Friday, April 25, 2025 • 6:30 – 10pm At the Canyon Country Campus
Special
Astronomy Professor at College of the Canyons “The Unfolding
Event Highlights:
• Faculty and student presentations
• Hands-on demonstrations and activities
• High-powered telescopes for viewing
• FREE event and open to the community
FLEX credit available
Food available for purchase
The Santa Clarita Community College District serves a 367-square-mile service area in northern Los Angeles County. College of the Canyons (COC), the single college within the district, has campuses in Valencia and Canyon Country as well as online. Located on a 153-acre campus in Valencia and a 70-acre campus in Canyon Country, the college offers classes during the fall and spring semesters, as well as summer and winter intersessions. COC offers 103 associate degree programs, one bachelor's degree program, and 204 certificates, along with 19 undergraduate and graduate degrees and two credentials from partner institutions at the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center.
Opened in 2007, the Canyon Country Campus is known as a comprehensive campus that offers high-quality instructional programs, supportive student services, and meaningful community partnerships. Since opening, the campus has offered approximately 9,000 classes and served more than 75,000 students. The campus continues to transform with excellent facilities and enhanced services, such as the Takeda Science Center, which provides state-of-the-art laboratories and classroom space for high-demand instructional programs, and the Student Services & Learning Resources Center, which offers integrated student support functions, library, tutoring, and classrooms. These dynamic facilities provide engaging classrooms, labs, student spaces, and support services in the center of campus. Overall, the Canyon Country Campus continues to provide relevant and supportive opportunities and pathways for students, including a significant number of classes offered in focused, short-term formats providing many convenient enrollment options.
College of the Canyons has maintained its status over the years as one of the largest employers in the Santa Clarita Valley and is a vital cultural, educational, and economic force in the region. The Canyon Country Campus contributes to this educational work and community impact. For more information, including class schedules and registration information, please visit the website below:
17200 Sierra Highway, Santa Clarita, CA 91351
(661) 362-3800 | www.canyons.edu/ccc
6:30 – 7:30pm Science Showcase (Lower Plaza)
Faculty and student presentations
6:30 – 10pm Explore Interactive Table Displays and visit our indoor, portable Planetarium (Science Center Lobby - Room 110)
• Stop by the table displays to see activities and projects, provided by College of the Canyons’ student clubs, departments and other groups.
• Sign up to experience our planetarium (Limited space available. First come first serve)
6:30 – 10pm Telescope Viewing (Lower Plaza)
Telescopes are provided by the Local Group Astronomy Club of SCV, the Antelope Valley Astronomer’s Club, and by College of the Canyons
7:30 – 7:45pm Welcome & Opening Remarks (Science Center Lobby)
Paul Wickline, Campus Associate Vice President, and Mr. Anthony Michaelides, Campus Dean
7:45 – 7:50pm Local Group Astronomy Club (Science Center Lobby)
Dave Flynn, Member, The Local Group Astronomy Club of SCV
7:50 – 8pm Our Place in Space & How We Know What We Know - Light (Science Center Lobby)
Teresa Ciardi, Professor of Astronomy & Physical Science
8 – 8:45pm The Unfolding Story of Exoplanets (Science Center Lobby)
Presenter: Michaela Blain, Astronomy Professor at College of the Canyons
8:45 – 9pm Q&A
9 – 9:10pm Closing Remarks
Thank you for joining us!!
Have you ever looked at the sky and wondered if humans are alone? Have you ever watched a sci-fi show or film and wondered if there really are habitable planets out there like the much beloved Vulcan, Tatooine, or Arrakis? Exoplanet astronomy is a super young but quickly growing subfield of astronomy.
As new discoveries and new technology become available every year, humanity inches ever closer to answers to some of our biggest questions. And as the mystery of exoplanets unfolds, we have the opportunity to expand our view of science to see it as a living, evolving, and intensely human endeavor.
Professor Blain teaches astronomy at College of the Canyons. She also serves as a faculty mentor for students in the STEM Equity Alliance at COC. She and her student research group have just started a project to collect and identify micrometeorites found on COC’s two campuses. Before joining COC, Professor Blain studied gas and dust production in Jupiter-family comets at the University of Maryland, College Park.
By Professor Teresa Ciardi
We cannot travel or send a spaceship to a star, so how do we know what we know about the stars and space? The answers are in the light. All of what we know about the stars and space is the result of observation and analysis of light (electromagnetic waves). Light travels at a constant speed in space (670 million mph) which may seem fast, but space is huge; it takes over 4 years for light to reach us from the closest star to our Sun and 2 ½ million years for light to reach us from our sister galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy.
Once we collect the light with telescopes and instruments, we use computers to pull all the detailed information out of the light. Think about what you see and hear from a TV, every color and sound is a detail in the light. There are many different types of light and humans only get to see a small fraction of it, but instruments used in astronomy can see all of it.
Scientists find patterns in the light that show many attributes of a star like the composition, motion in space, surface temperature, strength of magnetic field, and sometimes the presences of a planet (exoplanets). Astronomers study the light.
