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"At night astronomers agree."

–Matthew Prior

CAA Public Events 2019

Young Observer at C16

A young observer peers through the CAA's vintage Celestron 16 telescope.

PUBLIC EVENTS

The CAA hosts at least 12 Saturday Public Observing events featuring a guest speaker that is followed—weather permitting—by celestial viewings through telescopes at the facility. During viewing hours, society members will be available to answer questions and provide everyone with an opportunity to look through the Society's telescopes and those of our members.

This site will be updated through out the year as we assemble our speakers and events.

 Future Presentations

2024 Presentations

  Mar 30 7:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

Title: "Where Do Stars Come From"

Presenter: Professor Steven Spangler - Professor Emeritus - University of Iowa

The night sky is filled with stars, and as we learn astronomy, we find out what incredible objects they are.  They dwarf planets like the Earth, and have power outputs that are hard to describe in normal terms.  But, where do they come from?  How do they form and where?  I will discuss how astronomers have come to the current understanding of star formation, which was really incomplete until about 50 - 60 years ago.  At the present time, there are aspects of star formation that we understand very well, and other aspects that are very far from being understood.  After the talk, if it is clear, we will get to see the object that illustrates star formation in action, the Orion Nebula. 

Capture1 

 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82263851757?pwd=oA4rfhIBl4Tr5kABaSN5RYGUZOxWO1.1

 

Meeting ID: 822 6385 1757
Passcode: 191545

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One tap mobile
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+16469313860,,82263851757#,,,,*191545# US

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Dial by your location
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• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
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Meeting ID: 822 6385 1757
Passcode: 191545

 

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kb0Dnu1dLl

 

 

April 8th - Partial Solar Eclipse Celebration.

Free Solar Eclipse glasses! - This event will be in person only

Eclipse begins 12:46 pm

 

Capture

 

Global Event: Total Solar Eclipse
Local Type: Partial Solar Eclipse, in 41°53'22.1"N, 91°30'01.3"W
Begins: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 12:46 pm
Maximum: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 2:02 pm 0.886 Magnitude
Ends: Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 3:16 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes

All times shown on this page are local time.

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/live/

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/@41.889505,-91.500371?iso=20240408

 

 Apr 27 8:00 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: PERSPECTIVES ON DISTANCE

Presenter: Charles E. Allen III - Vice-President, Astronomical League

“Perspectives” examines the relative and possible distances achievable by space flight and through amateur and professional telescopic observation. Examining scales from the human altitude record to the four cosmological horizons, the program is supported by multiple props and models and discusses astrophysicists’ answers to the biggest questions about the universe: How far can we see and how big might it be?

Unrelated to the program will be the safe display of an extraordinary 9-case collection verifiably containing 100 chemical elements.

Bio: Chuck is current vice-president and past-president of the 23,000-member Astronomical League and is a prolific speaker with over 600 public presentations to universities, secondary schools, scientific societies, corporations, museums, and other public audiences. He is a League gold-level master observer and is a G. R. Wright and Master Outreach award recipient. He coordinates three League observing programs and co-chaired ALCon ‘21 Virtual. He is also current program chair for the Evansville Astronomical Society, past president of the Louisville Astronomical Society, and a past lead judge for the Intel (now Regeneron) International Science and Engineering Fair.

 

 Chuck Allen

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89517844245?pwd=5tbsBIWa4Adjot0xg7usp2nrhQqtNH.1

 

Meeting ID: 895 1784 4245
Passcode: 214980

---

One tap mobile
+13126266799,,89517844245#,,,,*214980# US (Chicago)
+16469313860,,89517844245#,,,,*214980# US

---

Dial by your location
• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
• +1 646 931 3860 US
• +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
• +1 305 224 1968 US
• +1 309 205 3325 US
• +1 564 217 2000 US
• +1 669 444 9171 US
• +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
• +1 689 278 1000 US
• +1 719 359 4580 US
• +1 253 205 0468 US
• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
• +1 360 209 5623 US
• +1 386 347 5053 US
• +1 507 473 4847 US

Meeting ID: 895 1784 4245
Passcode: 214980

 

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kbxFqVgFT

 

 

 

 May 25 8:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: TBD

 June 8 8:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Brent Studer, Kirkwood Community College

 Jun 29 8:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: Galaxy Supermassive Black Hole Masses from Reverberation Mapping

Presenter: Dr. Caroline Roberts, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa

Reverberation mapping is an observational measurement technique used to obtain the masses of the central supermassive black holes of active galaxies. Supermassive black hole mass scales with other galactic properties, including kinematics of stars in the host galaxy and mass of stars in the bulge, and so accurately determining supermassive black hole masses plays a large role in understanding galactic evolution. In this talk, we’ll discuss the procedure of reverberation mapping and take a look at some results from this method.

