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Welcome

Welcome to the home page of the Sonoma County Astronomical Society (SCAS)

We meet at 7:30 PM on the second Wednesday of each month at Proctor Terrace School, 1171 Bryden Lane, Santa Rosa, CA map. You are most welcome to attend. Click on the Monthly Speaker button for more information.

We also have a group called Young Astronomers especially for our younger members.

Who We Are

Our membership consists of astronomy and science enthusiasts of all ages, both amateur and professional. The purpose of the Sonoma County Astronomical Society (SCAS) is to:

• Promote interest in astronomy and an appreciation of the night sky.

• Provide outreach to the Sonoma County public.

• Encourage young people's interest in astronomy and science education.

School Star Parties

These are held on request of schools in Sonoma County. We provide an introductory in-class PowerPoint presentation, and then several club members will bring telescopes to the school for night sky viewing. There is no charge for a School Star Party, but they are on a "first come, first served" basis. Contact Activities@sonomaskies.org for more information.

News and Newsletters

See why folks like the Sonoma Skies newsletter so much!

NEW! SCAS is on Facebook

Join the SCAS Yahoo group. Read astronomers' logs and arrange to meet for observing, especially at Lake Sonoma.

Striking Sparks Program

One of our goals is to fuel the imagination of young people. Each year students submit essays explaining why they want a telescope. Telescopes are awarded to those entering the best essays. See our Sparks page.

To further encourage and support youthful star-gazers, SCAS sponsors our Young Astronomers club. See the Young Astromomers page to learn more.

Monthly and Yearly Activities

Sonoma County Astronomical Society holds monthly meetings and many other special events. See the Events drop-down menus at the top of this page.

Member Contributed Photos

Many of our members take photographs of the skies with their telescopes. See the News & Images drop-down menu to check them out.

Featured Links

Here are some links to other Astronomy or Science related websites.

Astronomycast

An awesome site with audio podcasts and web articles on astronomy, cosmology, and space exploration. You can also subscribe to new articles as they come out - either through your web browsers "RSS Feed" feature, or to your IPOD, IPOD Touch, or IPhone.
Click here to go to the AstronomyCast page.

PBS NOVA

The PBS website has a section where you can watch many excellent episodes of NOVA - in many categories. Take a look at the categories in the lower-right portion of the page. (Hint - SPACE!).
Click here to go to the NOVA page.

Sonoma County and Bay Area Organizations

• The Robert Ferguson Observatory at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
• SRJC Planetarium
• SSU Favorite Astronomy Links
• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
• The Astronomical Association of Northern California

Click here to see our full list of great links

Our History

SCAS was founded in 1974 and has about 150 members from all walks of life. We share a common interest, our love of astronomy.

 

Page last modified January 30, 2010

The banner Image, and nebulae photos at top of pages courtesy NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (hubblesite.org)