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
(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), as well as in our on-line meeting.
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.
TITLE: Deep Space Optical Navigation
In his talk Declan will go over the history and evolution of navigating interplanetary spacecraft throughout the solar system. A critical aspect of all interplanetary missions is answering the following questions: where is the spacecraft now, where has it been, where is it going, and what needs to be done to get it where it needs to go. This is the job of the navigator, a role with origins at JPL alongside the Deep Space Network in early 60s.
While most interplanetary missions can be flown using just radiometric tracking data from the Deep Space Network, some missions require the addition of optical navigation data, which is where Declan’s expertise lies. With heavy overlap with the field of astronomy, optical navigation is the practice of using an imager onboard the spacecraft to image and observe a target body. With this data, navigators can pinpoint the orbits of asteroids for precise flyby or determine a spacecraft’s precise orbit based on surface features and altogether enable ambitious investigation of unknown worlds.
Declan will highlight his initial experiences with optical navigation while working on the New Horizons flyby of Arrokoth and the DART mission to impact Dimorphos. He will also cover future missions involving optical navigation such as Psyche, JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration, and Mars Sample Return. With final discussion on autonomous optical navigation past, present, and future.
About the Speaker
Declan Mages is a navigation engineer in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s outer planet navigation group, specializing in optical navigation. He is an East Bay native, having grown up in Oakland and graduated from Chabot Elementary, Claremont Middle School, and Oakland Technical High School. He went on to earn a master’s in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and got his start JPL as an intern working on optical navigation for the New Horizons flyby of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth where he researched and implemented dim target registration techniques. Starting full time in 2020 he worked with JAXA to navigate Hayabusa 2 on its sample return trajectory and on optical navigation for the DART and LICIACube missions to Dimorphos. Current mission work includes optical navigation for JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission to return samples from Phobos and Mars Sample Return. His recent research interests have included rapid response missions to interstellar objects, Uranus aerocapture concept development, and autonomous optical navigation.
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 [email protected], or come by the workshop any Friday to see what it’s all about.
Outreach
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.
Inquire about and request visits by e-mailing EAS Outreach Coordinator Raymond Howard at [email protected]. Visit our outreach page to find out about upcoming events.
Members Only Viewing Nights (MOVN)
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 the nights of Wednesday August 20th through Monday August 25th. That’s six nights, leaving the site by noon on Tuesday the 26th. Registration is required and now open.
Please read and follow 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 ([email protected]) to ensure the dates you wish to attend are available. You will also be asked to read the current Barcroft Writeup (ver 1.7), 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.
So, three steps to apply:
1. Attest in writing/email that you read the current Barcroft Writeup and sign the Waiver.
2. Email Don Saito at the above address to check reservation availability and make reservation.
3. Pay the number of days reserved via PayPal or check/snail-mail.
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.
Space at Barcroft is limited to a maximum of 25 people per day, so to ensure you get the days you want, make your reservations early. When entering the range of dates you plan to attend, please indicate the starting night (the day you arrive) and the ending night (the date of the evening before you actually leave.)
* This rate is expected to increase in the not too distant future.
Calstar
Spring Calstar 2025 is scheduled for April 23 – April 27 at Lake San Antonio. Fall Calstar will be held on September 17 – September 21. For more information visit https://calstar.observers.org/