Central Coast Astronomical Society

CALENDAR

Last Update: 5-4-2008

2008

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2009

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Current Annual Calendar
Scroll to the bottom of the page for industry calendar information.
Also see Events for possible additional information.

Stargazing Info

Griffith Observatory Sky Report
Joe Orman's Sky Events Almanac 2008
S&T This Week's Sky At A Glance
S&T Observing Highlights
S&T Interactive Sky Charts
S&T Almanac
S&T Celestial Objects

If you have questions about upcoming events, contact Walt Reil at ccas@ccastronomy.org, 466-0757.

Space Exploration and Astronomy Calendars and Schedules

JPL Space Calendar
NASA Solar System Exploration Launches & Events
Planetary Society Events Calendar
Space Age Publishing Space Calendar
Brian Webb: Vandenberg Launch Schedule
Brian Webb: Southern California Astronomical Events
Sky & Telescope: Area Events Calendar star parties, etc.
Que Tal Month-at-a-Glance Calendar

Annual Space & Astronomy Events

World Space Week
National Astronomy Day and National Space Day
Riverside Telescope Maker's Conference Astronomy Expo
SAS Symposium on Telescope Science
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Open House

Airshows

Airshow Schedules: Airshow.com / World Airshow News
Air Force Thunderbirds
Navy Blue Angels
Collings Foundation B-17 & B-24 Tour
Edwards Air Force Base Open House

January 2008

Calendars: Sea & Sky 2008 / Brian Webb / JPL Space Calendar
Meteor Showers 2008 & Showers 2008 / NASA Eclipses / Planetary Transits of the Sun
Moon Phases: USNO / NASA / StarDate Online / WikiPedia
Griffith Observatory: Sky Info / Moon Phases 2008 / Moonrise & Set 2008 / Sunrise & Set 2008
Sunrise/Sunset Calendar for California Cities Eclipses of the Sun & Moon: USNO

JANUARY 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
05 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset at 5:04 PM
08-12 American Astronomical Society Meeting Austin, Texas
19 Joint CCAS / Discovery Institute free public presentation by Dr. Ray Weymann and
         Dr. Jodi Christiansen about the Big Bang, at Cuesta College SLO Campus Science Forum Bldg.
         2400, 7-9 PM    See Events for details
24 NO CCAS Meeting on Thursday in January due to January 19th joint CCAS / Discovery Institute public
         presentation noted above

JANUARY 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
03 Quadrantids Meteor Shower peak WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

JANUARY 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
02 49th Anniversary (1959), launch of Soviet Luna 1, first spacecraft to fly by the Moon
03 4th Anniversary (2004), Mars Rover "Spirit" lands successfully on Mars
06 40th Anniversary (1968), launch of Surveyor 7, fifth & final Surveyor Moon landing
06 10th Anniversary (1998), launch of Lunar Prospector
07 398th Anniversary (1610), Galileo discovers Jupiter moons Io, Europa, Callisto
08 66th Anniversary (1942), birth of Stephen Hawking
13 398th Anniversary (1610), Galileo discovers Jupiter moon Ganymede
14 3rd Anniversary (2005), Cassini Huygens descent craft lands on Saturn's moon Titan
15 2nd Anniversary (2006), Stardust Sample Return Capsule lands in Utah at 02:10 a.m. Pacific Time
19 2nd Anniversary (2006), New Horizons launched to Pluto
22 40th Anniversary (1968), launch of Apollo 5
24 4th Anniversary (2004), Mars Rover "Opportunity" lands successfully on Mars
27 41st Anniversary (1967), Apollo 1 Fire kills astronaut's Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee
28 22nd Anniversary (1986), Shuttle Challenger explosion during STS-51-L launch.
          CCAS Tribute "High Flight"
          Presidential Commission Report
          Lost: Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe,
                  Greg Jarivs and Judy Resnik
31 50th Anniversary (1958), launch of Explorer 1, first U.S. satellite in orbit
31 42nd Anniversary (1966), launch of Soviet Luna 9, first soft-landing on Moon Feb 3rd
31 47th Anniversary (1961), launch of Mercury-Redstone 2 carrying American chimpanzee Ham

