NOVAC Event Calendar

NOVAC Event Calendar2022-02-17T22:10:30-05:00

Oct
11
Sun
2020
Monthly Meeting @ Online
Oct 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Nov
8
Sun
2020
Monthly Meeting @ Online
Nov 8 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Feb
14
Sun
2021
Monthly Meeting – Finding Light in the Dark @ Online via Google Meet
Feb 14 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Finding Light in the Dark

Linda Thomas-Fowler

Sunday, February 14, 2021
7:30 PM
 to 9:00 PM EST

Online event
https://meet.google.com/aoj-rfxn-oqd

Abstract:

Linda will present an overview of her journey in astrophotography including the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. She talks about her motivation for doing imaging, the learning curve and the rewards. She also talks about how outreach efforts helped her improve her own skills while helping others at same time.

Mar
14
Sun
2021
Monthly Meeting – The Mysterious Great Dimming of Betelgeuse @ Online via Google Meet
Mar 14 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Monthly Meeting - The Mysterious Great Dimming of Betelgeuse @ Online via Google Meet

The Mysterious Great Dimming of Betelgeuse

Dr. Andrea Dupree, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

Sunday, March 14, 2021
7:30 PM
 to 9:00 PM EST

Online event
http://meet.google.com/aoj-rfxn-oqd

Abstract:

The bright cool supergiant Betelgeuse became historically faint a little over one year ago in early February 2020. Various explanations have been offered for its unusual behavior – including conjectures this foreshadows an imminent supernova event. Direct imaging, spatially resolved spectroscopy, polarization measures, infrared, optical and ultraviolet spectra and more help us to unravel what happened to the star. The current state of the star as well as new results from spectroscopic observations with HST will be reported in advance of the next optical minimum expected this spring.

Bio:

Andrea Dupree is an astrophysicist and currently the Head of the Solar, Stellar, Planetary Sciences Division at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, MA. This is the largest research institute for astronomy and astrophysics in the world. She is also a past-President of the American Astronomical Society. Her research interests focus on stars and how they form and evolve, particularly employing spectroscopic techniques for analysis. Andrea has been studying Betelgeuse for a long time – especially from satellites to observe the ultraviolet radiation from the outer layers of the star. She led the team that obtained the first image of a star other than the Sun – Betelgeuse – using the Hubble Space Telescope.

Apr
11
Sun
2021
Public Monthly Meeting – Asteroids and Comets: Earth’s Nearest Neighbors @ Online via Google Meet
Apr 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Public Monthly Meeting - Asteroids and Comets: Earth’s Nearest Neighbors @ Online via Google Meet

Asteroids and Comets: Earth’s Nearest Neighbors

Dr. Amy Mainzer

Sunday, April 11, 2021
7:30 PM
 to 9:00 PM EST

Online event
meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti

Monthly Meeting – Public Invited

Abstract:

Asteroids and comets, leftover fragments from the formation of our solar system, represent repositories of primordial material. As such, they provide clues to the processes by which planetary systems form and evolve. Over time, asteroids and comets have impacted the Earth and its moon, altering the surfaces of both. Scientists’ understanding of these small bodies has grown with improvements in survey technology, as well as in situ exploration missions. Nonetheless, many basic questions about these objects remain, including when the next substantial Earth impact might occur.

Bio:

Dr. Amy Mainzer is a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona. She is the principal investigator of NASA’s NEOWISE mission, which studies Earth-approaching asteroids and comets, and built a camera for NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

May
2
Sun
2021
Public Monthly Meeting – The Last Stargazers @ Online via Google Meet
May 2 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Public Monthly Meeting - The Last Stargazers @ Online via Google Meet

The Last Stargazers

Dr. Emily Levesque

Sunday, May 2, 2021
7:30 PM
 to 9:00 PM EST

Online event
meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti

Monthly Meeting – Public Invited

Abstract:

A bird that mimicked a black hole. The astronomer that discovered microwave ovens. A telescope that got shot. The science of astronomy is filled with true stories (and tall tales) of the adventures and misadventures that accompany our exploration of the universe. Join Dr. Emily Levesque, author of the new popular science book The Last Stargazers, to take a behind-the-scenes tour of life as a professional astronomer. We’ll learn about some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, meet the people who run them, and explore the crucial role of human curiosity in the past, present, and future of scientific discovery.

