Online Beginner's Class
2022-01-28 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here.
The 6th session of the Beginners Astronomy Class covers the basics of astrophotography, covering different types of imaging, how different types of cameras are used for this kind of photography, and other equipment and considerations for taking a good picture.
This session is taught by Kyle Coker, who is active in the club’s AstroImaging special interest group.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
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NEW MOON
2022-01-31 08:00 - 17:00, 2022-03-02, 2022-03-31 | CA
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First Quarter Moon
2022-02-08, 2022-03-10, 2022-04-08 | CA

Online General Meeting - February 2022
2022-02-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event.
Join Zoom

Dragonfly: Exploring an Organic Rich Moon

Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere, which supports an Earth-like hydrological cycle of methane clouds, rain, lakes, and seas. Complex organic surface materials may preserve, in a deep freeze, the types of organic chemicals that would have been present on Earth before life developed. Titan’s icy crust floats atop an interior liquid water ocean. The Dragonfly mission to Titan will characterize its habitability and determine how far prebiotic chemistry has progressed in environments known to provide the necessary ingredients for life. The mission comprises a single rotorcraft lander with a sophisticated scientific payload, designed to take advantage of Titan’s environment, and achieve wide-ranging exploration by flying to sites in different geologic settings.

Dr. Melissa Trainer
Dr. Melissa Trainer is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with expertise in the composition of planetary atmospheres and the production of organic molecules and aerosols via in situ synthesis pathways. She has spent more than a decade characterizing the properties of Titan and early Earth aerosol analogs, with publications on the chemical, optical, and isotopic properties of organic hazes. Dr. Trainer is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument team, for which she led the campaign to conduct the first in situ multi-year study of the seasonal variations of the composition of the Mars atmosphere through surface mass spectrometry measurements. Dr. Trainer currently serves as a Deputy Principal Investigator (PI) for the Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan, part of the NASA Planetary Science New Frontiers Program. She is also the lead for the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS), which enables the investigation of Titan’s surface composition and characterization of potential prebiotic chemistry.
https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/solarsystem/

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Open Spiral Bar
2022-02-12 22:00 - 23:30, 2022-03-12 22:00 - 23:30, 2022-04-09 22:00 - 23:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event.
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Come and socialize with your fellow astronomy enthusiasts face-to-face virtually!
Bring your latest astrophotography, mini-presentation, questions or none and your own refreshments.

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Full Moon
2022-02-16, 2022-03-18, 2022-04-16 | CA

Third Quarter Moon
2022-02-23, 2022-03-24, 2022-04-23 | CA

Adopt-a-Scope Pickup Day
2022-02-26 10:00 - 14:00 | South Coast Self Sorage, 3480 W Warner Ave, Santa Ana, CA, 92704, United States

Online Beginner's Class
2022-03-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here.
The 1st session of the Beginners Astronomy Class gives a general overview of all of the different objects you can see in the night and day time skies, with some history and information about what they are and their significance. An overview of the current scientific understanding of the Universe’s beginning, present and future is also covered.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
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OCA Board Meeting
2022-03-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
The OCA Board meeting. The meeting will start at 10am and is open to all current members of the OCA. If interested in attending, then please contact the club secretary, Alan Smallbone for meeting details.
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Outreach: Community Roots Academy
2022-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Community Roots Academy, 29292 Crown Valley Pkwy, Laguna Niguel, CA, 92677, United States

Online General Meeting - March 2022
2022-03-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event.
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Bringing Astronomy Alive:

Student Engagement at

John Abbott College

The non-traditional approach to Introductory Astronomy at John Abbott College (Montreal, Canada) puts the depth and direction of content in the hands of the students, utilizing partnerships with RASC Montreal Centre and other Outreach Organizations to mentor students in observational techniques, provide access to amateur and professional Astronomical data, and introduce students to public outreach.

Recognizing the available access to recent discoveries and current data that best represent the direction of space sciences, each student is given an opportunity to put their stamp on the learning outcomes of the course. Combining this with non-compulsory astronomy activities with RASC – Montreal Centre allows students to embrace the field in a manner that best suits their interests and motivation, resulting in novel labs and incredibly diverse term projects, and several initiatives that have moved beyond the scope of the Introductory Astronomy Course. Other departments and courses at the college are now taking advantage of the Astronomy activities to engage their students beyond the classroom.

Prof. Karim Jaffer joined the Physics Faculty at John Abbott College (JAC) in 2006, with active projects in STEM education and pedagogical development. When Karim began teaching Introductory Astronomy in 2016 he developed a unique student-directed, just-in-time teaching approach incorporating current astronomical data, research, and including experiential learning opportunities.

In the amateur astronomy community Karim has been the Public Events Coordinator for the RASC Montreal Centre since 2016, helping re-establish the I.K.Williamson Astronomy Library and coordinating both public events and outreach activities throughout the Montreal area, cultivating partnerships with the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, the Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), the Cosmodome, Explore Alliance, the Astronomical League, AstroRadio, CASCA and many local amateur astronomy groups, in addition to mentoring several Student Astronomy clubs and coordinating visits to local schools, guides, scouts and libraries.

Karim is a member of the National RASC Education and Public Outreach Committee and the 2021 recipient of the Charles M Good Award.

www.rascmontreal.org/titan

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Astrophysics Special Interest Group
2022-03-18 19:30 - 22:00, 2022-04-15 19:30 - 22:00 | Heritage Museum of OC, 3101 W Harvard St, Santa Ana, CA, 92704, United States
The monthly meeting of the Astrophysics Special Interest Group at 7:30 at the Heritage Museum. Please contact the SIG chair for details and requirements. See the Contacts section of the website for details on contacting the group.
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Outreach: Biola University
2022-03-23 20:00 - 21:00 | Biola University, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, CA, 90639, United States

Outreach: Emery Elementary School
2022-03-30 20:00 - 21:00 | Charles G Emery Elementary School, 8600 Somerset St,, Buena Park, CA, 90621, United States

Online Beginner's Class
2022-04-01 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here.
The 2nd session of the Beginners Astronomy Class covers the different types of equipment used to observe the night sky, including telescopes, mounts, eyepieces, filters, and advantages and disadvantages of different options.
This session is a must if thinking about buying a telescope.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
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Online General Meeting - April 2022
2022-04-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event.
Join Zoom

The End of the Beginning

We used to think the Big Bang meant the universe began from a singularity. Nearly 100 years later, we’re not so sure. The Big Bang teaches us that our expanding, cooling universe used to be younger, denser, and hotter in the past. However, extrapolating all the way back to a singularity leads to predictions that disagree with what we observe. Instead, cosmic inflation preceded and set up the Big Bang, changing our cosmic origin story forever.

Download PDF of the presentation

Ethan has lived his life fascinated with one simple fact: we have the capacity to figure out definitive, scientific answers to even the deepest questions we can conceive about our physical reality. We do that by asking the right questions about the Universe, and then putting the Universe itself to the test. From where everything comes from to the Universe’s ultimate fate and all that lies between, he’s committed to not just figuring it out, but to sharing the answers — what we know and how we know it — with anyone curious enough to listen.

https://www.startswithabang.com/

https://twitter.com/StartsWithABang
https://www.facebook.com/startswithabang

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Adopt-a-Scope Pickup
2022-04-09 09:00 - 13:00 | South Coast Self Sorage, 3480 W Warner Ave, Santa Ana, CA, 92704, United States

Lyrids Meteor Shower
2022-04-22 - 2022-04-23 | CA
Lyrids meteor shower is an average shower, offering about 20 shooting stars an hour at the peak
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