February 2008

FEBRUARY 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
09 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset at 5:38 PM
17-23 Engineers Week including Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
20 Lunar Eclipse Viewing Night Cuesta College SLO Campus, 5:30-9:00 PM, see Events
28 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, Room 2401, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Topic: Guest speaker PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey Event Flyer PDF file

FEBRUARY 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
20 Total Lunar Eclipse Information / Map / Mr. Eclipse: For Beginners / NASA Eclipse Page

FEBRUARY 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
01 5th Anniversary (2003), Shuttle Columbia destroyed during landing
          Shuttle mission STS-107
          CCAS Tribute "High Flight"
          Lost: Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark,
                  Mike Anderson, David Brown and Israeli pilot Ilan Ramon.
03 42nd Anniversary (1966), Soviet Luna 9 makes first soft-landing on the Moon
05 41st Anniversary (1967), launch of Lunar Orbiter 3
06 38th Anniversary (1971), Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard hits golf balls on the Moon
07 119th Anniversary (1889), founding of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
08 16th Anniversary (1992), Ulysses Flyby Of Jupiter
08 180th Anniversary (1828 ), birth imagineer and writer Jules Verne
12 5th Anniversary (2001), first landing of a spacecraft on an asteroid, NEAR-Shoemaker
15 444th Anniversary (1564), Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa
19 535th Anniversary (1473), Nicholas Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland
20 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Friendship 7; astronaut John Glenn orbits Earth three times
20 22nd Anniversary (1986), launch of first module of the Mir Space Station
23 21st Anniversary (1987), explosion of Supernova 1987A

March 2008

MARCH 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
08 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset at 6:03 PM
08 Good first weekend for Messier Marathon
14-16 Alt-Azimuth Telescope Development Program Workshop at Cal Poly
20 Sun-Earth Day
27 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
          Topic: Stargazer Forum - Stargazing navigation and star hopping using star charts, planispheres and
           astronomy software.
29 Best weekend for Messier Marathon

MARCH 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
09 First day of Daylight Saving Time   WikiPedia / InfoPlease   Set clocks FORWARD 1 HOUR
20 Vernal Equinox   start of Spring   Wiki Info  / APOD / Graphic 1 / Graphic 2  / Graphic 3
        Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north, marking the Vernal Equinox -- the first day of
        Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Fall in the Southern Hemisphere. The Vernal (Spring) Equinox
        is when the Sun moves north of the Earth's Equator as projected into the sky. Equinox means equal
        night and with the Sun on the celestial equator, Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12
        hours of darkness. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, the days will continue to grow longer with the
        Sun marching higher in the sky as Summer approaches. From the Vernal Equinox until the Autumnal
        (Fall) Equinox, in September, the Sun will be in the Northern Hemisphere. On the Equinox, the Sun rises
        due east and sets due west. The Autumnal Equinox occurs in September, when the Sun
        moves across the celestial equator moving from north to south.

MARCH 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
02 36th Anniversary (1972), launch of Pioneer 10 to explore the Solar System, Greeting
02 4th Anniversary (2004), JPL announcement of abundant water once on Mars
04 29th Anniversary (1979), Voyager I discovers Jupiter's faint rings
13 227th Anniversary (1781), William Herschel discovers planet Uranus
13 78th Anniversary (1930), Lowell Observatory announces discovery of planet Pluto
14 129th Anniversary (1879), Albert Einstein was born   APOD
16 82nd Anniversary (1926), Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fuel rocket
16 42nd Anniversary (1966), first spacecraft docking by Gemini 8 with astronaut's Neil Armstrong and
          David Scott
18 43rd Anniversary (1965), First space walk is made from Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes
19 7th Anniversary (2001), Mir Space Station ends, burning up in atmosphere
23 43rd Anniversary (1965), launch of Gemini 3; astronaut's Gus Grissom and John Young orbit the Earth
          three times.
25 12th Anniversary (1996), comet Hyakutake comes closest to Earth
26 47th Anniversary (1958), launch of Explorer 3

