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Impact! When a comet collided with Jupiter

The Astronomical League of the Philippines welcomes the New Year with a fascinating online talk revisiting the first observed impact of a comet with the planet Jupiter.

Join us this coming Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 10:30 AM Philippine Standard Time (02:30 UTC, 9:30 PM EST January 21) with David Levy, the co-discoverer of of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, as he talks about comets and the story of comet SL9s historic spectacular collision with the planet Jupiter 30 years ago.

David Howard Levy is a Canadian amateur astronomer and science writer based in Vail, Arizona. To date, he has discovered 23 comets and 61 minor planets, and has written 34 books, mostly about astronomy.

Abstract: 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The comet was discovered by the team of Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy on March 24, 1993, using an 18-inch Schmidt camera at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, California. Fragments of SL-9 crashed into Jupiter during the summer of 1994, producing some of the largest impacts ever observed in our solar system. David will talk about how they discovered the comet and the danger of such objects colliding with Earth in the near future.

What was the Star of Bethlehem?

This was the celestial phenomemon that guided the three Wise Men to the birthplace of the infant Jesus Christ. Was it a miracle? A fable? Or scientific reality? Jesuit professional astronomer Father Chris Corbally will try to shed some light on this gospel mystery from the perspective of modern astronomy as well as from exploring ancient wisdom.

Join us this December 17, 2022 for a free online talk by Fr. Chris Corbally, S.J., “What was the Star of Betehem?”, 8:30 PM Philippine Standard Time (7:30 AM EST, 12:30 UTC).

Fr. Christopher J. Corbally, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and astronomer with the Vatican Observatory Research Group in Tucson, Arizona. He is also an Adjunct Associate Astronomer at the University of Arizona’s Department of Astronomy. Father Corbally principally uses spectroscopy to investigate the evolution of stars, and he is co-author of the comprehensive volume, Stellar Spectral Classification. He was the Project Scientist for the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mount Graham, Arizona, and served as President of the International Astronomical Union’s Division IV (Stars) from 2009 to 2012. Father Corbally was ordained in the Society of Jesus in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Toronto in 1983. In 2020, the International Astronomical Union recognized his contributions to astronomy by naming asteroid 119248 Corbally.

“The Power of Stargazing”

Join us this November 12, 2022 (Saturday), 8:30 PM Philippine Standard  Time (6:30 AM CST, 7:30 AM EST, 12:30 UTC) on “The Power of Stargazing” by Scott W. Roberts. This is part of our regular Astronomical League of the Philippines Astronomy Experts Speaker Series for 2022 and registration is free.

Scott Wayne Roberts (born 1959) is a designer and marketer of amateur astronomy equipment. He is well known around the world for his dedication and avid support of educational public outreach in astronomy and space exploration, as well as his tireless popularization of amateur astronomy. He is the founder and President of Explore Scientific, one of the largest manufactures and distributors of telescopes and astronomical equipment in the world. He also founded the Astronomy Outreach network in 2000 and has served on the board of directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the International Dark-Sky Association, the National Sharing the Sky Foundation, and Astronomers Without Borders. In 2000, the International Astronomical Union officially named asteroid 1993 OA3 as “15779 Scottroberts” in his honor.

Abstract: Scott Robert’s talk on “The Power of Stargazing”  is about how commercial telescopes are made, and the transformative and beneficial effect they can have on people as they explore the night sky and begin to understand for themselves their connection with the cosmos.

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“Going Deep for Science from My Backyard!” by Ken Crawford, July 31, 2022, 10:00 AM Philippine Standard Time

The Astronomical League of the Philippines is inviting you to attend the free webinar lecture entitled “Going Deep for Science from My Backyard!” by the noted astrophotographer, Ken Crawford, on July 31, 2022, Sunday morning at 10:00 AM Philippine Standard Time. (02:00 UTC/10:00 PM EDT, July 30, Saturday)

World-class astrophotographer Ken Crawford has been observing the night sky since 8th grade. In 2002, he built his Rancho Del Sol Observatory at a dark-sky site in Northern California and started taking images of the deep sky. In 2004, Crawford co-founded The Advanced Imaging Conference, Inc. and served as its president from 2007 to 2014.
Crawford’s images have been featured in numerous magazines, books, websites, movies, and public exhibits. To date, his images have been featured 40 times in NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day.”

Abstract: Amateur astrophotographers are not only producing amazing wide-field and high-resolution images of celestial objects, but some are also pushing the limits and going deep for science. As access to professional telescopes is limited, more professional astronomers are using data produced by amateurs with modest imaging systems at dark-sky sites. This is my personal journey in the pursuit of capturing high-resolution deep-sky objects for “pretty pictures,” and ending up contributing to extended red emissions and the detection of star streams. These rivers of stars help add to the hierarchical framework for galaxy formation, minor merging and tidal interactions through Professional-Amateur (Pro-Am) collaborations.

Title:  “Observing and Understanding the Moon”
Speaker : Robert Reeves

Robert Reeves has been exploring the Moon since 1958 and took his first lunar photograph in 1959. He began telescopic astronomy with a four-inch Criterion Dynascope, his Christmas present in 1960. In 1975, he acquired a Celestron C8 telescope, which he still uses today. In 1977, he acquired a Celestron 8-inch Schmidt camera that he used for a quarter century for deep-sky photography. Today, Robert uses a Celestron C11 EdgeHD and a Sky-Watcher 180-mm. Maksutov for lunar photography from his Perspective Observatory located in central Texas. He also uses a Sky-Watcher 20-inch Stargate telescope for visual observing and a Celestron C14 with HyperStar for deep-sky photography.
In 1984, Robert began publishing articles about astrophotography in Astronomy magazine. Since then, he has published more than 250 magazine articles and 200 newspaper columns about astronomy. His articles have appeared in Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, Deep Sky, Deep Sky Journal, Amateur Astronomy, and The Astrograph.
In 1994, Robert published his first book, The Superpower Space Race, followed by The Conquest of Space, co-authored with Fritz Bronner. In 2000, he published Wide-Field Astrophotography, followed by Introduction to Digital Astrophophotography in 2005 and Introduction to Webcam Astrophotography in 2006. Robert’s latest book, about the Moon, is under editorial review.

Although Robert is an accomplished deep-sky astrophotographer, his current passion is re-popularizing the Moon within the amateur astronomy community by explaining the origin of the Moon, the evolution of its face, and introducing its geology to Moon lovers everywhere. He has perfected image-processing techniques that allow an amateur astronomer, using modest equipment, to exceed the quality of Earth-based professional lunar photographs taken during the Apollo era.
Robert enjoys speaking at astronomy conventions and spreading his passion for the Moon. His recent activities include a five-city speaking tour in China, where he was the first Westerner to address the Chinese astronomy community about the Moon. Robert also represents the Celestron telescope company at national astronomical conventions.
Asteroid 26591 Robertreeves is named in his honor, and asteroid 26592 Maryrenfro bears his wife’s name. Robert and Mary Reeves are the only husband and wife team to have sequentially numbered asteroids.

Abstract:
Robert Reeves will cover the basics of how the face of the Moon evolved, what the different types of lunar features are, and how they are related to each other.