General Meeting
Astronomy Fundamentals Meeting
Next (ONLINE): Thursday, February 12, 2026
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Come join us for a presentation from the fundamentals of amateur astronomy. Learn your way around the night sky to add to your observing enjoyment. Meetings are on the second Thursday of each month.
You can find our past recordings on the Club’s YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXbeCAsGDdSZlqE0IAEUBmZxvmCUJi5Tr
Contact: Connor Justice
Email: fundamentals[at]tucsonastronomy.org
Marana – Camping Under the Stars
April 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Astronomy event supporting Marana – Camping Under the Stars. For more information, see their website: Camping Under the Stars – Town of Marana, AZ
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Solar Telescope Observing @ Saguaro NP – East
April 5 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Join the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) and Saguaro National Park – East for some Sun gazing at the park. We will observe the Sun through telescopes with appropriate filters so you will get to see sunspots, prominences, flares, and more.
The Sun is at its peak in the sunspot cycle so there is LOTS of activity on its surface.
This event is FREE and open to the public, no reservations required. NPS admission fees apply.
The telescopes will be set up at the Bicycle Ramada next to, or at, the Visitors Center.
This event will most likely be canceled in the event of clouds/rain.
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Stargazing @ Picacho Peak State Park
April 24 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Truely dark skies at a scenic location – Picacho Peak State Park
Star Party is open to the Public. Event is free but park admission fees apply.
The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several advanced amateur telescopes for astronomical viewing.
We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more.
Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes at a really dark location.
Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/events
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Stargazing at Agua Caliente Park
April 18 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Viewing Location: Bus Lanes @ North end of Parking Lot
Information: Great dark skies in Northeast Tucson. Star Party open to the Public. Cost: FREE.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes.
Park gate may close before event end time, so arrive as close to start time as possible. Weather dependent.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page: ((4) Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association | Facebook)
FREE but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
These events fill up fast so recommend registering early.
To Register go to: Pima County Parks and Recreation Then Log in or Create an account. Once logged in click on “Environmental Education”. You should get the Pop-up screen “Register for a Program”. Scroll down to the event on the list and click on the “Register” button. You must be logged in for the Registration screen to work.
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Stargazing at Catalina State Park
April 17 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Star Party at Catalina State Park – Tucson, AZ
Viewing Location: Trailhead Picnic area at end of road inside the park.
Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Catalina State Park.
Star Party open to the Public. Admission fee for entrance into Catalina State Park.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have approximately 10 telescopes for astronomical viewing.
We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a wide variety of telescopes.
Weather dependent. For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook Events Page ((4) Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association | Facebook).
Additional details will be posted here and on Facebook as we get closer to the event.
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Stargazing at Tumacacori National Historical Park
April 10 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Join TAAA and the National Park Service for an evening of stargazing at Tumacacori National Historical Park . Address below.
The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) will have several telescopes with volunteer astronomers, for astronomical viewing, in front of the Old Mission.
We will observe Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Star Clusters and lots more. Great opportunity to look through a variety of telescopes.
Event is free, no reservations required, but NPS admission fees apply.
Weather dependent, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook event page: TAAA Facebook Events page for weather updates on day of event.
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
Stargazing at Oracle State Park
April 4 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Viewing Location: Kannally Ranch House
- Typically a music event prior, check the park’s website below.
- Star Party telescope viewing (7:30 – 9:30pm)
Information: Great dark skies just north of Tucson at Oracle State Park.
3820 E Wildlife Dr., Oracle, AZ 85623
Star Party open to the Public. Admission fees for entrance into Oracle State Park apply.
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will have several telescopes for astronomical viewing. We will be observing the Moon + Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, and Star Clusters.
Great opportunity to look through a wide variety of telescopes. Weather dependent.
For real-time updates, follow this event on the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Facebook event page: TAAA Facebook Events page
Also: Check the Oracle State Park website for additional information and activities that day:
Star Party at Oracle State Park | Oracle State Park (azstateparks.com)
Bernie Stinger
612-396-8839
astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org
SmartScopes
So, I Bought a SeeStar!: Basic Skills for the ZWO SeeStar S30 and S50
Open for Enrollment – Stephen Ferris, Instructor
Place: TIMPA Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026 Time: 7:00pm until completed.
Synopsis: ZWO SeeStars are a hot item for Amateur Astronomers both new and experienced. They combine good optics, a lot of automation and a user-friendly interface with entry level prices. This workshop will cover the basic use of both the SeeStar S50 and the SeeStar S30. It is open to both current SeeStar owners and those who are considering buying a SeeStar. If you have a SeeStar of either design, please bring it with you, fully charged. The instructor will walk you through basic procedures for using your equipment. Don’t forget to bring your phone or the tablet that you use to control it!
