March Regular Meeting at SLAS

Near and Far – Moon, Planets, Stars!

by amateur astronomer

K. Michael Malolepszy,

      Mr. Malolepszy will talk about events and discoveries connected with the night skies of March. Included will be: images of the total lunar eclipse of March 3, the recent appearance of the spectacular Comet McNaught, the Jupiter fly-by of the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft and other recent advances in planetary exploration, and a look at some of the interstellar dust clouds, star clusters, and galaxies that lie far beyond our solar system. March is a particularly good time to find out about these “deep sky” objects. All of the 110 objects in the most famous listing of such viewing targets, the Messier Catalog, can be seen in one dusk-to-dawn evening – but only during March each year, on nights when moonlight does not interfere.
            Mike Malolepszy is a veteran amateur astronomer and President of the Saint Louis Astronomical Society. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. He has worked at the Very Large Array national radio astronomy observatory in New Mexico, and has presented astronomy programs at the McDonnell Planetarium, now operated by the St. Louis Science Center, for many years.