Astroimagers Special Interest Group
2025-05-02 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-06-06 19:00 - 22:00, 2025-09-05 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-10-03 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Orange Coast College, Building 40, Astronomy House, Merrimac Way, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States
Meeting of the Astroimaging Special Interest Group at Orange Coast College Astronomy House. Meeting is from 7pm to 10pm. Parking fees will apply and must be purchased online.
Any questions please contact Kyle Coker
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Online Beginner's Class
2025-05-02 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 at or after 7:10pm.
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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OCA Board Meeting
2025-05-04 11:30 - 14:30, 2025-09-28 11:30 - 14:00 | Online
A meeting of the OCA Board to Trustees, the meeting is held online via zoom starting at 11:30am. The meeting is open to current members, please contact the club secretary to have a link sent to you for the meeting.
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General Meeting – May 2025
2025-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
Join Zoom

This meeting’s speaker will present live from Albany, NY.

Fast Radio Bursts-Signals

from Across the Universe

This artist’s impression (not to scale) illustrates the path of the fast radio burst FRB 20220610A, from the distant galaxy where it originated all the way to Earth, in one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms. The source galaxy of FRB 20220610A, pinned down thanks to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), appears to be located within a small group of interacting galaxies. It’s so far away its light took eight billion years to reach us, making FRB 20220610A the most distant fast radio burst found to date.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright flashes of radio waves that last only a few milliseconds and are visible across the universe. Although approximately 10,000 of these occur every day, they were only discovered by accident in 2007. Their origins remain largely unknown, making FRBs one of the hottest topics in radio astronomy. In this talk, Dr. McKee will describe the discovery of FRBs, what we know about them, and what the next few years of radio astronomy holds for this exciting new field of astronomy.
Union College headshotsWednesday, September 4, 2024James McKee, Union College, Physics & Astronomy
Dr. McKee studied physics at the University of Hull, and obtained a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Manchester while working at Jodrell Bank Observatory. Dr. McKee has held research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, where he was also the on-site pulsar astronomer at the Effelsberg radio telescope, and at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto where he worked on the CHIME telescope. He is currently an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Union College in NY, where he leads research into pulsars and fast radio bursts.
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OCA Astrophysics SIG Meeting
2025-05-16 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-07-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-15 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-09-19 19:00 - 21:00 | 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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Anza Star Party
2025-05-24, 2025-06-21, 2025-06-28, 2025-08-23, 2025-09-20 | 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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Online Beginner's Class
2025-06-06 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 at or after 7:10pm.
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.
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Crystal Cove State Park Grunion Run
2025-06-12 21:00 - 23:00 | Cottage 21, Los Trancos Beach, Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Coast, 92651, United States
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General Meeting – June 2025
2025-06-13 19:30 - 21:30 | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
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This meeting’s speaker will present online from Los Angeles.

A Trip to the Center of Our Galaxy

The heart of the Milky Way is home to Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole approximately four million times the mass of the Sun. Although it remains largely quiet today, it is surrounded by a turbulent sea of gas, dust, and exotic objects that could one day trigger dramatic outbursts. This presentation delves into this extreme environment, exploring the large-scale gas clouds and the closer-in structures that fuel the black hole. It examines how molecular hydrogen manages to survive intense ultraviolet radiation and introduces a newly identified class of enigmatic objects orbiting perilously close to Sagittarius A*. Observed over two decades with the Keck Observatory, these objects may represent the remnants of stellar collisions or merged binaries, offering valuable insights into how matter behaves under immense gravitational forces. Mapping this region helps to illuminate the intricate interplay of stars, gas, and gravity at the core of the galaxy.

Anna Ciurlo’s research focuses on stars and gas around the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy. Her work leverages high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy from large ground and space-based observatories like Keck and the JWST. She earned her PhD in astrophysics from the Sorbonne Paris Cité and pursued postdoctoral research at UCLA. She was an inaugural year Keck Visiting Scholar at Keck Observatory. Anna continues at UCLA as an assistant researcher and adjunct assistant professor in the Galactic Center Group.
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Beginner's Class In-person event(New Location)
2025-07-07 19:30 - 21:30 | 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 2025
2025-07-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
Join Zoom

This meeting’s speaker will present inperson.

