Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

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AAAP News

“Click” Your “Vote” for AAAP, June 6-12, 2016, In Washington County Community Foundation’s Clicks for Cash and Help AAAP Win a Grant

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Clicks for Cash logo

If you have a few seconds to give, you can help AAAP win a grant through Washington County Community Foundation’s ‘Clicks for Cash.” Simply visit AAAP’s charity’s profile page on wccfgives.org from June 6 to 12. Anyone can vote for AAAP from an Internet enabled device: phone, desktop, laptop, tablet, etc. It is one vote per device, as opposed to one vote per person. Consider recruiting friends and family to support the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh’s 2016 Clicks for Cash campaign.

A visit to this URL From June 6 -12, 2016 counts as a vote.

https://www.wccfgives.org/organizations/amateur-astronomers-association-of-pittsburgh

The charity receiving the most unique pageviews during the contest period will receive a $3,000 unrestricted grant. Additionally, the WCCF will use the contest results to distribute four $500 unrestricted grants based on a lottery. Each charity will receive one chance for each unique pageview, so the more unique pageviews a charity receives, the more chances that charity will have in the lottery. A computer program will choose the lottery winners at random.

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AAAP June 10 & 11 Star Parties at Wagman Observatory and Mingo Observatory

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Pittsburgh Sky, East, 9:30 PM. June 11, 2016 from Stellarium.org Screen Capture.

AAAP Star Parties at both Wagman Observatory and Mingo Observatory, Friday and Saturday, June 10 and 11, 2016 will feature a rich array of celestial delights. Bright Jupiter trails close to the First Quarter Moon. Ringed Planet, Saturn follows not far from the Red Planet, Mars. Mars, not long from its May 30 close approach is still prime for viewing . Saturn, too near its June 2-3, 2016 opposition, is prime for its best viewing of the year. Jupiter is up all evening too, along with all four of its moons. Planet Venus, too graces the sky until just before 9 PM. It only begins with the Moon and these four bright planets. Experience the AAAP telescopes and those of our members as they reveal our solar system and more distant objects, including galaxies and nebula. See the sparkling  Great Cluster, M13, in the constellation Hercules and other delights. Look forward to the likelihood of meteor sighting, too. The star parties are free and open to the public.

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Weather Cancellation – Tonight’s May15, 2016 Wagman Star Party

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Last updated 2016-05-14 12:01:09. No Image below? Read this. Not showing todays data? Clear your cache.
Near Deer Lakes Park, Russellton. Observatory of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

There is now 100% that tonight’s SP is canceled. See yinz in June. The next good weather that we will see will probably be next weekend during Full Moon. Typical for our area. Except for that week or so in Mid-April, it’s been a lousy Spring. The Sky gods are probably balancing out the good observing weather in Jan, Feb and March.
 
Tom Reiland

Wagman Star Parties May 13 & 14, 2016

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Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh opens Wagman Observatory to the public Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14, 2016. No reservations. No charge. No limit to group size. Just show up. Please refer to the Wagman 2016 Star Party Schedule for details.  The Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory is located in Deer Lakes Regional Park, Frazer Township, Pa., near the village of Russellton in northeastern Allegheny County and some 18 miles from Pittsburgh. Observatory Phone 724-224-2510.

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Transit of Mercury May 9, 2016, Eastern Horizon

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Public Viewing of the Transit of Mercury at Mingo Observatory:

AAAP has announced safe public viewing through the Lunt solar telescope of the Mingo Observatory in the Washington Observer-Reporter beginning at approximately at 8 AM.  Astronomy club members arriving earlier who set up their telescopes on the hill will not have the orientation of the observatory building blocking the low eastern horizon and will get to view the transit from the start.

May 11, 1016 Update:Many AAAP members and members of the public enjoyed live views of the Transit of Mercury from our two observatories, Wagman and Mingo. Enjoy the Mercury Transit video from NASA’s SDO. It is the May 11, 2016 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).

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Lecture: Mars Interdisciplinary Studios Final Show (Mars Habitat)

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Monday, May 2, 2016 (7 PM)
Where: Carnegie Mellon University Studio for Creative Inquiry (CFA-111)
What: Mars Interdisciplinary Studios Final Show (Mars Habitat)

Join our interdisciplinary class of students, made up of engineers, architects, scientists, designers, computer science majors and creative technologists, as we explore a concept for an inflatable/deployable (semi)autonomous greenhouse for Mars. The two courses “Building an Atmosphere” and “Responsive Mobile Environments” deal with both the structures and systems needed to sustain life in an extreme alien environment while engaging also in broader cultural interactions.

Panel Talk – Designing for Mars with guests from NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, and NASA Ames. Followed by a presentation and exhibit of student work. Refreshments provided. This event is free and open to the public. Please pass along the invitation. All are welcome!

More Info: http://cmu-mars-studio.com/