Upcoming Events
Events are open to all members and the general public. Sign up for email event updates by registering with Night Sky Network.
Most of our events happen at the Chabot Space and Science Center. Get directions here.
Next General Meeting – WE’RE BACK AT CHABOT!!
(Note that this meeting will be hybrid, in-person and on zoom/facebook. Our speaker will join us IN PERSON, in Classroom 3 & 4 / Kepler-Copernicus.)
Meeting will be held at the Chabot Space and Science Center Classroom 4 (the Room formerly known as Copernicus). Please enter through the side gate along the back road of the facility.
This research project began with a simple question: what is the smallest spacecraft that can deliver a cell phone camera to within one diameter of a near earth asteroid, take a few thousand pictures, and then return to earth and download the images? Two proposed solutions have emerged, both weighing less than 0.1 kg: BLISS – the Berkeley Low-Cost Interplanetary Solar Sail, and BEARS – Berkeley Electrospray Autonomous Robotic Spacecraft.
The spacecraft are designed with off-the-shelf technology, including sensors from cell phones for inertial and image sensing, solar cells and a LiPo battery, redundant radiation-tolerant computation, and both RF and laser communication. We assume that swarms of thousands of such spacecraft will be deployed, and that a mission failure rate of 50% for individual spacecraft is acceptable, allowing for aggressive optimization.
Some simulations of spacecraft trajectories and performance will be presented, as well as some speculation on the theoretical limits to performance of such spacecraft.
About the Speaker
Kristofer S.J. Pister received his B.A. in Applied Physics from UCSD in 1986, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1989 and 1992.
From 1992 to 1997 he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at UCLA where he helped developed the graduate MEMS curriculum, and coined the phrase Smart Dust.
Since 1996 he has been a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley. In 2003 and 2004 he was on leave from UCB as CEO and then CTO of Dust Networks, a company he founded to commercialize wireless sensor networks.
He participated in the creation of several wireless sensor networking standards, including Wireless HART (IEC62591), IEEE 802.15.4e, ISA100.11A, and IETF RPL. Commercial impact of his work includes the adoption of nodal analysis for MEMS design, XeF2 etchers for semiconductor and MEMS fabrication, wireless sensor networks, and low power Bluetooth radios in AirPods.
This talk will be available live and publicly at:
Telescope Makers’ Workshop
The Telescope Maker’s Workshop is one of few regularly scheduled such workshops in the world! Every Friday from 7 to 10 PM, amateur telescope makers from the bay area meet at the Chabot Space & Science Center and learn how to grind, shape, polish, and figure mirrors for reflecting telescopes, under the guidance of EAS volunteers. The workshop is free; participants pay only for the mirror blanks and grinding tools, which generally cost between $100-$300, depending on the size of the mirror. All the instruction, grinding grit, testing equipment, and camaraderie is free of charge! For more information, email Richard Ozer at pres@eastbayastro.org, or come by the workshop any Friday to see what it’s all about.
Outreach
In person events are more limited because of COVID, but are being scheduled for schools and other community institutions. Contact us also for possible virtual events, or visit http://www.chabotspace.org for scheduled public virtual telescope viewing events]
EAS sends volunteers to schools, libraries, and anywhere curious aspiring astronomers gather. EAS volunteers bring their own equipment or borrow telescopes. Students, parents, and teachers are always thrilled to look through the telescopes and ask questions. You’ll meet all sorts of interesting people and provide a unique and inspiring experience to kids and parents who may have never looked through a telescope before. Find our next event on the calendar above.
Inquire about and request visits by e-mailing EAS Outreach Coordinator Raymond Howard at outreach@eastbayastro.org. Visit our outreach page to find out about upcoming events.
Members Only Viewing Nights (MOVN)
[In person events are more limited than in the past because of COVID, visit http://www.chabotspace.org for virtual telescope viewing events]
Once a quarter, we schedule a Members Only Viewing Night at the Chabot Telescope Deck for both EAS and Chabot members. This is our opportunity to look through Chabot’s historic instruments and research telescope, as well as bring our own equipment to share in a more quiet venue. The schedule for MOVN will appear in the event calendar below.
Barcroft High Altitude Star Party
Reservations for the Eastbay Astronomical Society’s Barcroft High-Altitude Star Party are now open to members of the EAS, the Tri-Valley Stargazer’s, and the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society clubs. This year’s event will be held from Saturday August 31st through noon on Friday September 6th. That’s six nights. Registration is required and now open. Please read these instructions carefully.
Before sending payments for reservations ($90 per night, per person), even if you’ve been there before, please contact Don Saito FIRST (barcroft@eastbayastro.org) to ensure the dates you wish to attend are available. You will also be asked to read the Barcroft Writeup, as it provides the information you’ll need to have a safe, comfortable stay, and what is expected of guests to this University of California research facility.
You must also review and sign the White Mountains Research Center COVID Terms and Conditions and Liability Waiver. You can scan and email the signed copy to barcroft@eastbayastro.org. You may also mail the signed document to EAS, PO Box 18635, Oakland, CA, 94619-0635
So, four steps to apply:
1. Email photo evidence of Covid-19 vaccination/booster to barcroft@eastbayastro.org
2. Attest in writing/email that you read the current Barcroft Writeup and COVID Terms.
3. Email Don Saito at the above address to check reservation availability and make reservation.
4. Pay the number of days reserved via PayPal or check/snailmail.
Space at Barcroft is limited to a maximum of 12 people per day, so to ensure you get the days you want, make your reservations early.
Barcroft is one the premier amateur astronomy view sites in the world, and it’s slightly less than a day’s drive from the Bay Area to its location in the White Mountains.
Golden State Star Party
This year’s GSSP is scheduled for July 3rd – July 7th near Adin, California. For more information and online registration, visit https://goldenstatestarparty.org
Fall Calstar
Spring Calstar 2024 is scheduled for May 1 – May 5 at Lake San Antonio. For more information visit https://calstar.observers.org/
Event Calendar
Header photo by EAS member Alan Roche.