Emilyann Kerr

November Upcoming Event – Looking Up! Virtual Star Party (11/21/20)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

We’re having another virtual stargazing event with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium this Saturday, November 21st, at 8:00PM. Members from these organizations will be there showing telescopic views and discussing fun astronomical topics. Everything will be livestreamed on our Facebook at this link, and will also be posted on our Youtube channel if you’d prefer to watch there. This is a great way to enjoy astronomy without having to be outside getting cold! Hope to see some fellow viewers there.

–Emilyann

Emilyann Kerr

November 2020 Online General Meeting

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

This Friday, November 13th at 7:00PM will be the date of our next monthly general club meeting. The invitation has already been sent out, so please check your email for it (was sent on 11/10.)

This month, we’ll be having fellow member Larry Carlino speak regarding his collection of telescopes. Larry has over 40 telescopes, so he should have quite a bit to say on them all! We will also be experimenting with two breakout rooms — one room will be for introductory astronomical topics, and the other will be for astrophotography. If you’re interested in either topic, please join and try out the rooms.

Also, if you didn’t get the invitation email, please reach out to Mike Humphrey to get the invite. If you need them, instructions on joining a Zoom meeting can be found at this link: https://www.buffaloastronomy.com/may-2020-online-general-meeting/ See you there!

–Emilyann

Emilyann Kerr

October 2020 Events – Looking Up! Virtual Star Party Recap

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

On October 17th, we had another Looking Up! Virtual Star Party, held with the usual suspects. You can catch up on the stream by clicking the following link from our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloAstronomy/videos/764959110750534/

Mars was big this event due to its close opposition. Dan and Mike P., both on-location at BAA’s Beaver Meadow Observatory, and Patrick, observing from Pennsylvania, got in on the fun. See if you’re able to pick out some famous Mars details in the images (and click to make them larger!)

We also had quite a few presentations this time around — Paul M. started us off by going over some useful astronomy terms, including an explanation of why Mars was looking so good, then Dan did a presentation on the evolution of telescopes throughout history. Later on we had presentations from our president Mike H. on Mars itself as well as a very informative discussion of nebulae featuring some beautiful imagery from Pat.

As always, we featured live astrophotography too. Below are some excellent images from Ernie of the Double Cluster and M31 that were wonderful to see appear live as he took them. If you inspect M31 on the right, take a closer look to try to find two other galaxies (hint, they may look like large or elongated stars.)

Dennis also captured a stunning live view of the North America Nebula overhead — I think the contrast between darkness and interstellar dust on the right-hand side is especially beautiful! Also, here’s another planet that Dan and Mike P. were able to show us — this time, our more distant neighbor, Uranus, and 4 nearby moons. The brightness is greatly exaggerated to enhance visibility.

 

If you’ve been to BAA live events in previous years, you may know that we normally don’t hold any monthly star parties at the observatory during the late fall and winter. However, due to the success of the streams so far, I’m happy to say that we’ll be holding virtual events for at least a few more months. Luckily, the setup for live astrophotography means that most members can stay warm in their own homes no matter how bad it gets outside. We hope that during the upcoming months, you’ll continue to be able to join us remotely as we take advantage of this unique opportunity. Keep an eye out here and on the BAA Facebook page for event announcements, and also keep looking up!

Emilyann Kerr

October Upcoming Event – Looking Up! Virtual Star Party (10/17/20)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

We’re having another virtual stargazing event with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium this Saturday, October 17th, at 8:30PM. Members from these organizations will be there showing telescopic views and discussing fun astronomical topics. If the weather holds, we should have some nice views of Mars at this event due to the recent opposition, so if you want to hear about Mars, this is the event for you. Everything will be livestreamed on our Facebook at this link, and will also be posted on our Youtube channel if you’d prefer to watch there. Hope to see some fellow Mars enthusiasts!

–Emilyann

 

Emilyann Kerr

October 2020 Online General Meeting

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

This Friday, October 9th at 7:00PM will be the date of our next monthly general club meeting. The invitation has already been sent out, so please check your email for the Zoom invitation, which was sent on 10/4.

This month, we’ll be having a talk from Dr. Warren Marcus on the future of lunar exploration. Please find the summary below:

Returning to the Moon – Lessons Learned From the Past for Future Missions

-by Warren S. Marcus PhD, MPH

The return of manned missions to the Moon.  What we have learned since Apollo about technical aspects of the trip and the Moon itself. How this time it will be different and why.

Looking at lessons learned from recent Earth lunar robotic missions and space travel initiatives. Is such a trip practical and what are the benefits and investments risks in such an endeavor. 

Dr. Warren will also discuss the human dynamic including physical and mental health. How to prepare humans for such ventures and proving an infrastructure that maximizes potential for a positive outcome for the trip.

