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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260313T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260313T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163407
CREATED:20260209T195735Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T123804Z
UID:10001751-1773430200-1773437400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – March 2026
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nFree and open to the public but per our host’s policy\, minors (under 18) are welcome to attend as long as they are accompanied by their parent or guardian at all times.\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the campus of the Chapman University.\n  \nThe Milky Way’s Central Black Hole:\n  \nLessons on accretion physics\n  \n \n  \nEvery large galaxy hosts a black hole at its center. These black holes’ feedback on their host galaxies shapes the evolution of galaxies and\, ultimately\, affects the Universe as a whole.  The Milky Way’s own supermassive black hole\, Sagittarius A*\, is the closest such object and the only one that can be studied in unprecedented detail – down to individual orbiting stars\, small infalling clouds\, and even its event horizon. Yet\, despite its proximity and decades of observations\, its behavior remains among the most challenging to explain. This talk explores Sagittarius A*\, its immediate surrounding\, and the challenges of describing black hole accretion physics. Particular emphasis is placed on the recent discovery of a wind associated with Sagittarius A*. The talk will also address what our own black hole can teach us about supermassive black holes across the Universe. \n \nElena (Lena) Murchikova is an astrophysicist interested in black holes. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University. Originally from Moscow\, Lena holds two PhDs: one in astrophysics from Caltech and another in particle physics from Moscow State University. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and at Harvard University’s Black Hole Initiative. Outside of research\, Lena enjoys mountaineering and (drone) photography. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2026-03/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260213T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260213T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163407
CREATED:20251215T162726Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260130T223321Z
UID:10001737-1771011000-1771018200@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – February 2026
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nFree and open to the public but per our host’s policy\, minors (under 18) are welcome to attend as long as they are accompanied by their parent or guardian at all times.\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the campus of the Chapman University.\n  \nPlanetary Habitability in the\n  \nSolar System and Beyond\n  \n \n  \nUnderstanding planetary habitability is one of the major challenges of the current scientific era. Though traditionally viewed through the lens of our home planet and its evolutionary history\, data from other Solar System objects\, and a plethora of planets outside of our Solar System\, are shedding new light on habitability research. This presentation will discuss the factors that contribute to planetary habitability\, and how these pieces fit together in an inter-disciplinary pathway that will benefit both the understanding of the evolution of Earth’s habitability and identifying possible abodes of life elsewhere throughout the universe. \n \nStephen Kane is a Professor of Planetary Astrophysics at the University of California\, Riverside. His work covers a broad range of topics and he has discovered hundreds of planets orbiting other stars. He is a leading expert on the topic of planetary habitability\, the habitable zone of planetary systems\, and the study of why Venus and Earth underwent divergent evolutions. He has published hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers as well as several books on the topic of exoplanets and habitability.  He is also a prominent scientific leader for several NASA missions designed to search for life in the universe. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2026-02/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260109T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260109T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163407
CREATED:20251215T120533Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251217T152406Z
UID:10001736-1767987000-1767994200@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – January 2026
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present live from Kutchan\, Japan.\n  \nUntangling the Rate of\n  \nBlack Hole Mergers:\n  \nA Cosmic Tug of War\n  \n \nOn September 14th\, 2015\, humanity detected a ripple in spacetime 10\,000 times smaller than the nucleus of an atom coming from over one billion light-years away. This awesome feat of physics\, astronomy\, and engineering confirmed Einstein’s prediction of gravitational waves made over one hundred years earlier\, and opened the door to a whole new means of studying the Universe. Adam is one of many so-called “gravitational wave paleontologists” seeking to use gravitational waves to unravel the formation\, lives\, and deaths of stars and black holes that merge\, emitting the tiny waves that we now detect daily. Adam will be discussing how he used simulations of millions of massive stars to provide insight into the rates and demographics of mergers throughout the history of the Universe. \nLink to paper \n \nAdam Boesky is a rising PhD candidate at Harvard University studying a broad array of topics relating to astrophysical transients. As an undergraduate at Harvard\, he focused on mergers of compact objects (black holes and neutron stars)\, and developed machine learning pipelines for classifying events detected from large-scale astrophysical surveys. Recently\, Adam has been focusing on the detection and analysis of the exotic\, elusive transients that occur on the timescales of several years. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2026-01/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251212T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251212T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163407
CREATED:20251104T110047Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251109T193110Z
UID:10001706-1765567800-1765575000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – December 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present live from Edinburgh\, Scotland\, UK.\n  \nSettling Space with Microbes\n  \n \n  \nMicrobes from extreme environments help us search for life on other planets like Mars\, but they can also be used to advance the human exploration and settlement of space by producing useful products including mining metals. \n  \n \nCharles Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh. His scientific interests encompass microbial life in extreme environments\, the habitability of extraterrestrial environments and the exploration and settlement of space. He established the UK Centre for Astrobiology at Edinburgh in 2011\, a national node of the NASA Astrobiology Institute\, which has led many scientific and educational projects. He has published many papers\, academic and popular books including the Wiley-Blackwell textbook\, ‘Astrobiology’\, in its third edition. Recently\, he organised and led the Life Beyond project with the Scottish Prison Service\, which engaged prisoners in the design of human settlements in space\, drawing on their experience of confinement. He has previously worked at NASA Ames Research Centre\, the British Antarctic Survey\, and The Open University. He received his first degree in biochemistry from Bristol University and his DPhil in molecular biophysics at the University of Oxford. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-12/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251211T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251211T210000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163407
CREATED:20250918T215825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250918T215825Z
UID:10001722-1765479600-1765486800@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:Private Outreach - Springbrook Elementary
DESCRIPTION:Views: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/private-outreach-springbrook-elementary/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:Outreach,Private
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251107T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251107T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20251104T111254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251104T111711Z
