Blog
2025 Schedule
Schedule for this year March 29th Messier Marathon (Public) April 11th Hillcrest VCAS meeting (Public) May 03th- Moorpark College Observatory- ASTRONOMY DAY (Public) May 09th Hillcrest VCAS meeting (Public) June 20th Mount Wilson trip (reservations Req.) June 21st Paramount Ranch Star Party (Public) July 25th Mount Wilson trip (reservations Req.) July 26th NPS Park After Dark, Peter Strauss Ranch (Public) August 23rd Evening Under the Stars, Paramount Ranch (Public) Sept 13th Stargazing Party Paramount Ranch (Public) Sept 27th Mount Wilson trip (reservations Req.) October 04th Intl Observe the Moon night, Paramount Ranch (Public) October 18th Charles Temple Observatory at Moorpark College (Public) November 14th Hillcrest VCAS meeting/ Vote in our Board of Directors (Public/ only members vote for BOD) December 06th VCAS Holiday Banquet (member only/ reservation required)
Ventura County Astronomical Society in a nutshell
What is the Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS)? Are you passionate about exploring the stars and deepening your understanding of the universe? Join the Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS) and connect with a community of amateur astronomers! We offer engaging events, including public star parties, expert-led lectures, and hands-on workshops. Whether you're new to astronomy or a seasoned stargazer, our members enjoy exclusive access to telescopes, astro-imaging groups, field trips to dark-sky locations, and more. Come and share your curiosity with us—everyone is welcome under the stars!
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse
Featured in the Ventura County Star, VCAS members provide insights and guidance for watching the upcoming total solar eclipse. Read the full article in the VC Star
President’s Message 2024
Happy New Year to All. I am looking forward to representing our society this year as your new 2024 Society President. With a new year we begin a new chapter into the VCAS, and I am looking forward to re-energizing our society into the future.
Hal Jandorf (1948-2023)
The video above was played at a memorial service held for Hal on November 17, 2023.We have inherited Hal's personally curated collection of astronomy books, and we are making the Hal Jandorf Memorial Library available to all members upon request.
Shooting stars at Chuchupate
Some VCAS members traveled to the Chuchupate ranger station to observe the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Aug 12. There was a HUGE crowd. Cars arriving after me had to park along the road. The lot was full by 7:15pm. My first photo of the evening shown below just happened to catch a meteor. Most of the early evening was used to talk with the many families attending about VCAS and show them globular clusters, nebula, Saturn and later Jupiter. I was glad to have brought along a 150mm f5 refractor. About 1:30 am the crowd was mostly gone and I started near continuous 20 sec exposures with an 18mm f3.5 lens. This gave a 66.25 x 44.85 degree field or about 15% sky coverage but the lens had very distorted stars away from the center. Shifting my target area to try and chase where I thought the meteors were most prevalent proved fruitless. Several exposures were discarded because of car lights but I kept 469 or about 156 minutes of sky samples. Results of the 469 frames:...