Flex Day (No Classes)
October 11, 2023

Veterans Day
November 10, 2023

Thanksgiving Weekend
November 23-26, 2023

Astronomy

Observatory

• Long. W122°20'15.03"
• Lat +37°32'14.46' Alt. 625'
• Current weather
• CSM Clear Sky Clock

Jazz Under the Stars

Jazz Under the Stars is a FREE monthly public stargazing event! Occurring on the Saturday nearest the 1^st quarter moon (check our Events Page), join us on the 4^th floor observatory for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own KCSM 91.1. Founded in 1964, KCSM has grown to become one of the top 35 most listened to non-commercial stations in the US. With their help, the Astronomy department at CSM opens its observatory doors and balcony, for a night of science and fun! We operate for public viewing four 8” dobsonian telescopes, prefect for viewing the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. We also have a 140mm refractor, with which we view the craters on the moon. Finally, our 8’ schmidt-cassegrain is for our deep sky needs. It can peer deep into globular clusters, and nebulae! Our astronomers will also be available for questions and conversation, which you wouldn’t get anywhere else! Feel free to ask us your questions about the cosmos. Occasionally we even have the chance to image galaxies! Don't miss out, join us at our next Jazz Under the Stars!!

Fall 2023 Schedule

Date_________	Time
August 26	8:30-10:30pm
September 23	8:00-10:00pm
September 30	TBD (Family Science Day)
October 21	7:00-9:00pm
November 18	5:45-7:45pm

• Dress warmly.
• Free parking in Lots N, P, Q, R, and S during astronomy events.
• Directions are available on the Maps, Directions & Parking page.
• This event is weather dependent. If it is cloudy we will not open. Latest weather updates.
• No food or drinks in the Observatory.
• Children are welcome and must be attended at all times.
• The west elevator (Closest to Marie Curie parking lot) is the only access point to the observatory! 

Email questions.
Listen to and support great jazz on KCSM.

Supported by San Mateo County Astronomical Society, KCSM Jazz 91.1FM, and CSM Astronomy.
Also see SMCAS star parties at Crestview Park.

Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) - A SETI Project 

Our observatory's CAMS video camera captured a bright fireball over the Bay Area on the local evening of 10-17-12. This looping video shows the Oct. 17 fireball, with a field of view ~28 degrees.  Six meteorites were discovered from triangulating data from CSM and Santa Rosa. All six meteorites were found in the town of Novato, located about 45mins north of San Francisco. These meteorites were discovered to have a previously unknown class of metal-organic compounds known as dihydroxymagnesium carboxylates. Link to SETI article. Special thanks to Dave Samuels in processing/managing CAMS data. See the latest CAMS update.

We image nightly with a single, Watec 902 H2 Ultimate video camera, producing a 26.8 x 22.1 degree FOV centered on Azim (deg) 263.205, Elev (deg) 47.283. Processed data is available for student analysis, and sent to Dr. Jenniskens. Check out this sample video of the Quadrantids meteor shower taken January 4, 2012.


 CAMS video camera mounted outside CSM Observatory.

The Observatory

Our observatory at CSM has quite a unique design! Unlike the usual dome shaped observatories, our "roll-off" roof looks like a regular roof, but with the flip of a switch, retracts so that the entire surface area of its floor is exposed to the outside. The advantage of this design, is that more telescopes can be used simultaneously, and the observatory can quickly reach thermal equilibrium. This results in steadier views through our telescopes. Our observatory currently has five permanently mounted telescopes, and 14 mobile telescopes. Here are some of our favorites: