December 2019

It’s time for the RAS Member Holiday Party! This private event is open to all RAS members (though tickets are limited) and will be held in Philadelphia.

November 2019

This month, RAS will be joined by the Philly Moon Men to discuss their
astronomical tour of Europe this past summer.

In May 2019, the Philly Moon Men departed for Rome with their telescope and their bicycles. This was their first mission in exploring the history of astronomy, as well as bringing the cause of Sidewalk Astronomy worldwide. Join the Moon Men as they visit seven countries in three months, cycling 1,200 miles, meeting astronomers, studying the Earth's oldest telescopes, and reconnecting different cultures to the same night sky that we see here in our home city.

Meeting will be held in the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute.

October 2019

This month, RAS will be joined by Dr. Scott C. Smith, who will present on “Seeing the Invisible: The New Science of Gravity Wave Astronomy”

September 2019

This month, RAS will be joined by Amy Barraclough, Director of the Edelman Planetarium at Rowan University, who will present on Astronomy in Chile in the Educator Ambassador Program.

Amy Barraclough is also part of the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador Program (ACEAP). She will share her experiences of the wonderful opportunity to visit some of the U.S.-funded observatories in the southern hemisphere including ALMA, CTIO, Gemini South, and SOAR.

While in Chile, Barraclough worked with eight other ambassadors conducting research in astronomy. They visited some of the world’s most well-known observatories—the Gemini South Telescope in central Chile, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near La Serena, and the ALMA facilities in San Pedro De Atacama in northern Chile. The program provided ambassadors with substantial training on the instruments used at the facilities and familiarized them with the research conducted there.

The experience sharpened their understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts, which are invaluable in the field of astronomy.

According to Barraclough, Chile was the perfect location to facilitate learning. Ambassadors were able to view aspects of the night sky from a unique vantage point.

Meeting will be held in the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute.

June 2019

This month, RAS will be joined by Adam Chantry, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, who will present on Going Forward to the Moon.

After being revived in July of 2017, the National Space Council had its first meeting in October 2017 and worked on what would become White House Space Policy Directive 1.

This directive calls for "an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.”

We will explore some of the plans to make this and other directives a reality in the near future. How and when will we see the next person set foot on the lunar surface and what is next after that?

Meeting will be held in the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute.