The Chester County Astronomical Society was formed as a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and enjoyment of astronomy for the general public. The Society holds meetings (with member or guest speakers) and observing sessions once a month. Anyone who is interested in astronomy is welcome to attend meetings and become a member of the Society. In addition to the monthly meetings and observing sessions, the Society also provides a variety of services to the public, including astronomy classes as well as telescopes and expertise for "star parties" for school, scout, and other civic groups.

• Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - CCAS Monthly Meeting, Room 113, Merion Science Center (former Boucher Building), West Chester University. Meet & Greet over coffee and refreshments for members and non-members alike from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. The meeting starts immediately after at 7:30 p.m. CCAS Member Speaker: Gaston Baudat, "Astrophotography: On-Axis Guiding."
• Friday, January 20, 2011 - West Chester University Planetarium Show, "Once in a Blue Moon," in the Schmucker Science Building. The show starts at 7 p.m. and runs approximately one hour. For more information and reservations, visit the planetarium's webpage.
• Friday, February 24, 2012 - CCAS Monthly Observing Session, Myrick Conservancy Center, BVA (inclement weather date February 25th).
• Saturday, March 24, 2012 - CCAS Monthly Observing Session, Night Out at Hoopes Park, West Chester. The free public event is co-hosted with the West Chester Recreation Department. The observing session starts at sunset. For more information, contact our Observing Chair, Don Knabb.

The Violent End Stage of Star Formation. EsoCast showcases a new Hubble image of a giant cloud of hydrogen gas illuminated by a bright young star. The image shows how violent the end stages of the star formation process can be, with the young object shaking up its stellar nursery.

A few thousand light-years away, in the constellation of Cygnus, lies the compact star-forming region Sh 2-106, or S106 for short. Despite the celestial colors of this picture, there is nothing peaceful about this scene. A young star, named S106 IR, is being born at the heart of the nebula. In the violent final stages of its formation, the star is ejecting material at high speed, violently disrupting the gas and dust. 3D visualizations show the extent to which the star has carved its surroundings into a complex shape. In particular, the hourglass-like structure of the nebula is a result of jets from the star slamming into the cloud of hydrogen it is forming from.

At the outer edges of these cavities, the gas has been compressed into shock fronts by the pressure. The star has a mass about 15 times that of the Sun and is in the final stages of its formation. It will soon quiet down by entering the adult stage of stellar life, known to astronomers as the main sequence.

For now, though, S106 IR remains embedded in its parent cloud, but it is rebelling against it. The material spewing off the star not only gives the cloud its hourglass shape but also makes the hydrogen gas turbulent. The resulting intricate patterns are clearly visible here.

As well as churning up the gas cloud, the young star is also heating it up to temperatures of 10 000 degrees Celsius. The star's radiation excites the gas, making it glow like a fluorescent bulb. The light from this glowing gas is colored blue in this image, which combines Hubble observations taken in visible and infrared light.

Separating these regions of glowing gas is a cooler, thick stream of dust, shown here in red. This dark material almost completely hides the star from view, but the young object can still be seen faintly peeking through the widest part of the dust lane.

The cloud itself is relatively small by the standards of star- forming regions, around two light-years in size along its longest axis. This is about half the distance between the Sun and Proxima Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbor, making it far smaller than familiar star-forming regions like the Orion Nebula and Carina Nebula.

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The society schedules monthly observing sessions in the Myrick Conservation Center of the Brandywine Valley Association. The observing sessions, which are planned around the new moon, are open to the public and announced in the Society's newsletter, Observations. Owning a telescope or binoculars is not required; anyone interested in observing the heavens is welcome to show up. If you do have a telescope and need help using it, our observing sessions are a great place to practice and learn from other society members.

The Chester County Astronomical Society's regular monthly meetings include a presentation from an invited speaker or the demonstration of an astronomical project by one of the Society's members. After the presentation, a brief business session is held to review the status of society activities. Meetings typically last 1-1/2 to 2 hours including an informal conversation over refreshments before the start of each meeting.

The Society meets at 7:30 PM the second Tuesday of each month in Room MER113 in the Merion Science Center (former Boucher Building) at West Chester University (corner of South Church Street and Rosedale Avenue, West Chester, Pennsylvania). Click for Directions and Maps.

In the past, the Chester County Astronomical Society has sponsored astronomy courses open to the public several times per year. For 2011, CCAS is partnering with the Geology and Astronomy Department of West Chester University in Project ASTRO. For more information on Project ASTRO, visit the Sponsored Astronomy Classes page.

The Chester County Astronomical Society offers "nights out" to interested organizations including local schools, scouting groups, and other civic groups for the purpose of learning more about the heavens. For example, scouting groups often hold them to earn badges for their members. If your organization is interested in hosting a "night out", please contact us.

• Friday, February 24, 2012 - CCAS Monthly Observing Session, Myrick Conservancy Center, BVA (inclement weather date February 25th).
• Saturday, March 24, 2012 - CCAS Monthly Observing Session, Night Out at Hoopes Park, West Chester. The free public event is co-hosted with the West Chester Recreation Department. The observing session starts at sunset. For more information, contact our Observing Chair, Don Knabb.

Star parties are national and regional events similar to "nights out" and open to the public. They are held throughout the year. For a list of upcoming national events in 2011, visit the star parties page.

The West Chester University Department of Geology & Astronomy hosts a planetarium show open to the general public on the 2nd Friday of each month. The WCU Planetarium is located in the Schmucker Science Center on Church St. For a campus map, click here.


The shows start promptly at 7:00 P.M. ET and run approximately one hour in length. Late arrivals will not be permitted to enter the planetarium. Each show will include an overview of what is visible in the current night sky and a special focus on some aspect of astronomy.

Reservations are required because the planetarium has limited seating. For contact information, visit the planetarium's webpage.