Please attend in-person at the Aŋpétu Téča Education Center or online using the Zoom link.
The MAS will be hosting a hybrid in-person & ZOOM Monthly Meeting. MAS meetings are free and open to the public. JOIN US!
This will be a MAS Business meeting, and we will be reviewing and voting on the 2025 Budget. A 10% Quorum of total members (or a minimum 50 members) is required.
Voting will be available for online attendees as well as in-person attendees. Registration will be required in advance if participating on Zoom.
” You can almost touch the stars – An Introduction to Astronomical Spectroscopy “The MAS invites you to the Beginners Special Interest Group virtual presentation using Zoom.
Saturday, March 8th
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST
Featured Speaker: Tom Field, contributing Editor at Sky & Telescope Magazine for ten years and a pioneer in the field of amateur astronomical spectroscopy
“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 is the science of analyzing the colorful rainbow spectrum produced by a prism-like device.
Until recently, spectroscopy was too expensive and too complicated for all but a handful of amateurs. Today, though, new tools make spectroscopy accessible to almost all of us. You no longer need a PhD, dark skies, long exposures, enormous aperture … or a big budget! With your current telescope and FITS camera (or a simple web cam or even a DSLR without a telescope) you can now easily study the stars yourself. Wouldn’t you like to detect the atmosphere on Neptune or the red shift of a quasar right from your own backyard?!
This talk, with lots of interesting examples, will show you what it’s all about and help you understand how spectroscopy is used in research. Even if you are an armchair astronomer, understanding this field will enhance your understanding of the things your read and the night sky.”
For more information about this presentation and how to join the Zoom meeting click the button below:
NCRAL 2025 Convention
April 25-26, 2025
Marriot Southwest
5801 Opus Parkway,Minnetonka, MN
Presented by the NCRAL Convention Committee
Registration begins January 25, 2025.
Theme: “First Light – New Frontiers, New People“
This theme is to reflect the exciting advancements in astronomy and welcome new NCRAL members and other members who have not previously attended a conference.
Conference Schedule: 8:00 AM Business Meeting
-Coffee and donuts will be provided! 10:00 AM Morning Sessions 12:00 PM Lunch
-Box lunches will be provided but there are also restaurants nearby. 1:00 PM Afternoon Sessions 5:00 PM Group photo and social hour, followed by a buffet-style banquet and featured Keynote Speaker
Speakers Lineup:
John Rummel, Madison Astronomical Society, accomplished photographer – “Can the Milky Way Cast a Shadow?”
Bob King, Contributor, Sky and Telescope, blogger, author – “NASA’s Planned NEO Surveyor Hunts Down Killer Asteroids.”
Lawrence Rudnick, Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics University of Minnesota. – “Game Changers in the Radio Sky.”
Clem Pryke, Experimental Cosmologist and Educator, University of Minnesota – “Studying the Beginning of the Universe from the Bottom of the World.”
Mike Solontoi, Associate Professor of Physics, Monmouth College – “Seeing the Universe Through New Eyes – The Vera C. Rubin Observatory.”
Mike Benson, PhD and VP of R&D at Hormel Foods, accomplished astrophotographer, will discuss his experiences in astrophotography.
Evan Skillman, Distinguished Professor, University of Minnesota– “Using the Large Binocular Telescope to Measure the Primordial Helium Abundance.”
Our own Minnesota Astronomical Society (MAS) will be hosting NCRAL Conference attendees for a Friday night Star-B-Q at Eagle Lake Observatory on April 25. Guests can head to Eagle Lake to enjoy dinner, a tour of the observatory, and listen to a brief presentation by Greg Bragg, acknowledged camera and telescope insider, on “The State of the Astronomy Industry.”
Mariott Southwest rooms are available at the NCRAL rate and can be reserved by calling the Marriot directly at (952) 935-5500 and asking for the NCRAL Conference block. Direct questions to NCRALConference@gmail.com
We would like to enhance our monthly meetings and encourage our members to share your work and passion. Put together a 10-15 minute presentation about the astronomy topic that interests you – (and quite probably the rest of the MAS). Topics include – but are not limited to:
Observing campaigns
Astronomical objects
History topics
Adventures to dark skies and astronomical sites around the world
ATM projects – show & tell
Restoration projects
Outreach projects
Observing or Imaging techniques
Research topics
Software and telescope how-tos
Manned or robotic space missions
and even ‘Better Know a Constellation’
The presentation is best done live at the meeting but can be done through Zoom if you are joining remotely. If you have something to share, please send an email to the Programs Coordinator Ahmed Reda at programs@mnastro.org
Observatory Training – Save the Dates for 2025!
Eagle Lake Observatory (ELO):
Saturday, April 19
Saturday, May 17
Saturday, June 14
Saturday, July 26
Saturday, August 16
Saturday, September 13
Saturday, October 11
Joseph J. Casby (JJC) Keyholder Training:
Saturday, April 12
Saturday, May 10
Saturday, June 7
Sunday, July 13
Saturday, September 13
Sunday, October 5
Cherry Grove Observatory (CGO) Keyholder Training:
Friday, April 18*
Friday, May 23
Friday, June 20*
Friday, July 25*
Friday, September 19
Friday, October 17*
Site training dates are for the Warming House, Observatory, LX-200, and Big Aperture Dobsonian (BAD). Dates with asterisks are training dates for the imaging rig.
Long Lake Conservation Center (LLCC): Keyholder training will be part of the Northern Nights Star Festival (NNSF)
Wednesday, August 20-Monday, August 25
MAS on YouTube
The February MAS and BSIG meetings ARE AVAILABLE. Follow the MAS YouTube channel to watch these meetings and other content you may have missed! Click the button below.
Emails from MAS will be going out on Tuesday’s but only if there are announcements. If you have something that needs sharing to all please email secretary@mnastro.org by Thursday/Friday for the following Tuesday notice.
Thank you -Claire Weaverling, MAS Secretary
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to make a donation. Thank you.
