• NEXT EVENT •
TBA – Star Parties and unique events other than monthly meetings are posted here.
• NEXT MEETING •
February – no meeting.
Nov 09th , 2024 | Wed | 7P-9P Every second Wednesday
ONLINE MEETINGS
Via Zoom.
Details are emailed to members prior to the meeting. Become a member
IN-PERSON MEETINGS (when noted below)
Address
Chemeketa Community College Planetarium
4000 Lancaster Dr NE
Salem, OR 97305
Map it
11/13/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Wonders of the Winter Skies 2024
Presenter: Mike Conley
*Details for joining live meetings are emailed to members prior to the start of each meeting.
• PAST MEETINGS •
10/09/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Exploring Europa
Presenter: Roger Diehl
Roger Diehl, a NASA Ambassador will be presenting: “Exploring Europa”. His talk will focus on the NASA Europa Clipper mission which is scheduled to launch October 10th.
9/11/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Ten “Must Sees” This Fall Season
Presenter: Mike Conley
8/14/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
No Presentation For August
This month will be an abbreviated meeting – covering only the usual club status topics without a presentation.
7/10/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
No Presentation This Month (July)
This month will be an abbreviated meeting – covering only the usual club status topics without a presentation.
6/12/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
10 Don’t Miss Objects For The Summer Skies
Our club President, Mike Conley, will be showing what he considers to be the ten top objects you don’t want to miss this summer. Mike will present images that he has captured as examples of what can be seen.
“If you’re new to astronomy these are going to be some of the easiest objects to find, and frankly, the coolest to observe and capture; Alternatively, if you have been observing since shortly after the Big Bang, like me, I hope you still get a kick out of seeing these old favorites yet again and again.” – Mike
5/8/2024
_PM
NO MAY MEETING
Unexpected scheduling challenges have caused us to cancel the May meeting. See you next time 👍 Enjoy the clear nights ahead.
4/17/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Eclipse Picture Show & Tell
Since it has been a while from our last meeting, plus some of you will be traveling to the eclipse path on April 8th to get some great pictures, I thought it made sense to have the April meeting on April 17th – to give everyone a chance to prepare their eclipse pictures and get together pictures taken this year to share with everyone.
So, instead of having a speaker at the end of the meeting I will skip the observer’s reports and make it the last segment of the meeting. Hopefully there will be a lot of images to show everyone. The meeting will be in person at the planetarium and also be zoomed. If you have images to show and are going to the planetarium then put them on a USB drive and they can be transferred to the planetarium computer for showing. If you will be attending by Zoom then I can arrange for you to share your screen to show us the images.
3/_/2024
_PM
NO MARCH MEETING
Enjoy the clear nights ahead.
2/_/2024
_PM
💖NO FEBRUARY MEETING💞
Since our February meeting would fall on Valentines Day we have decided to cancel it.
Here’s hoping for some clear nights ahead.
1/10/2024
7PM
Note: This meeting is ONLY online.
The Elemental Cosmic Background Signature:
Evidence From A Chemical Forensics Investigation
by James J. McAteer, Jr., BS, MRSC
Have you ever wondered how the elements in the periodic table were formed? Do you remember the statement by Carl Sagan in an episode of Cosmos that “we are all made of star stuff”….well, this is truer than you may think!
This talk was inspired from an environmental chemical forensics investigation I have been working on over the past several years. This presentation will first briefly summarize some of the chemical reactions leading to elemental formation starting from “time zero” (or the “Big Bang”), to stellar and supernova nucleosynthesis, and other mechanisms resulting in the creation of elements. Even today new discoveries have recently been announced adding to our understanding of elemental formation in the universe!
Next, I will present chemical data of analyses on various abiotic matrices (e.g., colloids, marine sediment, coal, lunar rock, and meteorites) to illustrate how the “elemental cosmic background signature” is present all around us!
James J. McAteer, Jr., BS, MRSC
James MAteer has been a long-time member of the Night Sky 45 astronomy club and is interested in astronomy, cosmology, and astrochemistry since. He is an independent environmental consultant with a focus on chemical forensics and fingerprinting of organic and physical parameter constituents in abiotic and biotic matrices. James has worked in environmental consulting (33 yrs.), analytical laboratories (6 yrs.), and research settings (5 yrs.).
*Details for joining live meetings are emailed to members prior to the start of each meeting.