 

Don’t miss this enlightening talk — if you didn’t get the invitation email, please reach out to Mike Humphrey or another club member so that you can join.

Instructions on joining a Zoom meeting can be found at this link: https://www.buffaloastronomy.com/may-2020-online-general-meeting/ I will be out in Central NY this weekend but might still be able to pop in — it should be a good time! See you there.

–Emilyann

Emilyann Kerr

September Upcoming Event – Looking Up! Virtual Star Party (9/19/20)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

Hope everyone has been well. We’re having another virtual stargazing event with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium this Saturday, September 19th, at 8:00PM. Members from all organizations will be there showing telescopic views and discussing fun astronomical topics. Hopefully the weather will be good, but it has been noted that the skies right now (even in New York) are hazy due to smoke from the current wildfire situation in California. Even if we have trouble viewing due to this unfortunate circumstance, it should still be a good time, and you can join in when we go live by checking the Facebook event page here. Hope to see you there, and keep looking up!

Dennis Bartkowiak

Our next Looking Up event – Virtual Stargazing with BAA and Wilson Star Search 8/15/2020

Posted on by Dennis Bartkowiak

Join us for our next Looking Up event.  We are combining our traditional public night with the Wilson Star Search and long time Wilson resident and BAA member Steve Smith.  Join us for some astronomical fun and sailing into the cosmos. This event will be held no matter what the seeing conditions so mark your calendars now and join us at 8:30pm on Saturday 8/15/2020. Check out the information on Facebook.

Emilyann Kerr

July Upcoming Event – Virtual Stargazing with Penn Dixie (7/18/20)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,

Hopefully everyone has been beating the heat so far this July! We are going to have our first virtual stargazing event of the month with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium tomorrow night, July 18th, at 8:30PM. As you may have heard already, comet C/2020 F3 (also known as NEOWISE) has been making appearances in the early morning and evening skies. It will depend on members’ horizon (and clouds of course) but perhaps a BAA member will have some live views of that during the stream. (Scroll down a bit or click here if you want to see some phenomenal comet photography that our members have already made, and learn how to see the comet yourself.) You will be able to watch the stream on Penn Dixie’s Facebook page here.

If you are a BAA member and would like to show a view through your telescope, help answer questions from the public, or present on astronomical topics, please contact Ernie Jacobs or reach out in the Members forum. I won’t be able to make this one, but will definitely catch the live stream afterward (one benefit of doing events virtually!) Hope that lots of people can make it.

 

Emilyann Kerr

June 2020 Events – Virtual Stargazing Recap (6/26/2020)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hello and welcome to the BAA blog. We had another virtual stargazing event with Penn Dixie on June 26th — here’s a recap of what we saw and imaged. This post is only a small sample of what was shown, so if you’d like to watch an archive of the stream, it’s available on Penn Dixie’s Facebook page here.

Moon Views Galore

The moon was waxing this week, nearly approaching first quarter, so many BAA members were able to show live views through their telescopes. Ernie ended up taking some captures to combine into a single photo:

(click on the image to see a larger view)

Dan ended up producing an image as well, of asteroid 2Pallas. The while blur at the center is the asteroid, moving over a period of minutes.

(click on the image to see a larger view)

Some other portions of the program involved Mark from the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium describing the visuals of a lunar eclipse, and Tim from the Buffalo Museum of Science showing viewers the Summer Triangle — an asterism formed by bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair which is visible during the summer months:

 

(click on the images to see a larger view)

Besides Tim and Mark, we also had Phil and Paul join in from from Penn Dixie, who were able to answer viewer questions (and provide relief to BAA members when clouds intervened.)

If you ever want to get live answers from an astronomer, you should try joining in at the next Virtual Stargazing night. Our next event will be on July 18th — we are hoping to feature views from our own Beaver Meadow Observatory this time! It will also be close to new moon, when deep-sky objects are best viewed. Hope to see many viewers in the next stream!

-Emilyann

Emilyann Kerr

June Upcoming Event – Virtual Stargazing with Penn Dixie (6/26/20)

Posted on by Emilyann Kerr

Hi all,
With the moon waxing, we will be joining in another Virtual Public Night with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium. We will have overviews of the night sky this month, questions and answers (you can ask questions yourself if you join in the Facebook livestream!), and activities for young astronomers. This event will start tomorrow night (Friday, June 26th) at 8:30 PM. Live viewing and discussion with BAA members will begin (weather permitting) around 9:30PM. The event page, which is hosted on Facebook by Penn Dixie, is here.

If you are a BAA member and would like to show a view through your telescope, help answer questions from the public, or present on astronomical topics, please contact Ernie Jacobs or reach out in the Members forum. Perhaps we’ll have some planetary views this time — Jupiter and Saturn are rising earlier and earlier now! Hope to see lots of members and perhaps some inquiring public there.