Northern Virginia Astronomy Club

Northern Virginia Astronomy Club
George Stallings takes us through the process for 3-D printing topological maps of the moon.
3-D Printing Topo Maps of the Moon
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_1AOjw6cAulU
Hello fellow astro-3D-printers! In our next meeting I'll be talking about the project for a (almost) fully 3D-printed barn door astro-tracker that Chris Papageorgakis (also a NOVAC member) and I have been working on. I'll start explaining briefly how a barn door tracker works, the simple math behind it and how it can be run using an Arduino and a stepper motor. Then I'll describe our specific design (which is inspired by the two versions found at the links below), show you our project and discuss the printing settings we used. Finally, I'll show you the final, printed barn door tracker and some test shots we took with it at a 200mm focal length. I'll also mention some troubles we ran into and tips to build it, in case anyone wants to try and reproduce it (I'd be happy to share the files!). Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific topic you'd like me to spend more time on. Links to the original models we used to come up with our design: 1) https://fstop138.berrange.com/2014/01/building-an-barn-door-mount-part-1-arduino-stepper-motor-control/ 2) https://atlantisq.wordpress.com/portfolio/obj-2601-barn-door-tracker-astra-v2-1/
NOVAC 3 D Printers Output by Stefano Antonini 2022 01 11 at 16 04 GMT 8
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_KOSGdDiIYag
Binoculars are NOT just for beginners, as this talk will stress. After various binocular-related terms are defined, Phil Harrington will offer consumer tips to help the audience weed out astronomically worthy binoculars from a vast ocean of models currently available. A lifelong amateur astronomer, Phil Harrington was bitten by the “astronomical bug” when he was assigned to watch the total lunar eclipse of April 1968 as a homework assignment. Since then, Phil has spent countless hours touring the universe through telescopes and binoculars. He is a former staff member of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium and instructor at the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport, New York. Phil is an adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York, where he teaches courses in stellar and planetary astronomy. He is a founding member of the Westport (CT) Astronomical Society and is also one of the coordinators of the annual Astronomer’s Conjunction, held every summer in Northfield, MA. Phil is also a contributing editor for Astronomy magazine, where he has published more than 200 articles since 1988.
Phil Harrington at NOVAC January 2022 Meeting
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_bMDhdPZZ1q8
Amateur astronomers know too well that using a $400 Tele Vue eyepiece with a $100 telescope would be a waste of money and the capabilities of the Tele Vue. It would work, but for $500 a much better optical train could be assembled. Similarly, any attempt to get 300x out of a 60mm f//10 telescope using a 4mm eyepiece and a 2x Barlow would be disappointing. A 25 lb. telescope on a flimsy mount might not collapse the mount, but it would not make for good viewing. These examples illustrate that in astronomy as elsewhere, for optimum performance and return on investment, it is necessary to use carefully matched equipment. In this talk Dr. Fowler will explain the issues involved in matching optical equipment, astronomy cameras, and mechanical gear to determine optimal performance and the limits to any given astrophotography configuration. Thomas B. Fowler has been involved in astronomy since 1960. He is the author of over one hundred articles, many reviews for Cloudy Nights, and three books, including a book on astronomy equipment and techniques, “The View Through Your Telescope and How to Make it Better” (2020). He has given presentations to the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club and the TriState Astronomers. He is an independent consultant on technology to the U.S. government and Adjunct Professor of Engineering at George Mason University. He has lectured widely on science, technology, and philosophy. His doctorate from George Washington University is in system theory. He also owns 3 telescopes and too much other astronomy equipment to think about! His books can be ordered from Amazon.
Optimize your Astrophotography - NOVAC, 12/12/2021
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_vCtxCE4IzdY
What is faster than a speeding bullet? What can fly through turbulence without fastening its seat belt? What can tell us about the origin of our solar system at same time performing its main mission to understand our closest star? NASA’s Parker Solar Probe! The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft was designed to aid in solving 3 mysteries of the Sun as well as the very practical goal of furthering the understanding of space weather. Space weather ranges from billions of tons of material hurled at Earth as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares that accelerate energetic particles that could damage electrical power grids on the Earth as well as harm astronauts in space. Parker has made measurements of a stealth or Streamer Blow Out Coronal Mass Ejections (SBO-CMEs) which create space weather. Learning to recognize and characterize these early CMEs help to understand their evolution through the solar system. In addition to studies of the Sun and solar wind, the mission has been able to study Venus, dust, and even capture photos of a comet! Come learn about the coolest hottest mission to the Sun! Astrophysicist Kelly Korreck knows how to handle the heat. She builds and operates instruments to study the Sun and understand its hot explosive outer atmosphere or corona. Her career has taken her from the desert of New Mexico to Japan, to the innermost part of the solar system. Kelly headed up science operations and project management for the SWEAP Suite aboard Parker Solar Probe. She works with engineers and scientists to create the best data from this once-in-a-lifetime mission. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy and a Ph.D. in Space Physics both from the University of Michigan. When not studying the sun, she can be found near the beach, running, dancing, or in the yoga studio.
Come Fly Away to the Sun - NOVAC Meeting November 2021
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_IW92FHqe-7U
Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, Curator of the Apollo Collection at the National Air and Space Museum, discusses the political history of Project Apollo
Operation Moonglow - October 2021 NOVAC Meeting
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_CN1L03qg7FA
Dr. Randall Smith presents on X Ray astronomy to the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club in September of 2021
Astronomy with X Rays - NOVAC Sept 2021 General Meeting
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_udf_Bo7SXGg
To Bennu and Back Again: the OSIRIS REx Sample Return Mission, presented by Dr. Hannah Kaplan, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. On October 20, 2020, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully collected a sample from the surface of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu. That sample will be delivered to Earth in 2023 for analysis in state-of-the-art laboratories. In the meantime, our best information on Bennu’s origin, geologic history, and composition comes from instruments on the spacecraft, which observed the asteroid for multiple years before sample collection. Important findings include the presence of water and organics on the surface, and contamination from other asteroids. Through the lens of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft observations, Dr. Kaplan will describe Bennu’s history and implications for the returned sample. Dr. Kaplan is a research space scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center. She uses remote sensing observations to understand the composition of planetary surfaces, including asteroids and Mars. She is a member of the OSIRIS-REx science team and the Lucy L’Ralph instrument science team. Before coming to Goddard, Dr. Kaplan worked at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado where she was a postdoctoral researcher working on OSIRIS-REx.
The OSIRIS REx Return Misson - NOVAC August 2021
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_zrSKfP5TuJs
Are we alone or do we share our solar system and galaxy with other forms of life? And how widespread are advanced civilizations with whom we could communicate? Right now we don’t have answers to these profound questions. But scientists are in hot pursuit. The technology of searching for life on other worlds has reached a level of maturity where the first definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life could come in the very near future. Science journalist Robert Naeye will explore three different roads for detecting life beyond Earth: Launching robotic spacecraft to discover life on Mars or other worlds in our solar system. Deploying large telescopes to detect the chemical signatures of life in the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars. Using various techniques to pick up signals from advanced civilizations or to find evidence of their technological activities. Robert’s talk will be loosely based on a cover story he wrote for the September 2020 issue of Astronomy magazine. His talk will be nontechnical and intended for a general audience.
Detecting Life Beyond Earth - Robert Naeye at NOVAC July 2021
YouTube Video UC62qYZDyzE1yKXjBxR-lguw_V8fwfvguWBM
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