Upcoming Events:

We're still in the process of scheduling our 2012 events but some of the things in the works are:

• Star Parties at Vasquez Rocks (of course)
• Dark Sky Star Parties
• Astronomy Day
• Grand Canyon Star Party
• Telescope Workshop
• Monthly Meetings - See below
• Lots of outreach programs (Thanks Mark!)

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March Meeting at Placerita Canyon Nature Center

All members are invited to attend the first meeting in quite a while taking place at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center on March 3rd. The meeting will begin with a business meeting beginning at 5pm. The business meeting will include the election of new officers so please attend in order to vote.

Beginning at 6pm Jim Mahon will give a lecture on Getting Started in Amateur Astronomy and if the sky cooperates we will adjourn afterwards outside for some telescope viewing from 7-8pm.

Everyone is invited to join us for any part of the meeting. We invite those of you who have not formally joined the club to become involved. 2012 will be a busy and productive year.

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RESCHEDULED! Star Party at Vasquez Rocks.

Our ill-fated December 3rd star party has officially been rescheduled for Friday, December 30th. Setup is at 4pm and the party will go until 11pm. Wave those chickens or pray to the deity of your choice that we will have good weather this time. 2011 seems to have been a remarkable year for bad weather.

All the details remain the same as below. Hope you all can make it!

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Star Party!

Our next star party is coming up on December 3rd at Vasquez Rocks. See the article below to see we had a fantastic event in August and hope this one is awesome too!

Open to the public, the event begins at 6:00 PM and ends at 11:59 PM ('cause they gotta close the gate at Midnight.) Vasquez Rocks is located at 10700 W Escondido Rd, Agua Dulce, CA 9139.

Sunset is at 4:42 that evening and looks like Jupiter will likely be the star of the show (yes, I know it's a planet) and of course the moon will be up as well for some great lunar viewing. If you come out early we may have some solar telescope for a look at our nearest star. There is a rumor that our President, Steve Petzold may be telling constellation stories to the kids of all ages around sunset...

Astronomy club members (you've all paid your dues, right?) - You know the drill, members with solar scopes come out early...we may bring out some pizza and the Antelope Valley club has been invited to join us.

Vasquez Star Party Etiquite: Please try to come out before it gets dark as those headlight are really blinding. Park with your car facing away from the telescopes so you don't wipe everyone out when you leave. Flashlights are ok but keep their use to a minimum and always pointed down. We'll have enough moonlight and you'll be surprised how well you can see if your eyes are allowed to adjust to the dark.

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Astronomy Day in Santa Clarita!

Date: Saturday, 10/1/2011
Time: 1:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Valencia Public Library, 23743 Valencia Blvd., Santa Clarita, CA 91355

The Local Group Astronomy Club will sponsor Astronomy Day on October 1, 2011 at the Valencia Library. The program is planned for the afternoon and evening:

1 PM We will show the DVD 440 Years of the Telescope.

2 PM Maxwell Ward will lead the always popular "Build Your Own Telescope.

3 PM Donald Cogan will cook up some Kitchen Comets.

4 PM Steve Petzold will lead a group playing Stargo as we learn the constellations.

1-4 PM Solar Telescope viewing of our closest star.

7-9 PM Club scopes available for public stargazing.

Member Karen Borao is leading this effort and we can use member support (That would be YOU).We need members to assist us in making this day successful. Specifically we would like to have several solar telescopes from 1-4 PM and some telescopes for evening observation from 7-9 PM. Also, we can use some members to help at the outside table letting library patrons know about the shows and answering questions. If you have a meteorite collection or other objects of interest for display, we can also use those. You can also help publicize this event by inviting your friends and neighbor, home school groups, boy scouts etc. Members can also reference the event on their Facebook page. Please contact us ASAP to let us know how you are able to help. You do not have to spend the whole day-do what you want-when you want. We have had a lot of success with this event in the past and this is our opportunity to continue the tradition. Call Steve if you have any question (661)609-1739. Please print out and pass around this poster:

Astronomy Day Poster

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Vasquez Rocks Star Party

Saturday August 6th, 6pm - 11:30PM

We had a great turnout, both terrestrial and otherwise for this event! Lots of scopes from both the Local Group as well as the AV club. Steve (our President) brought pizza for those who didn't bring enough munchies. The quarter moon was rather bright but that didn't stop some folks from locating a bunch of deep sky objects. Jim Van Winkle had his camera fired up and snapped some great shots of some distant galaxies. Pictures Jim!

We probably had around 20 scopes of various sizes and configurations. In addition we had a lot of visitors of all ages stopping by to check out the sights. It is always such a pleasure and a privilege to be able to show the heavens to folks who have never looked through a scope before. The look of sheer amazement and delight never gets old.

Special thanks goes out to the park service for providing us this opportunity! Vasquez is a great site.

Here are some photos: