The Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU.ORG)

The Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit Webpage is here to inform our members and the general public
about Astronomy related events and activities in and around Santa Barbara County.
 

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For the next AU Event or Activity
See Our Calendar Below

JANUARY 6th 7:00 PM Meeting
Our speaker will be Howard Royster



Planetarium Shows & Times at the
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

NASA launches most capable and robust rover to Mars

During a nearly two-year prime mission after landing in August 2012, the rover will investigate whether the Gale Crater region has ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.
Read More at Astronomy.com

NEW ITEMS 1/4/12
SBAU Classifieds
Member Websites
Member Photos SBAU Videos

LUNAR ECLIPSE IMAGES
from Tony Galvan
&
John Boyd

Image from the AU Campout at
Cachuma Lake( Lighting )


Thanks to Ken Pfeiffer


Astronomy Magazine announces 2010 Out-of-this-World Award winner
2010 Out-of-this-world Award logo

With more than 30 entries, the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit wins Astronomy’s annual award honoring astronomy outreach programs.

More Info

Published: March 31, 2011

Jim Williams and the UC2 Telescope.
It now has been powder coated.

THE UC2 Will be at the Avocado Festival
October 8th Come check it out.

Image of M31 From Paul Winn

 


Breaks Ground for it Falcon Heavy at
Vandenberg Air Force Base

Click here for a YouTube Video of the Rocket

Click Here for Vandenberg Launch Schedule
Click here to sign-up for the Launch Alert


ScienceDaily- Your source for the latest research news
and science breakthroughs -- updated daily

Space News from SpaceDaily.com

http://news.yahoo.com/science/space-astronomy

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

http://www.astronomy.com/

Astronomy Picture of the Day

http://www.physorg.com/space-news/astronomy/

http://www.nightskyobserver.com/astronomy-video-news.php

http://www.nasa.gov/

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D

 

 

Click for Santa Barbara, California Forecast

Santa Barbara ClearSky Chart

All the Red Dots Show where people have viewed our site from Around the World

We still have SBAU
 T-Shirts Long & Short Sleeve Sweat Shirts Pull Over and Zip Ups
Contact Pat McPartlin

If you're interested in satellites or astronomy, you've come to the right place! Our aim is to provide you with all the information you need to observe satellites such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, spectacular events such as the dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites as well as a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information, detailed star charts showing the track through the heavens. 

AU Events Events Calendar Back to Top Of Page

AU Outreachies -

Happy Holidays from Pat & Chuck!

2011 Outreach Summary

For 2011, the AU had 226 scheduled outreach events. Of these, 19 were cancels, cloudouts, or media events like radio or newspaper articles, and 2 are still pending for the last days of the year, leaving 205 attended events. Our total number of customers so far is 14,961. Outreach credit was earned by 78 volunteers, who contributed just over 3,000 person-hours of astronomy outreach effort. The following volunteers participated in the (at least) 6 outreach events needed to get their AU membership extended for a year: Andy Allen, John Boyd, Bill Clausen, Karleen & Dennis Cowan, Tim Crawford, Carolyn & Ed Edwards, Mike Farris, Ruben Gutierrez, Art Harris, Jürgen Hilmer, Jackson Kwiatkowski, Chris Larson, Pat & Chuck McPartlin, Janet & Martin Meza, Max Neufeldt, Edgar Ocampo, Rosemary & Al Rice, Bob Richard, Javier Rivera, Nancy Rohrer, David Salvia, Colin Taylor, Cez & Tom Totton, Tom Whittemore, Jim Williams, Jerry Wilson, Paul Winn, and Tim Wittenburg.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to making us one of the leading outreach clubs in the nation!

Here is a list of things to come in 2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR
 

OUTREACH EVENTS FOR JANUARY 2012

Here's what's scheduled so far for January. Just help out at six AU outreach events in a year, and your membership gets extended a year. What a deal!
Remember, events are subject to change, so for the latest updates, contact Chuck at 964-8201 or macpuzl@west.net. 

Tuesday, January 3, setup 8:30 PM
Telescopes to El Capitan Canyon Resort for a group from Heritage Retreats. We'll set up on the grassy area in the Mesa Yurts section, in the middle of the campground.

