Chiefland Astronomy

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Adam Ginsburg, University of Florida

“The Galactic Center”

Abstract: The center of our Galaxy is full of stars, gas, and active, energetic events. It has long been hidden from our view in the optical, but radio and infrared telescopes have opened the inner Galaxy for exploration. I will give a tour of the innermost regions in the Milky Way, from the inner ends of the spiral arms along the bar into the central ring of gas. There is weird and intriguing molecular chemistry, explosive star formation, and the full life cycle of hundreds of millions of stars all within a few degrees on the sky. Each of these aspects of Galactic space shows different and beautiful features that I will show in images as I tell the story of how gas moves inward in our Galaxy.

About the Speaker: Dr. Ginsburg began his career as an undergraduate at Rice University, earning a B.S. in Astrophysics, in 2007. He went on to earn his PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Colorado in 2013. He was a European Southern Observatory (ESO) fellow in Garching, Germany from 2013 to 2016 then was a Jansky fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico from 2016 to 2019 before coming to the University of Florida.

Dr. Ginsburg studies the formation of the most massive stars and how their formation process affects their neighbors, with the aim of understanding what physical processes control the stellar initial mass function. He uses primarily radio and millimeter telescopes to measure the molecular interstellar medium, which is the gas phase from which stars form. Turbulence and chemistry are the two most important and least understood processes that affect both how the stars form and how we detect their birth environments, so his research includes these fields by necessity. He is also interested in the maintenance and development of new tools to facilitate observational astronomy and comparison between simulations and observations.

His areas of expertise include High-mass Star Formation, Radio and Millimeter Astronomy, Molecular Interstellar Medium (ISM), Turbulence in the ISM, Astrochemistry and Astronomical Software Development.

Speaker

Dr. Jerry Cheney, Alachua Astronomy Club

“Photographing a Lunar Eclipse“

Abstract: Lunar eclipses are common events in the night sky. Understanding the geometry and physics of these events allows us to understand and predict the images we see. We’ll discuss how to obtain and understand the images we collect during lunar eclipses.

About the Speaker: Jerry Cheney grew up in southeast Texas.  He earned his BS in Biology from Lamar University in 1976 and went on to earn his PhD in Biological Oceanography from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography in 1981.  He then accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he met and married his lovely wife, Marianne.  They have two sons, Michael, an industrial engineer in Tampa, and Chris, currently in his final year of Pharmacy School at UF.

Dr. Cheney taught oceanography at the college level and continued his studies of the distribution of zooplankton in the North Atlantic, but after ten years he decided to change careers to become an optometrist.  He graduated from the New England College of Optometry in 1994.  The family moved to Florida in 1997 and eventually settled in Ocala, where Dr. Cheney practiced for fifteen years.   He had the good fortune to be able to retire in 2014.

Dr. Cheney always had an interest in astronomy, and being a scientist by general nature and training, he has taken up astronomy as hobby in retirement   He joined the Alachua Astronomy Club in 2015 and has served in the club’s administration for many years, including as president from 2017 to 2019.  He teaches science courses, including astronomy, through Senior Learners in Ocala.

Speaker

Charlie Warren, Amateur Astronomy Magazine

“31 Years of Amateur Astronomy: Beautiful Questions“

Abstract: This is an informative and humorous look at the hobby of
amateur astronomy with insights into the obsessive mind of the
“naturalist of the night sky”. This talk also addresses the importance of
amateur astronomy as it relates to our current “amusement” culture; in
particular as a means of stimulating a mindset of inquiry and personal
discovery in a cycle of “Beautiful Questions” that transform our
understanding of the natural world that surrounds us.

About the Speaker: Charlie Warren is the managing editor of Amateur Astronomy Magazine. He is an active amateur who enjoys visual astronomy with a variety of instruments, particularly large aperture telescopes. He is an avid astrophotographer who has imaged more than 400 deep sky objects and nightscapes, representing over two thousand hours of imaging time. He also enjoys solar astronomy and spectroscopy.

Charlie’s interest in astronomy started when he was 10-years old. While cruising in the Bahamas and Virgin Islands with his family, his father taught him celestial navigation with the use of a sextant, charts and ship’s chronometer. Later while studying at Colgate University, he had opportunity to observe through the nearby Cornell University observatory telescope and tag along and interview an
astronomer working on refining “redshift” for galaxies in our local group.

