Astronomical Society of Greenbelt

February Meeting: 3D Computer Models Provided by NASA and Their Use in CAD Programs
2022-02-24 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Anwar Al-Mallah, vice president of the Astronomical Society of Greenbelt, will be demonstrating the use of 3D computer models provided by NASA in computer aided design applications (e.g., Blender, formZ, ZBrush) for creating 3D renderings.
The Zoom session will open at 7:00 pm for an informal chat. The presentation will start at 7:30 pm.
This presentation is free and open to the public.

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Officers Meeting
2022-02-07 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-05-17 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom

January Meeting: The Legacy of Arecibo's Planetary Radar System
2022-01-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Alessondra Springmann is a planetary science PhD candidate at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, studying meteorites, comets, and asteroids. She will be discussing her previous work at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico using the megawatt planetary radar system to search for near earth asteroids, as well as the legacy of Arecibo and the future of the observatory.
Alessondra has a BA in astrophysics from Wellesley College and an MSc from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has worked for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and is an award-winning educator and speaker. In her first years of graduate school, she worked on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. In her spare time, she hikes, sews face masks, and herds cats. You can find more about Alessondra at sondy.com or twitter.com/sondy.
Zoom session opens at 7:00 pm for meet and greet, with the lecture starting at 7:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
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Officers' Meeting
2022-01-10 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Our officers’ meeting for this month will be on Monday, January 10, at 7:30 pm.

Ursid Meteor Shower
2021-12-22 | MD
The Ursids run December 17–26, but even at their peak before dawn on December 22, you should only expect to see 5–10 meteors per hour. To make matters worse this year, the shower will be washed out for much of the night by a waning gibbous moon.

Winter Solstice
2021-12-21 10:58 | MD
Winter begins in the northern hemisphere at the winter solstice at 10:58 AM EST on December 21. This solstice occurs when the earth’s north pole is at its maximum tilt away from the sun. The summer solstice for the southern hemisphere occurs at the same time.

Solstice Party
2021-12-16 19:30 - 21:00 | MD
In December, we have our annual solstice party potluck instead of a regular meeting. Due to COVID-19 and lack of a venue, we are—for the second time—going to have a virtual potluck via zoom. Yes, that is weird, but these are weird times. So let’s gather for dinner via Zoom and share our astronomy-related tales from this year and plans for next year. We welcome anybody interested in astronomy, food, or just chatting about interesting topics.
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Geminid Meteor Shower
2021-12-13 | MD
The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks on the evening of December 13, but the best viewing will be toward morning on December 14 after the moon has set. This is one of the most active showers of the year, often producing up to 50 visible meteors per hour in dark areas.

November Meeting: Fantastic Beasts and Why You Can't Find Them
2021-11-18 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Sue Bassett will present a lecture entitled “Fantastic Beasts and Why You Can’t Find Them: An Astronomical View of Ice Age Extinctions.” This event is free and open to the public.
The zoom session will open at 7:00 pm for a meet and greet and technical checks.
The presentation starts at 7:30 pm.
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Leonid Meteor Shower
2021-11-17 | MD
The Leonids usually produce 10–15 meteors per hours. They will peak on the morning of November 17.

Officers' Meeting
2021-11-16 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-09-13 19:30 - 21:00, 2021-08-10 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom

Taurid Meteor Showers
2021-11-04 | MD
The two Taurid Meteor Showers last for several weeks before and after their peak dates, but often produce only around 5 meteors per hour, even at their peak. What makes them worth the effort, however, is the fact the they often include a large number of fireballs, extremely bright, long-lasting (1–3 seconds) meteors.
The South Taurids peak on the evening of November 4, with the North Taurids following a week later.

October Meeting: The Curious Incident of the Neutron Star Crashing at Night
2021-10-28 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Dr. Maria Hamilton, professor of physics at Marshall University, will present a lecture entitled “The Curious Incident of the Neutron Star Crashing at Night.” Dr. Hamilton is the recipient of a prestigious fellowship from the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research centers on investigating the gravitational waves and the electromagnetic counterparts from binary neutron star mergers.
This event is free and open to the public. The session will open at 7:00 PM for a meet and greet, and the lecture will begin at 7:30 PM.
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Orionid Meteor Shower
2021-10-21 | MD
Unfortunately, the full moon coincides with the peak of the Orionids this year, which occurs in the early morning of October 21. The radiant point of the Orionids is the club of the hunter Orion. The Orionids usually produce 10–20 meteors per hour.

Astronomy Day
2021-10-09 | MD
Astronomy Day is a biannual event held in the United States and other countries. It is intended to promote interest in astronomy and interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups, and professionals. The day is observed in the spring and the fall. Astronomy Day in the spring always falls on a Saturday between mid-April and mid-May and is scheduled so as to occur at or close to the first quarter moon. Astronomy Day in the fall is near the first-quarter moon between mid-September and mid-October.

Draconid Meteor Shower
2021-10-07 - 2021-10-09 | MD
The radiant point for the Draconids is the head of the dragon in the constellation Draco. The peak is on the evening of October 8. Unlike most meteor showers, this one is best viewed in the early evening. This year, a waxing crescent moon will set during dusk, so it won’t obscure the shower. The Draconids does not usually produce a lot of meteors, although in certain years it has featured a surprisingly high number.

