Two Public Star Gazes in September
Image credit: club member Jerry Sherman – taken at Grassland Mtn. Observatory
Continue to check this home page as weather could change the venue or postpone and possibly cancel a star gaze. Check again after 5:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the observing session for the latest info and update.
September 2, 2025 update: We are optimistic that the repairs to
Lookout Observatory will be completed before the September 19th scheduled star gaze.
A lightning strike in July damaged a circuit board in the primary telescope mount at Grassland Mtn. Obs. This will take some time to repair, but the public star gazes will still be conducted there using portable telescopes.
12 Sept. 2025 — Friday night — This public star gaze will be held at Grassland Mountain Observatory in Madison County, with a weather backup night of Saturday, 13 September. This event is free and open to everyone — registration is not necessary to attend. A temporary gate code, required for entry, will be provided here on the day of the star gaze by 5:00 p.m. Directions to Grassland Mountain Observatory can be found here. These star gazes normally conclude about 3 to 4 hours after sunset, and visitors are not permitted to stay past the conclusion time. Sunset occurs at 7:41 p.m.
19 Sept. 2025 — Friday night — The location for this star gaze will be
Lookout Observatory on the UNC Asheville campus, with a weather backup date of Saturday, 20 September. While the event is free and open to everyone,
pre-registration is required to attend. To learn more about how to register, please visit the UNCA Lookout Observatory website here. Sunset occurs at
7:30 p.m., with shuttle service beginning about 8:00 p.m.
20/21 Sept. 2025
– Saturn Closest to Earth for the Year
22 September 2025 – Autumnal Equinox
23 Sept. 2025
– Neptune Closest to Earth for the Year
2 Oct. 2025 – Club Meeting Presentation
— Thursday night, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
This free speaker presentation will be offered in-person at the
UNC-Asheville Reuter Center and virtually online. Registration is not required; use this Zoom link to watch the presentation remotely.
Although parking for this meeting at the Reuter Center is free, you must register your vehicle with a “Visitor 5pm – 6am” permit type
at this link. Once registration is complete, visitors will not need to print or display a permit; the new system utilizes camera-based License Plate Recognition technology. All vehicles must park front-end in, so that the license plate is visible.
Astrophysics Research at the Three College Observatory
– presented by
Anatoly Miroshnichenko, PhD,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Three College Observatory (TCO) was opened in Alamance County, NC, in 1981 as a collaborative project of three colleges located in Greensboro, UNCG, NC A&T University, and Guilford College. It hosts one of the four largest telescopes on the US Atlantic coast (primary mirror diameter 32 inches).
For the first 30 years, TCO was predominantly used for public viewing of planets, stars, and galaxies, which became very popular due to its central location in the state. In 2011, the UNCG Department of Physics and Astronomy acquired a high-quality spectrograph and started a long-term research program.
Read more…