Title: Focus on Palomar Observatory Speakers: Steve Flanders, Kin Searcy, others Palomar Observatory will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the 200-inch Hale telescope on June 3, 2023. In commemoration, SDAA will focus on the history, construction, and science of the observatory and the iconic telescope that was the largest effective telescope in …
Topic: Dark Matter – Observational Evidence and Experimental Searches Speaker: Dr. Eric Cotner Dr. Eric Cotner is a data scientist and theoretical astroparticle physicist. Dr. Cotner graduated from UCLA in 2018 with a PhD in physics under the mentorship of Alexander Kusenko. The focus of his research was exotic dark matter candidates formed from scalar condensates …
HIRAX: A New Way to Study Hot Jupiters and Other Exoplanets. Dr. Ashley Baker: Instrument Scientist and Research Associate in Astronomy with the Exoplanet Technology Laboratory at Caltech Optical Observatories. High-resolution Imager for Rapid Assessment of eXo-atmospheres (HIRAX) is a multi band instrument for rapid assessment of the spectrum of exoplanet atmospheres. This is a new …
Topic: The Wacky World of Exoplanets and How We Discover Them Speaker: Dennis Conti Dennis Conti is a retired telecommunications professional and an amateur astronomer with a strong interest in exoplanet research. In 2015, he founded the AAVSO’s Exoplanet Section and has continued as section leader since. Dennis is also on the board of the …
Topic: Explore Moon to Mars: Humanity’s Grand PlanSpeaker: Jessica Rzeszut NASA Solar System Ambassador Jessica Rzeszut will present an overview and update on NASA’s Mars 2020 mission and the Artemisprogram, and discuss how we’ll use what we’re learning to take the next giant leap in our space exploration journey. Jessica is a lifelong space enthusiast …
Topic: Astronomical Word Play Speaker: Dr. Richard Lederer Our speaker is the distinguished verbavore Dr. Richard Lederer, who is an American linguist, author, speaker, and teacher. He is best known for his books on the English language and on wordplay such as puns, oxymorons, and anagrams. He has been dubbed “the Wizard of Idiom,” “Attila …
October topic: Amateur Spectroscopy and the AAVSO Speaker: Dr. Steven Shore Dr. Shore is the Chief of the Observational Spectroscopy Section of the AAVSO and a professor at the University of Pisa. Dr Shore will give an introduction to spectroscopy and discuss a science case where amateurs can make a contribute to the science. Professional astronomers using …
The September Topic is entitled “A Bird’s Eye View of the Universe” by Dr. Michael West. This is a fascinating talk about what the universe looks like on the largest scales. Dr. West is Deputy Director for Science at Lowell Observatory. He received a Ph.D. in astronomy from Yale University and held research, teaching, and …
On August 26 & 27, 2022, the Julian StarFest graced the dark skies of the Menghini Winery in Julian. See description below: This is a fantastic opportunity to set up your telescope at a nearby dark sky location. Come and meet or renew those friendships with other SDAA Members. JSF will also include many of …
The August Topic is an update on the science and facilities at San Diego State University (SDSU) Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO). The speaker is Dr. Robert Quimby, the Director of MLO and professor of astronomy at SDSU. He earned his BS degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley and his masters and PhD in astronomy from …