Kern County
Astronomical Society
Reach for the stars
About Us
Who We Are
The Kern County Astronomical Society (KCAS) was founded in 1956 with a charter to “foster interest in astronomy among members, amateur astronomers, and the general public”. We are a club of amateur astronomers, including individuals and families. Anyone interested in astronomy is welcome. The Kern County Astronomical Society (KCAS) invites you to discover the “Wonders of the Universe.”
Why We Are Here
KCAS intends to “bring the joys of astronomy” to the general public. We attend schools, scout groups, and various other community events with telescopes and a lot of enthusiasm. We enjoy showing people everything from Saturn’s rings to Jupiter’s moons to the Moon’s craters and more. See the star party coordinator below for more information.
GallerIES
Events and Astrophotography
Membership Information
To learn more about the club, come to a KAS meeting! Our meetings are free, open to the public, and family-friendly. We meet on the first Friday of the month at the Round Table Pizza at 4200 Gosford Rd in Bakersfield. It starts at 6:00 PM for dinner, followed by the business meeting and program at 7:00 PM.
Our annual membership is $35, and our memberships include your family members too. Members of KAS also get membership in the Astronomical League. New members get their first crack at borrowing one of the club telescopes for a month!
To download the registration form, please click on the link below:
KCAS Membership Form 2025/6 (PDF)
Our mailing address is:
KCAS
PO Box 10241
Bakersfield, CA 93389
Star Parties
Monthly Star Parties
We host two club star parties every month on the Saturday evenings of the third quarter Moon and new Moon — as always, weather and other viewing conditions permitting.
NOTE: All Star Parties are open to the public, but please observe nighttime headlight etiquette, drive with parking lights only. Star Parties will be published under Events, under Meetings
Star Hopper’s Guide to the Galaxy
This is an amazing, free PDF book that primarily consists of star hop instruction sheets developed by Jim Mazur that was initially made available on his website Skyledge.net. This compilation contains over 170 instruction sheets with over 250 objects. Each sheet contains two star charts; the first chart is used to help orient you to the night sky and immediate area around the target using familiar constellations or asterisms such as the Big Dipper, the Summer Triangle, or the Great Square of Pegasus. The second chart is a detailed road map on how to hop to the highlighted objects. Information on the targeted objects is provided, as well as a small image of the object, when available.
