(Note – this month’s meeting is NOT at SFCC – it is at Riverview) Fans of NASA’s early years of the Apollo program definitely will want to attend our first summer meeting, as we return to Riverview Community building (the SFCC Planetarium is closed for the summer).

This month we have a very special guest speaker, John Barber, who lives in Spokane, who worked at NASA as an engineer on Apollo. Alas, we  can’t bring you an astronaut who walked on the moon to speak to you this month, but Mr. Barber will be presenting stories and memories of his days at NASA.

Long-time NASA aficionado Joe Bruce will talk to us about his recent trip to Florida where he witnessed the historic launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket.

June 1st at SFCC!

You’re in for a treat this month if you’ve ever wanted to point your camera up at the night sky! Local photographer Craig Goodwin will share a presentation on the technical and artistic challenges of astrophotography, with an emphasis on learning to take compelling images that share the awe-inspiring story of the stars and planets. It will include information on photographing features like the aurora borealis and the Milky Way galaxy. Craig will also share from experience about how to not get eaten by a mountain lion while wandering the woods in the middle of the night.

Craig is a Spokane-based photographer, whose astrophotography has been featured by Sunset Magazine, National Geographic, the U.S. Tourism Board, and was recently awarded Photo of the Year by the Seattle Times. You can see some of the images Craig will share about at http://www.craiggoodwinphoto.com/Night-Photography/.

The 2018 observing season is finally upon us! In this beginner-oriented session, we’ll talk about how to prepare for upcoming star parties and tips on maximizing the use of your binoculars or telescopes.  Do you have questions on how to use your telescope? Bring it!  We’ll set it up in the lobby and help you figure out how to fix it or use it.  Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them as a group.

Gonzaga’s Dr. Matthew Geske visits the SAS this month to talk to us about cosmic rays. First discovered in 1912, the field of cosmic ray science is a relatively young branch of astrophysics, and there is much that is still uncertain about their origins.

This month SAS member and physicist Dr. Paul Temple will speak about the astronomical tools and methods of 18th and 19th century surveyors. See you at the SFCC Planetarium on February 2nd!

Please join us at our Holiday Potluck on January 5th, 2018 at Riverview Retirement Center. Details (including what to bring) here!

This month at SFCC we’re lucky to have Professor Guy Worthey talk to us about, in his words:

…a historical overview of the importance of star clusters. Star clusters, both open and globular, have provided a string of forward leaps in the understanding of stars, galaxies, and the universe. Names like Hertzsprung and Russell, Curtis and Shapley, and Trumpler and Baade crop up in our discussion. We end by finding that star cluster research goes on today, in a fascinating variety of astrophysical situations.

Join us September 8th at Riverview when WSU’s Dr. Matt Duez returns to talk to us about black holes and ultra-strong magnetic fields. We’ll also talk about the eclipse, look at some photos and talk about this month’s constellation.

Hello fellow astronomers, the August SAS general meeting program will all be about “Everything you want to know about Solar Eclipses but where afraid to ask”. Mike Reitemeier will talk about
Photographing Eclipses and Mary Singer and Paul Yost will talk about Viewing Partial Eclipses. There will also be a Safety Discussion for Viewing Eclipses and then a Question & Answer Period. Come to the meeting with all you questions and answers – this will be a great informative program.