Monthly Meetings
Open To The Public & Free To Attend
General membership meetings are open to the public, and are held at Scobee Education Center and Planetarium on the second Friday of each month. Scobee Education Center and Planetarium is located on the Campus of San Antonio College – the main campus on San Pedro. Free parking is available in the parking garage.
Doors Open at 6:30 PM. Meeting Commences at 7:00 PM.
Scobee Education Center and Planetarium
1198 San Pedro Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78212
Coming Up:
November 13, 2026:
November Speaker: Dr. Christopher Packham
Meeting Program: Updates from the James Webb Space Telescope
Dr. Christopher Packham shares the latest science coming from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Dr. Packham is professor of Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio and co-leader of an international team of more than fifty astronomers using the JWST. Dr. Packham specializes in using infrared instrumentation to study galactic cores and the activities and interactions of the massive black holes found there.Upcoming Meeting Programs:
Date Speaker Subject/Title11 Dec 2026 SAAA Members Holiday Party
Past events:
Speakers at past meetings have included astronauts, scientists from universities and scientific institutes, and members of our own and other astronomical associations with valuable expertise to share about how to explore and enjoy the universe.
June 14, 2024: Dr. Frederic Allegrini, Ph.D.: Update on the JUNO Mission. Dr. Allegrini, a staff scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and Adjoint Professor at UTSA, briefs on the latest science from the Juno Mission to Jupiter and its moons.
March 14, 2025: Cody Cly: Native American Culture and Astronomy. Diné (Navajo) PhD candidate and graduate research assistant in physics and astronomy at UTSA shares Indigenous lore and perspectives on the universe and our place in it.
February 12, 2026: Jennie Haywood: How to Prepare for the Messier Marathon. March is the time of year that all of the 109 spectacular objects in the Messier Catalog can be observed in one night. SAAA schedules an event for members and guests at a dark sky location for this exciting night of viewing galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.
April 10, 2026: Dave Wickholm: How to Better Use Our Eyes for Visual Astronomy. The human eye is an incredible instrument, and here is the science and the technique to how to use it for the best experience at a telescope.
Meeting Structure:
Meetings usually start with a social time at 6:30 PM, on the second Friday of every month (with the exception of December, when we hold our Christmas Dinner for members and their guests). If you come earlier you can do a little socializing.
We usually start our program at 7:00 PM. We begin the General Meeting with some quick introductory announcements followed by the Main Presentation (lecture or video presented by guest experts or club members).
The next part of the meeting usually includes:
- Show and Tell, where members share gadgets, books, techniques, etc.
- The Observing Report, describing the astronomical events for the next month.
- The Sky Tour, describing what’s where in the sky for the next month.
- Club business, during which the officers make reports about their activities and areas of responsibility.
There’s a good deal of socializing before and after meetings, allowing members to put faces with the voices they’ve heard in the dark at observing sessions.
