Serving science and society since 1937. The National Capital
Astronomers (NCA) is a non-profit, membership supported, volunteer
run, public service corporation dedicated
to advancing space technology, astronomy, and related sciences
through information, participation, and inspiration, via research,
lectures and presentations, publications, expeditions, tours,
public interpretation, and education. NCA is the astronomy
affiliate of the Washington
Academy of Sciences. We are also members of the Astronomical League, in
fact NCA members helped form the Astronomical League a long time
ago.
NCA has for many years published a monthly newsletter called Star
Dust that is available for members. Besides announcement of
coming NCA meetings and a calendar of monthly events Star Dust
contains reviews of past meeting and articles on current
astronomical events.
NCA is a very unusual astronomy organization. All are welcome to
join. Everyone who looks up to the sky with wonder is an
astronomer and welcomed by NCA. You do not have to own a
telescope, but if you do own one that is fine, too. You do not
have to be deeply knowledgeable in astronomy , but if you are
knowledgeable in astronomy that is fine, too. You do not have to
have a degree, but if you do that is fine, too. WE ARE THE MOST
DIVERSE local ASTRONOMY CLUB anywhere. Come to our meetings and
you will find this out. WE REALLY MEAN THIS!
Our Meetings
Monthly Meetings with Educational Presentations are Free and
Open to the Public
NCA has regular monthly meetings September through June on the
second Saturday of the month.
Public transportation:Directions/maps
to the UM Observatory Inclement weather: In case of severe weather
(tornado/snow/impassable roads), a notice will be placed on the Observatory Website
on the day of the meeting. (Be sure to refresh/reload the page to
make sure you are seeing an updated page.)
Oct 12, 2013: Sarah E Brown (NCA), The Back
Door to Astronomy
Nov 09, 2013: Kent Wood (NRL), An All-Sky
Discovery Machine: A Gamma Ray Telescope and an Optical Survey
Telescope
Dec 14, 2013: Douglas P. Hamilton (UMd), The
Origin of Titan & Hyperion
Jan 11, 2014: Dan Lathrop (UMd), A Planetary
Dynamo in the Laboratory SPECIAL LOCATION: In a lab at the
University of Maryland.
Feb 08, 2014: Holly Gilbert (GSFC), Results
from the Solar Dynamics Observatory
Mar 08, 2014: Elizabeth Hays (GSFC), Cosmic
Ray Protons from Supernova Remnants
Apr 12, 2014: Henrique
Schmitt (NRL), Using
Optical Interferometry to Study the Structure of Stars, Active
Galactic Nuclei and Geostationary Satellites
May 10, 2014: Craig Markwardt (GSFC), What
NuSTAR Has Found So Far
Jun 14, 2014: Election, and Science Fair
winners speak.
Most meetings will be held at the University of Maryland
Astronomical Observatory in College Park, Maryland.
Multi-layered
Metallic Sandwiches and Nuclear Titanium: How
the NuSTAR X-ray Observatory is Peering Deeper
into the X-ray Sky
Speaker: Craig Markwrdt, NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center
Abstract: The X-ray sky reveals nature's energetic
processes, including the accretion of matter onto super-dense
black holes & neutron stars as well as the emissions from
plasmas at temperatures in excess of one million degrees Celsius.
If we had X-ray eyes, the sky would be radically different from
the one with which we are familiar! The Nuclear Spectroscopic
Telescope Array (NuSTAR) X-ray observatory, led by the California
Institute of Technology, but with input from scientists around the
world, is the first to focus astrophysical X-rays above 10
kilo-electron volts (keV). NuSTAR's innovative multilayer optics
allow astronomers to take a picture of the "hard" X-ray sky with
unprecedented detail. Thanks to NuSTAR, we now know precisely how
heavy elements like Titanium, which is produced in the core of an
exploding star, are dispersed throughout the Galaxy. NuSTAR was
also fortunate enough to capture a spinning pulsar in orbit around
the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Dr. Markwardt will
discuss the previously-mentioned science topics and some of the
engineering challenges that NuSTAR overcame in order to become a
successful orbiting observatory.
Bio: Dr. Craig Markwardt has been a research
scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center since 1997 and
NuSTAR's mission scientst since 2013. Dr. Markwardt studies X-ray
emissions from galactic black holes and neutron stars, and also
performs an all-sky survey of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the
nearby Universe. Additionally, Dr. Markwardt is a member of
instrument teams for several observatories, including the RXTE
Proportional Counter Array and the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. He
was also a developer on the GEMS X-ray polarimetry project.
Join Us for Dinner Before the Meeting on May 10, 2014
The dinner will be at
our former dining location at the U of Md University College
Marriott Conference Center. The building has been
renovated. The enlarged restaurant is now called "The
Common". For GPS navigational purposes, the address
of the Conference Center is 3501 University Blvd., East,
Hyattsville, MD 20783.
Telescope-Making and Mirror-Grinding
Telescope-making and mirror-making classes with Guy Brandenburg
at the Chevy Chase Community Center, at the intersection of
McKinley Street and Connecticut Avenue, NW, a few blocks inside
the DC boundary, on the northeast corner of the
intersection, in the basement (wood shop), on Fridays, from
6:30 to 9:30 PM. For information visit Guy's
Website To contact Guy, use this phone #: 202-262-4274
or Email Guy.
Come See the Stars at Exploring the Sky 2014!
Exploring the Sky is an informal program that for
over sixty years has offered monthly opportunities for anyone in
the Washington area to see the stars and planets through
telescopes from a location within the District of Columbia.
Sessions are held in Rock Creek Park once each month on a Saturday
night from April through November, starting shortly after sunset.
We meet in the field just south of the intersection of Military
and Glover Roads NW, near the Nature Center. A parking lot is
located next to the field.
Beginners (including children) and experienced stargazers are all
welcome-and it's free!
Questions? Call the Nature center at (202) 895-6070 or check: Exploring
the Sky @ Rock Creek. Download the flier!
Date
Time
Targets of Interest
05 Apr
8:30pm
Winter constellations; Jupiter in Gemini
03 May
9:00pm
Saturn rising in the east; Astronomy Day 5/10
21 Jun
9:00pm
Solstice 6/21; possible meteors (June Boötids)
19 Jul
9:00pm
Summer Triangle; Mars has just passed Spica
23 Aug
8:30pm
Andromeda rising; Perseid meteor shower
20 Sep
8:00pm
Andromeda Galaxy rising; equinox 9/23
18 Oct
7:30pm
Possible meteor crash on Mars 10/19
01 Nov
7:00pm
Pleiades and winter constellations appear
Exploring the Sky is a presentation of the National Park Service
and National Capital Astronomers.
The Society of Amateur
Radio Astronomers (SARA) Annual Meeting and Technical
Conference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green
Bank, West Virginia right after Green Bank Star Quest.
uaqa: understanding articulation
quality assurance, home of the National Capital Astronomers, Inc
web page. Check out uaqa's web
publishing services and the other people and organizations using uaqa.com. uaqa also hosts Astrolabes.org and Mcstaffunion.org.
dedicated
to advancing space technology, astronomy, and related sciences
through information, participation, and inspiration, via research,
lectures and presentations, publications, expeditions, tours,
public interpretation, and education. NCA is the astronomy
affiliate of the Washington
Academy of Sciences. We are also members of the Astronomical League, in
fact NCA members helped form the Astronomical League a long time
ago. 
