Electronic Assisted Astronomy: Antidote for Urban Light Pollution
Living in or near Washington DC and most of the eastern seaboard harbors challenges for night sky observing. Severe light pollution, limited horizons, high humidity and periodic smoke particles in the jet stream and more contribute to poor astronomy observing. A group of scientists and engineers formed a company in 2015 with a goal of making stargazing observation more accessible. They formed Unistellar and launched a Kickstarter funding campaign in 2017 to bring their dream to commercial reality. 2,144 backers pledged $2.2 million dollars making it “the most successful Kickstarter telescope campaign in history” at the kickoff date. Their telescopes started shipping in 2020 and other companies followed developing user friendly “smart scopes” that combine telescope optics, sensors, stacking, drive motors and integrated computer and software between the telescope and a smart phone app. This presentation and discussion will focus on this change in amateur astronomical equipment that has accelerated growth in amateur astronomy.
All NOVAC members, guests, and the public are welcome to attend—no RSVP required. You can attend the meeting virtually via Google Meet. Sign on at 4 pm to connect with fellow astronomers ahead of the meeting start at 4:30.
NOVAC Member Paul Derby will be presenting virtually via Google Meet.
Meeting Schedule
- 4:00 PM – Online meeting opens for participant discussion
- 4:30 PM – NOVAC news, announcements, and upcoming events
- 5:00 – 6:00 PM – Presentation
Talk Title:
Electronic Assisted Astronomy: Antidote for Urban Light Pollution
Paul’s career began in Silicon Valley, where he worked as a computer scientist developing solutions on some of the world’s fastest supercomputers. He later moved into management roles, leading technical support organizations, system-integration teams, and large international technology events. His work eventually took him into consulting, where he became a partner at a major systems-integration firm, helping government and private-sector clients modernize complex, mission-critical systems.
Over the course of his career, Paul has worked with state and federal agencies, financial institutions, the U.S. Army at the Pentagon, and the Department of Homeland Security—where he led the national IT team responsible for developing the early-warning system for biological threats.
Paul has been active in the management of NOVAC since joining in 2005. He has held various positions including President, Treasurer, and board member. He currently is the club’s VP focusing on NOVAC Operations and volunteer coordination for the Sky Meadows’ Astronomy for Everyone outreach program. He was an early adopter of the Unistellar EAA telescopes and the ZWO SeeStar scopes. He actively uses these scope for public outreach.
*** This program will be recorded and available a few days after the meeting on the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club YouTube channel***
Join Virtually
Google Meet:
meet.google.com/cbf-jusw-dsm
Dial-in: +1 252-344-1407 PIN: 937 923 741
2 Comments
Will there be an in person meeting today at GMU? Or will this only be virtual today?
The meeting was changed to virtual only because of severe weather conditions including ice covered roads and sidewalks. Notification was sent to all members and this posting was modified early in the afternoon of the meeting day to show virtual only.