Gold Country Astronomers

12/24/2018

Here are some views of the Sun taken from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). They are taken in ultraviolet light and show how active the Sun really is!

12/16/2018

It is a good time to spot 3 planets in the eastern sky an hour before sunrise.

Right now, look for Mercury and Jupiter below Venus. 🌌 Some people spotted Mercury days ago, but it's higher in the sky now and brighter. This is a good time to catch the most elusive planet. Will you also see Jupiter? Maybe! Read more: http://bit.ly/2EsrNWL 👓

12/14/2018

Tonight is the peak of the annual Geminids meteor shower! Look east towards the constellation of Gemini starting around 9pm. This meteor shower can yield up to 120 meteors an hour.

Grab some warm clothes, a cup of coffee, and a bit of dark sky this week to watch the Geminids, one of the year's best meteor showers.

05/05/2018

We have two event planned for May, a meeting and a star party.



Meeting - The May meeting will be on May 10, at 7:00pm at the American Legion Training Center room, 11350 American Legion Drive, Sutter Creek

We will have some open discussion about out projects, plus a one hour video from a Sky and Telescope webinar on ‘First Principles of Astrophotography”. It covers all aspects from camera and telescope selection to technique



Star party - While Peddler Hill is probably still snowed in, the heliport site just above the 4000’ sign on Hwy 88 is clear and dry. It’s not really dark until after 8:00 these days but plan to arrive as early as needed to set up!



please feel free to contact me at



imbillgoff at gmail dot com

11/05/2017

We’re planning two activities for November.

- Thursday Nov. 9, will be our regular meeting, 7:30PM at the American Legion training room on Hwy 49. We’re planning on showing some astrophotography samples done by Andrew Ybarra, Tim Plank and myself. Much of it DSLR on tripod of the night sky and Tim’s work with his backyard telescope. Should be fun and informative.

Monthly Star Parties will be at the heliport site, just above the Buckhorn area. Peddler Hill will likely be snowed in and very cold.

- Saturday, Nov. 11 would be our third quarter star party, but the forecast for next week already shows cloudy/rainy weather. This is doubtful.

- Saturday, Nov18 is the new moon weekend star party at the Heliport site. Plan your arrival time appropriately, as darkness will arrive much sooner this time of year and DST will have ended.

Bill Goff

09/04/2017

September Activities
Hello everyone,
Summer is just starting to fade, it’s at least noticeable in the earlier sunsets! Now in the range of 7:30PM.

We want to shoot for three activities this month:

1- Our regular sit down meeting on Thursday, Sept. 14, 7:00PM and the American Legion Training Room. It’s just off Hwy 49 above the American Legion Meeting Hall. We will share some solar eclipse photos from a trip to totality in Oregon. If you have any you’d like to share bring them. If you have digital on a jump drive, that would be fine too.

2. Our Third Quarter Moon Star Party, Saturday Sept. 16 at the heliport site off Hwy 88 above Buckhorn. I would suggest getting there by 7:00PM if you need to set up before dark. Moonrise is about 2AM and most of us would be gone by then anyhow!

3. New Moon Star Party, Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Peddler Hill site. This is also the weekend that the Stockton group will be using the site, so there should be plenty to see. Again, a 7:00PM arrival is recommended. Maybe our last chance to see the Milky Way, if the winter gets an early start on us.

Bill Goff

209-223-5540

08/07/2017

Hello everyone, as a reminder Bill Goff will be presenting the monthly program for the Stockton Astronomical Society this Thurday at 7:30PM. The topic will be 'Variable Stars and why amateur observation are important". A map of UOP is available on their web site at
http://www.stocktonastro.org
Hope to see you there!

Our goal is to promote Astronomy and have fun in the process.Below are links to some of our most requested info and content:Contact UsStar Party InfoAmateur Telescope MakingYahoo Group ChatValley Skies NewsletterMeeting & Speaker InfoStriking Sparks Telescope Award ProgramThe Great American Eclipse…

05/14/2017

Also, our next meeting is Thursday, June 8 at the American Legion conference room next to the ambulance garage. Come say hi!

05/14/2017

Join us for a star party! Saturday, May 20 we will be at the emergency heliport above Pioneer, CA. Get there before sundown for set up, and make sure to dim your lights on approach.

07/08/2016

Join us for our monthly star party this Saturday, July 9! We'll be at Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park in Jackson, CA; set up starts around 7:00 pm. It should be a clear, dark sky for us, as the waxing first quarter Moon will be deep in the West by the time it gets dark.