SMCAS, Club Membership Application

SMCAS,  patches on sale  

New SMCAS astrophotography website
    www.greenhawkobservatory.com

 

New Update February 2, Project Astro

For Club Newsletters, Web Sites, and Email Exploders: ____________________________________________ GIVE A CLASS THE UNIVERSE: VOLUNTEER FOR PROJECT ASTRO Project ASTRO is looking for amateur and professional astronomers to work with teachers and students in 3rd ­ 9th grade classrooms. This is a great opportunity to share your love of astronomy with a receptive audience and help kids learn about science. Bay Area Project ASTRO, part of a national program at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, pairs you with a local teacher at a school convenient for you. Together, you and your teacher partner attend a 2-day summer workshop to learn hands-on, inquiry-based astronomy activities and then you "adopt" a class for a year. Astronomer and teacher partners will receive “The Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0” -- a rich curriculum resource on DVD-ROM featuring a host of materials on teaching astronomy that you can use in many settings. Astronomer applications are now being accepted for the 2012 - 2013 school year. There is no cost, but space is limited. All participants are required to attend a 2-day workshop held July 27 & 28th, 2012, at the San Mateo County Office of Education in Redwood City. APPLY ONLINE by MAY 29th: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astro/bayarea/volunteer.html MORE INFORMATION: http://www.astrosociety.org/baprojectastro.html Project ASTRO emphasizes ongoing partnerships that foster a nurturing environment for students to learn. To accomplish this, astronomers make at least four visits to their adopted classroom at mutually convenient times. Project ASTRO has been operating since 1993 in the Bay Area. Previous participants often report that it is one of the most satisfying volunteer endeavors they have undertaken. Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students majoring in astronomy are also encouraged to apply. If you have questions, please contact Brian Kruse, Project ASTRO Coordinator Email: bayareaastro@astrosociety.org ______________________________________________________ Project ASTRO, a program of the nonprofit Astronomical Society of the Pacific, began with support from the National Science Foundation and the NASA Office of Space Science. Currently, over 500 active educator-astronomer partnerships bring the excitement of scientific discovery through astronomy to over 20,000 students around the country annually.

 

New Update February 11, 2012

Janice Voss, Astronaut and fascinating speaker at local astronomy clubs has died.
http://www.nytimes.com/

 

Update February 25, 2012

Final entry for February News Letter

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crestview Star Parties

February 18, 2012 Sunset 5:51 PM February 25, 2012 Sunset 5:59 PM Venus and Jupiter and its Moons are in most favorable position for evening viewing Number of people in attendance subject to weather. Crestview 2010 Sun Chart Expected Crestview dates for 2012

Come out and bring the kids for a mind expanding look at the universe! The City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties twice a month. These events are held in Crestview Park, San Carlos California. Dates and Sunset times are below. Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event to be canceled without notice. CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS For more information send an email to SMCAS@live.com   Reasons to Attend If you have kids interested in space or planets bring them here for a real life view of planets, nebula, star clusters and galaxies. If you are thinking of buying a telescope or want help using a telescope you own, come here to talk with experienced users. If you think you might have an interest in astronomy come and talk to experienced amateur astronomers.  Cautions Dress warmly and wear a hat. Visitors should park on the street and walk into the park so your headlights don't affect the observer's dark adaptation. Only park in the parking lot if you are arriving before dark and plan to stay until the end of the event. You shouldn't need lights but if you feel you do, only bring a small flashlight with the lens covered using red cellophane or red balloon. Please respect the telescopes and ask permission from the owner if you wish to touch. Parents, please watch your children. The park is residential, and adjacent to homes and backyards, please keep noise to a minimum.         Astronomers arrive to set up at around sunset. Observing starts at about one hour after sunset and continues for two to three hours. Star Gazing at Crestview Park Bring your binoculars, telescopes, star guides, and lounge chairs for some informal star gazing at Crestview Park and see how many different things you can identify in the night sky! Arrive before dark or park on Crestview Drive so that headlights don't affect people's dark adaptation. Bring small flashlights only, with the lens covered with red cellophane or red balloon. Dress warmly and wear a hat. All ages. No pre-registration or fee is required. This is a popular spot for amateur astronomers, so there could be telescopes. Caution: Please don't touch a telescope without permission. And parents, please watch your children. Saturdays - Dusk - 10pm Questions? Call or e-mail Bob Black, astro-bob zazt comcast.net ( posted September 10, 2010 )

Crestview Park is at W122� 17', N37� 29'

REACH FOR THE STARS AT CSM! With its planetarium, variety of astronomy courses, top-notch faculty, and special events such as Star Parties, when the College partners with the San Mateo County Astronomical Society...or with CSM's many A.A., A.S., and certificate programs, its scenic and historic campus, the ease with which you can sign up for classes online as a first-time or returning student... The possibilities are astronomical. COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO.  Visit us on the web at http://gocsm.net

Astronomy Events in Our Area ( Edited for February )

