Free and Open to the Public

In-person and via Zoom
Ask for the Zoom link from paulwaav@together.net or theresamarie11@GMAIL.COM
VAS Members will be emailed the Zoom link

The in-person will be at the Brownell Library on 2A near 5-Corners in Essex Junction.

If you attend via Zoom please get on-line before 7:30.  If you don't have Zoom installed, the application will automatically download and install when you click the meeting link.  This may take a couple minutes.


PRESENTATION:

ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope: The First Six Months
By Gerry Davis

I bought the ZWO Seestar S50 Telescope in the winter of 2025 because we would soon be moving from our house and land to a two-bedroom apartment with a terrace.  I had used my heavy tripod, equatorial mount, telescopes, and accessories for 7 years in my backyard. This assembly served me well but weighed about 60 pounds and filled a garden cart.  Clearly, this gear would not fit in our apartment or be portable to use outside our new back door.

The Seestar S50 telescope arrived in its compact case complete with a small tripod and solar filter.  The system includes a 50mm aperture 250mm focal length (f5.0) apochromatic triplet optical tube and weighs 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg).  An altitude-azimuth computer-controlled mount points the system, and internal UV/IR and light-pollution filters are included.  A recent firmware upgrade now permits equatorial mount function.  The Seestar S50 internal computer controls it all … GoTo mount with planetarium library, autofocus, plate-solving, guiding, camera and video operation, and filter selection.  The entire system is managed through a smartphone or tablet using the Seestar app.  For real-time observation on screen, 10-30 second frames are stacked sequentially.  Within a few moments the details of galaxies and nebula begin to appear and grow.  Each frame can be stored as FITS and JPG files for future post-production.  The system can compose a “mosaic” of multiple overlapping frames for targets larger than the sensor size.  When the session on the target ends, the composite image stacked by the Seestar is stored as FITS file and JPG files.  Video files of solar system targets are stored as AVI files for future stacking.  Excellent images of the sun and moon result, while the focal length is too small for detailed views of planets.

In my experience, the Seestar S50 is an amazingly capable telescope system in a small, portable, affordable package.  The light weight, the fast set-up, and the comprehensive control system make it well-suited for travel, star parties, or any site other than a permanent observatory.  I look forward to many nights of clear skies with the Seestar S50 just a few feet out my back door.

Following the main presentation, our recurring monthly presentations will include Constellation of the Month  by Terri Zittritsch.

Free and Open to the Public

In-person and via Zoom
Ask for the Zoom link from paulwaav@together.net or theresamarie11@GMAIL.COM
VAS Members will be emailed the Zoom link

The in-person will be at the Brownell Library on 2A near 5-Corners in Essex Junction.

If you attend via Zoom please get on-line before 7:30.  If you don't have Zoom installed, the application will automatically download and install when you click the meeting link.  This may take a couple minutes.

PRESENTATION:

Monitoring the Weather on the Sun and in Space:
NOAA's Newest Satellites

By Dimitrios Vassiliadis, NOAA/NESDIS/Space Weather Observations (SWO) Office

Space weather refers to a wide range of ever-changing conditions around the Sun, the Earth, and other planets and celestial objects. Of greatest importance are those phenomena that can threaten the safety of humans, such as astronauts and airline pilots, and the function of space systems, such as satellites and the International Space Station. After a brief introduction with examples, I will discuss some of the latest satellites and instruments the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has deployed to monitor, study, and model solar and space weather phenomena. Key among them are the Compact Coronagraph 1 (CCOR-1) launched on board the GOES-19 satellite in June 2024 and the Space Weather Follow On - Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) launched in September 2025 to continue the services provided by legacy NASA and NOAA missions. I will discuss some of the key steps in planning for, designing, building, and operating these spacecraft missions.

Images and videos:

CCOR-1 images of the outer corona
●    First public image, October 22, 2024: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-shares-imagery-worlds-first-operational-space-based-coronagraph
●    Real-time imagery: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/coronagraph
●    Archive: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/cloud-access/space-weather-portal/overview?sat=GOES-19&inst=CCOR-1

The SWFO-L1 mission:
●    NASA Scientific Visualization Studio imagery: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20392/
●    First public data from the STIS instrument, November 26, 2025: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-shares-first-swfo-l1-space-weather-data-stis

Following the main presentation, our recurring monthly presentations will include Constellation of the Month  by Terri Zittritsch.

Free and Open to the Public

In-person and via Zoom
Ask for the Zoom link from paulwaav@together.net or theresamarie11@GMAIL.COM
VAS Members will be emailed the Zoom link

The in-person will be at the Brownell Library on 2A near 5-Corners in Essex Junction.

If you attend via Zoom please get on-line before 7:30.  If you don't have Zoom installed, the application will automatically download and install when you click the meeting link.  This may take a couple minutes.

PRESENTATION:

Practical And Ethical Challenges to Consider in the Three Major NASA Accidents: Apollo 1, and Space Shuttles Challenger, and Columbia

By Rev. William S. Wick

Description coming soon.

Following the main presentation, our recurring monthly presentations will include Constellation of the Month  by Terri Zittritsch.