AAA President Message – November 2019

Dear AAA Members,

Welcome back to “real time!“ As we leave daylight savings behind us, the nights are coming even earlier, and getting cooler. Over the upcoming weeks, the rest of our regular public observing sites are ending for the season. The few remaining events are at Floyd Bennett Field, Great Kills, and Pioneer Works.

AAA’s second annual Diwali Festival  was held on November 2. Thanks to organizers Tom Haeberle, Faissal Halim, Stan Honda, Bhaswan Kurra, Gowri Lakshminarayanan, and Chirag Upreti for a wonderful event, regardless of weather.

This month we see the last transit until 2032 – the Veterans’ Day Transit of Mercury, on November 11. Weather permitting, you can safely view a little black dot on the Sun that day from one of the posted observing sites – check close to date for each site’s times. Thanks to our partners at B&H you can also watch a live stream of the event on our front page, and hear from AAA Members Stan Honda, William Koster, Irene Pease, and Katherine Troche, as well as Micah Acinapura of AMNH, and Brian Levine of AMNH and Astronomy on Tap.

In addition to the indoor Classes (which are currently sold out) and Lectures, you can look forward to more cozy gatherings in the upcoming months. The next Members-only meet-up is November 7, in Forest Hills – check your email for the announcement and details. This and other meet-ups are a great opportunity get to know more of your fellow AAA Members over drinks and appetizers!  You can also connect and converse with other members through our Special Interest Groups: Talk-Talk, Dark Sky Observing, Volunteer Observers, and Astrophotography. I encourage you to join one or more, if you haven’t already, to share with and learn from others in our enthusiastic community.

Clear Skies,

Irene Pease

AAA President