Quail Creek Computer Club April presentation recap

On April 24, the Quail Creek Computer Club held its monthly meeting and presentation which was open to all QC residents. Over 80 people attended. The evening started with a short business meeting consisting of a brief review of last month’s activities, a report on membership and a treasurer’s report. Then James Goodall, who lives in Oro Valley, presented a talk outlining the facilities and work that is going on at Kitt Peak.

Jim, retired from the USAF, is a trained docent at Kitt Peak. Through his photographs and words, he gave us a virtual tour of the multiple observatories at Kitt Peak.

Starting with the visitor center, Jim talked about the 20-inch telescope that is housed there and some of the work it does. He then moved to the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, describing in detail how it works. Following this, Jim discussed the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope and the WIYN 0.9-meter Telescope. Later, he showed the 4-meter Mayall Telescope. This very large telescope and housing dominates the landscape on the peak. The highlight of the talk was the discussion on the AKA DESI, the spectrographic instrument that has been in the recent news that will play a prominent role in the search for dark energy. Over the next five years or more, DESI will be analyzing 35 to 45 million galaxies.

Following this presentation, Jim held a question and answer session. This consumed almost as much time as his presentation.

The next general meeting of the Computer Club, open to all QC residents, will be October 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Madera Ballroom. The topic and speaker will be announced later in the year.

If you are interested in learning more about the Computer Club, go to our website at quailcreekcomputerclub.org and click on the General Info tab. To see a calendar of current classes, click on the Education tab. To speak to someone about the club, come to the lab in the CATC building during Open Lab hours (which are listed on the website calendar). Dues are the same for one family member or two; only $20 per household for the calendar year.