Tag Archives: Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association

Veen Observatory to open for public night sky observations

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The James C. Veen Observatory in Lowell is set to open for its season on April 27.

By Christie Bender
Grand Rapids Public Museum

Announced today, Public Observing Nights at James C. Veen Observatory, presented by the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) and Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM), begin for the 2019 season on Saturday, April 27. Public Observing Nights will continue on selected Saturday evenings twice monthly through October. 

The Veen Observatory houses three large permanently mounted telescopes that allow visitors an up-close look at the night sky. The public is invited to Public Observing Nights throughout the summer to access these telescopes as well as addition instruments personally owned by GRAAA members. 

Visitors to the facility will have the opportunity to take part in an audio-visual presentation introducing the facility and orientations to prominent constellations currently visible. Public Observing Night dates can be found online along with photos at graaa.org.      

Scheduled Public Observing Nights are cancelled in the event of cloudiness. Status updates are posted at graaa.org no later than 6:30 p.m. on the date of each scheduled event, or can be found by calling 616.897.7065.

Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for those under 18. Grand Rapids Public Museum and GRAAA members, as well as children under age 5, are free. Cash, checks and some credit cards are accepted.  

The James C. Veen Observatory is located at 3308 Kissing Rock Ave. in Lowell Township, and is open during Public Observing Nights or by appointment only. For additional inquiries, please visit graaa.org. Please note, to access Veen Observatory, there is a quarter mile uphill walk from the parking area that may be difficult for some. Parking attendants can provide information about available assistance.   

The Grand Rapids Public Museum provides ongoing support to the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association in operation of James C. Veen Observatory.  

Astronaut Nicole Mann to visit the Grand Rapids Public Museum

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Nicole Aunapu Mann Photo courtesy of NASA

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is pleased to partner with the Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship Board and the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) to bring one of the members of the latest class of NASA astronauts to Grand Rapids on May 9 and 10. Nicole Aunapu Mann, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S Marine Corps, was among eight candidates selected for future space missions in 2013. She completed Astronaut Candidate training in 2015 and is now qualified for assignment.

On Wednesday, May 9, Lt Col Mann will give a presentation titled “The Sky is Not the Limit” at 7:30 p.m. in the Meijer Theater at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The event is free and open to the public.

In the presentation, Mann will recount pre-astronaut experiences that put her on a path to the appointment, and then turn to the rigorous training required to fly into space. Mann has undergone intensive instruction about International Space Station systems, robotics, and space walking in the event she is assigned a mission to the orbiting laboratory. Mann is currently training to be part of an Orion mission to the moon in 2022, the first human flight back to the Earth’s satellite in a half century.    She will also look ahead to proposed missions to Mars. For more information, please visit grpm.org.

Visitors will have a second opportunity to hear Lt. Col Mann at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 10. Mann will be the featured speaker at the annual banquet in honor of the 51st recipient of the prestigious Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship, this year honoring Patrick Clark Morgan of East Grand Rapids High School. In this talk, Mann will highlight her upcoming space travel in “Back to the Moon and Beyond.” Tickets to the banquet are $55 and can be reserved by calling 800-237-0930 by April 28, or e-mail:  dave@mpi-invest.com.

Mann was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in United State Marine Corps in 1999.  She began her active flying career in 2004 and was involved in a number of high profile test flights and missions. She accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours in 22 types of aircraft, 200 carrier arrestments and 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During her two-day visit to Grand Rapids, Mann will also be speaking to students at Innovative Central High School, the same building where Roger Chaffee attended high school in the early 1950s, Burton Elementary, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum School.

Veen Observatory kicks off public observation nights on April 29

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The James C. Veen Observatory in Lowell.

Public Observing Nights at James C. Veen Observatory, presented by the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) and Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM), begin for the season on Saturday, April 29. This date corresponds with International Astronomy Day, when astronomy organizations throughout North America celebrate the science with stargazing! Public Observing Nights will continue on selected Saturday evenings twice monthly through October 2017.

