Holiday Party & Swap Meet at Robinson Nature Center
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87471743002?pwd=ZWFEdEIrNE9vd3VJNS9kVi9PdzFvdz09 Passcode: 596316. We will once again be holding our HAL Holiday Party in-person at Robinson Nature Center on Thursday, December 15th. Doors will open at 6:30PM. As in years past, this will be a “pot-luck” dinner. The food is always great.Note: This is a Members only event. You can bring family members. If you can come please RSVP […]
Cometary DUIs: Detected Under the Influence (of the Sun, that is)
Presenter: Dr. Lori Feaga, Research Professor at University of Maryland Artifacts: Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log Comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) will make its closest approach to the Sun on December 19, 2022. A distantly active comet discovered in 2017, C/2017 K2 will not be visible to the naked eye, but long-term community-wide studies of this comet […]
What is the Best Telescope and Mount For You?
Presenter: Phil Whitebloom and HAL Members Artifacts: Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log A question we hear quite often is; “What is the best telescope for me”? On Thursday, October 20th, beginning at 7:00PM EDT we are going to be addressing that question and many related questions. If you are considering your first telescope, adding another […]
I Thank My Lucky Stars
Presenter: Al Nagler, Founder – Tele Vue Optics Artifacts: Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log Al put his lifelong love of amateur astronomy to work as a professional optical designer in 1958. But, it was his involvement in designing NASA lunar landing simulators (as seen in the movie “Apollo 13”) that most directly influences Tele Vue […]
Jupiter – Big Fun for the Amateur Astronomer!
Presenter: Jim Tomney, HAL 2nd Vice President Artifacts: Jupiter Presentation PDF | Download Presentation PPT | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log | August Meeting Slides w/Images Get ready for Jupiter’s opposition next month with this presentation by HAL’s Jim Tomney on the ins & outs of observing the giant planet. As a Jovian enthusiast since getting his first 60mm refractor in the 60’s, Jim […]
The Great North American Solar Eclipse of 2024: Part 2 – HAL Lessons from the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017
Presenter: Jim Johnson, former HAL President and Secretary Artifacts: Meeting PDF | Jim’s Eclipse Presentation | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log The Great North American Solar Eclipse of 2024 will be Marylanders’ next readily accessible opportunity to witness firsthand one of the grandest of all astronomical phenomena, a total solar eclipse. As April 8th, 2024, is about 1 ½ years away and […]
Directly Imaging Exoplanets, Determining Their Orbits and Modeling Their Atmospheres
Presenter: William O. Balmer, PhD Student – Johns Hopkins University, Graduate Research Assistant at Space Telescope Science Institute Artifacts (for both topics): Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log William Balmer is a PhD student at the Johns Hopkins University and graduate research assistant at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He and his colleagues research the growth, evolution, […]
Possible Causes of Hydration of Vesta’s Oppia Crater
Presenter: Dominic Alfinito, Senior, North County High School in Glen Burnie, MD Artifacts (for both topics): Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log Establishing conclusive evidence of hydration on solar system bodies is a key step in gaining a better understanding of our solar system’s evolution and present composition. Oppia crater is a location on asteroid Vesta where a hydration feature has been […]
International Latitude Observatory
Presenter: Karen Yaffe Lottes, Gaithersburg Community Museum Artifacts: Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log Special presentation by Karen Yaffe Lottes on a historical site that is in our own backyard, the “International Latitude Observatory”. International Latitude Observatory (Gaithersburg site) Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory (Facebook page) I am Gaithersburg, and I Measured the Stars – 120 Years Ago! (Facebook article based […]
Six Impossible Things
Presenter: Dr. Benjamin Schumacher, Professor of Physics at Kenyon College Artifacts: Presentation PDF | Video Recording on YouTube | Chat Log Some things are possible and some are not. That line between the possible and the impossible can tell us a lot about the way Nature works. In this talk we will ponder a few impossibilities, from the notorious (time […]