Category: Meetings
-

December 13 – Public Monthly Meeting – The Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers
Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers Shawn Dilles & Carl Hergenrother Sunday, December 13, 2020 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM EST Online event https://meet.google.com/xtw-gjjx-udg Monthly Meeting – Public Invited The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) is an international organization devoted to study the Sun, Moon, planets, asteroids, meteors, and comets. The ALOP’s goals are to stimulate, coordinate, and generally promote the study of these bodies using Read more […] -
November 8 Meeting, Solar Eclipses: Science and Spectacle
Sunday, November 8; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Online https://meet.google.com/quz-byer-ogm Speaker: Jay Pasachoff Title: Solar Eclipses: Science and Spectacle As a veteran of 72 solar eclipses—including 35 total solar eclipses, 18 annular solar eclipses, and 19 partial solar eclipses–astronomer Jay Pasachoff is uniquely positioned to share recent scientific work related to eclipses, international coordination of observations, and future plans. What role does mathematics play in Read more […] -
October NOVAC Meeting – The American Astronomical Society: History, Purpose and Future
Sunday, October 11; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Online https://meet.google.com/uqm-ppvw-gzd Speaker: Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer, American Astronomical Society Title: The American Astronomical Society: History, Purpose and Future Kevin will present a brief history of the American Astronomical Society, how it began, how it has grown and what it is doing today. He’ll share opportunities now available for Amateurs to play a significant role in astronomical research and the value Read more […] -
September Meeting – Studying Wind on Mars (from Earth)
Join NOVAC on September 13 at 7:30pm for our September meeting Location: Online https://meet.google.com/gzt-iwnx-cpx Speaker: Dr. Marian Baker Title: Studying wind on Mars (from Earth): a story of exploration, adaptation, and unexpected discoveries Images returned by Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars in the 1970s, revealed a dry and dusty planet that had been subjected to billions of years of wind activity. Decades later, rovers on the surface began exploring landscapes Read more […] -
August NOVAC Meeting – Radio Astronomy: The “Longest” View
Join NOVAC at 7:30pm on Sunday, August 9 for our monthly meeting which will be held online. Location: Online https://meet.google.com/qhc-acci-ceu Speaker: Dr. Joe Pesce Title: Radio Astronomy: The “Longest” View In this talk we will explore the field of Radio Astronomy, with a discussion of what it is, how radio observations are made, and what they can tell us about astronomical sources. We will then survey some of the most recent findings in Radio Astronomy. Joe Pesce is an astrophysicist Read more […] -
July 12 2020 at 7:30 – Remote Sensing and Spaceborn Planetary Observations
Join NOVAC at 7:30pm on Sunday, July 12 for our monthly meeting which will be held online. Location: Online https://meet.google.com/qns-wmyk-tbo Speaker: Dr. Dennis Reuter Using spaceborne systems to carry out observations of atmospheric and surface properties of the objects in our solar system (including the Earth) provides a wealth of information about the processes that are occurring now and those that have occurred in the past. They are essential for everything from providing accurate Read more […] -
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover; A mission overview and an insider’s perspective
Join us at 8:00pm online at https://meet.google.com/sio-kjec-kzi An overview of the Perseverance Rover’s mission objectives and lifecycle from inception to operation will be presented followed by a discussion of a summer engineering intern’s firsthand experience working with the Perseverance Rover’s team. The presentation will be hosted by Evan Kramer, a spring 2020 graduate from the University of Maryland’s Department of Aerospace Engineering, a NASA/JPL summer 2019 engineering intern Read more […] -
June 14, 2020 at 7:30 – The Hubble Space Telescope: 30 Years of Cosmic Discovery
Join NOVAC at 7:30 on June 14 for our monthly meeting, which will be held online: Location: Online https://meet.google.com/bpz-ugtk-yqu Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Wiseman This year, we are celebrating Hubble’s 30th anniversary! Five astronaut servicing missions and phenomenal teams of experts on the ground have kept this facility at the frontier of cosmic discoveries. In honor of this milestone anniversary, I will present the highlights of Hubble’s incredible historical achievements, Read more […] -
In-Person Events Cancelled Through May 10, 2020
Today the CDC updated their guidance to recommend that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States. To comply with this recommendation, NOVAC will take the following actions to modify our plans through May 10, 2020: We will not hold in-person monthly meetings for April or May. We have been testing solutions that would allow us to still gather online and see & hear our Read more […] -

January Meeting Cancelled!
Good morning, NOVAC.
As of this morning, GMU has closed the campus all day and cancelled activities because of the weather. Consequently, we are cancelling our meeting this evening as well.
~Chris Kagy
NOVAC President
