Join Us for the HAL September Meeting
j...@tomney.com
Yea! – fall is arriving, and I am hoping that it will bring some wonderful cool, clear evenings for us to enjoy. It’s time for our September Members Meeting, and we have a great program lined up for this Thursday.
The meeting will be held Thursday, September 10th from 7–9 p.m. at the Robinson Nature Center, with virtual attendance available via Zoom for anyone who prefers to join from home (link below).
This month we welcome Dr. Kate Craft, a scientist on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. Her talk will take us deep into the science and engineering behind exploring Jupiter’s icy ocean world, Europa. Europa Clipper launched in October 2024 and is now on its 5.5‑year cruise toward Jupiter, including gravity assists at Mars and Earth (with the Earth flyby coming up on December 3, 2026!). Once in the Jovian system, the spacecraft will perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa to investigate its ice shell, subsurface ocean, composition, geology, and any signs of current activity such as plumes or cryovolcanism. Dr. Craft will also highlight how Europa Clipper’s ten science instruments operate in Europa’s harsh radiation environment, and how this mission sets the stage for future ocean‑world exploration such as Dragonfly, Europa Lander concepts, Enceladus Orbilander, plume fly‑through orbiters, and cryobots designed to search for biosignatures. We’re thrilled to have her share both the science and the excitement behind one of NASA’s most ambitious planetary missions.
Along with the main presentation, we’ll also have our regular segments:
- What’s Up in Space
- Shallow Skies
- Member Astrophotos
And speaking of member photos, now is the time to send your astrophotos, sketches, or astronomy‑themed artwork that you’d like included to me (do not do a “reply all” to this email) at j...@tomney.com no later than Wednesday evening. Please try to include a little background about your submission to share with the audience.
Zoom Meeting Link
Topic: HAL September 2026 Members Meeting
Time: Sep 10, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83894356469?pwd=m4TkKQefCdcZYqNqBcJPORbIN9J0vD.1
Looking forward to seeing you, either in person or online, for another fun evening exploring our universe together.
Jim
Jim Tomney
HAL President
