Astronomy

Are you interested in hearing more about recent developments in the ‘Golden Age of Astronomy’? or going ‘where no one has gone before’? Or getting out to see some of the wonders of the night sky, constellations & sky lore?  Learning about discoveries of exoplanets, gravity waves, cosmology, dark matter and energy, exotic stars and galaxies, etc. from people doing the research? With the Astronomy club you can try out some cool amateur astronomy gear for observing, astrophotography or real science.  You can share the excitement with local school kids, the public, or just other club members!  Or tour and learn the history and discoveries at Mt. Wilson, or other sites. We also encompass the subjects of exobiology, astronautics, planetary defense, solar system exploration & colonization, the interplanetary space environment, archeoastronomy, and more.

The Astronomy Club is an AEA Club, originally founded in 1977. We meet the first Thursday of each month at 12:00pm PT and we meet virtually on Teams and sometimes hybrid (in-person and through teams). We bring people together with all kinds of interests in astronomy, and with a broad range of knowledge and experience – from novice to advanced. We meet monthly for presentations on current topics of interest and research, presented by local university scientists, in-house experts & amateurs, online & DVD productions, etc. We host guest speakers and pizza parties and we keep up with astronomy news & local events (lectures & observing) with a monthly newsletter.

We also have a variety of activities. A popular one is our annual trip to Mt. Wilson for a tour of the historical facilities (including Aerospace’s MAFIOT), and a night of observing with either the 60- or 100-inch telescope. We also have occasional observing nights with the club’s and personal telescopes at various dark locations. We support various local school STEM astronomy nights, and public star parties at Griffith Observatory. We occasionally set up telescopes in the AGO mall for eclipses, transits and solar activity. And we have organized total solar eclipse expeditions for over 100 employees & friends/family to places like Cabo San Lucas and eastern Idaho.

The club has an extensive equipment pool for members to borrow from, including simple portable scopes & binoculars, to larger (up to 16 inch aperture) telescopes. And various astronomical cameras, filters and other peripherals.  We also have an online archive of past presentations & newsletters, as well as a physical library. If you are interested, please contact our vice president Alex Gruson!