Program: "2025: The Year in Review - Astronomy/Weather"

Astronomy events/happenings and weather summary for 2025.

Presented by David Bishop, Astronomy Section of the Rochester Academy of Science and Perry Pezzolanella, MVAS

Program: "ARTEMIS II – NASA’s 10-day Crewed Flight Test Around the Moon"

NASA’s Artemis II will launch four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon. The first crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration, the flight will test hardware and systems including life support, docking, communication, and deep-space navigation. The launch window opens February 6, 2026 and extends to April 30, 2026.

Presented by Carol Higgins, NASA Solar System Ambassador, MVAS.

Program: "Touching the Sun: Science, Story, and the Human Connection to Our Star"

They will expound on the documentary film, Touching the Sun, that is in the process of being produced.

Presented by Natasha Davison, Producer, Touching the Sun | Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin, Anne Zeiser and the Touching the Sun Team

Program: "The MVAS Starfront Observatory Project"

The proposal of MVAS having a robotic telescope set up at the Starfront Observatory in Rockwood, Texas for astroimaging.

Presented by MVAS members

Program: "Meteorology and Astronomy - How weather Shapes the Night Sky"

Presented by Bill Kardas, WKTV Chief Meteorologist

Program: "Neptune: Frigid Blue Blustery Brew"

Presented by Perry Pezzolanella, MVAS

Program: "Star-B-Que"

Presented by MVAS. For club members and their guests.

Program: "Studying the Birth of Stars and Planets Through Accretion with EVE"

The Early eVolution Explorer (EVE) is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission concept that would enable new studies of how stars and planets evolve over their first 100 million years. Perseid Meteor Shower observing and stargazing after the meeting (weather permitting).

Presented by Dr. Connor Robinson, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Alfred University, Alfred, NY via Zoom

Program: "Mapping Earth and Sky: An Archaeoastronomical Study of Iglesia Vieja"

Explore how Colgate’s Ho Tung Visualization Lab is being used as an immersive tool for archaeoastronomy research at Iglesia Vieja, an ancient site in Chiapas, Mexico. By reconstructing the site’s landscape and ancient skies within the dome, researchers can virtually stand among its structures, investigate architectural orientations, test potential astronomical alignments, and explore how the Sun, stars, and surrounding landscape may have influenced the site’s design and use.

Presented by Joe Eakin, Tech Director of the Ho Tung Visualization Lab, Colgate University Santiago Juarez, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Colgate University

Program: "My Astronomy Journey from a Pringles Can Refractor to an AI Smart Telescope"

Dr. Jabbour will describe the current setup at the Pompey Observatory, discuss recent successes with daytime observations (not just Sun and Moon, but pretty much every planet and space station, and many stars brighter than magnitude 2), his venture into radio astronomy to beat Central New York clouds, his recent visit to the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, and his lockdown-inspired YouTube channel.

Presented by Dr Kamal Jabbour, Retired, Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, NY

Program: "New Eyes on the Universe: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope"

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is the latest addition to NASA’s fleet of space-based observatories. With an extremely wide field of view, it will survey tens of thousands of exoplanets, hundreds of millions of galaxies, and billions of stars. The unprecedented volume of data will revolutionize our understanding of dark energy, dark matter, and the origin and evolution of the universe, galaxies, stars, and planets. Via Zoom.

Presented by Carol Higgins, NASA Solar System Ambassador and MVAS member

Program: "Members' Show 'n Tell"

Presented by MVAS