Featured Photograph
Messier 42, the magnificent Orion Nebula
© 2024 Klaus Brasch
Messier 42, the magnificent Orion Nebula, a favorite object in any amateur telescope, is usually portrayed in vivid, high contrast colors. While that looks spectacular, the reality is that one of our closest stellar nursery’s true colors are likely much more subdued. I have attempted to depict it in hues one might expect as seen in a large aperture telescope, showing the light pink emission regions and the bluish reflection veils surrounding the nebula’s core.
DETAILS: Astro Physics AP 155 Starfire shooting at f/5.2, though an IDAS LPS-V4 filter and a spectrally modified Canon EOS 6D Mrk II. Total exposure: 8 minutes at ISO 4000.
Klaus Brasch
The featured photograph is any astronomical photograph provided by one of our members. If you are a member and have a photogaph you would like to submit please send the request along with the photograph and description to: info@coconinoastro.org.
Title: “Grand Canyon Star Party”
Saturday, June 1-8, 2024
Link: TBD
Club Contact TBD
Title: “Flagstaff Festival of Science”
Saturday, June 1-8, 2024
Link: TBD
Club Contact TBD
Monthly Meeting for April
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Presenter: Lisa Prato, Lowell Observatory
Title: “Planet Formation in Young Binary Star Systems”
Description: Most stars are located in binary or multiple groups. Astronomers have discovered some transiting planets around both stars in close binary star systems and around individual stars in wider binary systems but it is unclear how robust the planet formation process is in these complex environments. She will discuss her team’s work to characterize the planet-forming circumstellar disks and the stars themselves in young binary systems to better understand the frequency and character of planets in dynamically challenging locations.
Bio: Lisa Prato grew up in the Boston area and attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she completed undergraduate degrees in Astronomy and in English and discovered the world of scientific research. After another year at UMass as a non-degree graduate student, Prato moved to Colombia, South America, and worked for 3 years as a professor in the Department of Physics at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in the city of Bucaramanga, teaching classes in astronomy and astrophysics and working toward a masters degree in Physics. Prato returned to the US to complete a PhD in Astronomy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, followed by two postdoctoral positions at UCLA, one with the Nobel Laureate Dr. Andrea Ghez and one with Dr. Ian McLean. Prato is a Tenured Astronomer on the science faculty at Lowell Observatory and an Adjunct Professor at Northern Arizona University; she works with postdocs, undergraduates, interns, and gradate students on young binary stars and planet formation.
CAS Monthly Meetings and Astronomical Programs are held the
Saturday closest to the Full Moon at the Mars Hill Campus of
Lowell Observatory, Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies
Auditorium (6:45 pm - 8:00 pm)., unless otherwise noted) followed
by refreshments, and informal discussion. Meetings are open and free
to the public.