Bay Astro,  Ken L's Event List Bay Area Science dot Org http://www.bayareascience.org/     http://www.bayareascience.org/calendar/events/ SLAC Physics Lecture Series at Stanford Linear Accelerator http://www6.slac.stanford.edu/maps_directions.aspx (how to get to SLAC)   Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA    Seti Seminar Series  The colloquiums are free and open to the public,  and usually run from noon to 1 pm on Wednesdays.  Some colloquiums are on Thursday evenings or   as announced.   SETI Poster UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org  Lick Observatory Plan to arrive after noon and before 3 PM for best access to Public Areas. This is an all day trip climbing to 4200 feet on the historic Mount Hamilton Road, Route 130, Alum Rock off of 101 or 680. Please don't pass bicyclists on the blind curves. Visiting Hours October 5, 2011 - May 28, 2012    ( posted 02-11-12 ) Gift Shop in the Main Building will be open Presidents Day   ( and other holidays ). Visitor Center & Main Building Thurs. - Sun.: 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm Shane Telescope Gallery Every Day: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm The APF Telescope is now doing science. What this means to you (all)  is that the dome and telescope can move at any time without warning. Often we are doing tests during the day so please don't enter the building unless you have a good reason to be inside.   2010 Summer Visitors Program and Music of the Spheres The Shane Reflector,  celebrating the first 50 years   The Lick Observer   local copy in .pdf format. From Eyeballs to Electrons is the first online exhibit from the Lick Observatory Historical Collections Project. The exhibit draws on artifacts and images from Lick's collections to illustrate the evolution of light detection in astronomy, with special attention to Lick Observatory's role. Part One begins with astronomy's first detector, the human eye, and ends with photography's long reign as the principal means for recording starlight. http://collections.ucolick.org/exhibits_on_line/E2E.1/ The Historical Collections Project is a work in progress. It was created to preserve and make accessible the observatory's historical holdings through cataloging, online databases, and exhibits. Please visit the Project website at: http://collections.ucolick.org/archives_on_line/  Adaptive Optics program slides from past presentations. http://www.cfao.ucolick.org/aosummer/2011/pastpresentations Mount Hamilton Wildflower Collection California Condors visit Lick Obsevatory For those of you with an interest in Java Programs and/or extra-solar planet search see: http://oklo.org/?page_id=86 This is a forum run by students and instructors at Lick Observatory concerning the reduction of extra-solar radial velocity data. Update at: http://www.oklo.org/      Exploratorium in the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts Disney Museum in the San Francisco Presidio California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park The Tech Museum downtown San Jose Western Amateur Astronomers Peninsula Astronomical Society PAS membership information OTHER CLUBS EVENTS For regularly-updated information on other astronomical organizations and events we refer you to the website of the Astronomical Association of Northern California; www.aanc-astronomy.org Astronomical Society of the Pacific ASP Website U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Public Programs: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/  U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Public Programs: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/  The Intel Museum Computer History Museum For those familiar with the streets of the SF Mission, Bay Area Science Cafe http://www.sciencecafesf.com/ http://www.atlascafe.net/   Lockheed Martin    Palo Alto Colloquia     NASA Ames Research Center www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov The NASA Exploration Center is open to the public free of charge. For information about the Exploration Center please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/exploration.html To learn about other events hosted by NASA Ames: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/index.html           Astronomy at College of San Mateo     Webmaster's Links Return to smcas.htm       SMCAS Patches The SMCAS patches are on sale for six dollars each.  Actual diameter is 9 centimeters or about 3 1/2 inches.                       February 3rd, 2012 SPEAKER: Dr. Geoff Marcy Professor of Astronomy, UC Berkeley TOPIC: The Hunt for Another Earth TIME: 8:00pm February 3rd, 2012 WHERE: The CSM Theatre, Bldg 3, Parking Lot 2 . Free and open to the public, free parking The new Kepler spaceborn telescope is hunting for Earth-size planets, with hundreds in its sights. Kepler has already found definitively rocky planets, like Earth, and is now hunting for habitable ones. This talk will present up-to-the-minute results from the Kepler Team. Biologists are working with astronomers to assess the environmental conditions necessary for life, especially intelligent life, on planets elsewhere in the universe. Speaker Biography: Dr Geoff Marcy is currently Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, famous for discovering more extrasolar planets than anyone else, 70 out of the first 100 to be discovered, along with R. Paul Butler and Debra Fischer. Marcy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Summa Cum Laude with a double major in physics and astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1976. He then completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Astrophysics and Astronomy in 1982 at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has held teaching positions, first at the Carnegie Institution of Washington as a Carnegie Fellow from 1982 to 1984. Marcy then worked as an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy from 1984 to 1996 and then as a Distinguished University Professor from 1997 to 1999 at the San Francisco State University. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the San Francisco State University and a Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley and the Director of Center for Integrative Planetary Science. Marcy has published numerous articles, and has been named one of Newsweek's 100 Americans for the Next Century. His work has been recognized with many distinguished awards, including the UCLA Alumni Professional Achievement Award. He has been covered by the New York Times and has appeared on television, newsmagazines and science shows, from PBS's NOVA and BBC Television to ABC's Nightline, CBS's Nightly News and NBC's Today Show.