Members Night & Club Picnic Saturday Aug 3 - 6:30 PM

Our Astronomy Club members and their family are invited to join us for our summer club picnic.   Specific details for the event will be sent out by email closer to the event date.   This is a great time to meet and visit with other club members and get to know their families.  ( in the daylight )  Afterwards we can enjoy an evening of observing and exchanging ideas. 

We try to reserve Observatory nights nearest the New Moon for our CURRENT MEMBERS ONLY. You can bring along family or a friend if they want to observe with you.  This allows our members to work on their various observing projects, do some astrophotography, share ideas and help each other with their goals. The gates will open at 6:30 PM.     

    Check our website for updates.

The rural evening temperatures are often cooler than in town.  Warmer weather also has invigorated our insect “friends”.   Please apply insect repellents away from the telescope areas.  Also, it is not recommended to lay on the ground even with a blanket.  We have chairs in the classroom, or you can bring your own lawn chairs.

August is a great month for observing the many hidden celestial treasures scattered along the Milky Way.  Scorpio and Sagittarius dominate the southern sky.  Then you can follow the river of stars up through the constellations that form the summer triangle.   Venus, the star Regulus and Mercury form and nice row about 7 degrees long.  They will be visible for about an hour after sunset.  Saturn should become visible after 10:30 once it clears the building to our east.   Comet 13P/Olbers is still visible in the region below the Big Dipper.  We might also be able to locate comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS ) about 11 degrees to the left of Mercury 

PLEASE CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR CHANGES DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS    If the Friday session is cancelled due to weather, we will try again on Saturday evening.       Check Website to confirm

As a member you may bring family members or a friend that wants to observe with you but not large groups. Please keep minor family members within your observing area with a supervising adult.

 To develop your observing skills, you may want to consider trying to earn one of the over 40 well designed observing certificates from the Astronomical League. Check out some of their Observing Programs

 If you are not currently a member you may try one of our RSVP guest nights or you can easily join. Simply go to the JOIN section on our website. Submit the forms online or mail in your membership dues. Click here to Join our Club If you like you may can print off your application or image it as proof of your new membership but we will welcome you without it.
 

Location

ACT OBSERVATORY directions -  Follow our map directions  DO NOT USE GPS

MOSTLY PAVED ROADS – Hwy 75 to 201st St S – through Mounds OK

Most DIRECT ROUTE – Hwy 75 to 241st St S – some coarse gravel & dirt roads