Directions to the FORUM at MOORPARK COLLEGE

The Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS) will hold its monthly membership meeting on Friday, September 21, 2012 at 7:15 PM at the Forum Auditorium, on the campus of Moorpark College -- 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark CA 93021

The speaker will be Mr. Charles Morris, former engineer for JPL/NASA and an avid amateur astronomer. Tonight's session: "44 Years of Fascinating & Amazing Comets”

Charles Morris has been observing comets visually since 1968. In all, he has observed over 300 comets including many great comets and he has also imaged comets. In 1984, he became one of the few people to visually recover a periodic comet (P/Faye). In 1985, he (along with Steve Edberg) became the first to see P/Halley with the naked eye. Over the years, he has observed many remarkable sights while observing comets.

With a degree in astrophysics and atmospheric science, Charles has written over 70 papers in amateur and professional journals, as well as popular magazines such as Sky and Telescope and Astronomy. Much of his work has dealt with the brightness of comets. For many years, he was Associate Editor of the International Comet Quarterly. For 10 years, Charles ran the Comet Observation Home Page, a JPL web page devoted to reporting international observations of comets. Asteroid 3783 is named Morris for his work on comets.

In this fasciating presentation Mr. Morris will share wtih us his top 10 list of the most spectacular comets (and some honorable mentions), which he's observed during the last 45 years. While some comets on the list will be obvious. Others may surprise you.