UID:10001730-1762543800-1762551000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – November 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman campus.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom OCA School Star Parties\n  \nto 4K Cameras in Orbit\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this presentation\, Liam Kennedy\, amateur astronomer\, former president of the Orange County Astronomers\, and now SpaceTV Director at Sen\, shares his remarkable journey from local astronomy outreach to developing technology that now operates aboard the International Space Station. \nDuring his years supporting OCA’s public school programs in the 2000s\, Liam discovered how few people realized that astronauts were living and working overhead. That awareness gap sparked the idea that would later become ISS-Above — a small device that alerts users whenever the Space Station passes overhead and\, eventually\, displayed live video of Earth from orbit. \nWhat began as a personal project to inspire his grandchildren soon attracted global attention\, support from The Planetary Society and NASA\, and partnerships that placed ISS-Above units in classrooms across the U.S. When NASA’s original HDEV Earth-viewing cameras were retired\, Liam refused to let the public lose that connection to space. His persistence led him to collaborate with Sen\, a company dedicated to sharing real-time 4K views of Earth from orbit. \nThrough his initiative\, Sen’s SpaceTV-1 camera system became part of the ISS via Airbus’s Bartolomeo platform — fulfilling a vision that began two decades earlier with OCA telescope nights under the stars. \nThis talk brings that full-circle story to life — showing how one amateur astronomer’s outreach mission grew into a global window on our planet from space. \n \nLiam Kennedy joined Sen in July 2023 as Space TV Director. For over a decade\, he has championed live Earth views from the International Space Station (ISS) through his invention of ISS-Above\, a Raspberry Pi-based device delivering real-time ISS tracking and video feeds. Since its 2013 Kickstarter launch\, ISS-Above has expanded to more than 5\,000 installations worldwide\, inspiring students\, educators\, and the public. \nIn 2019\, NASA contacts connected Liam with Sen CEO Charles Black to explore building a commercial UHD camera payload for the ISS. That partnership led to SpaceTV-1\, a three-camera system launched in March 2024 and now operating on the Columbus module’s Bartolomeo platform. \nLiam’s background blends media production\, live streaming\, and product innovation\, with a focus on astronomy\, science\, and space outreach. He is a frequent presenter and thought leader in the commercial space sector\, featured on technology and space podcasts\, and a regular speaker at the ISS R&D Conference\, where he has presented five times since 2015. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-11/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251017T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251017T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20251005T164803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251005T165205Z
UID:10001362-1760729400-1760736600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Our October ASIG meeting will be held with the OCA General Meeting at Chapman University. Please see the OCA website for directions.  ASIG will return to OCC Astronomy House in November \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/oca-astrophysics-sig-meeting-3-2-2/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:SIG Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251017T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251017T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250911T171111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250911T171437Z
UID:10001721-1760729400-1760736600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – October 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman campus.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Search for Earth 2.0:\n  \nWhy We Think It Exists\, and\n  \nHow We’re Going To Find It\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor thousands of years\, we’ve wondered if the Earth is unique\, or if there are other Earths out there to find. In just the last 30 years\, we’ve progressed from merely wondering if planets exist around other stars to knowing that almost every star we see has planets. Ambitious planet searches have been probing further and further\, finding planetary systems of an incredible – and incredibly surprising! – variety. However\, we have yet to discover another planet that might be like Earth – a rocky planet orbiting just the right distance from a Sun-like star to have liquid water on its surface. NASA has a audacious new plan for a next-generation flagship telescope that will directly image Earth-like planets around nearby stars\, but it will take all of our ingenuity and technical prowess to achieve this incredible feat. Dr Christiansen will walk you through the past\, present\, and future of our hunt for Earth 2.0. \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Jessie Christiansen is the Chief Scientist of the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute and a TED fellow. She has worked on NASA’s Kepler\, K2\, and TESS missions\, searching the sky for exoplanets\, and is helping plan for NASA’s next big flagship missions – the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope\, and the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Dr. Christiansen’s research is in the detection and characterization of exoplanets – planets around other stars – and studies of exoplanet populations\, and she is currently the most successful woman planet hunter in the world. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-10/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250912T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250912T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250706T225424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T225719Z
UID:10001713-1757705400-1757712600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – September 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman campus.\nPathway to a\n  \nPost-Global Warming Future\n  \n— A Brief Overview of Climate Science\,\n  \nConsequences\, and Solutions\n  \n(and their astronomical connections!)\n  \n \n  \nGlobal warming may not seem obviously connected to astronomy — but it is. In fact\, the basic science of global warming is best understood through comparative study of planets. In this presentation\, astrophysicist/educator Jeffrey Bennett will give you a brief overview of the surprisingly simple basic science behind global warming (including its astronomical connections) and of the consequences we can expect from this warming. Most important\, he’ll focus on solutions and how we can in principle take the steps necessary to create a “post-global warming” future\, meaning a future in which today’s children will someday be able to talk about global warming as a once-serious problem that we found a way to solve. Note: This talk is based on Dr. Bennett’s book A Global Warming Primer — Pathway to a Post-Global Warming Future. \n \nAstrophysicist/educator Jeffrey Bennett has devoted his career to science education and outreach. He is probably best known to the astronomy community as the lead author of the widely used textbooks The Cosmic Perspective and Life in the Universe. He is also the author of textbooks in math and statistics; of several critically acclaimed books for educators and the public; and of 7 award-winning science books for children. He served two years as a visiting senior scientist at NASA headquarters\, proposed and co-led development of the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall (Washington\, D.C.)\, created the free Totality app for learning about solar eclipses\, and created a free online textbook for middle school Earth and Space Science. Among other honors\, his children’s books were the first ever selected for Story Time From Space\, in which books are launched to the International Space Station and read aloud by astronauts\, and he has won both the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award (2014) and the Klopsteg Memorial Award (2023) for education from the American Association of Physics Teachers. In addition to his ongoing speaking series on global warming\, his current projects include working to spread Voyage model solar systems across the country\, a planetarium show based on his book Max Goes to Mars\, and a new book on The Scale of the Universe to be published in January. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-09/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250808T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250808T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250515T121107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T121414Z
