SAS Monthly Meeting

Join us this month as SAS members who were at our Goldendale Star Party in June will share some of their favorite astrophotography images along with some learning moments. SAS is a space for all-levels in using their telescopes and learning to image and we hope you can join us. Should be a fun, interactive time as we move closer to meeting in person again. We normally meet on the campus of the University of Washington in the physics auditorium but are temporarily meeting over Zoom. ... more

SAS presents Tim Hunter: Theft of the Night-fighting light pollution & Remote observatory operation Since 1986, Tim Hunter has been interested in the growing problem of light pollution. In 1987, he and Dr. David Crawford founded the International Dark-Sky Association, Inc. (IDA). IDA is a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting quality outdoor lighting and combatting the effects of light pollution. Since 2007, he has written a weekly “Sky Spy” column for the ... more

SAS is honored to welcome NASA Nasa Solar System Ambassador & former SAS President, John McLaren! We are thrilled for John's presentation entitled, "The Parker Solar Probe - A NASA Mission to Touch the Sun". Abstract The Parker Solar Probe will swoop to within 4 million miles of the Sun's surface, facing heat and radiation like no spacecraft before it. Launched on Aug. 12, 2018, Parker Solar Probe will provide new data on solar activity and make critical contributions to our ability ... more

SAS is honored to welcome NASA's Giada Arney! Dr. Arney is a Research Space Scientist in the Planetary Systems Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and we are thrilled for her presentation entitled, "Telling the Story of Life in the Universe with the LUVOIR Concept". If revolutionary telescopes, deep space discoveries, and the latest on NASA mission proposals excites you than you won't want to miss this! Members log in for link at 6 PM. Public log in at 6:30 PM at ... more

We are extremely excited and honored to welcome Phil Plait to SAS! Phil is one of the world's most dynamic and heavily followed astronomers and science communicators and we are so excited to spend time together. Dr. Plait's presentation entitled, "Strange New Worlds" is about the search for exoplanets and comparing them to Earth. Members log in for link at 6 PM. Guests please log in at 6:30 PM at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82181996010. Be one of Phil's 600,000 plus followers on ... more

Members 6:30-6:45 PM, General Public 6:45-8 PM SAS is honored to welcome Deputy Project Scientist of the Mars Perseverance Rover Dr. Katie Stack Morgan! Presentation Abstract: NASA’s next flagship mission launched to Mars on July 2020 and will begin its mission on the martian surface in February 2021. The Mars 2020 mission is seeking signs of past life in Jezero crater, the site of an ancient delta and crater lake. Perseverance will also collect a diverse and compelling set of ... more

Social time 7:00 pm. Chat informally with your fellow members and guests Meeting and presentation 7:30pm Members click the Zoom link after signing-in. Public and guest please email president@seattleastro.org w/Subject: "Meeting Link" the day of presentation. Speaker is Dr Jeffrey Hall, Director of the Lowell Observatory. "We are in a watershed moment for preservation of the natural night sky. In this presentation, I will present the principal challenges on the ground and from space ... more

Note we are starting 1 hour earlier than normal! Dr. Jonathan McDowell will be joining us from the east coast to talk to us about the Chandra X-Ray Telescope. Social time 6:00 pm Meeting and presentation 6:30pm SAS Board elections after the presentation. Members sign in to the SAS web site for the Zoom link. General public is welcome and must email President@SeattleAstro.Org prior to 6:30 pm for the Zoom link.

UW Professor Emeritus Bruce Balick will present a Zoom talk on the discovery and highlights of some subsequent observations of Sagittarius A*, the astronomical radio source at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Members - sign in for the Zoom login link. Non-members are welcome to participate. Email President@SeattleAstro.Org prior to the meeting start for the login link.

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a reflecting telescope with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches.. Flying into the stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet puts SOFIA above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. From 7:00PM to 7:30PM new members and guests are invited ... more