Caltech Astronomy

05/20/2026

Interested in learning more about the NASA Artemis II mission that recently visited the Moon? We recently hosted Sarah Elizabeth McCandless, one of the NASA navigation engineers for the Artemis II mission, who joined our Astronomy on Tap to discuss the mission and what it was like behind the scenes. You can check out her presentation now on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDc7E59Ve0

Photos by Robb Rosenfeld.

05/19/2026

Want to stargaze from a train, far away from city lights? For the last two years, Caltech Astro Outreach and the DSA Radio Telescope have collaborated with the Nevada Northern Railway to produce the Great Basin Star Train, a train that travels into the Nevada desert to provide visitors with wonderful views of the night sky. Last week, the New York Times had an article about this effort and Caltech's involvement to provide scientists as guides and staffers for the train, teaching visitors about the cosmos and providing astounding telescope views of the heavens. It was a fun experience, and we were pleased to discuss astronomy with so many visitors!

On nighttime excursions in dark-sky hot spots like Norway, New Zealand and Nevada, all you have to do is relax and look up. The stars will do the rest.

05/05/2026

Why did a lunar lander payload put a hole in the Moon? We hosted Roshan Misra from Honeybee Robotics last week to discuss his team's instrument LISTER that put a hole in the Moon. It was a great Astronomy on Tap presentation about lunar science and aerospace, and it's now up on our YouTube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dddBvVEBhlk

Photos by Robb Rosenfeld.

04/17/2026

Caltech Astro scientists recently contributed to the Night of Ideas at the Wende Museum, featuring solar telescopes, solar s'mores, and a presentation by Dr. Joanna Piotrowska on black holes. Thanks for hosting us, Villa Albertine!
Photo Credit: Tag Christof

04/10/2026

After 10 days in space, the NASA Artemis II mission will return to Earth today, with an expected splashdown time at 5:07PM PM PT off the coast of San Diego. Welcome back, Artemis!

You can watch the whole thing live on NASA's YouTube channel:

This feed will provide continuous coverage of Artemis II mission activities with live commentary, beginning with tanking of the SLS (Space Launch System) roc...

04/10/2026

Last month, we participated in the Great Orion Dark Sky Festival near Death Valley NP. We hosted solar demos and solar telescopes, astrophysicist Q&A panels, and astronomy presentations by Dr. Cameron Hummels on black holes, galaxies, and the formation of the solar system. Even the local burros turned out for it. Great skies and fun times.

04/08/2026

Last month, we teamed up with Ventura College to host two days of astronomy lectures and telescope sessions open to the public. Caltech Astro Outreach Director Cameron Hummels gave presentations on galaxies and black holes, and we worked with the Ventura College Astronomy Club, MESA program, and Ventura County Astronomical Society to host solar observing and a star party.

These events were sponsored by the American Astronomical Society as part of their visiting Shapley Lecture Series. Many thanks to the AAS and to those of you who joined us for these wonderful two days of events!

04/07/2026

Caltech, Palomar, and NASA JPL scientists are tracking Artemis II on its way to the Moon. In this video, the bright central dot is Artemis II, and the streaks are background stars smeared by their motion in these long exposures. These images were taken using the Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, one of the largest telescopes in the world. Credits to Gautam Vasisht @ JPL, Isaac Wilson & Diana Roderick @ Palomar, and Sam Rose & Mansi Kasliwal @ Caltech.

Technical details: 200" aperture telescope with WIRC (wide-field infrared camera) using H-continuum filter centered at 1.57 microns. Field of view is normally 9' x 9', but this is zoomed down to ~2' x 4'. Exposures are 20 seconds and 40 seconds in length. Data were taken from 4:22am to 5:03am local time on Thursday, April 2nd.

The goal was to see the rockets firing during the PRB (perigee raise burn) maneuver at 4:53am as a change in brightness, but it's too subtle to detect here.

04/02/2026

Last Friday, we hosted former NASA JPL Director Charles Elachi to discuss NASA's exploration of our Solar System. It was one of the best presentations we have ever hosted, providing a bird's eye view of NASA's approach to science and exploration with lots of anecdotes from his time in leadership. Dr. Elachi's presentation is now up on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhre0AljyXE