General Meeting - June 2026
2026-06-12 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
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Tonight’s meeting will be online only.
Chapman University just notified us that we can not use their facility for tonight’s meeting.

The Big Eye: Palomar Observatory’s past and future

Palomar Observatory is just two hours from Orange County. Home to the 200-inch Hale telescope—once the world’s largest telescope—and an array of smaller facilities, it is one of the most productive astronomical research sites in the US. This talk will give an overview of Palomar’s development and rich history, and will discuss how creative ideas and evolving instrumentation help to keep the Observatory at the forefront of astronomical discovery as it nears its 100th birthday.

Geoffrey Mo is a Brinson Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Observatories and at Caltech. His main research interests are in the birth, evolution, and death of binary stars, particularly those involving white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. He uses large telescopes on the ground and in space to study these systems, which are responsible for many of the most energetic events in the universe. He is also interested in new astronomical instrumentation and is leading the development of a new high-speed imager for the 200-inch Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory. Geoffrey was an undergraduate at Carleton College and earned his PhD at MIT.

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Anza Star Party
2026-06-13, 2026-08-08, 2026-08-15, 2026-09-12, 2026-10-10, 2026-11-07 | On the Sky, CA, United States
The new moon weekend for the monthly star party. The Anza site is open to members and their guests only. Join other members for viewing and imaging. Contact any board member if you have any questions.
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OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
2026-06-19 | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
There will be no ASIG meeting in June. Instead we recommend attending the Society for Astronomical Sciences Annual Symposium, June 25-27, Ontario, CA., and/or the American Astronomical Society Summer Meeting, Pasadena, CA, June 14-18. Click on either conference title to be directed to the conference webpage. These meetings provide the opportunity for rich interaction with the worldwide Astronomical and Astrophysics communities.
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OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
2026-06-19 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-07-17 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-08-21 19:00 - 22:00 | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
The monthly meeting of the Astrophysics Special Interest Group is at 7:00 PM every third Friday of the month at Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House. Please contact the ASIG chair for details at mark@ocastronomers.org .
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OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
2026-06-19 19:00 - 22:00 | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
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Beginner's Class In-person event(New Location)
2026-07-06 19:30 - 22:30, 2027-01-04 19:00 - 22:00 | Orange Coast College, Outside Planetarium, 2701 Fairview, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
This is a free and open to the public event (In-person event only).
The 5th session of the Beginners Astronomy Class is the “How to Use Your Telescope”.
If you have a telescope and would like some help learning to set it up and use it, attend this Hands-on class.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
Event is held at Orange Coast College, near Planetarium.
Look for Planetarium Parking, LOT E
Parking is $5.35 for a virtual daily parking permit and can only be paid online or by app at this time. There is no kiosk at the parking lot.
For instructions click on:
https://orangecoastcollege.edu/about/parking-and-public-safety/parking/index.html

Scroll down to: PURCHASE VIRTUAL DAILY PARKING PERMITS. You want LOT E which is ZONE 92847.

Click on the link for PassportParking.com to pay online. Go to the Menu and click on the PayOnline Button and follow the prompts. If you want to download the app, also usable at many other locations in the region and in the US, please follow the instructions provided by the App.
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General Meeting – July 2026
2026-07-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
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Free and open to the public.
This meeting will be online only, please do NOT go inperson.

Searching for Signs of Life

on Jupiter’s Ocean-Bearing Moons

Using NASA’s Europa Clipper mission as our guide, we’ll journey to Jupiter’s icy moons – worlds that may contain vast oceans beneath their frozen crusts. We will examine the evidence to support the possibility of finding life at this seemingly-unlikely locale in our Solar System. We will also discuss the motivation for the search for life beyond Earth, and the impact of the search on humanity.

