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, February 14, 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. Meeting Agenda: "A Surprise Movie," popcorn & refreshments provided.
• Friday, February 17, 2012 - West Chester University Planetarium Show, "Closest to the Sun," 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).
• Tuesday, March 13, 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: Dennis O'Leary, "NASA's Discovery Missions - recent Solar System Revalations - Part One."
• Friday, March 16, 2012 - West Chester University Planetarium Show, "The Evening Star," 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.
• 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.

Black Hole Meltdown in the Galactic Center. From ESOcast. Not long ago, watching something being ripped apart as it falls towards a giant black hole would be science fiction. This is now reality. Observers under dark skies, far from the bright city lights, can marvel at the splendor of the Milky Way, arching in an imposing band across the sky. Zooming in towards the center of our galaxy, about 25000 light years away, you can see that it is composed of myriads of stars.

This is a pretty impressive sight, but much is hidden from view by interstellar dust, and astronomers need to look using a different wavelength, the infrared, that can penetrate the dust clouds. With large telescopes, astronomers can then see in detail the swarm of stars circling the supermassive black hole, in the same way that the Earth orbits the Sun.

The Galactic Center harbors the closest supermassive black hole known, and the one that is also the largest in terms of its angular diameter on the sky, making it the best choice for a detailed study of black holes. This black hole's mass is a hefty four million times that of the Sun, earning it the title of supermassive black hole. Although it is huge, this black hole is currently supplied with little material and is not shining brightly. But this is about to change.

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, a team of astronomers has discovered a new object that is heading almost straight towards the black hole at vertiginous speed. The object is not a star, but a cloud of gas. "The cloud consists mainly of hydrogen gas, gas which we see anyhow in the galactic center all over the place. This particular cloud weighs more or less three times the mass of Earth. So it's a rather small and tiny blob only, but it glows very brightly in the light of the stars which are surrounding it ."

As the astronomers watch, the cloud has been picking up pace as it gets closer to the giant black hole. Its speed has doubled in the last seven years and it is now speeding towards the black hole at more than 8 million kilometers per hour. Astronomers have already seen the cloud's outer layers becoming more and more disrupted over the last few years as it approaches the black hole. But the exciting part is yet to come.

"The Black hole, imagine it sitting here, has a tremendous gravitational force and the cloud, as it comes in, it will be elongated and stretched, it will become essentially like spaghetti. It will be elongated and falling into the black hole. The next few years will be really fantastic and exciting because we are probing the territory. Here this cloud comes and gets disrupted, but now it will begin to interact with the hot gas right around the black hole. We have never seen this before."

No one knows what will happen next. The cloud will probably heat up and may start to emit powerful X- rays as it gets disrupted. In the end the material will eventually disappear by falling into the black hole. For the scientists, this event is truly a unique chance to probe the hot gas around the black hole. "But this process of how material gets into the black hole really is not clear to us we don't understand it in any detail. And here in the galactic center we have an opportunity so to speak to have a probe of this process. How material really gets added to the black hole, and what the physical processes are, how the interactions happen in this very central region. That's a fantastic opportunity."

This is indeed science fiction becoming science fact.

To see more videos from SpaceRip, visit the official YouTube channel or at Hulu.com. You can also visit and comment on the official blog.

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 2012, 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.