Pascal Lee (NASA/SETI/Mars Institute), who presented to SMCAS at our May and March meetings, and many other times in the past 10 years, sends his condolences to Ken’s family and the SMCAS community.Marion Begin forwarded message: From: Pascal Lee <pascal.lee@marsinstitute.net> Subject: Re: Sad News – Ken Lum memorial Date: May 20, 2025 at 11:51:59 PM PDTTo: Marion […]
Category: Newsletter
Saying Farewell to Dr. Ken Lum
By Chanan Greenberg Building upon Mike’s earlier post about Ken, I had the honor and pleasure of knowing Ken for 22 years. From our first interactions, I was in awe of his extensive knowledge and the caliber of his astronomy equipment — far beyond my reach at the time. I quickly discovered that Ken was […]
My Salutation to the Memory of our late member, Kenneth Lum
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 […]
Stars, Stories, & BBQ: Summer with SMCAS
Greetings to the Society, In Memory It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of two major transitions in our community. In May, we lost longtime club and board member Ken Lum. Ken’s kindness, friendship, and ever-present smile left a lasting impact on our group. His warmth, dedication, and laughter will be […]
Goodbye
It’s time to say goodbye. I will be leaving the SMCAS Board of Directors at the end of May. My wife and I are taking our first step towards retirement and moving to Genoa, Nevada. It was a tough decision to leave the Bay Area, but the spreadsheet said I would have to work a […]
My Favorite Astronomer: Loki Ingalls
By: Loki Ingalls My favorite astronomer is Charles Messier. I love the story of the Messier objects; it’s really funny to me how seemingly random objects that he numbered are now incredibly popular objects for many astronomers to view and astrophotographers to capture. It’s really crazy how one person can make such a big impact! […]
Gearing Up for a Stellar Summer
Greetings to the Society, Summer Ho! As spring winds down and summer begins, let’s hope for more clear skies than cloudy ones! Warmer weather brings more opportunities for stargazing—and for getting involved with the club. It’s also time to start thinking about elections for a new Board of Directors. Have you considered becoming more active […]
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 […]
Exploring the Connection Between Art, Science and Visual Metaphors, April 18
The San Mateo County Astronomical Society will forgo its usual general meeting and presentation for the month of April to support a special event at the College of San Mateo Friday, April 18. The event, “Art, Science & Visual Metaphors,” will be held at the CSM Theatre (Building 3) on the College of San Mateo’s […]
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 […]