Where We Normally would Meet:
17540 Avenue Of The Arts, Surprise, Arizona (Unitarian Universalist Church)
(WVAC is not affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Church)
We meet nine times a year from September to May
General Meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month unless indicated (*)
2021: May 4th, Sept 7th, Oct 5th, Nov 4th, Dec 7th
2022: Jan 4th, Feb 1st, Mar 1st, April 5th, May 3rd.
We offer a Members only December Holiday Party and May Picnic
All meetings will begin at 7:00pm Arizona time unless otherwise indicated.
Our meetings feature great Guest Speakers – including staff astronomers from Arizona Observatories or professional astronomers from Arizona universities.
Not a paid member? We welcome all visitors. If you enjoy the program we ask that you show your appreciation by contributing to our Donation Scope or joining the club.
Future Meetings
November 4th 2021 (Thursday Due to Elections)
Presenter: Dr. Gerard van Belle Lowell Observatory
Presentation: Present Research Capabilities and Future Plans
Format: Dr van Belle presentation will be via ZOOM to all attendees.
Dr. van Bell has been on the Lowell Observatory staff since 2011. He has worked on every major optical interferometer on the planet His pioneering stellar surface imaging work on the Palomar Testbed Interferometer won him the directors research award at JPL. He is now the chief scientist for the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer.
Dr. van Belle will talk of the current research being conducted at Lowell.
December 7th 2021
This will be our annual Holiday business meeting with presentations by club members:
Amin Patani – Astrophotography of the Veil Nebula
Cori Charles – As a NASA ambassador she will speak on few NASA missions and use of the NASA website.
Format: In person with ZOOM to our remote attendees.
January 4th 2022
Presenter: Alexandra Nachman
Presentation: Processing Images from the Hubble Space Telescope
Format: Alexandra will present in person with ZOOM to our remote attendees.
Alexandra Nachman has been involved with astronomy for five years. She has learned how to take images through the telescope with her camera, has joined an astronomy club, and processes images from the Hubble Space Telescope for fun. Due to her first year as a Solar System Ambassador, her knowledge of astronomy has grown immensely and she is more involved in this hobby than ever before. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the East Valley Astronomy Club.
February 1st 2022
Presentation by Drew Keppel on LIGO
LIGO stands for “Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory”. It is the world’s largest gravitational wave observatory and a marvel of precision engineering. Comprising two enormous laser interferometers located 3000 kilometers apart, LIGO exploits the physical properties of light and of space itself to detect and understand the origins of gravitational waves (GW).
Additional details will be coming soon.
March 1st 2022
Presentation by Dr. Thomas Beatty. Dr Beatty is an Assistant Research Professor at the Steward Observatory University of Arizona.
Dr. Beatty will speak on Exoplanets.
Additional details will be coming soon.
April 5th 2022 Details will be coming soon.
May 3rd 2022 WVAC Picnic Details will be coming soon.
Typical meeting agendas are as follows:
- Coffee and Cookies Available
- Opening Welcome and Remarks
- Guest Speaker presentation with Q&A
- Announcements
- Door Prize and 50/50 Raffle
- Club Workshop (if time permits)
- Closing Remarks
Or you can view details of our previous meetings.