Peek-a-boo: The Value of Astronomical Occultations

Join us online this Friday January 14 at 7:30 PM EST as we welcome Dr. Paul Delaney and his presentation “Peek-a-boo: The Value of Astronomical Occultations”.

As amateur astronomers, there are countless ways that your observations are invaluable to the pursuit if our understanding of the universe. Planetary and stellar occultations can provide us with insights into orbital parameters, dimensions and thus object shape, the presence of rings and atmospheres, etc. This talk will highlight some of the more famous occultation observations of the past while revealing how just a little time and effort can be both scientifically rewarding and personally very satisfying.

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

In this issue you’ll find…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for January 2022
• What’s Up in Awards, January 2022
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• 2020-2021 Financial Statements
• Plus More

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

Photo credit: Milky Way dust clouds in Aquila, by Bob Christmas

Join us this Friday December 10th as we welcome Bill Burnyeat Program Manager from Canadian Planetariums, as he discusses “The First Astronomers”.

“Today’s highly complex and mathematical astronomy, an outcome of modern society, is often seen as distinct from folk tales, star myths and the astronomical notions found in traditional society or historically remote epochs. Although some of these “perspectives” are mentioned, from time to time, the impression is given that only modern western based astronomy has any traction in reality and that the astronomy of other peoples and epochs are “just” fairy tales. 

“What is missing from this simplistic model is the marked continuity that is evident from the earliest notions of the sky, leading, in ever increasing steps, to the current picture of the cosmos based on technical tools and astrophysical insights. The first notion, encountered in the earliest astronomy is a division, both of time and space, which leads to an increasing set of subdivisions, as the sky becomes networked by horizon and then meridian based subunits. The constellations are one example. As divisions become more general, and complex, as in the Astrology of Chaucer’s time, the very units used to make these divisions take on a life of their own and become a set of commonly held values that help organize life in the community. 

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

In this issue you’ll find…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for December 2021
• What’s Up in Awards, December 2021
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• Eye Candy
• Plus More

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

Photo credit: Partial Lunar Eclipse of November 19, 2021, by John Gauvreau

This Thursday night/Friday morning we are in for a treat as we will have an opportunity to catch a partial lunar eclipse. This month’s full moon, which is traditionally called the “beaver moon” (how Canadian is that?!) occurs at 3:57 AM EST on Friday morning.

The moon will enter the umbra at 2:18 AM EST and will exit 3 hours and 28 minutes later at 5:47 AM EST with maximum occurring at 4:02 AM with the moon being shadowed by 97% (!). It will also be the longest lunar eclipse in over 500 years!

As with most lunar eclipses you will notice the moon having a reddish colour however there will be a slight sliver of light at its southern rim as it will be outside of the earth’s shadow. No need for eye protection as lunar eclipses are safe to observe directly.

Hopefully the weather cooperates, however if it doesn’t, we have several online resources where you can watch it live;

The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, CA 
https://griffithobservatory.org/event/lunar-eclipse-online-broadcast-nov-18-2021/

Here are some additional sources:

1. Virtual Telescope/Gianluca Masi
https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2021/11/05/the-19-nov-2021-partial-lunar-eclipse-online-event/

2. High Point Scientific
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBGU8WUrfMk
High Point also has a guide for taking photos of the eclipse:
Check out our guide on How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse: https://www.highpointscientific.com/a…

3. Lowell Observatory – Arizona, US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qyiEicSFD0

4. Astronomical Society of South Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Lr-37Sp1A

Team: Starry Knights
Location: Waimea, Hawaii
Link: youtu.be/hx77CsMEkoc

Team: Live Sky Camera: Asahi Shimbun and Subaru Telescope
Location: Maunakea, Hawaii
Link: youtu.be/g_EekHEFqBg

Happy lunar eclipse watching!

Photo credit: SkyNews.ca

Join us this Friday November 12 for our November members meeting. This month we have Simon Poole who will discuss “The voyages of Nicolas de Lacaille”, the 18th century French astronomer who catalogued almost 10,000 southern stars and named 14 southern constellations, including Fornax, Mensa, Octans, Pictor and Telescopium. 

Simon was a first VP of the RASC (and president of the Calgary Centre) and an advocate of outreach and inclusion in astronomy.

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

In this issue you’ll find…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for November 2021
• What’s Up in Awards, November 2021
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• Plus More

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

Photo credit: M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, by Bob Christmas

Join us this Friday for our October members meeting. This month we have an exciting guest speaker that you won’t want to miss – astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, who is currently in residence at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

Dr. Rousseau-Nepton is the principal investigator for SIGNALS, the Star formation, Ionized Gas and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey, a very ambitious project which is exploring 50,000 star forming regions in nearby galaxies, the largest and most comprehensive database of these regions ever assembled.  This is an extraordinary opportunity to hear from a remarkable scientist and an evening not to be missed!

And of course, we will also have an installment of The Sky This Month, with Matthew Mannering to guide us through the October sky.  

And as always we will have door prizes to hand out for club members!

This is also our annual general meeting and we will conclude the meeting by introducing the upcoming year’s council and providing some info on the club’s accomplishments of the past year.

This will be an online Zoom meeting and all members are invited to join in and enjoy the presentations. Alternatively you can view it on our YouTube channel here.

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…

• HAA Explorers
• The Sky This Month for October 2021
• What’s Up in Awards, October 2021
• Hybrid Eclipses over Canadian Cities
• NASA Night Sky Notes
• Plus More

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

Photo credit: M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, by Alex Kepic.

Join us this Friday for our September members meeting.  We have a great meeting planned with some great speakers.
This is an online Zoom meeting and all members are invited to join in and enjoy the presentations. Alternatively you can view it on our YouTube channel here.

This month we have 3 presentations.  First we have Adam Gesjorskyj who has put together a wonderful instructional video on planetary imaging. 

We follow with another video created by our own Melissa and Brian Whitman who have put together a wonderful video about this summer’s solar eclipse.  

And of course, we will also have an instalment of The Sky This Month, with Matthew Mannering to guide us through the September sky (who may or may not have a video; you never know!).  

And as always we will have door prizes to hand out!

Photo credit: The Milky Way by Matthew Mannering