The SJAA is launching a welcoming way to help members connect: a bimonthly New Members Night. These gatherings make it easier to find like‑minded people,
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Blog Archives
2026 Board and Officer Elections
by 
Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiIn an exciting online election ahead of the February 7th, 2026 SJAA board meeting, the results of the highly anticipated board elections were unveiled. With positions 2, 4, 6, and 8 up for grabs, the competition was fierce, and the board welcomed four talented individuals:
- Carl Svensson
- Wolf Witt
- Rob Jaworski
- Mark Hanson
Fast forward to March 7th,
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Spring 2026 Swap Meet: A Stellar Success!
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiYesterday, your astronomy club hosted a vibrant swap meet at SJAA Basecamp, the Hall at Houge Park. What a fantastic turnout it was! Despite it being the first day of Daylight Saving Time, enthusiastic members and newcomers alike showed up early, ready to dive into the excitement.
Tables filled with a variety of items,
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Passing of an SJAA Legend – Jim Van Nuland
by Rob Jaworski
Rob Jaworski
On the eve of the American annular eclipse of October 2023, the members of SJAA were provided with some sad news. We learned that long time SJAA member Jim Van Nuland passed away earlier in the month.
Jim joined up with the SJAA in the mid-1970s, maybe earlier.
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2023 Board and Officer Elections
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiThis year at the February 4th 2023 board meeting, SJAA announced the results of the board elections. The meeting was held online. Directors Vini Carter, Ken Miura, Swami Nigam, Peter Melhus and Sukhada Palav were reelected in their positions.
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Remebering Paul Mancuso
by Rob Jaworski
Rob Jaworski
In December 2022, the SJAA lost a long-time member, volunteer and friend, Paul Mancuso. Paul started his SJAA journey way back in the 1970s. He was very involved with the club, over the years serving as board member and in various officer roles. He kept his involvement going over the last 20 years as a stalwart volunteer at the School Star Parties as well as maintaining a regular presence at the In Town Star Parties at Houge Park.
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2022 Board and Officer Election
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiThis year at the February 19th 2022 annual meeting, SJAA announced the results of the board elections. The meeting was held online due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Directors Rob Jaworski, Wolf Witt and Glenn Newell have been reelected into their positions, and Steven Nelson has been elected to the Board.
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Yosemite Star Party Canceled
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiWith much sadness, we must report that the National Park Service advised us that the annual Yosemite star party, what we call _Stars Over Yosemite_, has been canceled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We would certainly look forward to next year, but due to planned construction and upgrades in the park,
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In Memoriam – Gerry Joyce
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiSJAA President and friend Gerry Joyce passed away recently. Gerald James Joyce (Gerry) was born on November 2, 1945 and passed away on May 20, 2020. He was 74 years old.
Gerry was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the youngest of four boys and the son of Norwegian immigrants Frank and Ruth Joyce.
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Swap Meet Postponed and Other Updates
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiIn normal years, the SJAA Swap Meet is held in the spring and again in the fall. This is a great social outlet, but unfortunately, due to all that’s happening with the pandemic this year, the SJAA leadership had to make the difficult decision to postpone it. It may reappear later in the sprint or summer,
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2020 Board and Officer Elections
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiEach February and March sees board elections and officer elections, respectively. Here are the results of the 2020 elections.
For the board of directors, four director seats were up for elections. All four incumbents ran for those seats and were re-elected: Sandy Mohan (board seat 2),
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SJAA Turns 65
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiAt the end of this year, 2019, the San Jose Astronomical Association is celebrating its sixty fifth birthday. For us mere mortals, sixty five is traditionally the age at which we retire, quit our decades -long journey of work and getting things done, and finally look forward to hopefully another couple of decades of rest and relaxation.
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Amending Bylaws: Memberships
by Rob Jaworski
Rob Jaworski
At the board of directors meeting, July 2017, the board voted to amend the bylaws. This kind of move is not done very often, and great consideration is made before such an idea is even brought to a vote by the board. However, given the history of the types of memberships with the SJAA,
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Swap Meet – Sunday, March 20 2016
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiHello SJAA Members and Friends,
Just a reminder that the SJAA Swap Meet is happening this Sunday, March 20, 2016 at the Hall at San Jose’s Houge Park. Here is the announcement that went to the Announce list (which is still being used, we encourage people to join),
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Grand Unified SJAA, Feb. 2016
by 
Teruo Utsumi
Teruo UtsumiI’ve dubbed our automation effort GUS: Grand Unified SJAA. (This is a continuation from the post in May. If you’re interested in pitching in or just curious, you’re invited to join the Coders group.)
The organizers spend hundreds of man hours every year,
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2016 Election Results Are In
by Rob Jaworski
Rob JaworskiLast Saturday night was the annual membership meeting of the SJAA. There was a potluck, awards, and the annual election for about half the seats of the board of directors. Bill O’Neil, Glenn Newell, Rob Jaworski and Dave Ittner were all up for reelection, and we are happy to report all nominees,
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16 Degrees South
by Rob Jaworski
Rob Jaworski
I just got back from a holiday in northern Australia. Though it wasn’t an astronomical vacation at all (brought no scopes or astronomical meaningful binocs), I did get a chance to look up at a far more southern sky than I’m used to seeing.
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Ending of Sky & Telescope Magazine Subscription Service
by 
Dave Ittner
Dave IttnerDear SJAA Member,
The San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) has been in existence for 60 years now. For many of those years, the club has offered its members the benefit of subscribing to Sky & Telescope magazine when they join or renew their membership. Due to the significant growth of the club,
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SJAA Coders
by Rob Jaworski
Rob Jaworski
The SJAA is in the process of automating various aspects of club operations. Examples include subscribing (and unsubscribing) to email lists, renewing memberships, maintaining event calendars, creating and adapting an auction system,
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Busy Day at Houge Park Hall 5/3
by 
Ed Wong
Ed WongThe Houge Park Hall was buzzing with activity today with several programs going on at the sametime. The SJAA Fixit Program, SJAA Library and SJAA Advanced Loaner program were all open today to serve our members and public. We had people coming for help with telescope collimation questions, eyepiece and lens cell questions.
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