Author: Marion Weiler

Milestone: LSST Camera Installed Early March!

In early March, the LSST camera was installed in the Vera Rubin Observatory on a Chilean mountaintop! SMCAS has been following the development of the LSST for many years in our monthly presentations, field trips, news updates, Event Horizon articles, and even our YouTube channel!   “The world’s largest digital camera made in the Bay […]

Speaker: Dr Pascal Lee

Presentation on May 2, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Pascal Lee, Planetary Scientist SETI Institute, Mars Institute, and NASA Ames Research Center The Moon & Mars: Amazing Places for Humans to Soon Explore, Part 2: Mars! Free and open to the public. At the College of San Mateo Planetarium. Free Parking in […]

Speaker: Dr Pascal Lee

Presentation on March 7, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Pascal Lee, Planetary Scientist SETI Institute, Mars Institute, and NASA Ames Research Center The Moon & Mars: Amazing Places for Humans to Soon Explore, Part 1: the Moon! Free and open to the public. At the College of San Mateo Planetarium. Free Parking […]

Speaker: Dr Bart De Pontieu

Presentation on September 5, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Bart De Pontieu, Solar Physicist Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center Unraveling the Mysteries of the Sun’s Atmosphere Free and open to the public. Free Parking in nearby lots. The Sun, our nearest star, is more than just a blazing […]

Astro-Photo: Comet Tauchinshan-Atlas showing Anti-Tail

Object: Comet Tsauchinshan-Atlas (aka C/2023 A3) showing anti-tail. Photographer: Stephen Kwong. Camera: A stack of 17 x 30 seconds exposures. Used a Rokinon 135mm lens at F/2 aperture, ZWO ASI533MC camera, ZWO ASIAIR Plus computer, and tracked on Skywatcher AZ GTI mount. The picture was post processed in Siril. Location: Crestview Park, San Carlos, CA.

Speaker: Prof. Darryl Stanford

Presentation on September 6, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Prof. Darryl Stanford, Astronomy Professor College of San Mateo Planetarium Show – The Sky Tonight Plus Fulldome Showing of the movie: Unveiling the Invisible Universe Free and open to the public. Free Parking in nearby lots. Tonight SMCAS will be treated to a special […]

Speaker: Dr Edward Balaban

Presentation on November 1, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Edward Balaban, Research Scientist NASA Ames Research Center Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the Next Generation of Large Space Observatories Free and open to the public. Free Parking in nearby lots. The future of space-based UV/optical/IR astronomy requires ever larger telescopes. The highest priority […]

Speaker: Brian Coltin

Presentation on October 4, 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Brian Coltin, Roboticist NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group Astrobee! The ISS Robotic Free Flyer Free and open to the public. Free Parking in nearby lots. The Astrobees are free-flying robots that operate inside the International Space Station (ISS) and were launched to the […]

Nominate New SMCAS Board Members!

Nominations for the SMCAS Board of Directors and Officers, opened at our May meeting and will close Friday, July 5 at midnight. Please consider serving!The current Board encourages anyone with an interest in learning more about how SMCAS runs or is interested in participating more actively in planning and helping achieve our goals. It is […]

Speaker: Emmanuel Schaan

Presentation on May 3, 2024 8:00pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Dr Emmanuel Schaan: Staff Scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory A Cosmic Shadow Theater: How Galaxy Silhouettes Reveal Their Dark Side Using the Cosmic Microwave Background to reveal the invisible components of galaxies to shed light on the nature of Dark Matter, Dark Energy […]