UID:10001708-1754681400-1754688600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – August 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Topeka\, KS.\nExploding Stars and Life on Earth\n  \n \nScientists have long speculated that the history of life on Earth may have been influenced by cosmic explosions such as supernovae.  In recent decades the combination of astrophysical data and computational models have allowed detailed study of the potential effects of nearby stellar explosions on Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere.  Impacts range from destruction of stratospheric ozone\, exposing life to extreme levels of solar UV\, to direct damage to organisms by high-energy neutrons and muons.  This talk will summarize what is known today and discuss connections to mass extinctions and the evolution of life over the last few hundred million years. \n \nDr. Brian Thomas is a Professor in the Physics & Astronomy Department at Washburn University\, in Topeka\, Kansas.  Since 2003 he has worked on various problems related to understanding how the history of life on Earth may have been affected by high-energy astrophysical events such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae.  He and collaborators from multiple disciplines have together produced some of the most detailed and state-of-the-art studies of the effects on Earth by nearby stellar explosions. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-08/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250711T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250711T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250430T084304Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T084422Z
UID:10001705-1752262200-1752269400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – July 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson.\n  \nBackyard Exoplanet Observatory …\n  \nmeasuring exoplanets with\n  \na small backyard telescope\n  \n \nAmateur astronomers can measure exoplanet parameters from their suburban backyard using a small telescope\, astronomy camera\, and a laptop\n \n  \nMr Hallman is a retired physicist with over 30 years experience in the aerospace industry doing design\, development\, and testing of imaging systems and sensors operating in the Visible\, Infrared\, and Radar spectral regions. He has been a member of the OCA for 1 year\, and is currently building a backyard Radio Telescope. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-07/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250613T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250613T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250510T201928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250611T060057Z
UID:10001707-1749843000-1749850200@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – June 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Los Angeles.\n  \nA Trip to the Center of Our Galaxy\n  \n \n  \nThe heart of the Milky Way is home to Sagittarius A*\, a supermassive black hole approximately four million times the mass of the Sun. Although it remains largely quiet today\, it is surrounded by a turbulent sea of gas\, dust\, and exotic objects that could one day trigger dramatic outbursts. This presentation delves into this extreme environment\, exploring the large-scale gas clouds and the closer-in structures that fuel the black hole. It examines how molecular hydrogen manages to survive intense ultraviolet radiation and introduces a newly identified class of enigmatic objects orbiting perilously close to Sagittarius A*. Observed over two decades with the Keck Observatory\, these objects may represent the remnants of stellar collisions or merged binaries\, offering valuable insights into how matter behaves under immense gravitational forces. Mapping this region helps to illuminate the intricate interplay of stars\, gas\, and gravity at the core of the galaxy. \n \nAnna Ciurlo’s research focuses on stars and gas around the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy. Her work leverages high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy from large ground and space-based observatories like Keck and the JWST. She earned her PhD in astrophysics from the Sorbonne Paris Cité and pursued postdoctoral research at UCLA. She was an inaugural year Keck Visiting Scholar at Keck Observatory. Anna continues at UCLA as an assistant researcher and adjunct assistant professor in the Galactic Center Group. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-06/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250509T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250509T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250302T140525Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250505T152505Z
UID:10001700-1746819000-1746826200@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – May 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present live from Albany\, NY.\n  \nFast Radio Bursts-Signals\n  \nfrom Across the Universe\n  \nThis artist’s impression (not to scale) illustrates the path of the fast radio burst FRB 20220610A\, from the distant galaxy where it originated all the way to Earth\, in one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms. The source galaxy of FRB 20220610A\, pinned down thanks to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT)\, appears to be located within a small group of interacting galaxies. It’s so far away its light took eight billion years to reach us\, making FRB 20220610A the most distant fast radio burst found to date. \nFast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright flashes of radio waves that last only a few milliseconds and are visible across the universe. Although approximately 10\,000 of these occur every day\, they were only discovered by accident in 2007. Their origins remain largely unknown\, making FRBs one of the hottest topics in radio astronomy. In this talk\, Dr. McKee will describe the discovery of FRBs\, what we know about them\, and what the next few years of radio astronomy holds for this exciting new field of astronomy. \nUnion College headshotsWednesday\, September 4\, 2024James McKee\, Union College\, Physics & Astronomy \nDr. McKee studied physics at the University of Hull\, and obtained a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Manchester while working at Jodrell Bank Observatory. Dr. McKee has held research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy\, where he was also the on-site pulsar astronomer at the Effelsberg radio telescope\, and at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto where he worked on the CHIME telescope. He is currently an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Union College in NY\, where he leads research into pulsars and fast radio bursts. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-05/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250411T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250411T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250226T065314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250315T085102Z
