Meet Out Amateur Astronomers

The success of our astronomy club stems from the kind hearts of our volunteer amateur astronomers. These are the people you see out there on the sled hill with their fascinating telescopes and astronomy gear. These are also the people who present and give talks, showcase meteorites, take photos, give sky tours, converse with people about astronomy and who do the background work necessary to make our events enjoyable for old and young.

In addition to our FCS members, several astronomers from other clubs join us during some of our star parties to lend a helping hand and operate additional telescopes. These include members from the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club, the Warren Astronomical Society, the GM Astronomy Club, and more.

We always welcome volunteers to help us run telescopes or with other tasks at our star parties. If you are interested in helping out then send an e-mail to farmingtonstargazers@gmail.com and let us know!

Samer Hariri

Samer is a cofounder of FCS and is currently the Director of Operations. He has interests in planetary science, geology, and astronomy. He studied astrophysics and geophysics at Michigan State University and has a graduate degree in geology from Wayne State University. He is currently an instructor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Schoolcraft College in Livonia.

Jesse Mason

Jesse is a cofounder of FCS and has been interested in astronomy since the wondrous arrival of comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Jesse studied physics and music at Eastern Michigan University, is currently a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Henry Ford College, where he also directs the Hammond Planetarium.

Jenny Pon

Jenny is an amateur astronomer who worked in the planetariums at MSU, Carnegie Science Center, and Detroit Science Center. Jenny is one of our sky tour guides and she also enjoys being a National Park Service volunteer at the Grand Canyon Star Party.

Tony Licata

Tony is a retired automotive sculptor. He enjoyed astronomy classes and was with the University Astronomy Club while studying art at EMU. He's an accomplished astrophotographer who's been capturing the wonders of the sky since the year 2000. He is fond of meteorite hunting and owns/operates a private observatory in his free time.

Carrie Carlson

Carrie studied forestry at MSU. Astronomy was introduced to her by her parents when she was a child. She lived in a rural part of Minnesota where the night sky was wondrous. Carrie enjoys finding things with the telescope and sharing them with other people. She currently runs a home business in computer repair.

Omkar Karve

Omkar is an algorithms and mechanical engineer who enjoys seeking new tech in astronomy and who designs and builds gadgets and items that fit into his astronomy activities.

Jon Blum

Jon is involved with several astronomy clubs in the area. He loves conversing on everything astronomy and enjoys sharing his knowledge about the universe with the public. Jon also spends time in Maui, Hawaii, where he has started a stargazing astronomy group.

Sandra Macika

Sandra has a 14.5 inch telescope and a collection of 160+ meteorites. She conducted studies on meteor showers as part of a NASA project in California from 1996 to 2002. She also serves as the astronomy event supervisor for the Wayne Oakland Science Olympiad. She is a member of several astronomy clubs and enjoys giving lectures on astronomy and showcasing her magnificent meteorite collection.

Arica Flores

Arica is new to astronomy but her interest began with the 2017 total solar eclipse, which she saw in Sweetwater, TN. Arica owns a small tabletop Dobsonian telescope and has been enjoying learning more about the universe. She loves to share the new celestial objects she finds in her telescope with others.

Rob Thies

Rob is a graduate of Kettering University, with a degree in Computer Science. He currently works in Vehicle and Mobility Cloud Cybersecurity at Ford Motor Company. He's been attending and helping at FCS for several years now, and hopes to buy a nice telescope someday. He has lived in Farmington Hills since 2002, is married, and has a daughter.

Taranjot Singh Kathuria

Taran is a student at University of Michigan - Dearborn and is working in IT at Magna International. He loves being outdoors especially around mountains and does a lot of hiking. He has always been interested in extra terrestrial objects, loves to watch space rocket launches and is interested in watching the Northern Lights.

Mike Shapiro

Mike is an avid astrophotographer who enjoys taking photos of deep sky objects and sharing his work with people. In the day time Mike is a root canal specialist that works through a microscope, but at night it's all about looking through telescopes and photographing the stars.

Daniel Kohn

Daniel has been volunteering with FCS since its founding in 2016. He took an astronomy class at Oakland Community College while he was a student and has developed a hobby out of looking through telescopes and sharing the wonders of the universe with the public.

Steve Hassell

Steve is a self-taught amateur astronomer, software engineer, and database administrator. He has been observing the Universe since 2005 and has focused on faint and distance extra-galactic objects. He currently works for a software development firm in Livonia.