VCAS Club News....
Member Awards
Outreach Activities
General Information
Gold Level Award: Comet Observers Program
Astronomical League
By spotting and documenting a total of thirty comets, Mike has achieved the very difficult and remarkably exclusive position of gold level status within the Astronomical League’s observing program. He joins a small fraternity of only thirty two individuals, world wide, who have reached such a lofty goal among amateur astronomers.
The difficulty of Mike’s accomplishment should not be lost on the time and dedication invested here. Over a twenty year period, he was obliged to locate and sketch comet bodies while recording time, local constellation, and sky transparency for that night. Additional information such as difficulties, observing partners, instruments used, and specific comet details (color, shape, tail) was included as well. After submitting the final data compilation of the thirty targets to the Astronomical League, Mike waited out two months for a comprehensive review and final approval of his work.
Again… great job by one of VCAS’s own !
Mike Lanska
Astronomical League Observing Program
Gold Level 2016
Silver Level 2004
Double Star Level 2003
Congratulations to Mike Lanska !
Paramount Ranch Outreach Star Party
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
July 30, 2016
The National Park Service, the Planetary Society, the Conjeo Valley Amateur Radio Club, and the Ventura County Astronomical Society all combined forces to put on one of the biggest summer star parties yet. More than six hundred visitors participated, engauging in everything from astronomy talks to shortwave radio sattellites contacts to celestial observations. Highlights of the evening were Mike's astronomy 101 demo, Hal's constellation tour, Laura and Claudia's hospitality table, shortwave radio UFO contacts, and way too many telescopes pointed at Saturn !
Thanks to everyone who came out and made it special !
Star Child
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Video Courtesy of the Planetary Society
Pictures Courtesy of Grant Rosenquist & Brian Fay Photography
Thanks to Intermedia Advertising for their Support
Mt.Wilson 60 Inch Telescope Observing Night
Mt. Wilson Observatory Complex
Oct 8, 2016
Twenty five VCAS members and guests had the privilege of observing through one of the largest public telescopes on Earth. Used by the likes of Edwin Hubble himself, the more than 100 year old instrument boasts a 60 inch main mirror and a f16 focus, all riding on Mercury bearings.
Thanks to Shelly, Chris, and the Mt Wilson staff for their help.
Target List
Moon
Alberio
Double Double
M57
NGC8626
PK64+5.1
M15
NGC7331
Neptune
KRG60-red dwarf binary
Blue Snowball
Uranus
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VCAS Private Tour of the the Propulsion Laboratory
JPL Site October 5, 2016
Mars Sand Box
Xenon Rocket Engine Test
Mission Control
Thanks to our VCAS president Nowell Niblett, a very fortunate few VCAS members were given a personal tour of the JPL complex. Highlights of the visit were the Xenon rocket propulsion demonstration, the mission control facility, and the Mars test sand box.
Roughly two hundred plus Death Valley visitors took place in what turned out to be an off again, on again star party. Deep overcast and wind threatened to cancel the Saturday event. Fortunately, the weather gods intervened and by the time darkness fell the clouds had parted and offered us some clear skies. We were lucky, as several hours later thirty miles an hour winds came up and shut down all late night observing. Still, LVAS, VCAS, and our Death Valley guests got in some great views of everything from Mars to some bright DSO's
Sunday's Titus Canyon off road trip became quite an adventure as well when menacing rain translated into possible flash flooding. Despite the danger, our little band of vehicles toughed it out and saw some incredible scenery, combined with an old ghost town, mining prospects, and native American rock art. After the trip, some of us headed home or topped off our success with a celebratory dinner.
Death Valley Outreach Star Party
October 29 and 30th, 2016 Furnace Creek Ranch
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VCAS Meets LVAS
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Star Party at the Spring Mountain Ranch Summer Theater
Sponsored by the Las Vegas Astronomical Society (LVAS)
Saturday, November 5. 2016
I just moved to Las Vegas at the end of August and immediately joined the LVAS. I am from Los Angeles where I am a member of the LAAS and VCAS, the latter being the co-sponsor of the Death Valley Star Party. Comparing the two astronomy societies is like comparing the two identical stars in the Draco Double, Kuma, (Nu Draconis):
VCAS has star parties and meetings on the Campus of Moorpark College. They use the forum for lectures and a 6” Takahachi refractor in the observing dome where they also have star parties. They have remote star parties and do a lot of outreach.
LVAS uses the Planetarium at the College of Southern Nevada for their monthly presentations. They have remote star parties and do a lot of outreach.
As I am a new member of the LVAS coming from Los Angeles, last night was my first star party in Vegas and I must say it was fantastic. While only 11 miles from civilization, the city glow wasn't bad and the skies were clear. Plus, all of the members are top notch, very friendly, and have some killer equipment.
By Bill Pickard (Member LAAS, VCAS, LVAS)
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Annual VCAS Holiday Banquet
December 10th 2016
To mark the holidays, VCAS celebrated a great year with its traditional holiday banquet. Taking place at Ottavio's, members dined on a choice of various pasta, meat and fish dishes. All of it topped off by an ice cream dessert and very good conversation. Christine Corbett Moran was kind enough to be our speaker for the evening where she gave us a dose of life at eighty below zero and research work on the South Pole Telescope (SPT).
From the creature comforts of the Amundsen-Scott Station and an easy mile hike through the snow to the instrument, an average shift included studying the cosmic microwave background radiation and the origins of the big bang. Working at a 16,000-foot elevation, perpetual darkness, and a temperature that instantly freezes exposed flesh probably made for an interesting day or rather…. night.
