University in 2016 and has served various science and engineering roles
since starting at APL in 2016. His work focuses on exoplanet atmospheres &
magnetic fields using ground and space-based telescopes (from optical to
radio), technosignatures, and extending NASA's Deep Space Network
capability. He has served various roles on NASA’s New Horizons, Dragonfly
and Interstellar Probe missions.
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Archives:
2013 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2014 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2015 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2016 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2017 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2018 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2019 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2020 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2021 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2022 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
2023 Meetings - Speakers and Topics
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