Speaker: Dr. Julie Castillo-Rogez, JPL planetary scientist Topic: NASA Near Earth Object Missions Our August speaker is Dr. Julie Castillo-Rogez, a JPL planetary scientist specializing in water-rich objects from a modeling and experimental perspectives applied to the formulation, design, and planning of planetary missions. She is the principal science investigator at JPL for the NEA Scout mission. …
Speaker: Steve Murray – NASA Solar System Ambassador Topic: New Concepts in Astrobiology (Biosignature and Tech Signature Methods) Abstract: Dr. Murray discusses new techniques for finding signatures of exoplanet life An SDAA member and popular speaker, Steve Murray, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, has been a space enthusiast since the Apollo era, and counted several …
Speaker: Dr. Sue Smrekar – JPL Rocky Planet Geoscientist Topic: Venus: Earth’s Evil Twin or Just Misunderstood? Abstract: Venus is becoming more attractive to scientists as technology improves for sending spacecraft to survive orbit and even descend to the surface. From orbiters to balloons, we will talk about the great science that can be done, …
Speaker: Dr. Michael Ressler – Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope Topic: James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope will continue to revolutionize our study of the cosmos. Slated for launch in late 2021, Webb will look deeper than either the Hubble or Spitzer Space Telescopes at infrared wavelengths. This talk will describe …
On Saturday May 15th We will hold our annual Spring Cleanup at TDS. A dumpster will be positioned at the compound for everyone to use in sprucing up their pads and junk removal. A list of allowed items will be posted on the container. Cleanup will commence at 9AM. This is a good time to …
Speakers: Dr. Xiaohui Fan, Dr. Jinyi Yang, Dr. Feige Wang Topic: The Earliest Supermassive Black Holes in the Universe A trio of astronomers from the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory present new results: Regents’ Professor Xiaohui Fan “Discovery of the brightest quasar in the early universe”, Strittmatter Fellow Dr. Jinyi Yang “Pōniuāʻena”, the first known …
Time to say “Good Bye” to Winter, and to our Winter Programs! But before we go, let’s take a last look at a few things we may have missed since the beginning of Winter, on that fascinating Winter Solstice with the Great Conjunction in December. On occasion of the Vernal Equinox, we plan to share …
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Apai – Steward Observatory Topic: Exoplanets / Astrobiology Dr. Daniel Apai is a recent recipient of NASA’s ICAR Astrobiology grant. This is an inaugural effort focusing on the challenging questions in astrobiology. Daniel’s research focuses on exoplanets, with a particular emphasis on habitable planets and planetary systems. Heleads large programs to understand …
The SDAA banquet is scheduled for February 20th from 6:15 PM to 9:00 PM and we’d love for you to join us! Due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, we’ll be holding the event via Zoom, but we’re still going to offer dinner, a great guest speaker, and our very own Mike Chasin as Master of …
Thursday, February 18⋅19:00 – 21:00 Virtual Star Party via YouTube Livestream! Yes! The OakOasis County Preserve has invited us to return to host yet another livestream event. This evening we will use this wonderful dark site to pay tribute to the venerable Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, host of the BBC television series, The Sky at Night, author …