This training is ZWO SeeStar specific. If you are interested in a workshop for another kind of
SmartScope, please contact Stephen at the email address or number below.
If you are interested in joining us, please contact the instructor, Stephen Ferris: email, Text: 520
661-5355
SmartScopes and Snacks!
Pot Luck and Meet and Greet for All SmartScope Users at TIMPA!
Place: TIMPA Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026 Time: 7:00 PM until whenever
This TIMPA event is open to all SmartScope users of all levels of experience, plus anyone who
might be interested in getting a SmartScope. We’ll get started with a pot luck dinner social around
7:00 pm. (The sun sets late. Expect warm temperatures.) Bring some images and techniques to
share with the group! We would love to hear about any use of any SmartScopes that you might
have. Then, if weather permits, we’ll do some viewing after it gets dark until whenever.
I will provide water, sodas, basic paper plates and plastic utensils. You are not at all required to
bring food, but if you do, we expect about 10-12 people. I will notify everyone if we get more!
Please RSVP to Stephen Ferris, TIMPA Director, at email Text: 520-661-5355 by May 1.
If SmartScopes are at all of interest to you (or even if they are not), we would love to have you
come out and join us!
HYBRID – General Meeting – March 2026
March 6 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Title: A Cosmic Odyssey: The Epic Journey of our Milky Way Galaxy
Astronomers estimate that approximately one in a thousand galaxies in the nearby universe is in the act of colliding. Although rare locally, we find that galaxy mergers were far more common and produced the majority of all the infrared emission in the early Universe. Therefore, studying these rare mergers in our local Universe gives us a window into the galactic train wrecks of the early Universe that shaped galaxy evolution. It has been over 100 years since astronomer Vesto Slipher discovered that, unlike every other galaxy we observe, our nearest neighbor, Andromeda, is on a collision course with the Milky Way. In order to understand the fate of our galaxy, observations of hundreds of ongoing galaxy mergers, with have been collected, with every major space-based observatory available—e.g. Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel, GALEX, Chandra, and JWST— as part of the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). These luminous infrared galaxies host the most extreme dust-enshrouded stellar nurseries in the local Universe. In this talk, Dr. Sean Linden presents the story of the Milky Way Galaxy; how the ongoing interaction with Andromeda has shaped it so far, and what we have learned about galaxy mergers in GOALS that allow us to predict what the Milky Way will look like in the future.
Presenter: Dr. Sean Linden
Dr. Sean Linden received his PhD in the Spring of 2020 from the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia working with Dr. Aaron Evans and Dr. Eric Murphy at the NRAO. He then moved to a position as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for three years working with Dr. Daniela Calzetti on studies of star clusters in nearby galaxies with JWST. Sean is currently the Peter A. Strittmatter Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona, and will be starting a new position as an assistant professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Rochester Institute of Technology next Fall.
Ed Foley, TAAA President
Planets of the Month: February 2026
By Erich Karkoschka
There will be a TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE on the morning of March 3rd. Partial phase begins at 2:50 am (Tucson) and ends at 6:18 during dawn. Totality last for one hour starting at 4:04 am. The moon will be about 10 degrees to the upper left of Regulus and not much brighter than the star at mid totality. The next two Total Lunar Eclipses visible in Tucson — in 2029 will be only partially visible during twilight. The next good one will be in 2033.
Mercury and Venus are visible all month at dusk low in the west.
Mercury is easier to see than Venus until the 20th. At mid-month, one can find Venus 8 degrees below Mercury. Mercury moves further north while Venus moves faster eastward, so that by the 26th, Mercury is 5 degrees to the right of Venus but 5 magnitudes fainter than Venus. On the 19th, Mercury is 50% illuminated. Toward the end of the month, both planets are about the same size, but Mercury is a crescent while Venus is fully illuminated.
Saturn is higher than Venus, by the end of the month only 8 degrees higher. On March 8, it will be 1 degree to the left of Venus. This is the last time in the next 12 years that Saturn’s rings show as a thin line on both sides of Saturn’s sphere.
Jupiter transits 81 degrees high around 10 pm. On the 18th, Ganymede’s shadow moves across the disk until 10 pm.
Neptune is only .9 degrees north of Saturn around the 15th. This is the closest both planets have been during the last 35 years, and the same holds true until 2061.
Uranus is 70 degrees high at dusk. It can be easily located in binoculars 5 degrees south of the Pleiades.
The moon is close to Mercury on the 18th and close to Saturn on the 19th. By the 26th it is close to bright Jupiter.