Annual Paramount RanchWinter Star Party
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Agoura Hills, California
Sponsored by the National Park Service, Planetary Society,
Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS)
Saturday January 28, 2017
From the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area staff to VCAS.....
Over seven hundred participants braved the chilly weather to see the likes of Venus, Mars, and the Orion Nebula through some powerful telescopes.
Aside from the great kids activities, the definite highlight of the evening was an astronomy lecture given by Tyler Nordgren. Famous for his astrophotography and poster art, Tyler kept a full house crowd captivated with insights on all things celestial and some ground based items too.
After his talk, everyone moved over to the telescope area and were very excited to actually see some of the stellar phenomenon he described.
"Just wanted to say thanks to you and all of the volunteers from VCAS that supported the Winter Star Party. With just over 700 visitors, this attendance far exceeded my estimates and expectation. We truly could not do an event like this without all of you...... it is amazing how far visitors will drive to get a view of the night sky and attend a star party."
2016/2017 ALCOR Outreach Awards Ceremony
Friday May19th, 2017
Pictured
Not Pictured
Hal Jandorf
Renee Paulson
David Williams
Dennis Willet
Kurt Schreiber
Keith Salvas
Dave Holland
Mike Lanska
Rene Rodriquez
Julie Werner
John Cassidy
Nowell Niblett
Gary Bostrup
Gerry Seck
Linda Seck
Sponsored by the Astronomical League, very well deserved outreach awards were handed out to fifteen VCAS volunteers. These outstanding individuals were recognized for their unselfish devotion to the club's outreach program as well as inspiring the public with a love of astronomy.
On behalf of the Ventura County Astronomical Society...Thank you !
Gary Bostrup
VCAS Outreach Coordinator
Riverside Telescope Makers Conference
May 25th to 29th
Camp Oaks,
Big Bear, California
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The 49th RTMC Astronomy Expo was a great success with hundreds of amatuer astronomers participating in all sorts of events. Very popular among the invited speakers was Mr. Eclipse himself....Fred Espenak. He gave a very informative talk on this year's all American total solar eclipse.
There were also some great meetings discussing everything from telescope manufacture to astronomical research. Over by the telescope observing area, vendors plied their wares offering everything from tripods to telrads
After dark, everyone took advantage of the perfect Big Bear sky and did some fantastic DSO observing!
Click to Enlarge
Chuchupate Club Star Party
June 24, 2017
Chuchupate Parking Lot
Frazier Park, CA
USA
Hover Cursor Over Picture
Relatively cloudless skies and minimal light pollution contributed to a great night of stars, galaxies , and nebulae. For it proximity to the urban Los Angeles, the Chuchupate site makes for good astronomical seeing and a chance for some deep space photography. Several of members made the trip to Frasier Park for this private club event and were rewarded with some fantastic observing !
Annual Paramount Ranch Outreach Summer Star Party
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
July 22, 2017
Sponsored by the National Park Service (NPS)
Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC)
Planetary Society (PS)
Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS)
The National Park Service, the Planetary Society, the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club, and the Ventura County Astronomical Society were back again this year to stage the biggest summer star party yet. With more than twice the number from last summer, over 1200 visitors participated in everything from an astronomy talk to shortwave radio contacts with the International Space Station to fantastic celestial observations. Highlights of the evening were the CVARC shortwave folks taking advantage of a perfect ISS orbital pass, the hospitality table with its star maps and glow bracelets, and perfect views of Jupiter and Saturn.
Thanks to everyone who came out and made it special !
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Sequoia Dark Sky Festival
July 21, 22, 23, 2017
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Sequoia Summer Night Sky Saturday, July 22, 2017
Sagittarius and Scorpius are on the Southern Horizon and the Milky Way stretches overhead! Enjoy the view! 300 campers and participants learned the stars and constellations Friday and Saturday night at Sequoia's "Dark Sky Festival".
VCAS Outreach sent our resident astronomer/professor Hal Jandorf to support this annual national park event. The clear night skies and the beautiful surroundings made for a fantastic festival.
Message from Professor Hal Jandorf
After my show, I met wonderful people from all ages of learning, appreciating, and loving the universe above us! Even a few of my students brought their own 8" telescope to help out with Saturday’s huge crowd!
Annual Paramount Ranch Outreach Winter Star Party
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
January 20, 2018
Sponsored by the National Park Service (NPS)
Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS)
This year it was a different kind of clouds that canceled this annual star party. Thanks to a federal government shutdown all national parks were closed. Despite perfect "seeing" weather, participants missed a golden opportunity to spread the word of science and wonder at a starry sky.
Sequoia National Park Star Party
May 12th & 13th 2018
Come Saturday night, total overcast or broken cloud cover could not stop our intrepid band of VCAS star observers. With a bit of patience, the Sequoia skies finally opened up and gave us all a beautiful view of heaven from 7000 feet. Park guests were treated to views through some pretty powerful scopes locating celestial objects like Jupiter in near opposition, multiple Messier objects, and a satellite or two.
VCAS members also spend their daylight hours exploring the park and marveling at the biggest trees on the planet.
Annual Club Open House
July 21, 2018
A very large crowd of new and veteran astronomers enjoyed a night of learning and observing. Many attended to see Mars at near opposition or Saturn with perfect rings. Jupiter really put on a show as well, with the great red spot making an appearance.
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