Currently, our NASA RockSat-X and NASA HASP team are preparing their payloads for their upcoming integration and launch. These projects entail designing, fabricating, and launching a novel scientific experiment payload aboard NASA flight vehicles. NASA HASP (High Altitude Student Platform) utilizes a high-altitude balloon to reach an altitude of 22 miles above sea level, while the RockSat-X program goes even further to the vacuum of space aboard a NASA rocket!
RockSat-X has been approved for a full payload and has committed to completing two projects: ATLAS/PHAROS. Advanced 3D LiDAR Apparatus For Space (ATLAS) aims to test the efficacy of LiDAR scanning in space as a tool for identifying anomalies in spacecraft structure. While Positional Heuristic Approach Regarding Optical Sensors (PHAROS) aims to test the efficacy of Machine Vision and gyro technology in self-stabilizing a deployed capsule. Meanwhile, HASP has been approved for a large spot on the weather balloon. Their payload, SpectraSolis, is a high-altitude research package based on the Sol Seeker Mk2 architecture that finds, locks on to, and follows the Sun as the balloon moves through the upper atmosphere. The first is a spectrograph, which will use a diffraction grating and astronomy camera to capture the Sun’s spectrum. The second instrument is a coronagraph, enabling us to image the Sun’s corona.
The Aerospace and Science Team is an inclusive program at the College of the Canyons that continually seeks to reach new members through its extracurricular opportunities. A STEM major isn’t a requirement! People who can animate, are interested in business, or love art are also needed here! With the purpose of “Changing the Future Faces of STEM”, it provides an environment open to all skill levels and interests for students to lead and contribute to real-world projects like NASA HASP, RockSat-X and RockOn.
Contact advisor Teresa Ciardi at teresa.ciardi@canyons.edu to join.
Join us in thanking the following clubs, departments and organizations represented at the demonstration tables this evening:
Associated Student Government (ASG)
For more information, please visit: https://www.canyons.edu/asg Astronomy & Physics Club
For more information, please email: apclub@my.canyons.edu https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php
Biological & Environmental Sciences
For more information, please visit: https://www.canyons.edu/academics/biology/index.php
Chemistry Club
For more information, please email: cocchemclub@gmail.com https://www.canyons.edu/academics/chemistry/club.php
Civic Engagement Club
For more information, please email: linda.beauregard-vasquez@canyons.edu https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php
Early Childhood Education Children’s Center CCC
For more information, please email: faby.marton@canyons.edu https://www.canyons.edu/academics/ece/index.php
Earth and Space Sciences
For more information, please email: renee.wolf@canyons.edu https://www.canyons.edu/academics/earthsciences/index.php
Helping Us Become (HUB) Club
For more information, please email: linda.beauregard-vasquez@canyons.edu
https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php Library
For more information, please visit: https://www.canyons.edu/academics/library/index.php
Logix
For more information, please visit: https://www.logixbanking.com/ Math Club
For more information, please email: mathclub@my.canyons.edu https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php
Society of Physics and Engineering Students
For more information, please email: ashahla@my.canyons.edu
https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php
William S. Hart District – CTE Education Pathway
For more information, please email: https://www.hartdistrict.org
Technology, Engineering, Coding, and Hardware (TECH) Club
For more information, please email: coctechclub@my.canyons.edu
https://www.canyons.edu/studentservices/campuslife/clubs/list.php
The Takeda Science Center is a beautiful and important facility at the Canyon Country Campus. Opened for initial classes in fall 2021, the four-story structure is situated at the center of campus on Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook Drive, named in 2018 to honor the chancellor’s 30-plus years of service to College of the Canyons. With 19 state-of-the-art classrooms and labs, this facility is an important part of student access, engagement, and success on campus. An adjacent terraced amphitheater and plaza provide student instruction and gathering space outdoors alongside the facility.
Our newest building, the Student Services & Learning Resources Center, is located to the south of the Science Center and provides a one-stop center for student support services, tutoring, library, and classroom spaces. Together, these two facilities are dynamic, student-benefiting landmarks at the heart of the Canyon Country Campus.
Our sincere THANKS to all who made this evening possible!
College of the Canyons Board of Trustees
Edel Alonso • Fred Arnold • Carlos Guerrero
Sharlene Johnson • Darlene Trevino
Interim Superintendent/President David Andrus
Guest Speaker, Michaela Blain
Michaela Blain, Astronomy Professor at
College of the Canyons
The Antelope Valley Astronomy Club
Logix, our Star Party Sponsor
The Local Group Astronomy Club of Santa Clarita
The Star Party Committee
Michaela Blain • Teresa Ciardi • Anthony Michaelides
Jamie Page • Maria Sanchez • David Vakil • Paul Wickline
All COC Departments, Clubs, and Staff who support this event!
Additional Information about the Canyon Country Campus, including info on how to support student scholarships, is available at — www.canyons.edu/canyoncountry.
Student Scholarship QR Code – Thank You!