April 2008

APRIL 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
05 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 7:27 PM
07-11 Workshop: Transits - Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Pasadena
12 SLO Children's Day in the Plaza   10 AM to 3 PM    CCAS is planning to have an info table
15-17 SETI Astrobiology Science Conference Santa Clara
17-20 Cal Poly Open House
18-20 Cal Poly Festival Wind Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band and Calendar
24 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
          Topic: Dr. Russ Genet's astronomical trip to Hawaii, visit to the Gemini and Subaru Observatories,
                     and the Alt-Az Telescope Project
26 Space Endeavour Center Open House at Vandenberg AFB 6-10 PM great for families

APRIL 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
22 Lyrids Meteor Shower peak morning WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

APRIL 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
06 43rd Anniversary (1965), launch of Intelsat 1 (Early Bird), first commercial communications satellite
11 38th Anniversary (1970), launch of Apollo 13; astronaut's Jim Lovell Jr., John Swigert Jr. and
          Fred Haise Jr.; mission aborted when oxygen tank explodes, ending the Moon mission
12 47th Anniversary (1961), Yuri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit Earth aboard Vostok 1
12 27th Anniversary (1981), launch of first Space Shuttle, Columbia, mission STS-1
16 36th Anniversary (1972), launch of Apollo 16 manned Moon landing. During this mission, the
          first lunar observatory was deployed, the only such ground-based observatory beyond Earth
25 18th Anniversary (1990), Hubble Space Telescope deployed by Shuttle STS-31

May 2008

MAY 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
03 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 7:50 PM
03-04 JPL Open House Pasadena  Saturday & Sunday 9 am - 5 pm
10 National Astronomy Day   Bringing Astronomy to the People
10 SLO Discovery Institute & SLOCOE's STEM Showcase 2008 at Cuesta College
20-22 Symposium on Telescope Science at the Northwoods Resort, Big Bear, CA
22 CCAS Meeting CANCELLED due to RTMC and other conferences in Big Bear City this week
23-26 RTMC Astronomy Expo YMCA Camp Oaks, Big Bear City
25 Phoenix Mars Lander touchdown event at Cal Poly   For details see EVENTS

MAY 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
05 Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower peak from Halley's Comet WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

MAY 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
05 47th Anniversary (1961), launch of Freedom 7, astronaut Alan Shepard first American in space
14 35th Anniversary (1973), launch of Skylab 1, the first U.S. space station
20 30th Anniversary (1978), launch of F 12, first spacecraft to orbit planet Venus
24 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Aurora 7, astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits Earth three times
25 47th Anniversary (1961), President Kennedy's speech to Congress announcing the landing of a man
on the Moon to be a national objective. Also see September 12th.
30 42nd Anniversary (1966), launch of Surveyor 1, first U.S. soft-landing on the Moon on June 2nd
30 28th Anniversary (1980), establishment of the Very Large Array in New Mexico

June 2008

JUNE 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
01-05 American Astronomical Society Meeting St. Louis, Missouri
07 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 8:15 PM
19-22 STAR Conference in San Luis Obispo contact Russ Genet for information
21 Special CCAS star party for the STAR Conference contact Russ Genet for information
26 CCAS Meeting CANCELLED due to summer vacations

JUNE 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
20 Summer Solstice longest day, start of Summer USNO / WikiPedia / Graphic 1 / Graphic 2

