Welcome to the Lake County (Illinois) Astronomical Society!

2012 Blue Marble Image credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/ Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

View the Moon and  planets at a local Lake County Library through powerful telescopes! Join us for one or more of our upcoming evening events! They are free and for all ages. Moon Over McHenry, McHenry Public Library, February 27 Moon Over Mundelein, Fremont Public Library District, February 29 For details see Astronomy Under the City Lights and our Events Page. Also see our application for Astronomy Magazine's outreach contest (8 MB PDF). It provides a good summary of our activities in 2010. LCAS is a contributor to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.

LCAS information Calendar of LCAS Public Events Membership Benefits and How to Join Club Contacts Where to find our meetings Public Star Parties Astronomy Under the City Lights Arranged events and educational offerings Lake Sky Star Awards Astrophotography Archeoastronomy Astronomy Cartoons Beginner's Corner Getting a Start in Astronomy Buying Your First Telescope The Care and Feeding of a Telescope LCAS Mentoring Program Useful references Dictionary of Astronomical Terms Astronomy Links & Newsgroups For Educators Astronomy for Kids NASA's Teacher's Corner SciJinks space weather Skeptic's Dictionary for Kids Why Science Is Important

LCAS - WHO ARE WE? We are people of all ages who are interested in the science of astronomy. While many are accomplished observers and astrophotographers, others are new to the hobby. The LCAS tries to respond to all levels of interest. Various members own large telescopes, some of which they've built themselves from scratch. On the other hand, some members don't own any telescope at all, but simply enjoy observing the night sky with their unaided eyes. The LCAS meets on the third Friday of each month. The meetings are free and are open to the public. LCAS is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization chartered to promote the interest and participation in astronomy. Established in 1982. The next public LCAS meeting will be on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Volo Bog visitor center. The meeting format will be: 7:00 Viewing of club memorabilia 7:30 - 8:30 Business meeting 8:30 - 9:30 Anniversary cake, stories about the club, door prizes (for members) 9:30 - ???? public star party if weather permits The February program will be:  30th Anniversary celebration (see the Calendar of LCAS Public Events for more details). This event will be of limited interest to the public because the anniversary celebration is replacing the normal astronomy program. LCAS Library of over 500 Astronomy Articles for beginners and experts alike. If you're an LCAS member,you can read the NightTimes on the member's Yahoo User Group. Monthly Quote: “Most of what cosmologists know about the universe they learned only in the last hundred years.” - Ken Croswell, astronomer

News Astrophoto of the Day Lunar Astrophoto of the Day Current Solar images Earth Observatory image of the Day Hubble picture of the week NASA ISS   The top 14 Solar System images in 2011 Top 16 images from space in 2011 Top 24 deep space images in 2011 Weather sites for northern Illinois Recent Astronomy News Rocks from Mars SOFIA sees newborn stars A Saturn on steroids 100 billion planets The three smallest exoplanets GRAIL satellites in orbit Comet Lovejoy Earth-sized planets found Looking back on Voyager 1 New vision for private space launches Is Vesta the smallest terrestrial planet? SpaceX going to ISS in February Hubble replacement delayed to 2018 Kepler needs four more years Voyager 1 in new Solar region Earth-like planet confirmed Are the fundamental constants really constant? Curiousity launched to Mars (Launch video) Curiousity rover ready for launch Over 700 exoplanets Solar activity increasing Orion spacecraft to launch in 2014 Phobos mission fails during launch Asteroid Lutetia is from inner Solar System Phobos mission ready for launch