12/_/2023
_PM
☃️NO DECEMBER MEETING⛷️
We will continue our tradition of taking a break from our monthly meetings in December.
❄⛄Happy holidays⛄❄, as/if it applies, and here’s hoping you can take advantage of the crystal clear viewing nights we have coming up as Winter approaches. Enjoy!
11/08/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Saturn’s Surprising Ocean Worlds: Titan and Enceladus
Presenter: Donn Anderson
Two of Saturn’s many moons are now believed to harbor liquid oceans either on their surface or underneath a frozen crust. Although VERY different from each other, both may be potentially interesting places to explore for life in our Solar System outside our Earth! Don’t miss this opportunity to discover what we’ve learned from the spacecraft we have sent to study these amazing worlds!
10/11/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Ten “Must Sees” This Fall Season
Presenter: Mike Conley
9/12/2023
7PM
September Meeting Cancelled
8/8/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Methods For Planet-Finding
Presenter: Mike Conley
7/12/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
Exoplanets
Club’s New Astrophotography Rig
Presenter: Mike Conley
6/14/2023
7PM
June Meeting Cancelled
5/10/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
The Origin of the Elements
How was the gold in our jewelry, the carbon in our bodies, and the iron in our cars made?
Presenter: Dr. Edward Murphy
The world around us is made of atoms. Did you ever wonder where these atoms came from? How was the gold in our jewelry, the carbon in our bodies, and the iron in our cars made?
In this lecture, we will trace the origin of a gold atom from the Big Bang to the present day, and beyond. You will learn how the elements were forged in the nuclear furnaces inside stars, and how, when they die, these massive stars spread the elements into space.
You will learn about the origin of the building blocks of matter in the Big Bang, and we will speculate on the future of the atoms around us today.
Dr. Edward Murphy:
Dr. Edward Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia.
4/12/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
A TOUR OF THE SPRING SKYS
Presenter: Mike Conley
As we get further into the year and clear skies with warmer nights start to come along, now would be a good time to introduce the highlights found in the sky at this time of the year. His talk will therefore center around the best objects found in the spring skies.
While he can’t promise clear skies, he can prepare you for what to look for when they do come.
Mike Conley, NS45 Club President:
3/8/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY IN SPACE
Presenter: Bill Carton
Current Space Activity: Countries as well as private companies are now heavily involved in space – with crewed spacecraft and private satellites.
Including: Robots on other planets and on-asteroid missions, suborbital space tourism, International Space Station improvements and expansion plans, and the James Webb Space Telescope (pictured).
Plus: The US is going back to the moon with the Artemis program!
Bill Carton:
A space enthusiast for 60+ years since the Mercury program, Bill was the prototype nerd through school and became an electrical engineer, specializing in semiconductor testing. Met his wife of 50 years in college at a Boston science fiction convention, living in Oregon City now, with one daughter living in SE Portland. Part of their honeymoon trip to Florida in 1973 was visiting Kennedy Space Center, of course.
Now semi-retired, he is super-active in the space journalism and advocacy community. Runs the best Facebook SpaceX enthusiast group, enjoys the occasional NASA Social Media press credentialing for up-close tours of SpaceX launches, is a docent/tour guide and speaker at Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinnville, and was recently appointed a Mars Society Ambassador for promotion of missions to the red planet. He is also a regular speaker and trivia contest coordinator at San Diego and Portland area venues.
His collection of SpaceX mission swag and flown hardware is unbeatable, although with over 300 t-shirts, it’s a fine line between “collecting” and “hoarding” he’s been advised by his loving wife.
2/8/2023
7PM
No February meeting
1/11/2023
7PM
Note: This meeting will be both in person AND online.
State Of The Astronomy Industry
A history of the manufacturers in the astronomy industry
Presenter: Greg Bragg
history of the manufacturers in the astronomy industry. It contains info about the ups and downs of a few of the companies as well as the costs of doing business in this industry. It will include a timeline and details of who and how this industry operates – which is generally not known to the average astronomer.
Greg Bragg:
Greg has been in Astronomy industry since 1983 when he started selling telescopes and astronomy related products while working in a camera store. In 2005, he became an independent representative for Meade instruments covering the southeastern US and 2 years later was catapulted to the VP of Specialty Sales – North America for Meade Instruments. Greg worked with Meade for 7 years total, worked for Explore Scientific for 8 years, and has now been with Celestron for the last 3 years.