public event

Upcoming programs….

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The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) does not hold a General Meeting in December but that doesn’t mean nothing is happening over the winter months! Here are descriptions of programs planned for the CAA’s upcoming meetings:

January 8, 2018
“Journey to Another Solar System!”
Research astronomer and host of WKYC’s “In The Sky” Jay Reynolds will discuss how scientists are working now on a project to send high-speed probes to our nearest star (beyond our own Sun), with data results in less than 40 years of launch!

February 12, 2018
“Parallax: How we measure the distance from us to the stars!”
Club member and self-professed astronomy nerd Tim Campbell will follow Jay Reynolds’s January presentation by showing how through history, humans used cleverness, a basic principle of vision, and a succession of instruments to go from calculating the throwing distance to food to calculating just how far away those little dots in the nighttime sky really are!

March 12, 2018
“Astrophotography and other Cool Pictures”
Club members Alan and Gale Studt will present photos featuring starry night landscapes, panoramas, and star trails blended with earthly landscapes! For the technically curious, Alan will go over his gear and basic procedures. Plus music and more!

May 14, 2018
“The Inflationary Hot Big Bang Theory”
The universe is 13.7 billion years old and our best current understanding of the its origin is called the Big Bang Theory. Gary Kader, Director of the Burrell Memorial Observatory at Baldwin Wallace University, will present a lecture on the science and history of the Big Bang Theory, taking us back to within a trillionth of a second after that beginning.

June 11, 2018
“Telescope Show and Tell”
Tonight various club members will display their favorite telescopes and explain why, how, and “how much!”

CAA’s monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month (except December) at 7:30 PM at the Rocky River Nature Center; 24000 Valley Parkway; North Olmsted, Ohio, in the Cleveland Metroparks.

October 9: Monthly Membership Meeting

James Guilford , , , ,
New Horizons Spacecraft - Artist's depiction of the spacecraft as it passed through the Pluto/Charon system in July 2015. Image Credit: NASA
New Horizons Spacecraft – Artist’s depiction of the spacecraft as it passed through the Pluto/Charon system in July 2015. Image Credit: NASA

The Monthly Membership Meeting of the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) will take place on Monday, October 9, beginning at 7:30 PM. An astronomy presentation is first, followed by a social break, and wrapped up with the club’s business meeting.

The night’s program will be a presentation by CAA member Kai Getrost entitled “New Horizons’ Next Target: The Kuiper Belt.” Getrost enjoyed the adventure of a lifetime, traveling to Argentina as part of a 50-team effort to observe and record data on a rare Kuiper Belt object occultation. A distant object, selected as the next object for study by the New Horizons spacecraft, passed in front of a star; data collected from the event has given astronomers a better understanding of the distance and movement of their target.

Free and open to the public, the program and meeting will take place at the at the Rocky River Nature Center; 24000 Valley Parkway; North Olmsted, Ohio, in the Cleveland Metroparks.

Monday, September 11: Monthly Membership Meeting

James Guilford , , , , , ,
Image: Artist's concept of Cassini spacecraft at Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In this still from the short film Cassini’s Grand Finale, the spacecraft is shown diving between Saturn and the planet’s innermost ring. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) will host its monthly meeting at 7:30 PM, Monday, September 11 in the Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Nature Center, North Olmsted. The speaker will be Jay Reynolds who will discuss NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn and its finale, set to occur September 15. The program is free and open to the public, no reservations required.

The Cassini spacecraft will make its final approach to the giant planet Saturn this Friday, ending an extremely productive seven-year mission. This encounter will be like no other. This time, Cassini will dive into the planet’s atmosphere, sending science data for as long as its small thrusters can keep the spacecraft’s antenna pointed at Earth. Soon after, Cassini will burn up and disintegrate like a meteor.

In addition to being a research astronomer who teaches at Cleveland State University, Reynolds is CAA’s observatory director. He frequently appears on Cleveland television, hosting a show about astronomy on WKYC, Channel 3.

Following the program, the club’s monthly membership meeting will convene.

Public observing night at Letha House September 9

James Guilford , , ,
Photo: Saturn, by Rochus Hess
Saturn. Credit: Rochus Hess

The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) will host a public star party this Saturday (Sept. 9) from 8:00 to 10:00 PM at the Medina County Park District’s at Letha House Park (West). The club’s observatory will be open and CAA members will offer viewing through their personally-owned telescopes.

The weather forecast is looking good for Saturday.  If skies are clear, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune will be visible at dusk. Later, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune will be visible.
The waning Gibbous Moon will clear the horizon at 10:15.  When the sky grows dark enough, and before moonrise, there about 30 Messier objects visible. Messier objects include such things as brighter star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies.