Monday, 11/18/24
12:30 PM - 01:30 PM

In-person

Shriram Center
Stanford University
Room 104
Stanford, CA 9430

GPS to the rescue: how the CYGNSS mission is uncovering new hydrologic processes in the Tropics

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is in many ways, a unique mission. With its ability to penetrate clouds and canopies and a strong sensitivity to water, CYGNSS has helped us uncover new spatio-temporal dynamics of water at the surface of the Earth. In this presentation, I will describe how we leveraged computer vision together with CYGNSS data to produce new maps of surface inundation that have been shifting our understanding of how much standing water is present in tropical ecosystems. I will then explain how this new information is helping us fill the information gap and improve our predictions of methane emissions, streamflow generation, and flooding in areas too remote to obtain in-situ data. Finally, I will discuss how new commercial missions will help bring this new understanding to fast changing boreal latitudes.

Speaker: Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi, UC Berkeley

Website: https://events.stanford.edu/event/cee-269-enveng-seminar-cynthia-gerlein-safdi-gps-to-the-rescue-how-the-cygnss-mission-is-uncovering-new-hydrologic-processes-in-the-tropics

Cost:  Free

=================

Monday, 11/18/24  4:00 PM
In-person

Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do
1801 E. Cotati Ave.
Darwin Hall, Room 103
Rohnert Park, CA 94928


Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Technology Development

US Astronomers have recently listed habitable exoplanet imaging ??" imaging and spectroscopy of a planet around another star that can harbor life on it's surface ??" as a top priority in the coming decades. However, our current telescopes and state-of-the-art technologies are insufficient to enable this high priority science goal. Dr. Gerard will discuss adaptive optics and coronagraphic technologies he has been developing to bridge this gap and help enable habitable exoplanet imaging in the coming decades.

Speaker Benjamin Gerard, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Website: https://phys-astro.sonoma.edu/public-events/what-physicists-do/2024-fall/habitable-exoplanet-imaging-technology-development

Cost:  Free

==============================

Monday, 11/18/24  4:15 PM

In-person

Physics North
UC Berkeley
Room 1
Berkeley, CA 94720

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe by Detecting Neutrinos - the DUNE experiment and beyond

Neutrinos possibly hold the key to one of the most profound questions still to be answered: why is the Universe dominated only by matter and what role did neutrinos play in the evolution of the universe? The answers to these questions lie hidden within the yet to be known properties of neutrinos. Long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments in the US and elsewhere, have begun probing the existence of charge-parity (CP) violation in the leptonic sector and other fundamental neutrino properties which might unravel the answers we seek. Experiments in the US neutrino oscillation program, such as NOvA and DUNE, use a powerful source of neutrinos from Fermilab directed towards detectors over 500 miles away. By studying the neutrinos from one of the most intense sources ever achieved at two different locations, these experiments seek to explore with unprecedented precision the neutrino properties that allow neutrinos to shift from flavor to another. The challenge in obtaining the required precision for this and future neutrino oscillation experiments lies in controlling the systematic uncertainties in the energy measurement of neutrinos. The novel liquid argon detectors planned for DUNE hold the promise of minimizing these uncertainties. In this talk, I will discuss the latest results of current neutrino oscillation experiments and how a next generation experiment such as DUNE will contribute to solving some of the Universe’s deepest questions.

Speaker: Mayly Sanchez, Florida State University

Website: https://events.berkeley.edu/physics/event/271371-physics-colloquium-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-the-un

Cost:  Free

==============================

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Time: 7:15 p.m. - 9 p.m. Pacific

In-person

Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society

Lindsay Wildlife Experience 
1931 First Avenue
Walnut Creek, CA 94597

Speaker: MDAS Astoimaging Group
Topic: .Astroimaging

Website: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/events/mdas/28057/

==============================

Tuesday, 11/19/24
06:30 PM - 08:30 PM

Livestream

Astronomy on Tap

Astronomy on Tap Tucson #101: Chaos and Planetary Defense - Livestream

Tucson’s local flavor of Astronomy on Tap, Space Drafts, is excited to present its 101st edition! This month, we’ll be joined by the director of the Catalina Sky Survey, Carson Fuls, who will tell us about the survey’s role in planetary defense, and Steward Observatory graduate student Sóley Hyman who will tell us about chaos both near and far.

