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Would you really like to know what the James Webb Telescope is for, in detail?
Visit the link at Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-matters-so-much-20211203/?mc_cid=6b838e2420&mc_eid=e2a04bda79
Article also has desirable pictures taken at Lick Observatory:
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-matters-so-much-20211203/
Merry Christmas...
Successful launch of Earth's most sensitive infrared telescope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAjpFT10XF4
https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12/28/aft-sunshield-pallet-deployed/
Dec 29, 2021
Primary mirror deployment completed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TBhm2q8CWM
January 10, 2022
Telescope location and telescope allignment:
https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html?units=english
https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/orrery/#/sc_jwst
--------------------------------
Planning astronomical goals for the 2020s.
Decadal survey
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/astro2020-decadal-survey-priorities-small-and-mid-scale-projects
In the Mail and In the eMail
Table of ContentsEvents and Club News
Star Parties at Crestview Park
The complete SMCAS Newsletter in .pdf format is available from:
http://www.smcasastro.com/newsletter.html
SMCAS, Club Membership
SMCAS, patches on sale
New SMCAS astrophotography website
www.greenhawkobservatory.com
Ken Lum captures amazing inages with a 4 inch telescope.
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/678
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/679
January 28
Final entry for January News Letter
Crestview Star Parties
Star Parties at Crestview Park.
Crestview 2010 Sun Chart
Star Parties at Crestview Park, January 01, 2022.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Lets hope this year works out better than the last two. We did not schedule a Crestview Star Party tonight because of the holiday. On the other hand tonight’s forecasts are for excellent weather for observing. If, like me, you are anxious to get a look at the winter sky and possibly catch a glimpse of Comet Leonard, this seems like an opportunity too good to miss. At around 5:00pm I plan to look at the evening sky and if still clear, go out to Crestview. Perhaps I’ll see you there. It is going to start clouding up tomorrow afternoon, and the rain will start again so this may be the last chance we have for a while. Remember than it will be unusually cold, much colder than we are use to at Crestview so bundle up.
Our next regularly scheduled Crestview Star Party is January 29th.
Ed Pieret
www.Astronomered.com
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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.
Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event to be canceled without notice.
CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS
or go to:
http://www.smcasastro.com/star-parties.html
for most recent update.
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.
Astronomers arrive to set up at around sunset. Observing starts at about one hour after sunset and continues for two to three hours.
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.
Astronomy Events in Our Area ( Edited for January )
Due to the covid virus many of the venues listed below are now on-line.
Ken Lum's SMCAS Event Listing
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/659
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/660
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/663
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/666
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/667
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/676
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/683
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/689
https://groups.io/g/SMCASnews/message/692
Posted 01-24-22
SLAC Physics Lecture Series at Stanford Linear Accelerator
Archive of past lectures:
https://www.youtube.com/slac
On Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 2022 at 7 pm (PST), Dr. Michelle Thaller (of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center) will give a free, illustrated, non-technical lecture on “Living with a Star: Creating and Maintaining a Life-Friendly Planet, in Our Solar System and Others"
On line at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures
[if you go to this address the evening of the talk you will see and be able to participate in the live event;
we will also make a recording]
The talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series (through Foothill College),
now in its 22nd year.
The more we learn about other worlds, the better we understand our own.
Astronomers today ask:
What makes a world habitable?
What creates and sustains an environment friendly to life?
NASA has several new missions ready to address this topic, from the Parker Solar Probe, studying our Sun’s wind; to new exploration of cloud-shrouded Venus; to the samples of asteroid now on their way back to Earth as we speak.
And NASA’s climate supercomputers stand ready to interpret data on planets orbiting other stars that come back from the Webb Telescope.
Dr. Thaller will guide us through the new instruments and new research. Michelle Thaller is an astrophysicist with over two decades of science communication experience. Her research involves the life-cycles of stars, and she has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Headquarters, and the Goddard Space Flight Center, where she is currently the liaison between the Office of Communication and the Science Directorate. Outside her work at NASA, she has appeared in many television science programs, including How the Universe Works and Space’s Deepest Secrets. She has done two TEDx talks about astronomy, and has hosted the podcast Orbital Path on public radio. The lecture is co-sponsored by: * The Foothill College Science, Tech, Engineering & Math Division * The SETI Institute * The Astronomical Society of the Pacific * The University of California Observatories (including Lick Observatory). Past lectures in the series can also be found on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/svastronomylectures
and as audio podcasts at:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1805595
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
Home:
https://foothill.edu/astronomy/index.php
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/SVAstronomyLectures
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UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org
Lick Observatory
Lick Observatory has begun to re open to the public as some
covid restrictions have been dropped.
The Gift Shop, Main Building and restrooms are still unavailable
for casual daytime visitors.
Posted December 28, 2021
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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
Gift Shop
The Gift Shop is your best contact for current visitors progam status.Visitor Center & Main Building
12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
Shane Telescope Gallery
Every Day: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Visitor's page
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.
Summer Visitors Program
Guided tours
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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/
Lick Observatory, telescopes and visitors program.
Technical talk given to the Peninsula Astronomical Society.
https://youtu.be/WB2q1lpQc8w
Posted January 2022
UCO astronomers prove the existence of
Black Holes:
https://www.keckobservatory.org/nobel-prize-ghez/
Posted November 25, 2020
UCO, University of California Observatories
U Tube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GYJClPPnW-SoreLysNTAw
Posted Oct 15, 2020
Reduction of operations due corona virus
Posted March 26, 2020
A new era for Lick Observatory's Twin Astrograph
Posted February 2020
The Apollo Cube Reflectors and Lick Observatory
Lick Observatory on 'Facebook'
posted November 11, 2014
Mount Hamilton Wildflower Collection
California Condors visit Lick Observatory
Music of the Spheres, 2001 program.
About Adaptive Optics
Adaptive Optics on U Tube
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/
Extra Solar Planetary Orbital Stability, The Game (This link posted May 18, 2014)
Reference http://oklo.org/ April 8, 2014.
Keck Observatory Science Talks
http://www.keckobservatory.org/events/
Exploratorium
Disney Museum in the San Francisco Presidio
California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park
The Tech Museum downtown San Jose
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:
https://sites.google.com/site/aancsite/home
Keep up to date with Ken Lum's weekly event listings:
https://sites.google.com/site/aancsite/calendar
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/
Computer History Museum
JPL on_line
Astronomy at College of San Mateo![]()
SMCAS Patches
New SMCAS patches
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SMCAS Postcard (.pdf)