UID:10001699-1744399800-1744407000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – April 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson.\n  \nNASA’s Cold Atom Lab:\n  \nQuantum Science\n  \nand Technology Maturation\n  \non the International Space Station\n  \n \nNASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2018\,\nand has been operating since that time as the world’s first and only multi-user facility for the study of ultra-cold quantum gases in space. The unique microgravity environment of the ISS is utilized with CAL by a national group of principal investigators to achieve sub-nanokelvin temperature gases\, to study and utilize their quantum properties in an environment free from the perturbing force of gravity\, and to observe and interact with these gases in the essentially limitless freefall of Earth’s orbit. In addition to the toolbox of capabilities originally built into CAL\, an upgrade in 2020 enabled the study of atom interferometry in orbit\, and a 2021 upgrade and repair facilitated investigations of the interactions between mixtures of 87Rb\, 39K\, and 41K and a demonstration of dual-species (87Rb – 41K or 87Rb – 39K) atom interferometry. This talk will review the up-to-date quantum gas research explored with CAL and the technical accomplishments to operate\, maintain\, and upgrade CAL during its tenure in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The research of CAL has broad applications in fundamental physics and precision sensing to open the door for future quantum-enabled mission opportunities. \n \nThis research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory\, California Institute of Technology\, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. \n  \n2019 Tech Highlights ReportRequesters: Micaela Velasco\, Elina SolisPhotographer: R. LannomDate: 13-MAY-2019Photolab order: 070915/171297 \nDr. Jason Williams specializes in developing light pulse atom interferometers and optical atomic clocks\, and their applications to both fundamental and applied physics in space. He currently serves as Project Scientist and a Principal Investigator for NASA’s Cold Atom Lab\, a multi-user facility operating on the ISS dedicated to the study of quantum gases in space. Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University\, studying ultracold Fermi gases\, and held a NIST NRC Postdoctoral RA in Professor Jun Ye’s lab at JILA and the University of Colorado developing high-precision optical lattice clocks. \n  \n  \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-04/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250314T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250314T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250203T185039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250203T185039Z
UID:10001655-1741980600-1741987800@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – March 2025
DESCRIPTION: Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson.\n  \nMars Helicopter Telecom\n  \n \nThe highly successful Ingenuity – Mars Helicopter – technology demonstration came to an end in January 2024 after 72 flights over 1000 sols (1.5 Mars years) exploring Mars.  The author led the telecommunications team for Ingenuity from conception through flight operations and describes it here. \n \nCourtney Duncan retired from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – California Institute of Technology in July 2021 shortly following the initial demonstration flights of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity. \nHis 35-year career included support for space shuttle missions and experiments\, GPS radio occultation technology from space\, stellar interferometry\, deep space navigation software\, lunar gravity mapping\, Deep Space Network transponders for deep space CubeSats\, and finally\, Ingenuity telecom. \nCourtney has been a licensed radio amateur with since 1972\, callsign N5BF\, and has been involved in many aspects of the hobby from that time.  He is a past president of the San Bernardino Microwave Society\, a past official of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation\, AMSAT-North America\, and of the JPL Amateur Radio Club\, and frequently gives talks on both the Mars Helicopter and on the profound value to society of avocations such as amateur radio.* \nCourtney was married to Viann WD5EHM (SK) for 45 years and has three children\, Viannah KG6GXW\, Katherine KG6HUI\, John KG6HCO\, and two grandchildren.  He is also a classically trained pianist and is routinely involved in a variety of musical performances. \n  \n  \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-03/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250214T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250214T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20250108T100534Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250108T100619Z
UID:10001646-1739561400-1739568600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – February 2025
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson.\n  \n44 years as a “career Martian” at JPL\n  \n  \n \n  \nTim Parker began working at JPL as a consultant and a contractor in January 1981. He carried his experience mapping geomorphology in Utah and Nevada for the Air Force’s MX Missile siting program\, to his search for evidence of what might have happened to the flood waters from Mars’ catastrophic flood channels\, using Viking Orbiter data. By the mid-1980s\, Parker had developed a hypothesis suggesting that Mars had an ancient ocean that left behind familiar lakeshore landforms\, comparable to those of Pleistocene lakes Bonneville and Lahontan. In 1987\, Parker became a JPL employee. He has worked on numerous planetary missions\, including CRAF (Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby)\, MRSR (Mars Rover Sample Return study)\, Magellan Venus orbiter\, Mars Pathfinder\, Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity)\, Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity)\, Initial Heliscout (later became Inegnuity)\, Mars Science Helicopter study\, and Mars 2020 (Perseverance). Beginning with the Mars Global Surveyor mission in 1997\, a flood of new\, high-resolution imagery and topography data has become available for Mars\, enabling Parker to further refine and update the ocean hypothesis. Parker is continuing that work in retirement. \n \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-02/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250110T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250110T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20241223T193506Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241223T194243Z
UID:10001645-1736537400-1736544600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – January 2025
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Arizona.\n  \nRubin’s Revolution: From Data to Discovery\n  \n \n  \nVera C. Rubin Observatory will begin operation late this year. The observatory will employ a number of innovative technologies while conducting a ten-year survey of the southern sky\, providing access to a vast data set that will enable an unprecedented number of discoveries. Learn more about this amazing new observatory and the types of science it will support. \n \nArdis Herrold is the Senior Education Specialist for Rubin Observatory. She oversees the Rubin Observatory Education program\, which includes creation of classroom investigations using authentic data\, teacher support materials\, and teacher professional development. \nPrior to joining Rubin Observatory\, Ardis taught physical\, Earth\, and space sciences at the high school and college level\, as well as working in planetariums and observatories. Ardis is a Past President of the National Earth Science Teachers Association and twice Past President of the Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association. A lifelong amateur astronomer\, she has a personal observatory near Tucson\, AZ\, where she enjoys imaging deep sky objects\, comets and supernovae. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2025-01/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241213T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241213T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20241016T152049Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241016T162228Z
UID:10001633-1734118200-1734125400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – December 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Michigan.\n  \nNASA’s Best Images and Videos 2024\n  \n \nSome of the most amazing images and videos from the popular NASA science website Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD: apod.nasa.gov) during 2024 will be presented. The science and stories behind these images will be discussed. Topics will include recently bright aurorae and comets visible from California\, Webb and Hubble images of the nearby Solar System and distant universe\, our active Sun\, the best of amateur astrophotography from around the world\, and more.\n\n\n\n \n\nDr. Robert Nemiroff is a Professor at Michigan Technological University. He holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is perhaps best known as a creator and editor for one of NASA’s most popular science websites: the Astronomy Picture of the Day at https://apod.nasa.gov/ . \nHis recent bestseller book “Faster than Light: How Your Shadow Can Do It but You Can’t” can be found here. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-12/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241108T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241108T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240927T215353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240927T215721Z
