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Fall Astronomy Day
The Minnesota Astronomical Society would like to invite you to attend the Astronomical League’s Astronomy Day activities at the Eagle Lake Observatory in Baylor Regional Park. Speakers are scheduled throughout the day and will give talks on astronomy and what there is to see. Door prize drawing will be held Saturday evening and include MAS merchandise, astronomy books and telescopes. The evening will continue with viewing through our array of telescopes observing some of the winter and early spring objects coming into view including the Orion Nebula, Crab nebula, the Sombrero Galaxy, the Whirlpool Galaxy, the Beehive Cluster, the Black Eye Galaxy and Hercules cluster among many others.
Schedule of Events
The observatory opens and the Star Party begins at 1:30 pm. We will begin with solar viewing and other daytime objects.
2:30 Speaker: Tim Carlson, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Title: The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn.
Summary: A cooperative NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Italian Space Agency (ASI) project that explored Saturn and its system for nearly two decades from 2004 until 2017. We’ll talk about the mission from the Huygens probe landing on Titan to the Cassini probes fiery entry into Saturn’s atmosphere.
Bio: Tim has been a space nerd all his life. For his science fair project in 4th grade he built a model of the Apollo 11 Command and Lunar modules and explained how they docked together for their trip to the Moon. He loves all things that have to do with space from Mercury to Artemis and everything in between. He looks forward to sharing his love of space exploration with everyone he can.
4:00 ***Special presentation***
For the first time, the MAS is hosting an AMA panel this Fall Astronomy Day!
Bring your questions to our panel of astronomy enthusiasts. From what’s up in the night sky to how our solar system began, now is the chance to ask all your cosmic questions about astronomy, space, planets and more!
This event is for all ages, from the casual stargazer to the most dedicated enthusiast.
Our panelists:
Tim Carlson– Tim loves all things that have to do with space. His current interest is the missions, from the Voyagers, to the Parker Solar Probe and everything in between.
Laura Hammerbeck– An amateur astronomer and space junkie, Laura has spent the summer asking “Should Pluto be a Planet?”, exploring the solar system and watching for exploding stars.
Trena Johnson– A Past President of the MAS, Trena has completed observation lists from the Astronomical League, and continues to expand her knowledge of our Solar System.
Ron Schmit– Ron is a long-time astronomy educator. His students get news and lessons from the frontier of space, and he is a valuable resource for exploring our celestial neighborhood.
Ron will also serve as moderator during this talk.
All of our panelists are NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors!
5:30 DINNER BREAK
7:00 Speaker: John Fisher, MAS Member
Title: What Are Stars Made Of?
Summary: What messages are hidden in the light of celestial objects? Join John in the classroom for a hands-on demonstration to learn about the different elements that make up stars and see how astronomers measure temperature. Featuring video contributions of Cecilia Payne. Afterwards, stick around to look at hydrogen and helium spectra.
Bio: John has been a member of MAS for 8 years and is a keyholder at Eagle Lake Observatory. He has had a lifelong interest in physics and mathematics and currently is focused on astronomical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry. John enjoys doing outreach events and is always looking for new ways to engage newcomers to this great hobby.
8:00 Door Prize Drawing ***MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN***
Event Background
Astronomy Day is a grass roots movement designed to share the joy of astronomy with the general population – “Bringing Astronomy to the People.” On Astronomy Day, thousands of people who have never looked through a telescope will have an opportunity to see first-hand what has so many amateur and professional astronomers all excited.
Astronomy Day was born in California in 1973. Doug Berger, then president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California, decided that rather than try to entice people to travel long distances to visit observatory open houses, they would set up telescopes closer to where the people were – busy locations – urban locations like street corners, shopping malls, parks, etc.
His strategy paid off. Not only did Astronomy Day go over with a bang, not only did the public find out about the astronomy club, they found out about future observatory open houses. Since the public got a chance to look through a portable telescope, they were hooked. They wanted to see what went on at the bigger telescopes, so they turned out in droves at the next observatory open house.
For additional information, visit the Astronomical League’s website at https://www.astroleague.org/astronomyday/facts
Public star parties are open to all.
Additional information as well as directions can be found on the Eagle Lake Observatory web page.
