Think it. Try it. Explore it.
DAVIS ASTRONOMY CLUB
at Explorit
The Astronomy Club has been a part of Explorit Science Center since 1987.
It has no dues and anyone can join. Our members range in knowledge of astronomy from pre-school to post-doctorate.
Several evenings a year the Davis Astronomy Club meets at Explorit on 5th Street, to discuss astronomy topics of continuing interest, or to prepare for important celestial events. Special observation sessions for such events as eclipses and meteor showers are held where members are encouraged to bring their scopes.
To become a member or for more information contact Vinita Domier at vcdomier@yahoo.com.
What Does this Club Offer You?
If you have always been fascinated by the heavens or the exploration of outer space but haven't known how to start your own astronomical journey--this is the club for you. We have shown many aspiring stargazers their ‘first’ constellation, their ‘first’ double star, where the planets are and how to use a telescope. We can help you decide on the best binoculars, telescopes, computer programs and star atlases, and help you decide what you need and (more importantly don’t need) to enjoy and discover the cosmos. This club can be your ‘training wheels’ so you can finally begin exploring the universe at your own speed and in your own direction. We can even show you how your observations can be used for scientific research, if that is your goal. In short, this club aims to be a friendly ‘launch pad’ for your personal exploration of astronomy.
The Astronomy Club not only benefits its members, but the larger goals of Explorit as well. Working with school teachers and youth groups such as the Scouts and Campfire, the club has introduced hundreds--if not thousands--to the cosmos. Helping others to observe, communicate, reason, organize, and relate information about the sun, moon, planets and stars brings many rewards for Club volunteers. Among these rewards are: finding new friends, learning the theories, facts and processes of science, and discovering new perspectives on ourselves and the cosmos.
For more current information, please contact Vinita Domier at vcdomier@yahoo.com.
2025 Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing & Star Party
on Tuesday, August 12, from 8pm-1am
at Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park
by Vinita Domier (vcdomier@yahoo.com)
NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Davis Astronomy Club and Explorit Science Center invite everyone to the free public viewing of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower on the evening of Tuesday, August 12, from 8pm - 1am at Grasslands Regional Park (30475 CR 104, 3.8 miles south of Davis) at the crossing of CR104 (Mace Blvd) & Tremont Rd. The viewing area is at the eastern edge of the park (bypass the first parking lots near the park entrance, follow the road to where it turns left, and park on the gravel next to the grassy viewing area.)
The Perseid Meteor Shower consistently provides good viewing of “shooting stars” during warm summer nights for Northern observers from mid-July to late August, with peak activity occurring this year around August 12 - 13 when 60 – 100 meteors per hour could be seen under ideal viewing conditions of dark skies and the Moon is below the horizon. Many of the meteors of this particular shower streak across the sky in long colorful trails.
No special equipment is needed to enjoy the Perseids. All you need to watch these fireworks in the sky are clear dark skies with an unobstructed view from horizon to horizon. Lie down on a reclining chair or blanket, point your toes north-eastward, and look up in all directions. Also bring insect repellent and a red-filtered light or a flashlight in a paper bag, and make sure to keep warm.
A meteor shower occurs when the orbiting Earth passes through the stream of debris left in the wake of a comet after it has made its close approach to the Sun. The heat of the Sun causes some of the icy comet's frozen gases to vaporize, releasing dust particles and tiny rocky fragments embedded in the comet. These meteoroid particles continue to orbit the Sun in the same orbit as the parent comet. When the Earth, in its annual orbit around the Sun, goes through the point in space where its orbit and the comet's orbit intersect, it results in a meteor shower that repeats every year. The Perseid Meteor Shower is attributed to the periodic Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle (orbital period of 133 years.)
The comet's dust particles and rocky fragments that enter Earth's atmosphere, known as meteors, do so at great velocities causing the gases in the upper atmosphere to glow due to friction resulting in meteor streaks or "shooting stars". The glowing streaks can appear anywhere in the sky, however, their tails seem to emanate from a certain region or constellation in the sky. The August meteor shower is named the Perseid Meteor Shower as it seems to radiate from the Perseus Constellation region of the sky.
The optimal time to observe the most number of meteors per hour is between after midnight and before sunrise as then the viewer is on the side of the Earth that is encountering the meteors head-on. This year, however, moonlight from the waning gibbous Moon will obscure some of the fainter meteor sightings during this time interval as it will be rising around 10pm. So the recommendation is to view this year's meteor shower between 8pm and 1am.
For more information please contact Vinita Domier at vcdomier@yahoo.com.
Davis Astronomy Club - Perseid Meteor Shower event info
Cost: free; all ages welcome
Date: Tuesday evening, Aug 12, from 8 pm - 1 am
Location: Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park - Sac Valley Soaring Society (SVSS) club field at the eastern edge of the park
Address: 30475 CR 104 (Mace Blvd), Davis, CA 95618 (Lat: 38.49694, Long.-121.69111)
Driving directions: From I-80 take Mace Blvd south. At the city limits, Mace Blvd becomes County Road 104. The park entrance is at the intersection of County Road 104 and Tremont Rd. The distance from I-80 to the park is 3.8 miles. (Please see map below.)
Websites: https://www.yolocounty.gov/government/general-government-departments/parks/parks-information/grasslands-regional-park; http://www.svss.org/flying-site.html
.jpg)