UID:10001632-1731094200-1731101400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – November 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from San Jose\, CA.\n  \nFrom Vision to Reality:\n  \nThe Journey of Kosovo’s First Observatory\n  \n\n\n  \nIn 2024\, we successfully established the first observatory and science center in Kosovo\, a landmark achievement in a country with a rich but turbulent history. This project was not just about building an astronomical facility; it symbolized triumph over obstacles that ranged from logistical challenges to securing international support. Through perseverance\, partnerships with organizations like Celestron\, and the belief in the transformative power of science\, we brought the stars closer to the people of Kosovo. This talk will highlight our journey\, the hurdles we overcame\, and how this observatory is now inspiring future generations of scientists and stargazers alike. \n  \nPranvera Hyseni is a graduate student from the Republic of Kosovo\, currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California\, Santa Cruz. She is the founder of Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo (AOK)\, which is recognized as the largest astronomy outreach program in Eastern Europe. Additionally\, she manages the Kosovo Chapter of the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project. \nMs. Hyseni’s interest in astronomy began at an early age of three\, during the late 1990s when Kosovo was affected by the Serbian conflict. She was raised in a family of eight on a remote farm\, where economic conditions were challenging. Despite these circumstances\, the farm’s location provided her with access to clear night skies\, igniting her early passion for astronomy. \nShe single-handedly brought science to her community by establishing the non-profit organization “Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo” in 2015\, which has grown into a significant entity with a global network of professional and amateur astronomers supporting her outreach initiatives across Kosovo. Through these extensive outreach activities\, AOK has had a substantial impact\, reaching and engaging with over 25\,000 individuals annually. Her extraordinary commitment has earned her recognition as one of the five most influential women in Kosovo. \nHer impact extended beyond AOK through collaborations with the Ministry of Education\, Science\, and Technology of Kosovo\, as well as other governmental institutions. Highly regarded for her expertise\, she is in high demand as a speaker at universities and international astronomy conferences worldwide. In 2022\, she made history by establishing the first International Astronomy and Planetary Sciences Convention in Kosovo\, featuring esteemed astronomers and scientists. \nCurrently based in San Jose\, California\, Pranvera Hyseni’s research focuses on understanding the formation histories of asteroids\, comets\, and meteorites through spectroscopy analysis. In 2017\, her contributions to the field received recognition from the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center\, resulting in the naming of an asteroid in her name\, 45687 Pranverahyseni. The Mars Generation organization honored her with the “24Under24” award for her leadership in STEM education. She received the “Master Outreach Award” from the Astronomical League in 2019 and the “Michael Reynolds Astronomy Award” from the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers in 2020. \nPranvera Hyseni’s research achievements extend to her provisional discovery of a Main Belt asteroid\, 2020 SS13\, utilizing data provided by Pan-STARRS in collaboration with the International Asteroid Search Collaboration. Her research endeavors received financial support with an amount of $5\,000 through the “Casey J. Moore Fund Award” from her department at UC Santa Cruz. \nBeyond her academic pursuits\, Ms. Hyseni is the founder of Kosovo’s first observatory and planetarium. She envisions this science center as a crucial resource accessible to the public\, furthering science and technology education. The facility accommodates a Celestron C14 Edge HD telescope with a CGX-L equatorial mount generously donated by Corey Lee\, the CEO of Celestron – making it the largest telescope in the entire Republic of Kosovo. \nPranvera Hyseni’s unwavering dedication to advancing science education\, outreach\, and astronomical research marks her as a notable figure in the scientific community\, leaving an enduring impact on generations to come. As a testament to her profound impact\, she proudly serves as an Official Brand Ambassador for Celestron\, inspiring countless individuals with the wonders of the universe. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-11/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241011T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241011T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240126T173727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240128T205110Z
UID:10001403-1728675000-1728682200@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – October 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman University’s campus.\n\n  \n  \nDirect Multipixel Imaging and\n  \nSpectroscopy of Exoplanets\n  \nwith a Mission to the Focal Region of\n  \nthe Solar Gravitational Lens\n  \n \n  \nNature has presented us with a very powerful “instrument” that we are yet to explore and put to use. This instrument is the Solar Gravitational Lens (SGL)\, which results from the ability of the gravitational field of the Sun to focus light from faint\, distant targets. In the near future\, a modest telescope with a coronagraph could operate in the focal region of the SGL and\, using enormous amplification of the Lens\, it could yield multipixel images of exoplanets.  A meter-class telescope operating at the focal region of the SGL could yield ~(450×450)-pixel images of an “Earth 2.0” at distances up to 100 light years with spatial resolution high enough to see its surface features and to determine and study the signs of habitability. We discuss the imaging properties of the SGL and introduce a mission concept to the SGL focal region that could provide us with direct\, high-resolution images and spectroscopy of a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet. We address aspects of mission design and spacecraft requirements\, as well as capabilities needed to fly this mission in the next two decades. We rely on solar sailing propulsion which\, when combined with rideshare to high Earth orbit and the use of smallsat architecture components\, is the key technology that may allow us to reach high solar system transit velocities at a dramatic reduction in mission costs and lead time. With the currently available sail materials\, components\, and instruments we can fly practical missions with speeds of up to 7 AU/year – twice that of the current speed record holder – Voyager 1.  With the sail materials that are being developed\, smallsat velocities up to 20-25 AU/year will be reachable in 5-7 years. Benefiting from this progress\, the “Sundiver” concept is new and exciting; it offers breakthrough capabilities for which the science community has been waiting for decades. We discuss the Sundiver sailcraft\, enabling technology\, instruments and unique science opportunities offered by small sailcraft placed on fast interplanetary trajectories – ultimately reaching the SGL’s focal region. \nFor background\, please check: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQFqDKRAROI and https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14917 \n  \n \n  \nSlava G. Turyshev is an astrophysicist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)\, California Institute of Technology and a professor at the Physics and Astronomy Department of the University of California\, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Dr. Turyshev earned his M.S. in physics (with honors) and a PhD in quantum field theory from the Lomonosov Moscow State University\, Russia in 1987 and 1990\, correspondingly.  In 2008\, he earned the Doctor of Science degree (Habilitation) in astrophysics from the same university.  His primary research areas include gravitational and fundamental physics in space\, research in relativistic astrophysics\, astronomy\, and planetary science.  He is an expert in high-precision spacecraft navigation\, solar system dynamics\, satellite and lunar laser ranging\, astrometry\, and related technology efforts. Dr. Turyshev served as the NASA Project Scientist on the CNES/ESA Microscope mission (2016-2020); JPL Project Scientist for the Advanced Lunar Laser Ranging Facility at the Table Mountain Observatory\, CA (2015-ongoing); Principal Investigator on the investigation of the Pioneer Anomaly (2003-2012).  Recently\, he was the Principal Investigator on the 2020 NIAC Phase III effort on the mission concept studies to use the solar gravitation lens (SGL) for multipixel imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets (2017-2022).  He has published over 220 papers\, 2 books.  Dr. Turyshev is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-10/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240913T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240913T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240807T202204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240807T202425Z