September Meeting: Using Gravitational Lenses as Natural Telescopes
2021-09-30 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Dr. Tim Hamilton, professor of physics and director of the Clark Planetarium at Shawnee State University, will present a lecture entitled “Using Gravitational Lenses as Natural Telescopes.”

This event is free and open to the public.
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Virtual Star Party
2021-09-11 20:30 - 23:00 | Zoom
We’ll be observing Summer Triangle objects and more, possibly including the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn if they are not obscured by houses or trees. Chad Leader and Conrad Terrill will be doing the observing from their back yards, and George Stallings might be able to join as well. All are welcome to join the Zoom session, whether members of the Society or not. The session will open around 8:15 PM EDT, and the observers should have their telescopes polar-aligned and ready to go by around 8:30.
Zoom Meeting Details
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Meeting ID: 831 1930 0505
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August Meeting: Dark Matters
2021-08-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
The Astronomical Society of Greenbelt will present material and lead a discussion on the topic of dark matter and related matters, including dark energy, cosmological structure, relativistic and quantum mechanical considerations, and the present state of physics regarding all this. Dark matter has been hypothesized by astrophysicists to account for galactic motions which cannot be accounted for with normal matter alone. A basic problem is that dark matter cannot be seen.

All are welcome to join this Zoom event, whether members of ASG or not. For those interested, the Zoom session will open a half-hour early for meet-and-greet. The Zoom link is below.

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Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers 2023 Eastern Conference
2021-08-20 - 2021-08-22 | Green Bank Observatory, 155 Observatory Road, Green Bank, WV, 24944, United States
The 2023 SARA Eastern Conference will be held at the Green Bank Observatory, West Virginia, Sunday through Tuesday, August 20–22. 2023. Visit the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomer’s website for more details.
Please note that this event is not hosted by the Astronomical Society of Greenbelt. It is listed here as a courtesy to another club. Please consult the event website for the most up-to-date information.

Astronomical League 2021 Convention
2021-08-19 - 2021-08-21 | MD
The 2021 Astronomical League Convention will be held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s speakers include:

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, astrophysicist who discovered pulsars
Dr. Caitlin Ahrens, Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. David Levy, science writer and amateur astronomer, who has discovered multiple comets and minor planets
Conal Richards, founder and president of the Abingdon Heights High School Astronomy Club in Pennsylvania
David Eicher, editor-in-chief of Astronomy magazine

July Meeting: Astronomy Simulation Software
2021-07-29 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
ASG Vice President Anwar Al-Mallah will present the latest updates to the astronomy simulation software he has previously shown to the club. These programs will include Universe Sandbox, Space Engine, Stellarium, and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
New features in Universe Sandbox include the ability to model climate and cloud cover more accurately. The graphics quality in Space Engine will show improvement since the last presentation, now being rendered on the latest RTX 30 series GPU. Galaxy collision simulations have also been improved in Universe Sandbox, and new historical simulations have been added.
Flybys of new astronomical sites on Earth will be shown in Flight Simulator, and a demonstration of Stellarium will be given. If time allows, we will take a quick tour of the Google Sky client and the World Wide Telescope website.
The Zoom session will open at 7:00 pm for an informal chat. The presentation will start at 7:30 pm.
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Alpha Capricornids
2021-07-28 - 2021-07-29 | MD
The Alpha Capricornids are active from July 3–August 15 with a maximum centered on July 28. This shower is not very strong and rarely produces in excess of five shower members per hour. What is notable about this shower is the number of bright fireballs produced during its activity period.
For more information on meteor showers, visit the American Meteor Society.

June Meeting: Ancient Babylonian Astronomical Texts
2021-06-24 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
ASG member Kevin A. Wilson will present on ancient Babylonian astronomical texts.
Astronomy began in ancient Mesopotamia, and we have a rich record of star catalogues and planetary observations from Sumeria, Babylon, and Assyria. An overview of these texts will be provide, followed by a more in-depth discussion of observations of Venus from the 17th century BCE.
Kevin A. Wilson earned his PhD in Northwest Semitic Philology and Old Testament/Hebrew Bible from The Johns Hopkins University. He also holds Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from Yale Divinity School. He has taught at colleges and seminaries in Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa, and Massachusetts, and spent three years as a professor in Lithuania. He has worked on archaeological excavations in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.
The Zoom session will open at 7:00 pm for an informal chat. The presentation will start at 7:30 pm.

Lunar Eclipse
2021-05-26 05:45 - 08:52 | MD
A total lunar eclipse will take place on the morning of May 26. Unfortunately, the moon will set for viewers in the eastern US before totality is reached. The farther west people are in the US, the more of the eclipse they will be able to see, with viewers on the West Coast being able to see the entire eclipse.
Eclipse Timetable
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time.

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 5:45 am
Total eclipse begins: 7:11 am
Total eclipse ends: 7:26 am
Partial umbral eclipse ends: 8:52 am

Astronomy Day
2021-05-15 | MD
Astronomy Day is a biannual event held in the United States and other countries. It is intended to promote interest in astronomy and interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups, and professionals. The day is observed in the spring and the fall. Astronomy Day in the spring always falls on a Saturday between mid-April and mid-May and is scheduled so as to occur at or close to the first quarter moon. Astronomy Day in the fall is near the first-quarter moon between mid-September and mid-October.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Astronomical Society of Greenbelt will not be hosting any public events this spring.