JUNE 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
02 42nd Anniversary (1966), Surveyor 1 is first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon
03 60th Anniversary (1948), 200-inch Hale Telescope birthday at Palomar Observatory, California
03 43rd Anniversary (1965), Ed White first U.S. space walk from Gemini 4 for 22 min.
08 383rd Anniversary (1625), astronomer Giovanni Cassini was born
08 49th Anniversary (1959), first flight of the X-15
13 25th Anniversary (1983), Pioneer 10 is the first spacecraft to pass beyond Pluto
13 64th Anniversary (1944), formation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
16 45th Anniversary (1963), launch of Soviet Vostok 6, first woman cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova
18 25th Anniversary (1983), Sally Ride first American woman in space on Shuttle STS-7
21 4th Anniversary (2004), SpaceShipOne first private manned sub-orbital flight in history
26 278th Anniversary (1730), astronomer Charles Messier was born
29 140th Anniversary (1868), astronomer George Ellery Hale was born
30 100th Anniversary (1908), Tunguska Explosion
30 4th Anniversary (2004), Cassini-Huygens enters orbit around Saturn
30 37th Anniversary (1971), Death of three Russian Cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 during reentry

July 2008

JULY 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
05 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 8:21 PM
24 CCAS Meeting CANCELLED due to summer vacations

JULY 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
09 Jupiter at Opposition
29 South Delta-Aquarids Meteor Shower peak WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

JULY 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
01 32nd Anniversary (1976), Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
03 3rd Anniversary (2005), Deep Impact smashes into Comet Tempel 1 at 10:52 PM Pacific Time
04 11th Anniversary (1997), Mars Pathfinder Landing On Mars APOD   APOD
04 954th Anniversary (1054), the Crab Nebula Supernova
10 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Telestar 1, first non-governmental communication satellite
11 29th Anniversary (1979), Skylab reenters Earth's atmosphere ending its mission
14 43rd Anniversary (1965), Mariner 4 returns first close-range images of Mars
16 39th Anniversary (1969), launch of Apollo 11 first U.S. manned Moon landing
16 14th Anniversary (1994), comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts on planet Jupiter
20 32nd Anniversary (1976), Viking 1 becomes the first spacecraft to land on Mars
20 39th Anniversary (1969), Apollo 11 lands on the Moon with astronaut's Buzz Aldrin Jr. and
          Neil Armstrong making the first Moon walk. President Kennedy's vision is fulfilled.
22 36th Anniversary (1972), Venera 8 Venus Landing
23 8th Anniversary (1999), Chandra X-ray Observatory placed in orbit by the Space Shuttle
24 57th Anniversary (1950), launch of Bumper V-2, first rocket launch from Cape Canaveral
29 49th Anniversary (1958), formation of NASA

August 2008

AUGUST 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
02 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 8:06 PM
28 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Topic: Annual Astronomy Kick-Off Night - Learn about the CCAS; slideshow, Q&A
30 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 7:33 PM

AUGUST 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
01 Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower peak   WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
06 Southern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower peak    WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
12 Perseids Meteor Shower Peak    WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
16 Partial Lunar Eclipse   NOT VISIBLE ON THE PACIFIC COAST
25 Northern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower peak    WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
28 Launch of Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission # 4 by Space Shuttle mission STS-125
          Past HST Servicing Mission's 1-3 / Servicing Mission # 4

AUGUST 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
08 30th Anniversary (1978), launch of Pioneer 13, first spacecraft to land on planet Venus
10 42nd Anniversary (1966), launch of Lunar Orbiter 1, first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon
12 31st Anniversary (1977), first Space Shuttle (Enterprise) free-flight landing test
14 42nd Anniversary (1966), first photos of Earth from the Moon taken by Lunar Orbiter 1
20 31st Anniversary (1977), launch of Voyager 2, the first of two Jupiter/Saturn flyby spacecraft
24 2nd Anniversary (2006), IAU redefines a planet; Pluto is no longer a planet, but a 'Dwarf Planet'
25 5th Anniversary (2003), launch of Spitzer Space Telescope
27 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Mariner 2, flyby of planet Venus

September 2008

..CCAS MEMBERSHIP & ASTRO MAGAZINE RENEWAL MONTH..
Membership Application & Renewal Form

