Join us on June 14^th 2019 at 7:30pm – Admission is free and everyone is welcome!

HAA welcomes Brian McNamara as our guest speaker for the evening.

McNamara studies galaxies and clusters of galaxies.  He is interested in how they form and evolve under the influence of powerful radio jets launched by supermassive black holes. His most recent work involves making measurements with the earth-orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory and the newly commissioned Atacama Large Millimeter Array, which is the most powerful telescope in existence.  He is a former member of the Hitomi X-ray Observatory Science Team and is current team member of its successor, the XARM X-ray observatory, which is planned for launch from Japan in 2021.  McNamara is best known for his studies of energetic feedback from massive black holes and how the energy released by accreting black holes shapes the universe around them.

Happy astronomy day! Tonight, Saturday May 11, we have our public observing night scheduled from 8:30 – 11 PM.

Originally scheduled for McQueston Park on the mountain, we have relocated to Bayfront Park.  (There is a carnival at McQueston, and although it sounds like fun, there just isn’t room for us there this month.  We’ll be back at McQueston another time.)

Everyone is welcome to come out for this fun outreach event.  Bring your telescope, bring your binoculars, bring your family and friends!  We will be meeting in the parking lot of Bayfront Park, on the beautiful Hamilton waterfront, at Harbourfront Drive and Bay Street North.  There are usually lots of passersby and visitors to the park and the more scopes we have to show off the better! 

The forecast is looking only mediocre, but there is a chance of clear skies to begin the evening, and there is no rain forecast.  It’s a lovely moon phase tonight and if clear enough we can see the moon pass through M44, the Beehive Cluster. At worst we will have a fun visit.

We hope to see you there!

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse Planning
• April Astrophysics Group Meeting Summary
• The Sky This Month for May 2019
• Deep Sky Stacker Background Calibration and the Superposition of Light
• Through the Looking Glass
• Upcoming Events
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit: The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), by Peter Wolsley. 

Join us on May 10^th 2019 at 7:30pm – Admission is free and everyone is welcome!

Our guest speaker for this meeting will be Alanna Mitchell. Alanna is the author of ‘The Spinning Magnet’, her most recent book, all about the Earth’s magnetic field.  Part history, part science, it explores all we know about one of the most important and least understood parts of our planet.  From our discoveries about the connection between magnetism and electricity to the possibility that we are about to undergo a pole reversal, Alanna brings a spirited talk about this fascinating subject off the page onto our stage.

It’s that time again! The HAA will be hosting our spring workshop on Saturday April 20, from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. There will be a jam packed schedule for those interested in learning some key skills in the field of astronomy. As always, be sure to bring your questions and curiosity as there will be several knowledgeable amateur astronomers available to help you start out in astronomy or take it to the next level.

There will also be a number of door prizes available including a beginner’s telescope!

The schedule of speakers is as follows;

1:00 – How to use planispheres and Binoculars with Matthew Mannering
1:30 – Star hopping across the Sky with Steve Germann
2:00 – Intermission
2:30 – Seeing and Transparency with Leslie Webb
3:00 – Keeping an Observing Journal with Bernie Venasse

Admission is free so bring your family and friends!

Location:
Hamilton Spectator Building at 44 Frid St, Hamilton

When:
Saturday, April 20 2019 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Food Share Donations:
Donations of non-perishable food for the Hamilton Food Share program will be collected at this meeting. Please drop off any items at the drop-box located near the entrance of the auditorium. All donations gratefully accepted and thanks to your generosity we’ve collected thousands of pounds of food since we began. Let’s keep up the great work as the need continues.

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse Planning
• March Astrophysics Group Meeting Summary
• The Sky This Month for April 2019
• For Dog Lovers!
• The Best of Cartoon Corner
• Upcoming Events
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit:This month’s Waning Gibbous Moon, by Sylvie Gionet

Join us on April 12^th 2019 at 7:30pm – Admission is free and everyone is welcome!

Our guest speaker will be Stephen Holmes. Stephen writes; “I suspect we all wonder about alien civilizations.  SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the Drake Equation set out some tools to help us get our heads around these huge numbers and consider realistically how plentiful or rare these civilizations are.  Astronomy gives us the tools to determine realistically the star systems that might host these civilizations.  Join me to consider some of these considerations.”

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse Planning
• February Astrophysics Group Meeting Summary
• The Sky This Month for March 2019
• Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair
• Star Hopping to the Messier Objects
• Upcoming Events
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit: Venus, the Crescent Moon and Jupiter on January 31, 2019, by Bernd Mueller

Amateur astronomy is a hobby of great diversity. From observing faint galaxies millions of light years away, to CCD astrophotography, to reading the latest magazine at the coffee shop, to comet chasing, tinkering with the latest equatorial mount, radio astronomy, enjoying a planetarium show and everything else in between. But for those who take a keen liking to the hobby – the time and money spent perfecting our craft can be astronomical, and we often lose sight of what it is that makes stargazing so appealing and so important. Join Kevin as we take a step back and a look up at the grander picture of the heavens above, and journey back to that very first moment when you realized the universe was calling for you to take a peek.

The latest issue of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Event Horizon newsletter is now available for download!

In this issue you’ll find…

• April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse Planning
• January Astrophysics Group Meeting Summary
• The Sky This Month for February 2019
• NASA Sky Notes
• Upcoming Events
• Plus More

Download the latest issue or visit the newsletters section for past issues.

Photo credit: The January 21, 2019 Lunar Eclipse by John Gauvreau