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Felton Library - Intro to Astronomy
On Oct 24th, SCAC member Wolf W presented Sights of the Cosmos: Introduction to Astronomy to over 40 visitors. Afterwards, we held a star party in the library parking lot, where people were able to view Saturn, the Andromeda galaxy, the Veil nebula, and many other deep sky objects.
By all measures, this event was a great success! Jacqueline, our partner at the library, gave this feedback:
The Sights of the Cosmos: Introduction to Astronomy and Star Party was such a hit with our community.
I lost track of the amount of patrons who came up to me and told me how wonderful it was. Wolf was an incredible speaker and Jim and the other club members had such an array of sights and a wealth of information to show us-it was dazzling. We had over 44 people in attendance (I may have missed a few stragglers in the parking lot), and I imagine more will come if we had this program again. Even the next day, people were coming up to me telling me how wonderful the program was. I recognized a lot of the faces from our community, and the program brought in new people, too! I know there was at least one person who came from Aptos to be there. Our Felton Library Friends were, pardon the pun, over the moon, saying that this was the sort of programming they had alway [sic] envisioned for the Felton library and that it was gratifying to see it come to fruition. The Astronomy Club members were so organized and gracious with their time and knowledge. My supervisor, the head of Adult Programs and Services, said that I could go ahead and tell my colleagues about the program and recommend that they host the program, too! It was a magical evening. Thank you.
Truly, I am so thankful to you and Jim and the rest of the club and I would be happy to host you, anytime [...]
Going forward, more of these events would be great opportunities for SCAC to share astronomy with a broader audience, generate more interest in SCAC and its events, and perhaps inspire a future astronomer who'll finally be able to tell us what dark matter is!
Along those lines, the attendees at the Oct 24 Felton library event were a broad mix of ages, with good questions from young people, including one girl who was especially excited about everything astronomy. (She also apologized for coming late, but her brother couldn't find his shoes on time.)
Let us know if you'd like a presentation at your local library or if you're otherwise interested in helping SCAC run these types of events!
Yosemite 2025
Yosemite 2025
Our 2025 Glacier Point star party was Aug 14 - 17; camping at Bridalveil Creek campground. Weather and skies were great and a good time was had by all. Big thanks to Ana R for making it happen. Attendees: Jim B, Bob K, Kirk B, Miguel D Bill S, Justin R, Chris K, Doug R, Wil P. Not pictured: Jeff G, Terry D, Joclyn W, Theo K and Gerhard G.
Steve Rosenthal donates Hopper
Steve Rosenthal donates Hopper
Club president Jim Bahn receiving the Hopper from inventor Steve Rosenthal. The Hopper is a smart plate-solving camera which used an app to make any telescope into a "push to" scope.
ZWO donates Seestar S50
ZWO donates Seestar S50
Club members Steve Houlihan, Bill Seiler, and Jeff Gose bumped into ZWO rep Jose Serrato (second from left) at Calstar 2024 and invited him to speak at a club meeting. The club thoroughly enjoyed his presentation, and we are enjoying the donated S50, which we'll show off at public star parties around northern California. Kudos to everyone involved.
Jamie Amendologine donates ZWO ASI1600MM Pro Camera
Jamie Amendologine donates ZWO ASI1600MM Pro Camera
For the club loaner program, member Jamie Amendologine donated a ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro monochrome astronomy camera. It's has a 16 megapixel 4/3” CMOS sensor with 4656x3520 resolution.
Terry Dietz donates Celestron CGEM DX mount
Terry Dietz donates Celestron CGEM DX mount
For the club loaner program, member Terry Dietz donated a Celestron CGEM DX equatorial mount, capable of 50 lbs of payload.
When can I see the planets in the evening?
When can I see the planets in the evening?
Stargazing Hammond Ranch 2025
Stargazing Hammond Ranch 2025
On July 18th/ 19th, the club did our first star party at Hammond Ranch, in the Panoche Valley, about 13 miles NE of Pinnacles NP, as the crow flies. 15 people attended, including 12 astronomers, with at least a couple of folks who were out for the first time with their new scope(s). Conditions were superb; dark sky with good seeing, no wind, almost zero dew and no bugs. Of course, the Milky Way stood out. SQM started around 21.52 and over the evening dropped down to 21.32, or Bortle 3, so, darker than Pinnacles. Horizons were quite dark but there was a noticeable light dome from San Jose. We enjoyed a delicious pot luck with salads, noodles and desert provided by members and beef brisket by our hosts. We'll be back.
Stargazing Pinto Lake Aug 2024
Stargazing Pinto Lake Aug 2024
On August 31, the club did our first star party at Pinto Lake. Several club member brought their scopes and we entertained over 30 visitors. The weather forecasts were wrong, so we had almost zero clouds or fog and the temperatures were in the 60s. Views were had of globular clusters, nebulae, double stars, and the 'star' of the night, Saturn.
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