Founded in 1937 at the US Naval Observatory by a group of professional and amateur astronomers, the National Capital Astronomers (NCA) is a volunteer-driven nonprofit aiming to ignite public interest in astronomy and space science. We're all about sharing the wonders of the universe with everyone!
While we marvel at the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, we recognize Earth's unique hospitality. This drives our mission to protect our planet's resources and life. After all, as Captain Kirk (a.k.a. William Shatner) discovered, space is a harsh place!
Join us for a cosmic journey and be part of our mission to explore, understand, and protect our universe!
NCA has regular monthly meetings September through June on the second Saturday of the month. For 2025-26, meetings will be held in-person at the University of Maryland Astronomical Observatory in College Park, Maryland (directions/map) AND online via Zoom (details below). Seating is limited, so we are encouraging folks to attend via Zoom.
Public transportation: Directions/maps to the UMD Observatory
Inclement weather: In case of severe weather (tornado/snow/impassable roads), a notice will be placed on the Observatory Website on the day of the meeting. (Be sure to refresh/reload the page to make sure you are seeing an updated page.)
The meetings for this year will be HYBRID (online via Zoom AND in-person), unless otherwise noted!
With permission of the speakers, most meetings will be recorded. Once available the audio and video will be linked.
National Capital Astronomers will be holding its 2025-2026 meetings online via Zoom and in-person. This year, the Zoom meetings have been set up so that there is no registration required. This is the direct Zoom link, it is the same for everybody for every meeting this year. If we have problems with Zoom bombing at a meeting, then the link will be canceled and a new one created that will require registration for subsequent meetings.
As usual, the Zoom room "doors" open at 7pm ET with the actual meeting starting on time at 7:30pm! While you do not need to sign in right at 7pm, please do not wait until 7:35pm!! And since we are not registering folks, it will be important that you have a recognizable name showing so that I can let you in from the virtual waiting room.
With the permission of the guestspeakers, we will be recording the meetings.
Join Zoom Meeting: NCA Monthly Zoom
These guidelines will be updated as needed.
Dr. David DeVorkin,
7:30 pm
Abstract: In April 1972, George Carruthers visited the (now named) Johnson Space Center in Houston. He closely watched and advised as astronaut John Young positioned his golden far-ultraviolet electronographic camera/spectrograph on the Moon. The instrument, Carruthers's invention, was the first astronomical observatory on the lunar surface, landing in the Descartes Highlands on Apollo 16. Among several targets, it focused on the Earth's outermost atmosphere, its so-called "geocorona", a spectacular achievement that brought him accolades, including the President's Medal for Technology and Invention and even a NASA satellite mission that just launched. Carruthers accomplished far more during his career, flying his instruments on sounding rockets and satellites, exploring the interstellar medium and later Halley's Comet from Skylab and the Shuttle. He also devoted his talents and energy to inspiring students to feel they could do it too. From the Laboratory to the Moon explores Carruthers's life and work, for the first time telling the full story of a deeply reserved African American farm boy infatuated with building telescopes for astronomy and spaceflight. This biography follows Carruthers from his childhood in Ohio and then Chicago and to his career at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. In the politically complex and highly competitive world of space science in the 1960s and 1970s, and life in Washington, D.C., Carruthers transcended the racial stereotyping and discrimination of his day, concentrating his passions for experimentation, which he strove to instill in students across the Washington DC area, gaining notice as a Black man in science and a tireless advocate for underserved young people in science and engineering..
Bio: Dr. David H. DeVorkin is emeritus senior curator, history of astronomy and the space sciences at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, where he served for 40 years. DeVorkin's research and collections center on the origins and development of modern astrophysics and space sciences. He holds a PhD in the history of astronomy from the University of Leicester and an MPhil in astronomy from Yale University.
Weather-permitting, there will be observing through the telescopes after the meeting for members and guests.
The telescope making, maintenance, and modification workshop with Guy Brandenburg is held in the basement (wood shop) of the Chevy Chase Community Center which is located at the intersection of McKinley Street and Connecticut Avenue, NW, a few blocks inside the DC boundary, on the northeast corner of the intersection. The workshop is open on Tuesdays & Fridays, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. For information visit Guy's Website. To contact Guy, call 202-262-4274 or Email Guy!
Exploring the Sky is a joint program between the National Capital Astronomers and the National Park Service Rock Creek Park Nature Center and has been run since 1948 at this location, the field at the corner of Glover and Military Roads in the District. There is an adjacent parking lot. It is free and all are welcome who have an interest in observing the heavens. It's not an ideal dark sky location but we can still see solar system objects (even the occasional comet), open and globular clusters and maybe a fuzzy galaxy or two.
Questions? Call NCA at 202-262-4274 and leave a message.
| Date | Time | Things of interest |
| 05 Apr | 8:00pm | M45, Orion, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus |
| 03 May | 9:00pm | M44, Leo, Arcturus, M13, Moon, Mars, Jupiter |
| 07 Jun | 9:00pm | Leo, Bootes, Hercules, M13, Moon |
| 05 Jul | 9:00pm | Moon, Hercules, M13, Summer Triangle |
| 02 Aug | 8:30pm | Moon, Hercules, M13, Summer Triangle, M57 |
| 20 Sep | 8:00pm | Moon, Summer Triangle, Great Square of Pegasus, Saturn |
| 18 Oct | 7:30pm | Summer Triangle, Great Square of Pegasus, M31, Saturn |
| 15 Nov | 7:00pm | Venus, Summer Triangle, Pegasus, M31, Saturn, Uranus |