Greetings to the Society,
After our summer break, SMCAS is getting ready to return to a busy fall schedule. September and October bring back our regular meetings, public outreach events, star parties, and plenty of reasons to look up. The nights are getting longer, the weather is hopefully becoming a little more cooperative, and our telescopes are starting to wonder why they have been sitting inside so patiently.
Back to Our Regular Meetings
Our first meeting after the summer break will be on Friday, September 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., featuring Dr. Andrew Rasmussen, SLAC/Stanford Staff Scientist, presenting “The LSST Camera and Mission in Focus.”
This is a wonderful way to begin the fall season, especially since many of us remember visiting SLAC and seeing some of the work connected to the LSST camera before it became part of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The Rubin Observatory uses the world’s largest digital camera for astronomy, and its survey is expected to transform how we study the changing night sky. This presentation should give us a closer look at the camera, the mission, and the science behind one of the most exciting new survey instruments in astronomy.
The very next evening, on September 5, our star party will feature the Moon. Lunar observing is always one of the best ways to introduce people to astronomy. Even a first-time visitor can immediately see craters, mountains, shadows, and texture. The Moon may wash out faint deep-sky objects, but it more than makes up for it by being dramatic, bright, and not especially subtle — a quality I can respect.
Sharing Astronomy with the Community
September will also be a strong month for public outreach. On September 12, SMCAS will participate in SLAC STEM Community Day, and on September 26, we will take part in Family Science Day at College of San Mateo.
Both events will feature solar viewing using Ken Lum’s solar scope. This feels especially meaningful as we continue Ken’s legacy of sharing the sky with others. Solar viewing is often someone’s first safe, close-up experience with our nearest star, and it is a wonderful way to remind people that astronomy is not only something that happens after dark. Sometimes the universe shows up in broad daylight — though, ideally, through a properly filtered telescope.
October Speaker: Cassini-Huygens
Our October 2 meeting will feature Dr. Jeff Cuzzi, retired from NASA Ames, speaking on the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn, its Moons, and Rings.
Cassini remains one of the great triumphs of planetary exploration. It transformed our understanding of Saturn’s rings, revealed the complexity of Titan’s atmosphere and surface, and showed us that Enceladus is an active world with plumes of water vapor erupting from its south pole. It is hard to think of a mission that gave us more jaw-dropping images while also raising so many new scientific questions. I am very much looking forward to this presentation.
Looking Up in September and October
There is plenty happening overhead this fall as well.
The September equinox arrives on September 23, marking the start of astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Around this time of year, the balance of day and night begins shifting noticeably, and evening observing starts to feel a little more civilized for those of us who like sleep almost as much as starlight. NASA lists the 2026 September equinox on September 23.
For planetary observers, Neptune reaches opposition around September 25–26, making it well placed for telescope viewing. Neptune is never flashy, but there is something remarkable about seeing the most distant major planet as a faint blue-gray point of light. It is the kind of object that looks modest in the eyepiece but becomes impressive once you remember what you are actually seeing.
October brings one of the best planetary highlights of the season: Saturn reaches opposition on October 4. That means Saturn will be opposite the Sun in our sky and visible for much of the night, making it one of the best times of the year to observe the ringed planet. Saturn is always a crowd favorite at public events, and for good reason. No matter how many times you see it, there is still a small part of the mind that says, “That cannot possibly be real,” even while you are looking right at it.
Meteor watchers also get a couple of chances in October. The Draconid meteor shower peaks around October 8–9. It is usually a modest shower, but it has the advantage of being best placed in the evening rather than after midnight, which is always appreciated by those of us who enjoy astronomy but also enjoy not becoming nocturnal. Later in the month, the Orionid meteor shower peaks around October 21–22. The Orionids come from debris left by Halley’s Comet, though moonlight may make this year’s display more challenging.
October also offers good dark-sky opportunities around the New Moon on October 10, so if the weather cooperates, that window should be especially useful for deep-sky observing and astrophotography.
Looking Ahead
It is good to be heading back into the active part of our SMCAS year. Between meetings, outreach events, star parties, solar viewing, and a sky full of fall observing targets, September and October should give us plenty to enjoy.
I hope to see many of you at our upcoming events. Until then, keep looking up, share the view whenever you can, and may your clouds be few and your batteries fully charged.
Clear skies and happy viewing!
Michael Cooke
President, San Mateo County Astronomical Society