Backyard Exoplanet Observatory …

measuring exoplanets with

a small backyard telescope

Amateur astronomers can measure exoplanet parameters from their suburban backyard using a small telescope, astronomy camera, and a laptop

Mr Hallman is a retired physicist with over 30 years experience in the aerospace industry doing design, development, and testing of imaging systems and sensors operating in the Visible, Infrared, and Radar spectral regions. He has been a member of the OCA for 1 year, and is currently building a backyard Radio Telescope.
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Anza Star Party and Star BQue
2025-07-26 | 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. This weekend is also our annual Star-bque pot luck star party. Bring and entree or item to share with your fellow astronomers and spend a warm summer night under the stars. Subject to cancellation due to weather or other conditions beyond our control.
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In-person Beginner's Class(New Location)
2025-08-01 19:30 - 21:30 | 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.
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.

Views: 1

Public Outreach: Annual Fountain Valley Sports Park Campout
2025-08-02 20:00 - 21:30 | Fountain Valley Recreation Center, 16400 Brookhurst St,, Fountain Valley, 92708, United States

General Meeting – August 2025
2025-08-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
Join Zoom

This meeting’s speaker will present online from Topeka, KS.
Exploding Stars and Life on Earth

Scientists have long speculated that the history of life on Earth may have been influenced by cosmic explosions such as supernovae. In recent decades the combination of astrophysical data and computational models have allowed detailed study of the potential effects of nearby stellar explosions on Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere. Impacts range from destruction of stratospheric ozone, exposing life to extreme levels of solar UV, to direct damage to organisms by high-energy neutrons and muons. This talk will summarize what is known today and discuss connections to mass extinctions and the evolution of life over the last few hundred million years.

Dr. Brian Thomas is a Professor in the Physics & Astronomy Department at Washburn University, in Topeka, Kansas. Since 2003 he has worked on various problems related to understanding how the history of life on Earth may have been affected by high-energy astrophysical events such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. He and collaborators from multiple disciplines have together produced some of the most detailed and state-of-the-art studies of the effects on Earth by nearby stellar explosions.
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Online Beginner's Class
2025-09-05 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.
Views: 1

General Meeting – September 2025
2025-09-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Irvine Lecture Hall of the Chapman University, 336 N Center St, Orange, CA, 92866, United States
Join Zoom

This meeting’s speaker will present inperson from the Chapman campus.
Pathway to a

Post-Global Warming Future

— A Brief Overview of Climate Science,

Consequences, and Solutions

(and their astronomical connections!)

Global warming may not seem obviously connected to astronomy — but it is. In fact, the basic science of global warming is best understood through comparative study of planets. In this presentation, astrophysicist/educator Jeffrey Bennett will give you a brief overview of the surprisingly simple basic science behind global warming (including its astronomical connections) and of the consequences we can expect from this warming. Most important, he’ll focus on solutions and how we can in principle take the steps necessary to create a “post-global warming” future, meaning a future in which today’s children will someday be able to talk about global warming as a once-serious problem that we found a way to solve. Note: This talk is based on Dr. Bennett’s book A Global Warming Primer — Pathway to a Post-Global Warming Future.

Astrophysicist/educator Jeffrey Bennett has devoted his career to science education and outreach. He is probably best known to the astronomy community as the lead author of the widely used textbooks The Cosmic Perspective and Life in the Universe. He is also the author of textbooks in math and statistics; of several critically acclaimed books for educators and the public; and of 7 award-winning science books for children. He served two years as a visiting senior scientist at NASA headquarters, proposed and co-led development of the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall (Washington, D.C.), created the free Totality app for learning about solar eclipses, and created a free online textbook for middle school Earth and Space Science. Among other honors, his children’s books were the first ever selected for Story Time From Space, in which books are launched to the International Space Station and read aloud by astronauts, and he has won both the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award (2014) and the Klopsteg Memorial Award (2023) for education from the American Association of Physics Teachers. In addition to his ongoing speaking series on global warming, his current projects include working to spread Voyage model solar systems across the country, a planetarium show based on his book Max Goes to Mars, and a new book on The Scale of the Universe to be published in January.
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Online Beginner's Class
2025-10-03 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.
Views: 1
