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.

Our guest speaker for the evening is Dr. Sabrina Stierwalt, Occidental College

Our Milky Way galaxy is set on a crash collision course with our neighbor Andromeda, but don’t worry: we have a few billion years to prepare. What will happen to the gas, dust, and stars that make up these galaxies? What will our night sky look like? In this talk, Dr Stierwalt will describe what we know about galaxy collisions from multiwavelength observations and simulations. Dr Stierwalt will share insights from her own research using the James Webb Space Telescope into how these galaxy mergers grow their central black holes and the role smaller dwarf galaxies play in this process. She will also highlight why she’s so excited about the upcoming surveys with the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and the Vera Rubin Observatory.

Dr Sabrina Stierwalt is an extragalactic astrophysicist who researches how galaxies form and evolve. She uses multi-wavelength observations from the X-ray to the radio taken with telescopes in space and on the ground all over the world. She leads the NSF-funded program TiNy Titans, the first systematic study of the gas dynamics and star formation in interacting dwarf galaxies. Sabrina earned her BA from UC Berkeley and her PhD from Cornell University. She currently co-chairs NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group Executive Committee and serves on the board of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. She works to make science and the stars more accessible through a program to bring an inflatable planetarium to communities that have been historically excluded in STEM. You can find her featured on PBS Nova and via her numerous articles in Scientific American. She currently explores the universe as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Occidental College in the heart of Los Angeles.

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

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 outreach@eastbayastro.org. 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.

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/