Robin Metcalfe is an associate professor at York University in Toronto, where she has been teaching physics and astronomy for over 25 years. She is also the Director of York’s Division of Natural Science, which offers courses spanning a broad range of scientific fields and designed for diverse audiences from any academic discipline for the purpose of engaging students in topical scientific issues and instilling an appreciation for scientific exploration. Robin is also active in public outreach, giving Astronomy-themed talks to a variety of audiences, including astronomy clubs and other interest groups. Through her teaching and outreach, Robin shares her passion for the night sky and the outdoors. She teaches students to appreciate what the night sky has to teach us, to gain perspective from our place in the Universe, and to value our precious planet Earth.
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Heritage Montessori Lake Forest
2026-07-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Heritage Montessori Lake Forest, 2900 Portola Parkway, Lake Forest, 92630, United States
This event does not require anyone to bring their telescope! Rather, the school is asking for speakers to talk to its students about the night sky and astronomy, during the daytime.
The age of the audience is between 2 and 7 years, so don’t say anything too technical.
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OCA Board Meeting
2026-07-26 11:00 - 13:00 | Online
OCA Board Meeting will be held via zoom at 11:00am. All current members are welcome to attend. Contact the club secretary for the link.
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In-person Beginner's Class(New Location)
2026-08-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
This is a free and open to the public event (in person event only)
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.
Free and open to the public as well as members of OCA.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
Event is held at Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House.
Parking is $5.35 for a virtual daily parking permit and can only be paid online or by app at this time. There is no kiosk at the parking lot.
For instructions click on:
https://orangecoastcollege.edu/about/parking-and-public-safety/parking/index.html

Scroll down to: PURCHASE VIRTUAL DAILY PARKING PERMITS. You want LOT E which is ZONE 92847.

Click on the link for PassportParking.com to pay online. Go to the Menu and click on the PayOnline Button and follow the prompts. If you want to download the app, also usable at many other locations in the region and in the US, please follow the instructions provided by the App.

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General Meeting – August 2026
2026-08-14 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
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Free and open to the public held online-only.

From Data to Discovery:

Communicating PACE Science to the World

NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission provides unprecedented insights into Earth’s interconnected ocean and atmospheric systems. But how do we transform complex scientific data into meaningful public understanding?
This presentation will introduce the PACE mission and explore strategies for communicating Earth science to diverse audiences. We’ll discuss the challenges of sharing complex ocean-atmosphere research, making data accessible to educators and students, and engaging communities in understanding their connection to global environmental systems.
This will show how PACE is not just observing our planet, but inspiring the next generation of Earth science enthusiasts and informed citizens.
The presentation with the reference links can be downloaded by clicking here.

Carina Poulin is a scientific designer at The Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she works at the intersection of Earth science, visualization, and communication. She has a scientific background in ocean color remote sensing and phytoplankton optics. Her work focuses on making complex satellite missions like PACE more accessible and meaningful to scientists, students, and the public.
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Online Beginner's Class
2026-09-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online Zoom event, to attend please click here at or after 6:40pm
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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General Meeting – September 2026
2026-09-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
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Free and open to the public held online-only.

Sounds of the Stars:

Journey to the Center of a Star

What lies at the center of a star? A stellar core is surrounded by a million Earth’s worth of plasma, so we cannot see it directly. However, the immense power of a star’s radiation causes nearly all stars to pulsate, creating “star quakes” at their surfaces. These oscillations are a collection of musical notes that uniquely define each star and are determined by its internal structure, just as the sound of a musical instrument is determined by its size and shape. Join me for a cosmic symphony as we journey to the center of the Sun, Saturn, white dwarfs, red giants, and heartbeat stars.

Jim Fuller is a professor of theoretical astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology. His research covers a broad array of topics, ranging from Saturn’s moons to massive stars that explode as supernovae or collapse into black holes! Recently he has been studying the evolution of massive stars just before supernova, the neutron stars and black holes that they produce, asteroseismology and magnetic fields inside of red giants, pulsations of tidally distorted stars, the deep interior of Saturn as revealed by its rings, and the long-term orbital evolution of exoplanets and moons.

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OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
2026-09-18 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-10-16 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-11-20 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-12-18 19:00 - 22:00, 2027-01-15 19:00 - 22:00 | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
The monthly meeting of the Astrophysics Special Interest Group is at 7:00 PM every third Friday of the month at Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House. Our meetings are in-person only. Please contact the ASIG chair for details at mark@ocastronomers.org .
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Online Beginner's Class
2026-10-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here at or after 6:40pm.
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 Beginner's Class
2026-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here at or after 6:40pm.
The 3rd session of the Beginners Astronomy Class covers different methods of finding objects in the night sky. Special topic is learning the constellations.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
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Online Beginner's Class
2026-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
This is a free and open to the public online event, to attend please register with zoom by clicking here at or after 6:40pm.
The 4th session of the Beginners Astronomy Class covers the science behind the telescope.
How do our eyes actually perceive objects we see in the telescope and what is the physics that allows that perception.
For details, please visit here and download the sample information PDF package.
Views: 2

Woodbridge High School, Irvine
2027-02-03 17:45 - 21:30 | Woodbridge High School, 2 Meadowbrook, Irvine, 92604, United States
