November Meeting – Dr. Michael Allen and the Rise of the Robots

Ever dream of owning a bigger telescope? What if you never had to haul it out of the garage? Or even leave your warm living room to use it?

This month we are pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Allen from WSU. He’ll demonstrate how robotic, remote-controlled telescopes are giving amateur astronomers a new way to observe and learn about the cosmos. Using tools like Skynet and basic image processing we can continue learning and observing all year round.

 

October meeting – NUFORC Director Peter Davenport

As astronomers we are sometimes puzzled by the things we observe in the night sky. Most often there’s a ready scientific explanation for the phenomena we observe. But what happens when there isn’t? Director Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center will recount several odd and chilling tales he’s recorded over the years and also discuss new technical means of improving our understanding of these as-yet unexplained occurrences.  Bring your questions, observations and an open mind to the SFCC Planetarium on October 5th!

Valleyfest!

Valleyfest is Saturday, September 22nd at Mirabeau Point Park! We’ll be talking to the public about who we are and what we do – Astronomy for the fun of it! Come out and see us or better yet, volunteer. We’ll be there setting up at 9pm and stay until evening, longer if the skies are clear!

August Meeting – Summer Grab Bag!

We have a variety of topics this month. We’ll talk about

  • Scenic astrophotography with member Mike Reitemeier. He’ll take us through Milky Way, aurora and widefield techniques.
  • Beginner Astronomy Q&A / Astronomy Hacks. We’ll go through a few of our President’s favorite “Astronomy Hacks” – tricks and shortcuts that make our lives easier!
  • Beginner Astronomical League programs – this month we’ll look at the Galileo program.

July Meeting NASA Engineer John Barber

(Note – this month’s meeting is NOT at SFCC – it is at Riverview) Fans of NASA’s early years of the Apollo program definitely will want to attend our first summer meeting, as we return to Riverview Community building (the SFCC Planetarium is closed for the summer).

This month we have a very special guest speaker, John Barber, who lives in Spokane, who worked at NASA as an engineer on Apollo. Alas, we  can’t bring you an astronaut who walked on the moon to speak to you this month, but Mr. Barber will be presenting stories and memories of his days at NASA.

May Meeting – Astrophotography with Craig Goodwin

You’re in for a treat this month if you’ve ever wanted to point your camera up at the night sky! Local photographer Craig Goodwin will share a presentation on the technical and artistic challenges of astrophotography, with an emphasis on learning to take compelling images that share the awe-inspiring story of the stars and planets. It will include information on photographing features like the aurora borealis and the Milky Way galaxy. Craig will also share from experience about how to not get eaten by a mountain lion while wandering the woods in the middle of the night.

Craig is a Spokane-based photographer, whose astrophotography has been featured by Sunset Magazine, National Geographic, the U.S. Tourism Board, and was recently awarded Photo of the Year by the Seattle Times. You can see some of the images Craig will share about at http://www.craiggoodwinphoto.com/Night-Photography/.

April Meeting – Star Parties and Telescopes!

The 2018 observing season is finally upon us! In this beginner-oriented session, we’ll talk about how to prepare for upcoming star parties and tips on maximizing the use of your binoculars or telescopes.  Do you have questions on how to use your telescope? Bring it!  We’ll set it up in the lobby and help you figure out how to fix it or use it.  Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them as a group.