UID:10001613-1726255800-1726263000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – September 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that people under 18 are not allowed at Chapman campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from China.\n  \nWhat is the role fungi\n  \n in space exploration?\n  \n \n  \nThe field of space exploration is currently witnessing great developments and increased attention. As we gear up for new missions\, we need to think about the tiny “hitchhikers” we bring along—microbes that come with us\, either as part of our microbiomes or as chosen resources. Just like us\, these microbes are affected by space conditions. So\, understanding how they grow in space is crucial for planning future safe and sustainable missions. \nIn space microbiology\, fungi often don’t get the attention they deserve. They can be a threat to astronauts\, especially under stressful conditions like altered gravity\, radiation\, and exposure to lunar and Martian soil\, where\, for example\, they can develop pathogenicity. However\, fungi can also be incredibly useful. They can produce important products like medical drugs\, metal nanoparticles\, and enzymes. In space\, fungal processes can change and sometimes improve\, leading to cheaper and more efficient production processes. \nThis presentation will explore how fungi can help us in future missions and the risks they pose\, such as infections\, contamination\, or damage to infrastructure. Research in astromycology\, which studies terrestrial fungi in space and space-like environments\, will be key to supporting sustainable\, long-term human presence in space. \n \nMarta Filipa Simões (ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8767-9487) is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Science (SKLPlanets)\, at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST)\, in China. She is a microbiologist and has worked with a myriad of microorganisms (mycobacteria\, environmental and clinical bacteria\, mycobacteriophages and filamentous fungi) in several different countries (UK\, Saudi Arabia\, Portugal\, and China). Her research fits within astrobiology and astromycology\, focusing on: fungal ecology and biodiversity in environmental analogues to outer-space conditions\, fungal development under simulated outer-space conditions\, bioprospection and application of filamentous fungi\, and fungal growth containment (in the context of planetary protection) and exploitation to human needs in outer-space similar conditions. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-09/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240809T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240809T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240626T125144Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240626T125355Z
UID:10001602-1723231800-1723239000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – August 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Tucson\, AZ.\n  \nThe Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative\,\n  \nand follow up projects!\n  \n \n  \nThe Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative was a citizen science project for the 2024 total solar eclipse which transited North America on 8 April 2024. Nearly 400 citizen volunteers observed the eclipse with a set of standard equipment from about 70 location both inside and outside the path of totality. During the partial eclipse phases\, each site uploaded a processed solar image at a cadence of 1 per minute to our web page. For those sites located in the path of totality\, the volunteers collected a set of 5 different exposures every 5 seconds and then uploaded this data to our central repository. These coronal images are currently being processed with the goal of measuring the acceleration of coronal plasma in the inner corona. \nThe organization and training of the DEB volunteers\, their experiences on the day of the eclipse\, and the current status of the data analysis will be discussed. In addition\, the DEB Initiative follow-up projects which explore white light solar flares\, variable stars and asteroid observations will be discussed with the aim of inspiring more people to join our volunteer community. \n \nMatt Penn became interested in astronomy when his parents bought a 3″ Newtonian telescope for him while he was in 6th grade. While getting his undergraduate degree in astronomy at Caltech\, Penn did his senior research project using solar oscillations data and began a career in solar physics research. After getting his PhD from the University of Hawaii in 1992\, Penn worked with dozens of students\, published more than 70 peer-reviewed research papers and developed a citizen science project for the 2017 total solar eclipse. Leaving the research field in 2018\, Penn stayed with his family in Tucson AZ and is currently an electro-optical engineer. He holds two patents in the field of image processing. Penn continues to publish research papers in the field of astronomy as a hobby\, and enjoys hiking and travel. \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-08/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240712T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240712T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240517T201120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240518T172519Z
UID:10001595-1720812600-1720819800@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – July 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Chicago.\n  \nWhat Cleaning the\n  \nInternational Space Station\n  \nCan Teach Us About a\n  \nHuman Health Crisis on Earth\n  \n \n  \nThe spread of antimicrobial resistance depends on many factors\, including previous exposure of microorganisms to antimicrobial disinfectants. Antimicrobial resistance in the environment ultimately translates into a human health risk. While antimicrobial chemical disinfection is used to prevent infection by pathogenic organisms\, it can inadvertently select for antimicrobial resistance. Disinfectants are not only used in hospitals and homes on Earth\, but also on the International Space Station (ISS). \nTo protect crew health\, cleaning the ISS primarily using a disinfectant containing the quaternary ammonium compound benzalkonium chloride (BAC) has been done for decades. BAC is not only found in disinfectants\, but a range of products from consumer antibacterial hand soap to dryer sheets. Due to its widespread use\, BAC has been detected throughout the indoor and natural environment\, where it has been linked to antimicrobial resistance. BAC use on Earth has increased dramatically in the past few years\, so findings on the ISS may also be indicative of changes in our Earth-based indoor microbiomes. To investigate the relationship between BAC disinfectant use and antimicrobial resistance\, Staphylococcus spp. isolates collected between 2009 and 2015 from the ISS were examined. Whole genome sequencing identified multiple BAC resistance genes in addition to resistance to other compounds. \nThis work highlights the importance of considering the long-term impact of antimicrobial disinfection when selecting cleaning products. Additionally\, the benefits of specific products to human health must be weighed against their ability to select for resistance and the long-term risk that then emerges. Examining a range of Staphylococcus spp. isolates for resistance markers has given us a greater understanding of how tolerance varies with specific BAC genes in the indoor environment. Additionally\, the ISS environment and long-term BAC disinfection seems to select for BAC tolerance. Further work is needed to understand if there are differences between the frequency of BAC resistance genes in the ISS compared to Earth-based environments. \nhere are links to a formal research paper about resistance on the International Space Station written by a previous lab member (for those interested in scientific journal style writing on this topic)\, and a more informal op-ed on use of cleaning chemicals and its relationship to antibiotic resistance. \n  \n \n  \nOlivia is an environmental engineer interested in fundamental rules that govern how microbes adapt to their environment. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Maryland\, College Park where her research focused on optimizing developments to minimize stormwater flooding. She then moved to England to study in the Environmental Engineering Master’s degree program at Imperial College London. Her dissertation focused on barriers to the implementation of novel microbial wastewater treatment in Serbia. After completing her Master’s\, she spent a year working in industry as a consultant engineer for drinking water projects before returning to academia. Olivia recently completed her PhD in Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University in the Hartmann Lab where her research focused on how disinfectant use impacts antimicrobial resistance and strategies to combat the resistance trend. \n  \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-07/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240614T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240614T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240510T190914Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240510T190914Z