Bio:

Emily Levesque is an astronomy professor at the University of Washington. Her work explores how the most massive stars in the universe evolve and die. She has observed for upwards of fifty nights on many of the planet’s largest telescopes and flown over the Antarctic stratosphere in an experimental aircraft for her research. Her academic accolades include the 2014 Annie Jump Cannon Award, a 2017 Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, a 2019 Cottrell Scholar award, and the 2020 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from MIT and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawaii.

May
15
Sat
2021
Astronomy Day @ C.M. Crockett Park
May 15 @ 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Astronomy Day @ C.M. Crockett Park

Event is confirmed! See you tonight!

RSVP here.

Join NOVAC members who will be on hand to share views of the night sky including Mars, star clusters, the Milky Way, and many other deep sky objects.

Activities during Astronomy Day will include a telescope meet and greet, solar observing, a guided sky tour, night sky observing, and other demonstrations.

Feel free to walk around and enjoy the views of objects through a variety of telescopes on the field. Please ask the owner before using a telescope. If you have young children, please watch them around expensive astronomical equipment. Remember, telescope mirrors are sensitive to cigarette smoke and bug spray. Pets should also not be brought onto the observing field.

No astronomy experience or equipment is necessary to attend. If you have your own equipment, feel free to bring them along, even if it’s just a pair of binoculars.

For lighting, cover a flashlight in red cellophane (the darker the better). Bring along water to keep hydrated and plan on staying the entire evening or as long as the weather allows. Please dim your vehicles headlights when arriving and departing.

Crockett Park charges $7 per vehicle if you’re not a Fauquier County resident. However the event itself is completely free. NOVAC members are admitted free upon presentation of a membership card (available from the members-only section of the website). If you’re not a member but would like to become one, you can join the club online and print your membership card in only a few minutes.

Note: Masks are required throughout the event. This event is also weather-dependent and may be cancelled because of significant cloud cover or precipitation.

Head over to the Astronomy Day page for more information.

Jun
13
Sun
2021
Monthly Meeting – ‘Oumuamua – Our Solar System’s First Known Interstellar Visitor @ Online via Google Meet
Jun 13 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Monthly Meeting - ‘Oumuamua – Our Solar System’s First Known Interstellar Visitor @ Online via Google Meet

The discovery of ‘Oumuamua (1I/2019/U1) represented our first detection of a solar system object with an origin that was definitely outside of our solar system.  Its name comes from Hawaiian meaning “first messenger from afar” yet deciphering its message has proved difficult and controversial. ‘Oumuamua was discovered by the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii on October 19, 2017, when it had already made its closest approach to the Earth on a hyperbolic orbit that would carry it back into the interstellar medium from which it came.  Although currently classified as an interstellar comet, it has characteristics completely unlike any known comet.  Its unusual shape, lack of a coma, and the fact that it exhibited non-gravitational acceleration has made its classification a complex problem.  This talk will cover what is known about ‘Oumuamua and various proposals for its origin, including the suggestion that it is a product of alien technology.

Dr. Michael E. Summers

Sunday, June 13, 2021
7:30 PM
 to 9:00 PM EST

Online event
meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti

Monthly Meeting – Public Invited

Bio:

Dr. Michael E. Summers is Professor of Planetary Sciences and Astronomy at George Mason University.  He has an undergraduate B.S. from Murray State University in Physics, Mathematics, and Russian, and a Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the California Institute of Technology.

His research focuses on the structure and evolution of planetary atmospheres.  His research has concerned that of the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, Io, Titan, Triton, Uranus, as well as Pluto and its moon Charon.  His recent work deals with biomarkers on Mars and extrasolar planets.  He is a Co-Investigator on the New Horizons mission to Pluto that was launched in January 2006, performed a flyby of Jupiter in February 2007, reached Pluto in 2105, and did a flyby of Ultima Thule on January 1, 2019.  Michael teaches planetary science, atmospheric science and astrobiology at George Mason University.

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