SEPTEMBER 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
See Aug 30th for a Star Party
13-14 Pacific Astronomy & Telescope Show Pasadena Convention Center, CA
25 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
       Topic: TBD
20 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 7:03 PM
27 Special Event: Presentation by Dr. Alex Filippenko, Professor of Astronomy, U.C. Berkeley
         Dr. Filippenko is world famous for his expertise in supernovae Bio 1 / Bio 2 / Bio 3 / Bio 4
         Event time and location TBD

SEPTEMBER 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
22  Autumnal Equinox start of Fall WikiPedia  / APOD / Graphic 1 / Graphic 2  / Graphic 3
        Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading South, marking the Autumnal Equinox -- the first
        day of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The Autumnal (Fall)
        Equinox is when the Sun moves south of the Earth's Equator as projected into the sky. Equinox means
        equal night and with the Sun on the celestial equator, Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and
        12 hours of darkness. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, the days will continue to grow longer with
        the Sun marching higher in the sky as Summer approaches. From the Autumnal (Fall) Equinox until the
        Vernal (Spring) Equinox, in March, the Sun will be in the Southern Hemisphere. On the Equinox, the Sun
        rises due east and sets due west.   The Vernal Equinox occurs in March, when the Sun moves
        across the celestial equator moving from south to north.

SEPTEMBER 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
01 29th Anniversary (1979), Pioneer 11 flew to within 13,000 miles of Saturn taking the first close-up photos
         of the planet
05 31st Anniversary (1977), launch of Voyager 1, first U.S. Mars orbiter/lander
08 41st Anniversary (1967), launch of Surveyor 5
08 42nd Anniversary (1966), premier of Star Trek television series
08 4th Anniversary (2004), Genesis sample-return capsule crash lands in Utah
12 46th Anniversary (1962), President Kennedy's ".. because it is hard" speech at Rice University.
            Also see May 25th.
12 49th Anniversary (1959), launch of Soviet Luna 2, first spacecraft to impact on the Moon
14 93rd Anniversary (1915), Dobsonian telescope maker John Dobson was born
15 43rd Anniversary (1965), premier of Lost in Space television series
21 5th Anniversary (2003), Galileo spacecraft ends 14-year mission by crashing on Jupiter
21 34th Anniversary (1974), Mariner 10 2nd flyby of Mercury
25 16th Anniversary (1992), launch of Mars Observer

October 2008

OCTOBER 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
__ Hi Mountain Lookout Open House       Photo report of a day trip to the lookout in 2004
04-10 World Space Week
23 CCAS Meeting Cuesta College SLO Campus, Science Forum Bldg. 2400, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
       Topic: Cal Poly and Cuesta College physics & astronomy student presentations
25 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 6:15 PM

OCTOBER 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
09 Draconids Meteor Shower peak WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
21 Orionids Meteor Shower peak WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

OCTOBER 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
01 50th Anniversary (1958), NASA was founded
03 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Mercury 8 astronaut Walter Schirra Jr.
04 51st Anniversary (1957), launch of Sputnik 1 (1st Artificial Satellite)   APOD
05 116th Anniversary (1882), rocket scientist Robert Goddard was born APOD APOD
05 46th Anniversary (1962), European Southern Observatory
06 18th Anniversary (1990), launch of Ulysses solar polar orbiter
07 49th Anniversary (1959), Russian Luna 3 returns first photos of Moon's far side
10 28th Anniversary (1980), dedication of the Very Large Array APOD-1 APOD-2
11 40th Anniversary (1968), launch of Apollo 7, first manned Apollo flight with
          astronaut's Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham orbit the Earth one time
11 63rd Anniversary (1945), JPL launch of WAC Corporal from White Sands Proving Grounds
12 14th Anniversary (1994), Magellan burnup in Venus' atmosphere
14 61st Anniversary (1947), Chuck Yeager Breaks The Sound Barrier
15 11th Anniversary (1997), Cassini launched on mission to Saturn
15 5th Anniversary (2003), China launches first man into space aboard Shenzhou 5
18 46th Anniversary (1962), launch of Ranger 5
18 19th Anniversary (1989), launch of Galileo from Shuttle Atlantis STS-34
19 20th Anniversary (1967), Mariner 5 Flyby Of Venus
29 10th Anniversary (1998), pioneer astronaut John Glenn (see February 20th historical entry),
          reenters space a second time aboard Space Shuttle Discovery STS-95

