Monthly Indoor Meetings
Our monthly indoor meetings are open to visitors. The club is dedicated to helping people understand and enjoy astronomy at all levels of interest.
We meet the first Thursday of each month from
7-9 p.m. on the campus of UNC-Asheville at the Reuter Center, Room 206. The Reuter Center is Building #16 at the top (north end) of the UNC-Asheville campus map.
For more information about the next meeting, see the "home page".
2012 Meeting Dates
Jan 5 Jul 5
Feb 2 Aug 2
Mar 1 Sep 6
Apr 5 Oct 4
May 3 Nov 1
Jun 7 Dec 6
The indoor meetings include a presentation of the upcoming monthly sky events plus a discussion or speaker on other topics of astronomical interest.
Star Gazes
Our star gazes are open to the public and usually occur on the Friday night that falls nearest the new Moon (unless a holiday interferes). Should Friday night be clouded out, we use the next night (Saturday) as our backup night. There are 12 new Moons in 2012.
The star gazes are usually held at the Mt. Pisgah trailhead parking lot during the warmer months when the Blue Ridge Parkway is open. We do use other observing sites, especially during the winter months. Check the "home page" for the latest posting of the observing site each month.
2012 Star Gaze Dates
Jan 20 Jul 20
Feb 17 Aug 17
Mar 23 Sep 14
Apr 20 Oct 12
May 18 Nov 9
Jun 15 Dec 14
For a complete list of our observing sites and directions, click here.
More About the Star Gazes and Etiquette
Dress as warmly as you can, especially your head, hands and feet. We've never heard anyone complain about being too hot at a star gaze.
We usually try to arrive at the star gaze a little before sunset. It's good to have some daylight to set up the telescopes and not feel so rushed to begin observing. Usually 10 or 12 people show up with half a dozen telescopes in all. Often a couple dozen people will come-and-go throughout the night, not staying very long. If the sky is clear a few people stay all night and won't pack up until sunrise. Usually everyone just observes whatever they are interested in. We don't have a fixed schedule. One person may be going after nebulae while someone else may just be getting acquainted with their new scope.
Anyone who comes to a star gaze should turn off your car lights as soon as possible, and give warning before you turn on your lights to leave. Don't use a flashlight unless it has a deep red filter over it. Few things irritate astronomers more than losing their night vision. It takes at least 15 minutes to get it back, longer if the person was observing very dim objects such as faint galaxies. Feel free to ask anyone what they are looking at and if you can take a look. Most astronomers love sharing their passion. But get permission before turning any knobs, such as that one you just know is the focusing knob. It may not be! Finally, please do not smoke near the telescopes because the smoke coats the lenses and mirrors. If you do smoke, please do it downwind and at a distance.
Nature comes to the forefront at a star gaze. What a person looks like doesn't matter (it's too dark to see each other!). What matters is the shared enjoyment of the universe beyond our little blue marble. It takes you out of the workaday world and helps you realize there is more to the universe than this myopic view we have in the daytime.