 

The waxing crescent moon and planet Jupiter will be highlights on April 29, with views also of star clusters and galaxies through two of the Veen Observatory’s large telescopes, as well as portable telescopes provided by GRAAA members. Public Observing Nights take place only if the sky is clear, with status updates posted at graaa.org or by calling 616-897-7065 the date of each event.

 

Observation Nights have been selected to favorably align with optimum moon phases.  Additional dates and times of Observation Nights can be found online at graaa.org, and include a listing of what sky objects visitors will likely be able to see.

 

Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for those under 18. Grand Rapids Public Museum members and GRAAA members, as well as children under age 5, are free. Credit cards are not accepted.

 

For additional information about Public Observing Nights, including directions to the Veen Observatory located in Lowell, MI, please visit graaa.org.

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum provides ongoing administrative and financial support to the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association in operation of James C. Veen Observatory.

2017 Total Eclipse informational session at Public Museum set for March 1

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The Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Supplied)

By Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) on Wednesday, March 1, for a special presentation on what people in West Michigan can do for the 2017 total solar eclipse.

 

On Aug, 21, the first significant total eclipse of the sun visible across a broad area of the continental United States since 1970 will take place midday. As the moon slips between the earth and sun, observers within the 70 mile wide band of the total eclipse, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, will witness complete darkness for up to two minutes and forty seconds.

 

On March 1 at 7:30 p.m., Dave DeBruyn, Curator Emeritus of the GRPM’s Chaffee Planetarium and current GRAAA President, along with WZZM Meteorologist George Lessons will give a presentation about this year’s eclipse including useful tips to potential eclipse chasers and answer questions. The duo will also share information about the GRPM’s eclipse event that will take place at the GRPM on August 21, 2017.

 

DeBruyn will discuss how the motions of the sun and moon produce eclipses, but rarely total solar eclipses over a given location. Participants will learn what to look for and concentrate on during the eclipse, as well as what not to do. DeBruyn has traveled the world to see five total solar eclipses.

 

Lessens will discuss prospects for clear weather at various places along the path of totality. A weather system at the place of observation at eclipse time or midday convective cloudiness in the air could ruin viewing opportunities. Lessens will suggest locations where that is least likely to happen.

 

The presentation on March 1 will take place in the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Meijer Theater and is free to attend for the general public.

Astronomer and space science enthusiast makes a stop at Schuler Books

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Nebil Y. Misconi
Nebil Y. Misconi

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) in partnership with the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) will host a presentation by the Iraq born astronomer and space science enthusiast, Dr. Nebil Y. Misconi, at Schuler Books & Music on Thursday, May 19.

 

Misconi is an accomplished astronomer and solar system researcher. In his book “An Immigrant’s Journey into the Cosmos – a Personal Memoir,” Misconi tells the journey of an immigrant astronomer from youth in Iraq to the United States. His presentation of the same name will highlight the political history of the Middle East and the struggles of living there during religious and political unrest through to his life and accomplishments in astronomy in the United States.

 

Misconi fell in love with astronomy when he read a book about stars as a high school student in the 1960s. He could not further his pursuit in his homeland and was able to study in Turkey and later immigrated to the United States, where he went on to a career in Florida.

 

“I decided to write about my life to inspire young students on what they can do when they put their minds to it, using what our country has to offer,” Misconi said.

 

41UcMIxlUAL._UY250_Working first for the Space Institute Center at Florida Tech, and then for 16 years at the University of Central University in Orlando,  Misconi has not only inspired students and  the public with his instructional skills, but also contributed technical expertise to a number of high profile NASA space efforts, including SkyLab and the space shuttle programs. He has worked closely with notable space science personalities, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

 

The presentation “An Immigrant’s Journey into the Cosmos – A Personal Memoir” will take place at 7 p.m. on May 19 at Schuler Books, located at 2660 28th Street SE. The event is free. Marconi’s book of the same title will be available for purchase and a book signing by the author will take place following the talk.