November 2008

NOVEMBER 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
No CCAS meeting this month. Next meeting in January.
02 Daylight Saving Time ends, Standard Time begins clocks BACK 1 hour Wiki / InfoPlease
29 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 4:50 PM
        Setting Moon during the beginning of this star party

NOVEMBER 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
03 Taurids Meteor Shower peak morning WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
17 Leonids Meteor Shower Comet Tempel-Tuttle WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

NOVEMBER 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
02 91st Anniversary (1917), Mount Wilson 100-Inch Telescope First Light
03 35th Anniversary (1973), launch of Mariner 10, flyby of planet's Venus and Mercury
03 51st Anniversary (1957), launch of Sputnik 2 (dog Laika)
07 12th Anniversary (1996), launch of Mars Global Surveyor
07 42nd Anniversary (1966), launch of Lunar Orbiter 2
07 41st Anniversary (1967), launch of Surveyor 6
08 48th Anniversary (1960), launch of Little Joe 5
08 36th Anniversary (1656), Edmund Halley's birthday
09 41st Anniversary (1967), launch of 1st Saturn V (Apollo 4)
09 74th Anniversary (1934), astronomer Carl Sagan was born  Died December 20, 1996
11 42nd Anniversary (1966), launch of Gemini 12   astronaut's Jim Lovel and Buzz Aldrin
13 37th Anniversary (1971), Mariner 9 is the first spacecraft to orbit another planet
17 38th Anniversary (1970), Soviet Lunokhod 1 rover lands on the Moon
15 270th Anniversary (1738), astronomer Wilhelm Herschel was born
18 19th Anniversary (1989), launch of COBE Cosmic Background Explorer
20 109th Anniversary (1889), astronomer Edwin Hubble was born (Hubble Space Telescope) APOD
20 10th Anniversary (1998), launch of the International Space Station
28 44th Anniversary (1964), launch of Mariner 4, first flyby of planet Mars
29 47th Anniversary (1961), launch of Mercury 5 carrying chimpanzee Enos

December 2008

DECEMBER 2008 ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS
No CCAS meeting this month. Next meeting in January.
20 CCAS Dark-Sky Star Party at Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground Sunset 4:53 PM

DECEMBER 2008 ASTRONOMICAL & SPACE MISSION EVENTS
01 Moon occults Venus
13 Geminids Meteor Shower peak    WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online
21 Winter Solstice shortest day, start of Winter   USNO / WikiPedia / Graphic 1 / Graphic 2
22 Ursids Meteor Shower peak    WikiPedia / Meteor Showers Online

DECEMBER 2008 HISTORICAL EVENTS
02 15th Anniversary (1993), Space Shuttle STS-61 performs repair of HST
02 13th Anniversary (1995), launch of SOHO
03 35th Anniversary (1973), Pioneer 10 first flyby of Jupiter
04 43rd Anniversary (1965), launch of Gemini 7; astronaut's Frank Borman and Jim Lovell Jr. make
          206 orbits and rendezvous with Gemini 6 (see Dec. 15th)
04 12th Anniversary (1996), launch of Mars Pathfinder
04 12th Anniversary (1996), Pioneer Venus Orbiter is first spacecraft to orbit Venus
07 36th Anniversary (1972), launch of Apollo 17, the final manned landing on the Moon
07 13th Anniversary (1995), Galileo, the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet Jupiter
11 36th

CENTRAL COAST ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Sharing the night sky above San Luis Obispo County, California, since 1979
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