January’s Astronomy on Tap in New York City is a special event as we will be part of this year’s STEMFest, joining our friends at Story Collider and other great shows. The event will be held January 19, 2017 at Under St. Marks, located at 94 St. Marks Place in Manhattan, from 7:30-9:45pm. Our speakers are Dr. Ivelina Momcheva, a scientist from the Space Telescope Science Institute who works on both the Hubble Space Telescope and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, and Guangtun Zhu, who held a Hubble Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

You can RSVP on the Facebook event page, but please note that this is a ticketed event, with proceeds going to support arts and education in New York. Tickets are available now by clicking here.

Iva Momcheva: Hubble’s Evolving Universe
Iva Momcheva received her BS in physics from Sofia University in Bulgaria and her PhD in astronomy from University of Arizona, Tucson. Following research positions at Carnegie Observatories and Yale University, she is now a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. In her current position, she is responsible for making sure the Hubble Space Telescope continues to produce its beautiful and scientifically important images with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. In her research, she works on understanding how distant galaxies evolve. Iva recently had an asteroid named after her: 8260 Momcheva. She will talk about what we have learned about the distant universe with Hubble and what more we expect to find out with its successor – the James Webb Space Telescope.

Guangtun Zhu: All the Things We Cannot See
Guangtun Zhu received his Ph.D. in physics at NYU and had a Hubble Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on galaxy formation, the distribution of matter (dark and ordinary), the large-scale structures of the Universe, and data-intensive astronomy. He will talk about the distribution of dark and ordinary matter, what we have learned about the universe from the limited data we have collected with incredible human intelligence and creativity. He will pay tribute to the late Vera Rubin, and how she discovered a phenomenon that no standard theory can yet explain (and why she should have been awarded a Nobel prize).

Astronomy on Tap NYC continues at the Way Station on December 22^nd! We’re celebrating the new year, another completed orbit of the Sun, with an orbitacular extravaganza! Join us for One More Orbit, and learn about all things orbital: spacecraft, planets, stars, and galaxies!  More info and RSVP on our Facebook page.  Game starts at 7:30pm, presentations at 8pm. FREE!

On Thursday, October 27th at the Way Station, come boldly go (er?) with us as we celebrate 50 years of Star Trek, the show with the MOST (citation needed) influence on degrees in astronomy and rocket science (probably)! We’ll be paying respect to the science and culture of the Star Trek universe, and the Way Station will have a FULL KEG of Shmaltz Brewery’s official Star Trek 50th Golden Anniversary Ale! Make sure you kling-on to us as we warp speed ahead into the final frontier! RSVP and more info on our Facebook event page.

Join us on the Intrepid in Manhattan in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek! Astronomy on Tappers will be presenting Astro Café at the Intrepid on September 10. Our featured speaker is Rachael Livermore, an astrophysicist from the University of Texas at Austin. Joining her will be Summer Ash from Columbia University and Demitri Muna from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

We’ll talk about Star Trek and space… all while literally next to the Enterprise! (The NASA space shuttle one, not the NCC-1701 one. Obviously, because the other one was was destroyed over the Genesis planet, so how could it be that one?)

Andrew Fazekas, author of “Star Trek: The Official Guide to Our Universe”, will also be there to talk about his book and sign copies.

The event is free, but you must RSVP on the Intrepid’s web site to attend. Space, science, Star Trek, trivia, prizes… it’s going to be a great night!

In the 1600s, Galileo and others noted that the Moon has mountains, and in 1902, it was honored with the very first sci-fi flick, Le voyage dans la lune. These are just two examples of how the moon has played a huge role in science and culture. This month, Astro on Tap NYC celebrates International Observe the Moon Night by looking at the science and culture surrounding our moon. RSVP and more information is available on our Facebook event page!

When: Thursday, September 29, 2016 @ 7pm

Where: Way Station, 683 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238

What

Next year, in August 2017, the Great American Eclipse will sweep across the US! This Thursday August 25, come get drunk at the Way Station and learn about astronomical shadows: eclipses, transits, and even a nod to their shadowy cousin, the occultation! The event is free, and if you come early you’ll get a bonus FREE set of eclipse glasses so you can plan for 2017 in style!

Who

• Irene Pease, the Friendly Neighborhood Astronomer, talking about Mercury, Venus, and other transits.
• Michal Simon, Stony Brook University, talking about the Great American Eclipse of 2017.
• Demitri Muna, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, talking about occultations.
• Moiya McTier, Columbia University, talking about the Kepler Space Telescope

When & Where

Thursday, August 25, 2016 at the Way Station, 683 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238

As summer quickly approaches, school is ending, concert series start up, and the mosquitoes come out to play, it sounds like a great time for an Out of This World Astronomy on Tap!  June 12th, starting at 7 pm we’ll be at the Way Station in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Come and hear from:

Weird Exoplanetary Systems, Nathan Bellomy, AMNH
Comet Dust through a REALLY COOL MICROSCOPE, Amanda White, AMNH
Today’s Largest Galaxies: Supersonic Winds and Massive Black Holes, Louise Edwards, Yale
It’s a Great Big Universe, Brian Levine, AMNH

And, to get yourself pumped up, psyched, ready and able for Brian’s presentation (and yes, he’s thinking about having a singalong, so you better be ready!), you may want to (re-)familiarize yourself with this classic Animaniacs song.

MC Tycho Brew-ha-ha will be hosting with games! prizes! glowsticks!