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Sooner or later, every amateur astronomer faces the decision of purchasing a first telescope. There are literally hundreds of choices today! What's the difference between a refractor and reflector?  Which telescope is the right one for you? To make this daunting task easier, we'll compare several of the top telescopes available today and tell you which ones to avoid. We'll also look at the countless array of accessories available for your telescope. If you already have a telescope but need help then bring it along.

Please Note:  Admission to this lecture series is FREE (thanks to our generous members), but we ask that you register to ensure there's enough materials for everyone. So, contact us and let us know you're coming!

General Meeting Friday, March 2 @ 7:00 pm | Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center

The Moon provides the most clear and complete history of impact events in the inner Solar System since its formation ~4.5 billion years (Ga) ago, and the Moon’s impact record can be used to gain insights into how the Earth has been influenced by impacting events over billions of years. The timing of impacts on the Moon, however, is not well understood.

Dr. Zellner's research focuses on obtaining geochemical and chronological data on lunar impact glasses, which are pieces of melted regolith (lunar soil) created by energetic impacting events on the Moon. These impact glasses possess the composition of the target material and can be dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar (argon) method in order to determine their age of formation. Understanding the ages of impact glasses, along with their compositions, allows for a full interpretation of the impact history of the Moon, and from them, we can begin to piece together information about the rate of impact events and their effects on Earth.

Dr. Zellner's talk will consist of an overview of the current state of lunar science and how my research is contributing to that knowledge.  She will also talk about my sabbatical trip to Australia and share with you a few of my stories from Down Under, including how Mother Nature thwarted almost all of my attempts to see the southern stars.

About the Speaker:
Nicolle Zellner received her PhD in Multidisciplinary Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2001 where she specialized in the studies of the origins of life. Her work with lunar samples allowed her to characterize the geochemistry of the lunar surface and subsurface at 3 Apollo landing sites, and to describe the bombardment history of the Earth-Moon System soon after its formation. The conditions that existed then have important consequences for the origin and sustainability of life on Earth. Currently, Dr. Zellner is an Associate Professor of Physics at Albion College.

Introduction to Amateur Astronomy Saturday, March 10 @ 1:00 pm | Portage District Library

Astrophotography is the art of photographing the night sky.  In the past few years that art has undergone a revolution as digital cameras have overtaken their film counterparts.  In some ways this has made the field more technical, but in many ways shooting the sky is easier than ever!  We’ll start with the basics like using a stationary photographic tripod and work our way up to imaging with sophisticated CCD cameras.  Constellation patterns, the Milky Way, the night-to-night motion of the planets, bright comets, northern lights, and perhaps a meteor all await you.

Please Note:  Admission to this lecture series is FREE (thanks to our generous members), but we ask that you register to ensure there's enough materials for everyone. So, contact us and let us know you're coming!