Outreach
AAAP Meeting, 7:30 PM, Friday, February 10, 2017, Carnegie Science Center
The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh will meet 7:30 PM, Friday, February 10, 2017 at the Carnegie Science Center, 1 Allegheny Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. The meeting is free and open to the public. The featured presentation for February, the annual planetarium show will be provided by the Carnegie Science Center Staff. Members and guests should convene on the second floor (ramp or elevator available) at the Buhl Planetarium where we will start with the planetarium show presentation at 7:30 PM. At the time of the show, the room darkens and entrance door closes until the show ends. Please arrive before the doors close. The show will last about 30 minutes. After a short recess the business meeting will begin. We distribute the Night Sky Network Outreach Award Pins at this meeting. NSN Pins are awarded to members participating in 5 or more NSN eligible outreach events and feature an astronomy event of the coming year. This year’s pin commemorates the August 21, 2017 Solar Eclipse. There is a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse from 5:34 – 9:53 PM, coinciding with the February 10 meeting. Some AAAP members with binoculars and perhaps dobs, weather-permitting will be available at the entrance to provide a detailed view of the Moon in Penumbral Eclipse. If the skies are clear, plan to arrive in time to get a closer look at this phenomenon prior to the meeting start. The agenda will include overview of current and upcoming club activities and astronomical events. Parking is $5 payable at the parking kiosk in the lobby. The upcoming program of 2016-17 Meeting Speakers may be downloaded here. Please see the AAAP Guide Star Newsletter and the AAAP Facebook Page for additional information.
Light Up the Sky with Stars Lecture with AAAP Member Diane Turnshek
How far do you have to travel to see the stars clearly? Join lecturer, author, and astronomer Diane Turnshek as she discusses how light pollution not only prevents us from living under a sky bright with stars, but also negatively impacts human health and the environment. Turnshek will examine how innovative science and technology can reverse this steady creep of sky glow, allowing us to view the same star-filled sky that all past generations did.
Time: Doors open at 6 pm, and the program is 7-9 pm.
Location: Carnegie Science Center
Admission: FREE!
Diane Turnshek is a lecturer in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh and is a member of the AAAP. She has published hard science fiction with a focus on space colonization and first contact. Her love of both astronomy and science fiction led her to crew the Mars Desert Research Station near Bryce Canyon, Utah in 2012, where she turned her attention to dark sky advocacy. Her fight against light pollution has taken many forms, including giving a TEDxPittsburgh talk. Turnshek is also a 2015 Dark Sky Defender award recipient, recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association for her contribution to light pollution mitigation.
More Info: http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/programs/adult-programs-cafe-sci/
Allegheny Observatory Open House, Friday, October 7, 2016
Allegheny Observatory: Source: http://www.pitt.edu/~aobsvtry/
It is Annual Open House Tour time at Allegheny Observatory!
The tour is free and open to the public but reservations are required and limited in number. Members of the public who would like to attend the open house should telephone the observatory at 412-321-2400 between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Monday through Friday.
AAAP members who would like to volunteer should email Lou Coban as outlined in AAAP’s September Guide Star Newsletter. The AAAP has been helping out at the Allegheny Observatory Open House for at least half a century. Our members keep that tradition going by showing a strong by offering to set up scopes on the observatory’s front lawn and in other capacities.
The Allegheny Observatory, founded on February 15, 1859, is one of the world’s major astronomical research institutions. It is four miles north of the Golden Triangle (downtown Pittsburgh) atop Observatory Hill in Riverview Park. AO is part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh , eight miles away in Oakland. Originally dedicated to general public education, by 1867 the facility was [Read more…] about Allegheny Observatory Open House, Friday, October 7, 2016
Kunkle Park Star Gazing Party – Saturday, July 2, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A dark sky party with no interference from moonlight. See Saturn’s glorious rings and several of its moons, one of which, Titan, is larger than the planet Mercury. See storm clouds on Jupiter and several of its moons. See features on Mars, including its polar caps. Distant galaxies can be seen as small fuzzy objects, but star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy are beautiful to view. Planetary nebulae, the remnants of exploded stars like our sun can be seen.
They are all part of the show during the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh’s FREE May Star Gazing Party at Kunkle Park, in Washington Township (south of Apollo). This star gazing party is scheduled for Saturday, July 2, starting at dusk, WEATHER PERMITTING.
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Cosmic Happenings: Weekend of April 22-24, 2016
Lots of astronomy events are happening around town this weekend. Get out and enjoy some cosmic fun! For more details, visit our club calendar at: https://wp.3ap.org/calendar/