Nobel Laureate to speak about James Webb Space Telescope on Monday

Please join us for an amazing presentation by Dr. John Mather!

Monday, October 23, 2023 2 - 3 PM
Globe Hall on the Germantown Campus

Nobel Prize winner, Dr. John C. Mather, will be in Globe Hall on the Germantown Campus on Monday, October 23, 2023, from 2-3 pm to deliver a presentation titled, “Opening the Infrared Treasure Chest with the James Webb Space Telescope.” During his talk Dr. Mather will show how he and his team built the Webb and what they hope to find with it.

Though Dr. Mather’s research provided crucial evidence for the Big Bang theory and significantly advanced our understanding of the universe’s origin and evolution, this presentation is intended for a general audience.

Come and be inspired by one who has been recognized for providing “the greatest benefit to humankind.”

Special Observatory Nights for Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF

During these special observatory nights, we will be observing comet C/2022 E3 ZTF, the "green comet". Due to occupancy limitations on the roof, we ask attendees to reserve a spot on our Eventbrite site here.

Friday 3 February 2023 (7 - 8 PM)
Friday 10 February 2023 (7 - 8 PM)

Events are weather dependent. A "go" or "no go" will be made the day of the event and posted here. You will also receive an email to the address you registered with Eventbrite.

Register here!

Presentation for Nature Forward (online)

Just stopping by to let you know that I will be giving an online presentation this Thursday 15 December at 7 PM about winter astronomy for Nature Forward (formally the Audubon Naturalist Society).

I'll be talking about what to look for in the night sky over the next few months. As part of the presentation, you'll receive a list of celestial happenings, starmaps for December, January, February, and March, and a list of astronomical resources to help you get started with observing.

The Joys of Winter Astronomy
Presentation for Nature forward
Thursday 15 December 2022 7 - 8 pm

The cost to attend the lecture is $12 for Nature Forward members and $15 for nonmembers.

Nature Forward is a 501(c)(3) organization. Its mission is to inspire residents of the greater Washington, DC, region to appreciate, understand, and protect their natural environment through outdoor experiences, education, and advocacy.

The link to obtain tickets is here.

Save the date(s) for events in August!

Thanks to everyone for your patience as I work out the observatory night schedule for the summer and fall months. We will host events in August (as well as in September and October, I promise!). Events in August will be held on Friday 2-Aug-2019, 16-Aug-2019, and 30-Aug-2019, starting around 9 pm. I will open up reservations on Eventbrite as soon as I get the go-ahead from the college.

In the meantime, you can click here to access a handy star chart and calendar of celestial events for July and August.

Also, I am super excited to be speaking at this event for the Smithsonian:

Astronomy 101: An Amateur's Guide
Saturday, July 27, 2019 - 10 am to 3 pm

I'll be giving the first talk- "The Basics: How To Read the Sky". There will also be talks on telescopes and astrophotography. More information can be found here.

Finally, I've been working on a couple of astronomy / observatory projects that I am eager to share. I'll be posting here again soon!

Wishing you clear skies and exceptional seeing,
-Carrie

Solar eclipse events

Happy August everyone! Below please find information on the solar eclipse event at Montgomery College. I've also included a list of August events at the nearby Latitude Observatory in Gaithersburg, MD.

Montgomery College will be hosting an eclipse event event at our Takoma Park campus on Monday 21 August 2017 from 12:30 to 3:00 PM.

During the eclipse, we will connect to sites that are in totality and project the event on to the planetarium dome for viewing. Dr. Harold Williams will also present a planetarium show explaining eclipses and occultations. If it is clear we will have telescopes set up outside to view the partial phases of the eclipse safely.

The event is free and open to the public. Additional details can be found on the Montgomery College Planetarium webpage. I hope you can join us!

The Latitude Observatory in Gaithersburg is hosting the following events in August:

• Saturday 12 August 2017 – Perseids Meteor Shower (8:00 PM to 1:00 AM) Bring blankets and chairs to sit or lie out on the lawn watching for meteors.
• Sunday 20 August 2017 – Preview Screening of "The Farthest: Voyager in Space", from HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, is a beautiful new PBS documentary highlighting the story of the Voyager missions. Movie is from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Tickets will be distributed starting at 2:00 PM. Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, Md.
• 21 Monday August 2017 – Solar Eclipse Party (12:30 to 4:30 PM) An afternoon of solar related activities and solar observations as well as safe solar viewers for participants.

Upcoming events, guest night recap, and some links

Yesterday evening was our last official observatory guest night of the season, but there are a couple of other upcoming events that we'll be participating in:

This coming Monday 19 October, we'll be hosting a satellite event for the 2015 White House Astronomy Night at the Montgomery College Planetarium on the Takoma Park / Silver Spring campus. Details are here. Dr. Harold Williams and I will be there with students from MC's Engineering and Science Adventure Club and the MC Stargazers.

On Saturday 14 November we will be bringing a couple of our telescopes to the Croydon Creek Nature Center for a star party. To register, go to events (menu on the right-hand side of the screen), and then scroll through the dates until you get to 14 November.

Here is a recap of what we observed last night:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Albireo (double star in Cygnus)
• M57 (planetary nebula in Lyra)
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
• NCG 6826 (The "blinking planetary" in Cygnus)

Through the 8-inch scope

• Waxing crescent Moon
• M13 (Hercules globular cluster)
• Epsilon Lyrae (a multiple star system in Lyra)

Last night I recommended several astronomical links to different folks. First, here's the link to the planetarium software package Stellarium. Stellarium is free and operates on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I've used it on all three platforms without issue. There is a mobile version ($2.49, last time I checked) as well.

I also use the website Heavens Above for astronomical and satellite data.

Finally, the US Naval Observatory's Data Services page is a fantastic resource and one I use frequently.

October / November 2015 Starmap

The latest starmap is here: MCAO October / November Starmap.

November brings us the Leonids Meteor Shower. The shower peaks between 17 and 18 November and is best observed during the wee hours of the morning. It will likely be quite chilly, therefore I suggest making a thermos of hot chocolate as part of your meteor shower watching plans.

Our last observatory guest night of the season is this Friday 16 October, but if you can't get enough of us, next week we'll be hosting a satellite event for the 2015 White House Astronomy Night. On Monday 19 October we'll have a star party at the Montgomery College Planetarium on the Takoma Park / Silver Spring campus. Details are here. Dr. Harold Williams and I will be there with students from MC's Engineering and Science Adventure Club and the MC Stargazers. I hope to see you.