APRIL & MAY PROGRAM SCHEDULE 2025
All ASLI Meetings Begin at 8:00 PM
ON ZOOM ONLY
May 7: An Informal Meeting on Zoom – By Steve Bandel
The Planetarium is not available to us on this night, so we will be having an informal gathering on ZOOM, which will be moderated by Steve Bandel. Come join us where we can discuss things that come to mind or any subjects anyone would like to suggest. Just because we don’t have a PLACE to have a meeting, doesn’t mean we won’t have a meeting!
ON ZOOM AND IN PERSON
May 14: Dr. Steven Levin: An Open Conversation. .
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Steve Levin ( https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/levin/ ). Currently the Project Scientist for the Juno mission to Jupiter ( https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/ ) and lead scientist for the Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope project ( https://gavrt.lewiscenter.org/ ), Steve Levin has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1990. During that time, his research interests have included the Cosmic Microwave Background, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), measuring magnetic fields in star-forming regions, looking for near-Earth asteroids, modeling radio emission from Jupiter’s radiation belts, and microwave observations of Jupiter. He has done radio astronomy from large radio telescopes, mountain top research stations, the South Pole, high-altitude balloons, and spacecraft. Bring your questions about Jupiter, Juno, radio astronomy, or anything else, and we’ll get the conversation started.
ON ZOOM – BUT WE WILL BE MEETING IN PERSON AS WELL
May 21: Great Comets of the Past – by Joe Rao
Comets come in two varieties – “common” comets, which are visible in telescopes, binoculars and dimly with the naked eye, and then there are the “great” comets, which stand above all of the other comets appearing in a given year as being stupendously bright and or fantastically structured. Unfortunately, such celestial showpieces only appear on an average of about once in 20 to 25 years. Over the past few centuries there have been some truly amazing comets that have adorned our skies. Joe Rao will show photographs and talk about some of them in his presentation.
Joe Rao has been a member of ASLI since the late 1980’s. He was a television meteorologist for over 40 years. He still serves as an associate and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He also writes about astronomy for the online news service, Space.com, as well as Natural History magazine, Sky & Telescope, and other publications. On July 3rd, 2023, the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 20009 “Joerao” in his honor.
IN PERSON ONLY
MAY 28: ASLI Club Observing. THESE OBSERVING SESSIONS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, PLEASE JOIN US.
As Spring arrives and weather improves we have hopes of finally having a club observing session in the parking lot of the Vanderbilt Museum. Bring your own telescopes or binoculars or look through all of our telescopes. The skies must be perfectly clear in order to observe so PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE TO MAKE SURE THE OBSERVING SESSION HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF WEATHER.
IN PERSON AND ON ZOOM
April 30: The Pratsky Orloj, Prague’s Astronomical Clock by Maddalena Romano
Maddalena will talk about The Pratsky Orloj, Prague’s Astronomical Clock. She will cover the history, construction, and myths surrounding this 600+ year old landmark on the Old Town Hall in the capital of the Czech Republic, as well as discussing how its mechanisms work
EXTENDED ASLI CLUB CALENDAR