Making Sense of Chaos: From Earth to Space

Speaker: Sóley Hyman

DO look up! Planetary Defense with the Catalina Sky Survey

Speaker: Carson Fuls

YouTube: Click here to watch the stream:  https://astronomyontap.org/event/astronomy-on-tap-tucson-101-chaos-planetary-defense/

Website: https://astronomyontap.org/event/astronomy-on-tap-tucson-101-chaos-planetary-defense/

Cost:  Free

==============================

Thursday, 11/21/24  3:30 PM

In-person

Astronomy Colloquium 

Physics North
UC Berkeley
Room 1
Berkeley, CA 94720

Kinetic Tomography:  A Method for Mapping the Milky Way’s Interstellar Medium in Four Dimensions

Speaker: Josh Peek, Space Telescope Science Institute

Website: https://astro.berkeley.edu/news/events/astronomy-colloquium/

Cost:  Free

==============================

Friday, 11/22/24
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

In-person

Earth and Marine Sciences Building
UC Santa Cruz
Room A340
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Probing Planetary Surfaces and Surface-Magnetosphere Interactions with Ion Scattering

Speaker: Paul Szabo, UC Berkeley

Website: https://eps.ucsc.edu/news-events/igpp-seminar/fall-2024.html

Cost:  Free

==============================

Friday, 11/22/24
07:15 PM - 09:15 PM

In-person

San Jose Astronomical Association
Houge Park
3972 Twilight Drive
San Jose, CA 95124

In Town Star Party
Come join San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) for an evening of stargazing.

Event details:

• Events are held at the parking lot of our headquarters, Houge Park San Jose. The event duration is 2 hours. SJAA volunteers will share night sky views from their telescopes.

• Please refrain from bringing your own telescopes (Binoculars are welcome). If you like to be a volunteer with or without a telescope please email at "itsp@sjaa.net".

• SJAA as an all volunteer-nonprofit org depends on the City of San Jose to use facilities at Houge Park. To maintain this relationship, we must provide facility-use data to the city. Therefore, we ask you to sign in (no traceable personal data collected) when you arrive at the event.

Website: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/302905581/

Cost:  Free

==============================

Friday, 11/22/24  7PM
In-person

Telescope Makers Workshop
Chabot Space and Science Center
10000 Skyline Boulevard
Oakland, CA 94619-245



The Chabot Telescope Maker's workshop reopens! Chabot's TMW is one of only a handful of regularly scheduled telescope making workshops in the U.S., and probably the world; it meets every Friday evening throughout the year, except Memorial Day weekend. It has been in operation since December of 1930, founded by Franklin B. Wright, and is currently run by Eastbay Astronomical Society member Rich Ozer, with help from other EAS members, Dave Barosso, Barry Leska, and others. The price of admission is FREE. All you have to do is show up, buy a mirror blank and a "tool" (typically around $100 - $200 depending on the size of the mirror) and start "pushin' glass!" We supply you with instruction, the various grits you'll need to first grind, and then polish and figure your mirror, and all the testing equipment needed. With a small bit of luck, you could wind up with a telescope that costs 1/3 or 1/4 the cost of a store-bought telescope, that is yet optically superior! It does take time - depending on how much time you put in on it, and other factors, it could take a few months.. But, it's a fun project, great for kids, and at the end you get a great telescope!
Enter from the main loading dock behind the main building.

If you have a project, bring it with you so we can assess next steps.
You can also bring any other equipment or literature you may have
questions about.

For more information call or email Richard Ozer at richozer1@... or phone (510) 406-1914.

=============================

Friday, 11/22/24 9PM-11PM for night observing and Saturday 11/23/24 10AM-12 Noon for solar observing
In-person

The Foothill Observatory is open again!