 

 Jul 13 3:00 – Solar Saturday This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Carl Bracken CAA volunteer and active member since 1995.

 Jul 27 8:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: TBD

 Aug 31 8:00 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Professor Paul Price - University of Iowa - School of Public Health

 Sep 14 7:30 - InOMN This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Professor Steven Spangler - Professor Emeritus - University of Iowa

 Sep 28 7:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: David W. PeateProfessor of Geochemistry & Department DEO (aka Chair)

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of Iowa

 

 Oct 26 7:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Jasper S. Halekas, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa

 Nov 23 7:30 This event will be held in person as well as on Zoom

 Title: TBD

Presenter: TBD

  Dec 7 7:30 * Virtual Event Only

 Title: TBD

Presenter: Scott McIntosh, Deputy Director of NCAR

Scott’s research in the field of solar physics has focused on three main areas: the detection and impact of magnetohydrodynamic waves; the detection and understanding of ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet radiation; and understanding the decadal evolution of the solar plasma.

 

Scott has authored or co-authored over two hundred journal articles since receiving his Ph.D. in 1998 and approaching 10,000 citations – his ‘h-index’ is 47. Those articles include over fifty as first author with eleven in high-profile journals. 

 

 

* Note: Virtual only. Observatory closed due to winter driving conditions.

 

 Past Presentations 

 

Jan 13 2024 7:30 * Virtual Event Only

 Title: Odd Radio Circles and Even Odder Radio Cubes

Presenter: Lawrence Rudnick - Professor Emeritus - University of Minnesota

 We'll start 50 years ago when this budding astrophysicist lost his way in the sky, then jump to some present day glimpses from the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope precursors.  MeerKAT in South Africa and ASKAP in Australia are testing out some of the new technologies and making some really fun discoveries.  We'll look at two ongoing projects. First, the mysterious "Odd Radio Circles" that have been discovered in the last few years, and a new technique I'm developing to visualize radio structures in three dimensions.

 Professor Rudnick taught at the University of Minnesota for 42 years, and conducted research using radio, X-ray, infrared and optical telescopes on the ground and in space.  He worked in many venues promoting the public understanding of science, including training K-12 teachers, appearing on public television's Newton's Apple, and helping build the Bell Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in the Twin Cities.  He is an Honorary Member of the Minnesota Astronomical Society.

 

 

 

Feb 10 7:30 * Virtual Event Only

Title: Smartphone Astrophotography and Citizen Science

Presenter: Mr. Mark Brown - NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Have you ever wanted to capture night sky images with your smartphone? This presentation will focus on the use of smartphones and their ability to capture images of the night sky – recording celestial objects and/or light pollution. We will discuss how you can contribute to NASA Citizen Science by addressing light pollution and how teachers, students, and the public play a role in collecting, analyzing, and sharing data as Citizen Scientists with the use of smartphones, smartphone apps, and web apps that bring awareness to a global problem. 
 
Bio: 
Mark joined the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador program in Iowa in 2019, where he successfully planned and implemented dozens of community-based events. In 2023, Mark transitioned to Kansas, where he currently teaches Space Science and is the Director of the Peterson Planetarium and the Science and Math Education Center at Emporia State University. Mark is also the outreach lead for the Department of Math and Sciences, working closely with the Outreach Director, where he continues to bring his enthusiasm and passion for astronomy/space science to the University and surrounding community. Mark is an avid photographer and astrophotographer who takes pleasure in observing and imaging the night sky through his telescopes and cameras. He is passionate about conducting educational public outreach and bringing the concepts of astronomy and space science down to the human level of understanding. For Mark, the night sky's darkness and beauty bring light to his day.

 

 

 

 

 

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Public observing events are held in the Eastern Iowa Observatory and Learning Center at the Palisades-Dows Observatory and Preserve through a generous agreement with the Linn County Conservation Department. For directions, please visit our Map to Pal-Dows page or download a pdf version (276 kB.)

The Cedar Amateur Astronomers, Inc. is a participating member of Night Sky Network.