Amateur Astronomy Under The Big Sky
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  • Stars over Bozeman star parties planned

    The Southwest Montana Astronomical Society (SMAS) is pleased to announce:

    Stars over Bozeman”

    Friday, June 11th , back up date in case of cloud cover June 12th

    Friday, July 16th, back up date  in case of cloud cover July 17th

    Friday, August 13th, back up date in case of cloud cover August 14th

    Setup at 9 pm with viewing by 10:00 pm; with better viewing after 11:00 pm.  These events will be held at the 100 Acre Gallatin Regional Park located on Oak St 1.2 miles west of North 19th Street in Bozeman.

    As a group of amateur astronomers we wish to share our telescopes and knowledge of the night skies to all who wish to attend this free after dark event.  Club telescopes to be used range in size from small traditional 3 inch telescopes to our Pasley Dobsonian which has a 20 inch diameter lens mirror and is close to 8 feet tall, when pointing straight up. This requires the use of a ladder to look into the eyepiece for most people.   We are excited to use the Pasley this summer following a refurbishing project that included having the mirror refinished.

    Bring your own telescope if you wish and members of SMAS will help you to use it.

  • Irving School ’09

    Despite the cloudy weather, there was a pretty good turnout for the event at the Irving School last night.  We had more telescopes than we knew what to do with and many club members showed up to help out.  Even though there where early hopes of seeing the Great Nebula in Orion and maybe even the Pleiades, all we got to see was Venus which was bright enough to power through the high clouds in the southwest.

    But then there was the portable planetarium, hosted by Fred’s daughter Brigitte and Lynn Powers.  There were gaggles of kids, young and old, that enjoyed the planetarium show along with lots of cookies and brownies and hot chocolate and occasional views of Venus.

    Thanks to all of the club members who turned out and helped with things and thanks to all of the parents, children, and staff at Irving School for inviting us to share this evening with them.  Cheers…