Foothill Observatory
12345 El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

Foothill Observatory now Open EVERY clear Friday night and Saturday morning

The Foothill College Astronomy Department and Peninsula Astronomical Society (PAS) have reopened public viewing programs at Foothill College Observatory on:

·       Every clear Friday night from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. for star gazing

·       Every clear Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon for solar viewing

ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES
The COVID and masking policy for visiting Foothill Observatory is the same as that of Foothill College per their Health & Safety information: 
1) Vaccinations are required
2) masking is strongly encouraged. 

Websites:  https://foothill.edu/astronomy/observatory.html

and  https://pastro.org

=============================

Friday,  11/22/24 and Saturday 11/24/24 
07:30 PM - 10:00 PM
In-person

Chabot Space and Science Center
10000 Skyline Blvd
Oakland, CA 94619

Free Telescope Viewings

Join Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers breathtaking views 1,500 feet above the Bay. Three observatory domes house the Center’s 8-inch (Leah, 1883) and 20-inch (Rachel, 1916) refracting telescopes, along with a 36-inch reflecting telescope (Nellie, 2003).

Are the skies clear for viewing tonight? Viewing can be impacted by rain, clouds, humidity and other weather conditions. Conditions can be unique to Chabot because of its unique location in Joaquin Miller Park. Before your visit, check out the Weather Station to see the current conditions at Chabot.

Website:  https://chabotspace.org/events/free-telescope-viewings/

Before your visit:

• Check humidity on our Weather Station:  https://chabotspace.org/weather-station/

• Check cloud cover using the live view webcam of the Center:  https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/2578

==============================

Saturday, 11/23/24 
Sunset: 4:53 PM 
In-person

San Mateo Co. Astronomical Society
Crestview Park
1000 Crestview Drive 
San Carlos, CA

Public Star Parties at Crestview Park in San Carlos

SMCAS and the City of San Carlos Parks Department host a public star party at Crestview Park in San Carlos twice a month when there is a new moon.  Members set up telescopes and let the public view and share their knowledge of the night sky all for Free.  All ages are welcome.  If you have kids interested in space or science, bring them here for a real time view of planets, nebula, star clusters, and galaxies.

If you are a Non-member and own a telescope, bring it to share!  Experts are available if you need assistance or have questions about buying a telescope.

Telescope setup begins at sunset and observing starts one hour after sunset.  In the event of inclement weather (rain, clouds, fog, or high winds) the star party will be cancelled.  Because each astronomer makes his or her own decision about bringing their telescope, there is no official cancellation notice. 

Crestview Park is located at 1000 Crestview Drive in San Carlos

Website: https://smcas.net/events/star-parties/crestview-park/

==============================

Saturday, 11/23/24
12:00 PM - 02:00 PM

In-person

Chabot Space and Science Center
10000 Skyline Blvd
Oakland, CA 94619

AAIA Banquet 2024: History and Travels of Voyager I and II

Come join the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics-SF for food and fun at our 2024 Annual Banquet on November 23rd. Help us celebrate with this year’s Section Awards winners. Your ticket includes lunch, admission to the Chabot Space & Science Center and its exhibits, and a presentation from our special guest Todd Barber about the long history, and ongoing travels, of the Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft.

Voyagers 1 and 2 started off on an ambitious journey to explore the outer planets in our solar system, including two that had not been visited before. Along the way, they made many incredible discoveries. Now, more than 47 years later, they continue to perform an important role in interplanetary science. But their explorations have not been without challenges; in recent months, there have been issues that threatened the continuation of their mission. Come hear an overview of the Voyager program, and the ingenious ways that NASA overcomes obstacles to keep the spacecraft running.

Speaker: Todd Barber, Jet Propulsion Lab

Event is from 12:00 to 2:00 but Chabot admission is included (10:00 AM - 5:00 PM)

Website: https://aiaa-sf.org/event/aiaa-banquet-2024/

Cost:  TBA