The July 2026 meeting of the Chicago Astronomical Society will be on
Saturday, July 25, 2026
at the
Cernan Earth and Space Center.
Please note the schedule so you won't be late for pizza!
Meeting Agenda:
5:00 PM -- Astro-talk over pizza and soft drinks. (Donations are welcome to offset the cost of food and beverage.)
6:00 PM -- The lecture will begin.
7:30 PM -- If the weather permits (it's clear and temperatures are safe, and the smoke is not prohibitive), we
will have telescopes set up to view the Moon, Jupiter and Venus.
Speaker: Mr. Bill Higgins
Topic: NASA's Dragonfly: a Whirlybird for Titan
About the Presentation:
Saturn's huge moon Titan is distant, cold, and hazy—but its thick nitrogen atmosphere is a great
environment for aircraft. If a rather strange aircraft. NASA plans in 2028 to launch Dragonfly, an
eight-rotor robot helicopter loaded with instruments, to explore Titan's frigid surface. Heat from a
radioisotope will recharge its batteries between flights and keep its brain warm. Following arrival in
2034, regular flights of exploration through Titan's yellowish air will begin.
You can find pictures of Dragonfly at the mission's news site:
Dragonfly Multimedia
About our Speaker:
Bill Higgins is a physicist who is retired from FermiLab and is a volunteer in NASA's Solar System Ambassadors program.
He frequently speaks about spaceflight, astronomy, the history of science, and science fiction
Looking Ahead: The May meeting of the Chicago Astronomical Society (CAS) will be on Saturday, August 22, 2026
at the Cernan Earth and Space Center at 5:00 Event Calendar
Membership: If you enjoy the activities of the CAS, please become a member.
Regular membership is only $30 for an individual and $50 for a family membership.
We now accept payment via Zelle.
We would like to thank the Cernan Center and its director Kris McCall for their support of the CAS and astronomy/science education. We encourage CAS members and all others who support science education to purchase memberships for the Cernan Center.
We would also like to thank our members for their past and continued support.
We hope that you can attend. Please feel free to forward and invite friends!
Clear Skies!
Tony Harris
V.P. and Program Manager,
Chicago Astronomical Society
