The Society annually supports the Gamble Garden’s Second Saturday event with solar activities. Come volunteer for a rare daytime event, Saturday, July 11, at the historic Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto. Volunteers are needed at 9:45 a.m. to man the membership table or to share our solar system model. The event runs from […]
Category: Newsletter
Johannes Kepler
By Mira Krishnan When discussing the giants of space science, names like Galileo or Isaac Newton usually dominate the conversation. However, if you look closer at the history of astronomy, I believe the most compelling story belongs to the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler. Facing severe physical disabilities, family chaos, and a scientific community that […]
Don’t Forget to RSVP for SMCAS’s Annual StarBQ July 18
Our annual family-friendly event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Society’s designated park, Crestview Park, 1000 Crestview Drive, San Carlos. Please RSVP here to let the Board know how many people will be in your party. We want to be sure enough food is purchased everyone. Then, feel free to arrive and leave at […]
Are Type Ia Supernovae as “Standard” as We Thought?
One of the great things about astronomy is that even our most trusted tools occasionally look back at us and say, “Are you sure about that?” This month’s example comes from one of the biggest ideas in modern cosmology: dark energy, the mysterious something-or-other that appears to be causing the expansion of the universe to […]
Summer Skies, Star-B-Q, and New Toys
Greetings to the Society, Summer has arrived, and this year it begins with an especially historic celebration: the 250th birthday of the United States. As fireworks light up the July skies, it is hard not to think about all the generations who have looked upward before us—whether for navigation, inspiration, discovery, or simply the joy […]
SMCAS Members: Don’t Forget to Vote – Voting Closes July 18
Online voting for the San Mateo County Astronomical Society’s Officers and At-large Directors for the 2026-27 term of office is now open. The nomination for the Society’s Board are: OfficersMichael Cooke – PresidentJason Zaman – Vice PresidentMarion Weiler – Co-SecretaryMichelle Morales-Torres – Co-SecretaryAndy Thanos – Treasurer At-large DirectorsKimberly AlgerChanan GreenbergStephen KwongJulian SalkinKevin Simpson Voting ends […]
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Cuzzi
Presentation on Sept 4, 2026 8:00 pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Dr. Jeff Cuzzi, NASA Ames Research Center Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn, its Moons and Rings Free and open to the public. Free parking in nearby lots. One of the most accessible, fascinating, and brighter planets in the night sky for amateur astronomers […]
Saturn, Shooting Stars, and a Chance to Shape the Club
Greetings to the Society, As spring gives way to summer, the rhythm of observing begins to shift. The nights get shorter, the evenings stay brighter longer, and many of the best celestial sights start happening either very late—or very early. (Astronomy, as always, rewards flexibility … or a strong relationship with coffee.) Remembering Darryl Stanford […]
Presenting to the Parks and Recs at the City of San Carlos April 8
Thank you once again for everyone’s support with addressing the City of San Carlos about their master park plan. In case you don’t know, their master park plan includes installing overhead lights at all of their parks. Fortunately, Board Member Kevin Simpson read it and informed the Board about it and has been waiting for […]
Speaker: Prof. Brian Lantz
Presentation on May 1, 8:00 pm PST in the CSM Planetarium Speaker: Prof. Brian Lantz, Stanford Exploring the Gravitational Wave Universe with LIGO Free and open to the public. Free parking in nearby lots. Measuring gravitational waves is a revolutionary new way to do astronomy. In 2015, LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) first detected […]