UID:10001477-1718393400-1718400600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – June 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Washington\, DC.\n\n  \n  \nExtreme Astronomy\n  \n \n\n  \nThis program examines telescopes\, space travel\, planets\, moons\, mountains\, stars\, galaxies\, clusters\, and black holes in the quest to find the largest\, highest\, closest\, furthest\, hottest\, coldest\, most massive\, brightest\, and darkest among these various objects and also many firsts among astronomical discoveries and accomplishments. \n \n  \nCharles E. Allen III (“Chuck”) \nChuck is current League Vice-President and a past League President (1998-2002). A League Lifetime Member\, he founded the National Young Astronomer Award in 1991\, received the G. R. Wright Award for service in 1998\, holds the League’s Master Outreach Award with over 550 public programs to his credit\, and earned the League’s master observer gold progression with 43 observing programs completed. He co-chaired ALCon ’21 Virtual and currently coordinates three League Observing Programs. Chuck is past-president of the Louisville Astronomical Society and current Program Director of the Evansville Astronomical Society. He is a past judge for the Intel (now Regeneron) International Science and Engineering Fair and served as a United State Air Force officer before entering the practice of law. He’s been an amateur astronomer since age 7. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-06/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240510T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240510T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240422T140226Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240422T140802Z
UID:10001476-1715369400-1715376600@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – May 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Washington\, DC.\n\n  \n  \nData Driven Discovery\n\n  \nIn Evolving Planetary Systems\n\n  \nA Mineral Informatics Approach\n  \n\n  \n  \nThe key to answering many compelling and complex questions in Earth\, planetary\, and life science lies in breaking down the barriers between scientific fields and harnessing the integrated\, multi-disciplinary power of their respective data resources. We have a unique opportunity to integrate large and rapidly expanding data resources\, to enlist powerful analytical and visualization methods\, and to answer multi-disciplinary questions that cannot be addressed by one field alone. \nRapidly expanding mineral data resources have created an opportunity to characterize changes in near-surface mineralogy through deep time and to relate these findings to the geologic and biologic evolution of our planet over the past 4.5 billion years. Data-driven studies employing advanced analytical and visualization techniques such as mineral ecology\, network analysis\, and association analysis\, allow us to begin tackling big questions in Earth\, planetary\, and biosciences\, including those related to (1) the relationships of mineral formation and preservation with large-scale geologic processes\, such supercontinent assembly\, the oxidation of Earth’s atmosphere\, and changes in ocean chemistry. (2) The abundance and likely species of as-yet undiscovered mineral\, as well as the probability of finding a mineral or mineral assemblage at any locality on Earth or another planetary body. (3) Exploring the possibility that Earth’s mineral diversity and distribution is a biosignature. (4) Characterizing the origins of all mineral species through the development of the Evolutionary System of Mineralogy – a system that will provide a framework for predicting the formational conditions of mineral species of unknown origin. (5) Lastly\, integrating across disciplines and exploring ideas that one field alone cannot fully characterize (e.g.\, how the geochemical makeup of our planet affected the emergence and evolution of life\, and\, likewise\, how life influenced chemical composition and geological processes throughout Earth history). \n \nShaunna M. Morrison is a mineralogist and planetary scientist with expertise in crystallography\, crystal chemistry\, and the application of data driven techniques. Morrison is the 4D (Deep Time Data Driven Discovery) Initiative Co-Director at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Earth and Planets Laboratory\, former Project Manager of the Carnegie led Deep-Time Data Infrastructure (DTDI)\, a Co-Investigator of the CheMin X-ray diffraction instrument on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission\, a collaborator on the NASA Astrobiology ENIGMA Project\, a Co-Investigator of the NASA Astromaterials Data System\, and a data contributor and collaborator of the RRUFF Project\, including the Mineral Evolution Database (MED)\, and the Evolutionary System of Mineralogy Database (ESMD). Morrison builds on her technical and theoretical background in crystallography\, crystal chemistry\, and martian mineralogy\, to explore new techniques in multidimensional\, multivariate analysis and visualization by employing a range of advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to better understand the complex relationships among Earth and planetary materials\, their formational environments through deep time\, and their coevolution with the biosphere\, including identifying and characterizing mineralogical signs of life. \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-05/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240412T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240412T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240112T160319Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240325T153205Z
UID:10001401-1712950200-1712957400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – April 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online. Due to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online.\n\n  \n  \nHow to Work Amateur Satellites\n  \nwith Your Handheld Radio\n\n  \n \n  \nYou do not need 100W of transmit power nor expensive antenna arrays to work the FM voice amateur satellites! Many hams already have the necessary equipment to “work the birds.” This presentation will walk you through ALL the steps needed to successfully work several ham satellites – including the International Space Station. \n  \nClint K6LCS has been a ham since 1994\, and found his niche in the hobby: working amateur satellites with minimal equipment and telling ALL about it! He has served a liaison between NASA\, the ARISS team\, and schools coordinating amateur radio contacts between the International Space Station and students (and also orchestrated a wildly successful ARISS contact). Audiences have never found his presentation slides “wordy” nor dull. Trivia questions are included throughout the session – audiences are never bored. \nFor reference materials\, Clint has created a support Web site at work-sat.com. The Web site has become a one-stop source for ALL the citations and equipment recommendations and software suggestions made in the presentation. \nProfessionally\, Clint was sales manager for ADI / Premier Communications / Pryme\, worked for a Motorola commercial two-way dealer a couple of years\, and for Ham Radio Outlet a couple more. He resides in Jurupa Valley\, California\, with his wife\, Karen\, and their new addition to the family: Huck\, a two-year-old 75-pound Lab. \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-04/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240308T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240308T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240203T183604Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240203T203924Z