Friday, January 6, 7 PM
Catch a quick planetarium show by Javier, followed by our first monthly meeting of the year. Our speaker will be Howard Royster, talking about his novel tracking mount, based on video cameras and pattern recognition.

Saturday, January 14, 5 PM
Monthly AU planning meeting in the classroom outside Javier's office. Come help your club plan our activities for the coming year.

Saturday, January 14, 7 PM
Monthly SBMNH Star Party. Bring a scope, or just come out and mooch some views of the winter sky.

Friday, January 20, setup 7 PM
Monthly Westmont Public Telescope Night. The observatory is next to the baseball field, and the big 24-inch scope should be open for viewing. To check the status of the viewing if the weather looks iffy, call the Westmont Telescope Viewing Hotline at 565-6272.

Monday, January 23, setup 6 PM
Telescopes for Science Night at Coastline Christian Academy, in Goleta on Cathedral Oaks near the northeast corner with Fairview.

Tuesday, January 24, 7 PM
Telescope Tuesday at the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta. We set up in the plaza by the theater.

Wednesday, January 25, Setup 7 PM
Telescopes for third graders at Vieja Valley School, at 434 Nogal Drive.

Saturday, January 28, Setup 6PM
Telescopes for Bacara Resort and Spa. We set up on their Miró Lawn. Contact Chuck for access if you haven't come before.

Earn Free Membership by Participating in 6 or More Outreaches Each Year As always, just keep in mind that having a calendar full of events throughout the next 12 months will take plenty of people power. So, keep that AstroNews close at hand and sign up to take part in this most active club of ours.

 

Here's the schedule so far for February.
Remember, the events are subject to change and cancellation, so for the latest updates, contact Chuck at 964-8201 or macpuzl@west.net.

Wednesday, February 1, setup 5:30 PM
Telescopes for kids and parents at St. Andrews preschool, on Arroyo Road near Auhay Drive in Goleta. The official address is 4575 Auhay Drive, but the entrance is off Arroyo.

Thursday, February 2, setup 5:15 PM
Telescopes for Science Night at Brandon School, at 195 Brandon Drive in Goleta.

Friday, February 3, 7 PM
Catch a quick planetarium show, followed by our monthly meeting at 7:30. This month we have an astronomy video and Academy Awards

Saturday, February 4, setup 8:30 AM
Solar scopes for Science Saturday at Hope School, at 3970 La Colina Road in Santa Barbara.

Saturday, February 4, setup 6 PM
Telescopes for Bacara Resort and Spa. We set up on their Miró Lawn. Contact Chuck for access if you haven't come before.

Thursday, February 9, setup 5 PM
Telescopes for an astronomy night at Santa Ynez Charter School, at 3525 Pine Street in Santa Ynez. We get in through a gate at the end of Tyndall Street.

Saturday, February 11, 5 PM
Monthly AU planning meeting in the classroom outside Javier's office at SBMNH.

Saturday, February 12, 7 PM
Monthly Public Star Party at SBMNH, next to Palmer Observatory.

Thursday, February 16, setup 5:30 PM
Telescopes for Science Night at Foothill School, at 711 Ribera Drive in Goleta. They will have a gate open for us at the NW corner of the playground, off Cathedral Oaks.

Friday, February 17, 7 PM
Monthly Westmont Public Telescope Night at the new observatory by the baseball field. The big 24-inch scope should be open for viewing.

Saturday, February 18, setup 6 PM
Telescopes for Bacara Resort and Spa. We set up on their Miró Lawn. Contact Chuck for access if you haven't come before.

Wednesday, February 22, setup 5 PM
Telescopes for Family Science Night at El Camino School at 5020 San Simeon Drive in Goleta.

Thursday, February 23, setup 5 PM
Telescopes for Ellwood Elementary School's Science Night. They're at 7686 Hollister Avenue in Goleta.

Friday, February 24, setup 5 PM
Telescopes for an Astronomy Night at Santa Ynez Elementary School, at the corner of Pine Street and Calzada Avenue in Santa Ynez.

Tuesday, February 28, 7 PM
Telescope Tuesday at the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta. We set up in the plaza by the theater.

 

Hasta nebula - Chuck

 

Hasta nebula - Chuck
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