Stockton Astronomical Society

About SAS
SAS Activities
    Star Parties
    Sky Tours/Oak Grove Star Party
    Striking Sparks Telescope Awards Program
    ATM
SAS Services
    Telescopes for Check-out
Valley Skies Newsletter
    Current Newsletter
SAS Photos
Astro-Kids
Astronomy Links
Astronomer's Toolbox

The Stockton Astronomical Society (SAS) meets on the second Thursday of the month in the Olson Hall, Room 120 at the University of the Pacific at 7:30 pm. Visitors are welcome.
A monthly star party is usually held on a Saturday near a new moon.

Coming Up [view SAS Sky Calendar (143.1KB PDF file) May 2013]

Saturday, May 4 at 10:00 am -- ATM Workshop
Saturday, May 4 at sunset -- High Altitude Star Party
Thursday, May 9 -- New Moon
Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm -- Regular Meeting of SAS in Olson Hall, Room 120, at UOP
Saturday, May 11 at sunset -- Highway 4 Star Party - OR -
Saturday, May 11 at sunset -- Pardee Observation Point Star Party
Saturday, May 11 at 7:00 pm -- Public Star Party at Oak Grove Regional Park
Friday, May 17 at 9:00 pm -- Sky Tours at Delta College -- (Shima 2 parking lot)
Friday, May 24 -- Full Moon

SAS News

SAS May 9^th Meeting

Stockton Astronomical Society presents:

Dr. Tom Zobrist

Building the world’s largest telescopes: the future of ground-based astronomy

Tom Zobrist will recap his experience working at the Stewart Observatory Mirror Laboratory (SOML) helping to build the world’s largest astronomical telescopes, including LBT, GMT, and LSST. He will provide a brief explanation of the fabrication process, starting from 5 kg chunks of glass to producing light-weighted, monolithic telescope mirrors up to 8.4 m diameter. Results from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), currently the world’s largest telescope, will be highlighted to show the comparison between ground-based and space-based astronomy.

SOML is currently fabricating the mirrors for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which will each revolutionize ground-based astronomy when they are complete.

Tom will discuss how LSST will allow every amateur astronomer to have access to an 8.4 m research-grade telescope, and about the race between GMT and its competitors, the Universities of California led Thirty Meter Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope, for the title of World’s Largest Telescope.

...Dennis LeClert, Program Director

What's to See Tonight

This Week's Sky at a Glance
(Sky and Telescope Magazine)
Abrams Planetarium
Heavens-Above

Astronomy in the News

Thinking of Buying a Star?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

California's First Astronomical Observatory

George Madeira and His Observatory

Picture of the Day

From Goddard Space Flight Center

Weather Information

From The Weather Underground:

From the US Naval Observatory

NASA Released Photo and Info Sheet

News Items

The following individual articles are maintained on other sites that have various archival or retention dates and therefore, the link to these articles cannot be guaranteed.

Mars Predicted to Get Close Call From Comet in 2014 (Astronomy Now Online - 3/5/13)
More Curiosity Computer Troubleshooting on Tap (Spaceflight Now - 3/4/13)
Russian Satellite Hit By Chinese Debris Highlights Space Junk Threat (Space.com - 3/9/13)
6 Surprising Facts About Comet Pan-STARRS in Night Sky (Space.com - 3/8/13)
Comet of the Century? Sun-Grazing Comet ISON Explained (Space.com - 3/7/13)

The Stockton Astronomical Society (SAS) was founded as a non-profit California corporation to foster interest in and promote the general knowledge of astronomy and related sciences.

Member: International Dark-Sky Association
Member: Astronomical Association of Northern California
Member: Night Sky Network

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