Program

Topic: Astrobiology: The Search for Life Speaker: Dr. Neil Farber People have often pondered the question of whether we are alone in the universe. More than seeking intelligent life, a fundamental question is whether life of any form exists on other planets or moons. This talk will examine how NASA is seeking out the possibility

Topic: You can almost touch the stars – An Introduction to Astronomical Spectroscopy Speaker: Tom Field Even if you wanted to touch a star, they’re all impossibly distant. In spite of these great distances, astronomers have learned an enormous amount about stars. How? The most common method to study the stars is called spectroscopy, which

Topic: From Backyard to Mount Wilson: The Evolution of Boyce-Astro Speaker: Pat Boyce Since 2013, Boyce-Astro has grown from a local education project into a global network having engaged over 1,000 students worldwide in real astronomical research. With observatories at TDS, SRO, Las Cumbres, and now Mount Wilson’s 60” and 100”, its scope has expanded

SDAA April Program:  Night Sky Celebration at Mission Trails with DarkSky International WHEN:  Thursday, April 24 at 6:00pm-9:30pm WHERE:  In-person at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail San Diego, CA 92119 TOPIC: Join us on Thursday, April 24 at the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Visitor Center for a special

Topic: Robots in the solar system – the next decade of exploration Speaker: Steve Murray While both public and private programs are working hard to send humans to the moon and Mars, the work of exploring the solar system continues to be shouldered by an armada of machines. New probes – with increasingly capable onboard

Topic: Zwicky, Rubin, and Friends – new tools and new questions for time-domain astronomy  Speaker: Steve Murray, SDAA Member and NASA Solar System Ambassador Time Domain astronomy is the study of how astronomical objects change with time, from seconds to decades. Understanding these events is essential to understanding the workings of the Universe. A new field

Topic: Annual Gadget Night Location: Green Acre Restaurant Treehouse Foyer at Campus Pointe Our Annual Gadget Night is around the corner! We look forward to seeing you face to face at this popular event where members are given the floor to share their favorite gadget! Gadgets can be an item you purchased or made, a concept

Topic: InterferometrySpeaker: Andrew Boden, Ph.D. Caltech Deputy Director for Caltech Optical Observatories Join us for an interesting and relevant talk about astronomical interferometry. An interferometer is a device that expresses the interference of wavelike phenomena and measures properties with high precision, such as are found in astronomy by taking advantage of the “small” *e.g. 500nm

Topic: The International Space Station National Laboratory Speakers: Matt Pokross and Christina Cuttitta Is there really a “US National Laboratory” orbiting above that non-NASA scientists can utilize for their research? The answer is, Yes! It’s called the International Space Station National Laboratory, (ISSNL), and it’s been in operation since 2005. Join us September 11th, to

Topic: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: NASA’s Next Flagship Mission Speaker: Rob Zellem BS, MSc, PhD Dr. Rob Zellem is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. His research focuses on the characterization of the atmospheres of exoplanets using both the transit and direct imaging methods. Rob is the Deputy Project Scientist for