A decade later, he invested in his first “real” telescope; a 10” Newtonian on an equatorial mount. His interest ignited to “obsession” following his first star party at a truly remote dark sky site. Astronomical imaging in the late 90’s furthered his obsession. Shortly after moving back to Orlando Florida in 2003, he began frequenting the Chiefland Astronomy Village every new moon weekend. There he befriended resident Tom Clark, the founding editor of Amateur Astronomy Magazine. Charlie began writing articles for the publication, and in the summer of 2007 purchased the magazine when Tom Clark retired.

Speaker

Tom Falvey, South Carolina State Museum

“Robert B. Ariail Telescope Collection“

Abstract: In 2011, Columbia, SC resident Robert Ariail donated his world-
class collection of antique telescopes and astronomical instruments to the
South Carolina State Museum. The telescopes and instruments total more
than 200 objects dating back to 1730. Of the more than 60 telescopes in
the group, 23 are fine examples of 19th and early 20th century American-
made telescopes. More than half of these were made by Alvan Clark &
Sons, makers of some of the finest refracting lenses in the world. The
telescopes and instruments are housed in a dedicated exhibition gallery at the museum. Tom will first provide some background on Mr. Ariail, then describe the telescopes and how they contributed to astronomy in America. Finally, Tom will describe the history and current use of SCSM’s 1926 12 3/8- inch Clark refractor.

About the Speaker: Tom’s interest in museums began as young student on a field trip, when he saw a presenter in a Faraday cage throw massive sparks from the giant Van de Graaff generator at the
Museum of Science Boston. As Director of Innovation Experiences, he remembers that moment and recognizes the museum’s responsibility to find ways to represent and excite our many audiences at the South Carolina State Museum. Tom received a master’s in environmental education before starting his museum career at Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington, NC. He joined the South Carolina State Museum in 2000 and has held many positions in both the education and collections departments. Tom was fortunate to serve on the team that developed the 2014 expansion that includes the museum’s planetarium, observatory, 4D theater, and telescope gallery. He loves the state’s natural spaces, especially the mountains, where he enjoys camping and hiking. If he’s not at work or on a trail, Tom can regularly be found volunteering with his church music program.

Speaker

Greg Crinklaw, Skyhound / SkyTools

“Rediscovering the Joy of Just You and a Telescope“

Abstract: Amateur astronomy has changed enormously since I first began
observing the sky in high school with a telescope and a set of printed charts.
Today we can have our telescopes find objects for us, operate imaging systems
remotely, and even place a smart telescope outside and watch the results appear
on a screen. These are remarkable tools, but there is still something uniquely satisfying about finding and observing an object yourself.
In this talk I’ll return to the kind of visual observing that first drew me to astronomy: learning the sky, planning an observing session, finding objects at the eyepiece, and knowing that the photons reaching your eye have traveled directly from the object you’re observing. Along the way I’ll talk about my own experiences observing comets, near earth asteroids, and deep-sky objects, and how my desire for better observing charts eventually led me to create SkyTools. I’ll show how carefully designed charts can make finding difficult objects easier without taking the observer out of the process. The technology has changed dramatically over the years, but sometimes the most rewarding way to observe is as low tech as possible.

About the Speaker: Greg is an astronomer from Cloudcroft New Mexico, who is best known as the developer of SkyTools. Greg holds BS, and MS degrees in astronomy and an MS in physics. He once worked for NASA as a software engineer in support of the Mars Orbiter Camera, which took thousands of pictures from Mars orbit for a decade. Greg considers himself to be a professionally trained life-long amateur astronomer, who has
managed to do just about every kind of astronomy at one time or another.

Speaker

Cliff Gosney, Amateur Astronomer

“DIY Equatorial Platform”

Abstract: The Dobsonian has become one of the most popular telescopes
due to its stability and ease of operation. The major drawback is it does not
track the sky, which requires hand tracking to counter the earth’s rotation.
Some Dobsonians use computers, digital encoders and stepper motors that provide tracking. However, there is also an analog device known as an equatorial platform that can be built using common tools. In this presentation Cliff will share detailed step-by-step photos showing the construction of his equatorial platform to illustrate the process of building one. Hopefully this will take the mystery out of the workings and help inspire others that may be interested in making one for themselves.

About the Speaker: Cliff Gosney is a lifelong Welder/Fabricator. He has been an amateur
astronomer and telescope maker for over forty years. His interest in astronomy started when he was 8 years old and his mother was the first president of the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona. She helped raise funds for the construction of the planetarium. To this day she volunteers to help the planetarium’s curator with public observing sessions. Chiefland is hallowed ground for him since he’s been observing here since the early days of his interest in astronomy.