SJ Astronomy

SJAA's Board Meeting Have an interest in learning about the inner workings of the club? Come join us as we discuss club operations and programs.

*************************** This is an online event ******************************* We don't have the use of the clubhouse and we wouldn't want to use it until the shelter-in-place order is lifted anyway. But the night sky is still there, and there's still lots to learn. So we'll do this online. ************************************************************************************ Come join us for our monthly Astronomy talk! Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/ Topic: A Cosmic Perspective: Searching for Aliens, Finding Ourselves Speaker: Dr. Jill Tarter, SETI Description: Are we alone? Humans have been asking this question throughout history. We want to know where we came from, how we fit into the cosmos, and where we are going. We want to know whether there is life beyond the Earth and whether any of it is intelligent. Since the middle of the twentieth century we have had tools that permit us to embark on a scientific exploration to try to answer this old question. We no longer have to ask the priests and philosophers what we should believe about extraterrestrial life; we can explore and discover what’s actually out there. Our tools are getting ever better. We have discovered extremophiles in the most unexpected places on this planet and we have discovered that there really are far more planets than stars out there. We haven’t yet found life beyond Earth, but there is a vast amount of potentially-habitable real estate to explore. The 21 st century will be the century in which we will find some answers to this old question; there are many paths we will investigate. As we look up and look out, we are forced to see ourselves from a cosmic perspective; a perspective that shows us as all the same, all Earthlings. This perspective is fundamental to finding a way to sustain life on Earth for the long future. Speaker Bio: Jill Tarter is the Emeritus Chair for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for that institution. Tarter received her Bachelor of Engineering Physics Degree with Distinction from Cornell University and her Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. She has spent the majority of her professional career attempting to answer the old human question “Are we alone?” by searching for evidence of technological civilizations beyond Earth. She served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, the High Resolution Microwave Survey and has conducted numerous observational programs at radio observatories worldwide. She is a Fellow of the AAAS, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Explorers Club, she was named one of the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2004, and one of the Time 25 in Space in 2012, received a TED prize in 2009, two public service awards from NASA, multiple awards for communicating science to the public, and has been honored as a woman in technology. She was the 2014 Jansky Lecturer, and received a Genius Award from Liberty Science Center in 2015. She served as President of the California Academy of Sciences[masked]. Asteroid 74824 Tarter (1999 TJ16) has been named in her honor. Since the termination of funding for NASA’s SETI program in 1993, she has served in a leadership role to design and build the Allen Telescope Array and to secure private funding to continue the exploratory science of SETI. Many people are now familiar with her work as portrayed by Jodie Foster in the movie Contact. Her biography Making Contact was written by Sarah Scoles and published in 2017 http://www.seti.org/users/jill-tarter https://books.google.com/books/about/Making_Contact_Jill_Tarter_and_the_Searc.html?id= HTIpDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

This event is canceled due to COVID-19 shutdown. Fix It Day, sometimes called the Telescope Tune Up or the Telescope Fix It program is a real simple service the SJAA offers to members of the community for free, though it’s priceless. The Fix It session provides a place for people to come with their telescope or other astronomy gear problems and have them looked at, such as broken scopes whose owners need advice, or need help with collimating a telescope. Please see the registration form at: http://www.sjaa.net/fixit/ Please note that we may not be able to service drop-ins because we may not have the tools or personal on-hand to assist you. That is the main benefit to filling out the form provided in the link above.

It’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly safe. We’ll have white-light telescopes with dense solar filters that reveal sunspots. Further, we’ll show you hydrogen-alpha telescopes that isolate a very specific color of red that reveals prominences (often thought of as solar flares) and intricate texture within the Sun’s chromosphere (its atmosphere). We can also share with you a little about how the Sun works and how complex magnetic fields drive the number of sunspots and prominences that we’ll see on a given day. Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/

Come view the heavens through a telescope at the SJAA's In Town Star Party. Bring a scope to share the views, and if you do, feel free to come early to set up. Remember, this event is free, everyone is invited, no reservations required. Just show up! http://www.sjaa.net/monthly-star-parties/ http://www.sjaa.net/learnresources/viewing-locations/#Houge_Park

Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/ .................................................................................................................... SJAA is proud to sponsor this outdoor workshop were we help those folks who are interested in learning about the mechanics of AstroPhotography and Imaging. Bring your questions, and/or your complete astrophotography rig (battery powered). I Usually give an hour talk about the different kinds of night time photography, then after full dark, demonstrate deep space astrophotography (Nebulae, Galaxies, Globular Clusters, etc.). All events will now be held at Little Uvas Open Space Preserve, instead of Coyote Valley. This is a darker spot, much better for nighttime photography and astroimaging. Note the following please: This is a dirt road and field to park in, no modern conveniences although sometimes there is a porta potty, but not always. There are horses loose in the field, PLEASE be careful opening the gate and be sure to close it behind you so the horses don't end up on the busy road! Don't assume the person(s) behind you will close the gate. Please check that they do or do it yourself. Please arrive BEFORE sunset, which will be at the event start time. The gate should be "dummy locked" so you can open it, enter, and close it behind you. You can park in the flat field to your left just after you drive in. If you have a rig you can set it up in the field close to the road. You can leave anytime, just again be careful with the gate/horses and close the gate behind you. This site has fewer creature comforts, but it's darker than Coyote Valley and even darker than RCDO, if you been there for a Starry Nights Star Party. In the mean time, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKIrQdzoy9n-s1VYaFOLJA/videos Cheers, Glenn

This Month's Topic: Pending --- The Imaging SIG meets roughly every month at Houge Park to discuss topics about imaging. The SIG is open to people with absolutely no experience but want to learn what it’s all about, but experienced imagers are also more than welcome, indeed, encouraged to participate.

SJAA's Board Meeting Have an interest in learning about the inner workings of the club? Come join us as we discuss club operations and programs.

It’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly safe. We’ll have white-light telescopes with dense solar filters that reveal sunspots. Further, we’ll show you hydrogen-alpha telescopes that isolate a very specific color of red that reveals prominences (often thought of as solar flares) and intricate texture within the Sun’s chromosphere (its atmosphere). We can also share with you a little about how the Sun works and how complex magnetic fields drive the number of sunspots and prominences that we’ll see on a given day. Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/