Monthly Meeting | NoCoAstro

Our monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, January 8th at the Fort Collins Museum Of Discover in the Otterbox Dome Theater. The meeting officially starts at 6:15pm but feel free to show up early for social time. We will have refreshments and snacks available at 5:45pm. Afterwards at 8:00pm, members are invited to dinner at Penrose Taphouse & Eatery. Contact Greg Halac if you are interested. Reservations are limited.

Joe Izen presenting on “Planetary Astrophotography”

Synopsis: Solar System objects, comets excepted, are great astrophotography targets for from under light domes. They change every night, some even have weather! Backyard photos inconceivable in 1960’s, even with professional observatories, are now routine. The impossible has become doable due to the clever innovations of the amateur astronomy community. Joe will present a tour the solar system with glimpses at the astrotech magic that goes into solar system photography.

Bio: NCAS member Joe Izen is a Professor Emeritus in Experimental Elementary Particle Physics at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is still research-active and a member of the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron collider, but tonight he proudly wears his amateur astronomy hat. Joe's astrophotography journey began during the era of wet chemistry in the 1960’s. The 2017 total solar eclipse reignited Joe’s lov of astrophotography. In a previous life, Joe was the UT Dallas Physics liaison with the Texas Astronomical Society for decades and the faculty advisor to the UT Dallas Astronomy Club. In 2023, Joe was a guest scientist for the Gingin Gravity Discovery Center’s livestream coverage team for the Ningaloo Total Solar Eclipse in Western Australia. In 2024, Joe was guest scientist for the Caravanas de Mexico eclipse RV tour. Joe is a member of the Modern Eddington Experiment team that is hoping to best the precision of prior professional and amateur visible light measurements of the deflection of starlight by the Sun’s gravity during upcoming eclipses. Closer to home, Joe hosts astronomy star, comet, and eclipse parties for neighbors and friends at his home in Wyoming, including the NCAS Dark Sky Weekend this past September.

Monthly Meeting General Info

Regular club meetings are currently held at the Otterbox Digital Dome Theater in the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, and are scheduled for the 1st Thursday of every month. Please verify the meeting date and location on the calendar and find out what we have planned. The business portion of the meeting is scheduled for 15 minutes starting at 6:15pm although members often show up early at 5:45pm for social time ... and snacks. :-) Regular topics include:

Announcements on upcoming NCAS events: speakers, stargazing, outreaching, etc.
Brief updates from the club president, treasurer and outreach coordinator.
Items of general interest as shared by members and visitors.

After the business meeting, speakers present an astronomy-related program beginning at 6:30pm. It is free of charge and the public is welcome. Talks are typically geared towards people with a high-school science background but the level does vary. Feel free to contact a club officer for guidance if the target level is not apparent from the talk description. Talks typically last for 45 minutes. Questions are usually welcome both during and after the talk.

NoCoAstro invites speakers to be our guest for dinner immediately after the club meeting. Dinner details are sent to the “club-news” email list shortly before the meeting. Dinner provides a great opportunity to welcome and get to know our speaker. Typically ~10 club members usually attend.

NoCoAstro greatly appreciates the members and experts in the Northern Colorado region who have taken the time to share their knowledge with the public and the club.