I’m Mike Ryan, a member of the San Mateo County Astronomical Society since 1963 (the only one remaining from the ’60’s). I just returned from a week visiting my 83-year-old invalid sister and her family and was shocked and saddened to learn this morning that our blessed friend Ken Lum had passed away on May […]
Category: Features
Space Rocks
By: Peter Adams, Sequoia Gem and Mineral Society We’ve all heard about rocks in space. Maybe you’ve even got a piece of a meteorite — cool stuff, especially if you found it yourself. Even if you bought one? Still cool. But as it turns out, even NASA has trouble finding asteroids and figuring out exactly […]
This White Elephant had Good Gifts!
The Society had a good turnout for their annual holiday celebration on January 18 at Crystal Springs United Methodist Church, our usual spot for soirees. The evening was filled with camaraderie for our shared love of astronomy. The celebration was a potluck with a variety and quality of the food ensured that there was something […]
Stellarium Crestview Park Custom Landscape
Most astronomers know about Stellarium; it is a fantastic tool for exploringwhat the night skies will be like. It is also a really good planning tool forastrophotography. During one of the star parties at Crestview Park last summer, I wanted to takesome photos of the North America Nebula. After at least an hour of setting […]
JWST shows that dark matter doesn’t exist!
OK now that I got you attention with that over the top headline like newspapers print, lets talk about the facts. The cosmos has always been a wellspring of surprises, and our understanding of its early days remains incomplete. For decades, we were constrained by our technological limits—telescopes couldn’t peer far enough to capture light […]
Make Sure to Catch the “Comet of the Century”!
Did you see the video of, what’s being dubbed as, the “Comet of the Century” over the Golden Gate bridge? I was pleasantly surprised to see the video but disappointed that I had no idea about it and figured, there might be others who haven’t heard about it either. The comet is called C/2023 A3 […]
Exciting July 3 Star Party
If you haven’t heard yet, July 3’s Star Party was one of the most exciting we’ve had in a while. Besides being one of the most attended, there was a bit of both excitement and a bit of inconvenience when the sprinkler went off, not just once, but twice unusually early! The first time was […]
My Eclipse Journey by Michelle Morales
As many in the Society, I booked nonrefundable flights and lodging to Dallas for the April 8 total eclipse. When I heard and verified that it would be cloudy in Dallas, I started examining satellite shots and comparing weather forecasts for an area that had a chance of clear skies. I wasn’t going to travel […]
The Annular Eclipse in Roswell, New Mexico
Although I had been told and warned that the annular eclipse wasn’t as dramatic or even as good as a total eclipse, because during a total eclipse it briefly becomes night during the day, still I had to make the assessment for myself and trekked out to the annular path that was not close. As an […]