Kern Astronomical Society

The Kern Astronomical Society (K.A.S.) promotes community awareness of current events in astronomy, and provides a forum for sharing of knowledge and experiences among amateur astronomers. The Kern Astronomical Society meets at 7:30 PM on the first Friday of each month, usually at the Northminster Presbyterian Church 3700 North Union Avenue (across from Oak Warehouse) in Bakersfield.

!! July meeting on July 10th from 6 to 9 PM at Cataldo's (Pizza) at 3611 Stockdale Hwy!! Link to Google map of Cataldo's.

Public Star Party at Barnes & Noble every fourth Saturday evening after sunset through about 10 PM Future public star parties are the fourth Saturdays of the month through October at Barnes & Noble: June 27, July 25, August 22, September 26, October 24. It is the "A" position in the map below. View Larger Map

Usual meeting spot shown below:

Annual membership is $15.00. With membership Sky and Telescope and / or Astronomy magazines are available at reduced rates. New members get first crack at borrowing one of the club telescopes for a month!

• We have club star parties every month on the Saturday evenings (sometimes also Friday evenings) before and after New Moon. Favorite spots for these are: near the Lockwood Valley ranger station & Mt Pinos. Other areas we've been to are: Wind Wolves Preserve, Red Rock Canyon, and an airfield at Barringer Canyon Hwy.
• We give star parties for school groups during the early fall semester and late spring semester when the weather is still decent and the schools are in session.
• We also hold public star parties for the general public at various times of the year. Popular spots for these are at C.A.L.M. (local zoo), Barnes+Noble on California Ave near Hwy 99, Russo's Bookstore in the MarketPlace, and Panorama Park on Panorama Drive, a little west of Bakersfield College (near where Linden Ave runs into Panorama Drive)
• Star Party Photo Album shows some of our members and their telescopes (before nightfall!).

Our monthly newsletter is called the "SYZYGY". Copies of the newsletter are posted on the web as PDF documents. Select here to go to the newsletter archive.

Officers

Ever wondered where those Mars Exploration Rovers are on Mars? Go to the MER Sites page prepared by one of our members to see! How about the "Face on Mars"?

SpacePlace Archive at KAS

Astro-photography Album

Have you taken images of some celestial object that you would like to share with others? Send them to the KAS webmaster and he will put them in the KAS astro-photo album!

Quick Links

1. This week's sky at a glance
2. Sky almanac (quick overview of what's visible now)
3. Astronomy Notes (will answer just about any other astronomy question)
4. Bakersfield College Planetarium

last updated: July 2, 2009

Webpage contact: Nick Strobel