UID:10001412-1709926200-1709933400@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – March 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online.\nDue to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Waterloo\, Canada.\n\n  \n  \nCosmic Mirages: Seeing Dark Matter\n  \nwith Gravitational Lenses\n\n\n\n\n  \n \n  \n  \nMost of the matter in the Universe is dark matter: an elusive particle that is completely invisible. But we can “see” this matter by studying how it distorts the light from galaxies in the distant Universe\, a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. I will give a whirlwind tour of gravitational lensing’s “greatest hits” showing how it can be used as a tool to understand some of the most mysterious things in the Universe: from black holes to the “cosmic web” of dark matter that links galaxies together. \n  \n \n  \nMike Hudson received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Astronomy\, University of Cambridge in 1993 where studied the expansion of the Universe. He did post-doctoral research work at Durham University and at the University of Victoria in Canada\, where he was a National Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics.  In 1999\, he moved to the University of Waterloo\, where he is currently Professor. His scientific interests include the nature of dark matter and dark energy\, how the Universe expands\, and how galaxies form and evolve.  He can be found on Twitter as @MikeHudsonAstro \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-03/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240216T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240216T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20240112T074306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240112T074306Z
UID:10001400-1708111800-1708119000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – February 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online. Due to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present online from Connecticut.\n\n  \n  \nThe Wild West of Star Formation\n\n  \n  \n \n  \nTonight we saddle up to explore the extreme center of our Milky Way galaxy – a chaotic region containing dense gas\, stars\, and a supermassive black hole. The normal rules for star formation don’t seem to apply here and scientists are chasing down these law-breaking clouds in our Galaxy’s Center. We will explore a multi-wavelength perspective of our Galaxy’s Center and what fuels this extreme region. By understanding what is causing the rules of star formation to break down in this region\, we can better understand how stars are born across the cosmos. \n  \n  \n \n  \nCara Battersby is a PhD astrophysicist with a lifelong passion for education and community outreach. She is currently an associate professor of physics at the University of Connecticut where she leads the Milky Way Laboratory. This research group is funded by NSF and NASA and uses our Milky Way as a laboratory to explore physics across the cosmos\, using both large observational surveys and numerical simulations. Dr. Battersby has authored over 70 publications and given over 50 invited research presentations. She has worked with folks at NASA on developing space mission concepts\, is a co-founder of major outreach programs UConn STARs and BiteScis\, and secretly wants to be Carl Sagan when she grows up. She loves being active outdoors (hiking\, climbing\, etc!)\, playing music and spending time with her wonderful family and friends. \n  \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-02/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240112T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240112T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20231201T053521Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231201T054225Z
UID:10001399-1705087800-1705095000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – January 2024
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online. Due to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman University’s campus.\n\n  \n  \nThe [2nd] Great North American\n  \n  \nSolar Eclipse\n  \n  \n \n  \nFor the second time in just under seven years\, the United States will experience another total solar eclipse (TSE) — the first such occultation since the total solar eclipse of August 21\, 2017\, which traced a path from the Oregon coastline to Charleston\, South Carolina\, observed by nearly 215 million people. On April 8th of next year\, another TSE will be seen (weather cooperating) in the continental U.S.   This event shall be the last such eclipse visible in the domestically\, until August 23\, 2044\, followed by another TSE on August 12\, 2045. \nLike the 2017 event\, many large cities lie in the path of totality — chief among them being San Antonio\, Dallas-Fort Worth\, Austin\, and Waco\, TX\, as well as Indianapolis\, IN\, Cleveland\, OH\, and Buffalo and Rochester\, NY. \nThe presentation shall focus on the overall circumstances of the April 8th eclipse\, synoptic weather prospects for selected observation venues\, as well as providing some helpful suggestions regarding preparations for those interested in attempting to view totality. \n  \n  \n \nProfessor Joel Harris has been traveling throughout the world to observe solar eclipses since 1973 — totaling 50 years of eclipse chasing\, encompassing some 22 total eclipse events\, and having spent over an hour within the lunar umbra. \nHis first eclipse experience was as part of a scientific team supporting the noted American solar astronomer\, Dr. Donald Menzel of Harvard Observatory\, in the Mauritanian Sahara Desert in 1973. \nProfessor Harris spent 17 years in the defense and aerospace industries as a senior systems engineer\, having earned both his bachelor’s degree in electrical/electronic engineering\, and his master’s in systems engineering. \nHe has been awarded the NASA Group Achievement Award for his public relations work as project information officer supporting the Galileo Project at Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1982 – 1986\, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2018. \nHarris currently lives in Newbury Park\, CA\, with his wife of 23 years\, Patti\, their rescue dogs Bailey and Sadie\, and his “B flat Grey Tabby” cat\, Miranda. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2024-01/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231208T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231208T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T163408
CREATED:20231105T221038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231105T221645Z
UID:10001339-1702063800-1702071000@www.ocastronomers.org
SUMMARY:General Meeting – December 2023
DESCRIPTION:This is a free and open to the public hybrid event\, held both inperson and online. Due to the newly effective insurance requirements\, we regret that we can not allow people under 18 on the Chapman Campus\, they are welcome to attend online.\n Join Zoom\n\nThis meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman University’s campus.\n\n  \n  \nBrave New Worlds\n  \n  \n \n  \nThirty years ago\, the astronomical world finally had an answer to one of the most profound questions humanity has ever asked: do the distant stars have worlds of their own? In the last three decades\, we have gone from a handful of initial discoveries to an avalanche of information. Internationally published science illustrator and long time OCA member Chris Butler will bring it all together and offer his perspective of where we stand now\, and what the implications are of all these brave new worlds. \n  \n \n  \nChris Butler is an internationally published science and nature artist best known for his work on astronomical subjects and for his work as a science speaker and educator.  Chris is the senior artist and animator for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles\, where he has been involved in public program production and exhibit design for 26 years.  Chris has been a member of the Orange County Astronomers since 1984\, and has served as Vice President and a member of the Board. Chris holds memberships in numerous other astronomical organizations\, is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society\, and was honored to have an asteroid named after him by the International Astronomical Union. \nViews: 96
URL:https://www.ocastronomers.org/calendar/general-meeting-2023-12/
LOCATION:Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University\, 336 N Center St\, Orange\, CA\, 92866\, United States
CATEGORIES:General Meetings
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END:VCALENDAR