Central Valley Astronomers

04/19/2026

Come out to RiverPark at the Plaza this Friday evening from 7-10pm. It is Sidewalk Astronomy Night. Members of the Central Valley Astronomers will be out with their telescopes showing you the First Quarter Moon and the planets Jupiter and Venus. The event is free and we encourage people to bring their families and friends. The event may be cancelled due to the weather.

04/19/2026

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/

Our charts are mostly set for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

04/07/2026

Look for Kochab and Pherkad in the Little dipper. These two stars were once the North Star long, long time ago.

Have you noticed it’s not easy to find the Little Dipper? That’s because it’s fainter and looks less like a dipper than the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper appears high in the northeast sky at nightfall on spring evenings and wheels above Polaris in the late evening.

04/07/2026

SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Monday night. Timelapse taken in Visalia.

03/28/2026

Meet the constellation Cancer the Crab.

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03/28/2026

From tonight's Star Party.

03/28/2026

From tonight's star party.

03/26/2026

Come to the RiverPark Plaza Friday, March 27th from 7-10pm. It is Sidewalk Astronomy Night. Come and see the first quarter Moon, Jupiter, and Venus. The constellations Orion and Gemini will also be out. Sirius, the brightest star in the sky will be big and beautiful. This is a family free event.

10/06/2025

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/harvest-moon-2/ Monday, October 6th will be the Super Harvest Full Moon. The Moon will be bigger and brighter in the evening sky. Check it out.

In 2023, the Northern Hemisphere's Harvest Moon falls overnight September 28-29, or almost six days after the September equinox. It's also a supermoon.

07/11/2025

The RiverPark Sidewalk Astronomy event for tonight, July 11th, has been cancelled. The high heat and the late rising of the moon(10pm) are the main factors.

06/19/2025

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend visit the Downing Planetarium Thee are two shows each this Friday and Saturday evening, June 20th and 21st. $5 for adults and $3 for children and students. Check out their shows and website.

College of Science and Mathematics

06/19/2025

Get ready for the longest amount of daylight come this Friday, June 20th. The Summer Solstice will be upon us. 14 hours and 40 minutes of daylight. Sunrise will be 5:40am and sunset will be at 8:21pm.

A solstice lasts only a moment, when the sun is at its farthest north in our sky for an entire year. In 2025, the solstice moment will fall at 2:42 UTC on June 21. That’s 9:42 p.m. on June 20 for us in central North America. Yet many will celebrate this solstice for a whole day. What makes this da...