Club Meetings
First Wednesday of each month (except near holidays; see the Activity Calendar below)
UWL Cowley Hall Planetarium - We will return to in-person meetings at UWL starting in November. Masks are required by the University.
Open Meeting: If you need help with equipment or other astronomical advice we are here to help you if we can. We will allow the public to attend any meeting but please let us know in advance. Use the Contact Us option in the tabs area at the top of the page to let us know that you plan on attending and what it is you are interested in.
Business Meeting: 7:15PM
UWL Cowley Hall Planetarium - We will return to in-person meetings at UWL starting in November. Masks are required by the University.
Open Meeting: If you need help with equipment or other astronomical advice we are here to help you if we can. We will allow the public to attend any meeting but please let us know in advance. Use the Contact Us option in the tabs area at the top of the page to let us know that you plan on attending and what it is you are interested in.
Business Meeting: 7:15PM
Check our Groups.io User Group for GO/NO-GO decisions on upcoming observing events. Or just keep up with what's going on with the club. Join in if you like. The LCAAS Groups.io User Group is here:
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CURRENT MOON |
2021 Activity Calendar (updated 10/28/2021)
- Regular LCAAS Club meetings: All club business meetings will be held in-person starting in June 2021. Meetings are not open to the public yet. We will move to open meetings later this summer.
- Observing nights are held at a site as indicated in the schedule below. These are held on a weekend closest to the new moon and are designated as “Dark Sky” on the calendar. However, we will normally make a last-minute call to GO or NO-GO, based on weather conditions, and post accordingly on the LCAAS Groups.io User Group. Others may post there as well so check to see if anyone is going to be at the field.
- The public is welcome but please see the Observing Etiquette section on the Observing page.
- Friday only is listed for Dark Sky dates; Saturday is the backup if Friday is clouded out; other local events are also listed here if applicable.
Calendar
January 6 - Regular Club meeting (this will be a Zoom meeting)
January 15 – Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 9% full and sets at 7:43PM) Ridge History Park (RHP), N1724 Korn Clements Road, just west of Middle Ridge on the south side of Highway 33
February 3 - Regular Club meeting
February 12 – Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 2% full and sets at 6:32PM)
March 3 - Regular Club meeting
March 5 (backup night is the 6th) - NCRAL Winter Mini-Messier Marathon at the RHP Observing Site (Track down and view 27 Messier objects with the Club. Win a pin and certificate!)
March 12 - Dark Sky - RHP site (Moon is 0% full and sets at 5:25PM)
April 7 - Regular Club meeting
April 9 - Dark Sky – G-E-T site (Moon is 4% full and sets at 5:20PM)
May 4 - Club Banquet (members only) – Location TBD (virtual?), 6:00pm social, 7:00pm dinner
May 5 - Regular Club meeting
May 7 (backup night is the 8th) - NCRAL Spring Mini-Messier Marathon at the RHP Observing Site (Track down and view 27 Messier objects with the Club. Win a pin and certificate!)
May 14 - Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 7% full and sets at 10:32PM)
May 15 - Astronomy Day - Riverside Park, Solar observing 11:00am - 2:00pm, night observing 8:00pm - 10:00pm. Tentative due to COVID-19.
June 2 - Regular Club meeting Location: RHP
June 11 - Dark Sky – G-E-T site (Moon is 2% full and sets at 10:16PM)
July 7 - Regular Club meeting Location: RHP
July 9 - Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 0% full and sets at 9:01PM)
July 10 - Youth Outdoor Fest at Veterans Park - 10-2
July 10 - Perott State Park program - Evening viewing
July 30 (backup night is the 31st) - NCRAL Summer Mini-Messier Marathon at the G-E-T Observing Site (Track down and view 27 Messier objects with the Club. Win a pin and certificate!) The moon rises at midnight so seeing the Virgo cluster galaxies before that will be the goal.
August 4 - Regular Club Meeting Location: RHP
August 6 - Dark Sky – G-E-T site (Moon is 3% full and sets at 7:42PM)
August 7 - Perott State Park program - Evening viewing
August 11- Cashton Library program at Norskedalen - Evening viewing
September 1 – Regular Club meeting Location: RHP
September 10 - Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 19% full and sets at 9:30PM)
September 11 - Perott State Park program - Evening viewing
September - Stargazing with Mississippi Valley Conservancy at FSPA Villa, 7:30pm ??
September - Star Party - Genoa Fish Hatchery ??
October 1 (backup night is the 2nd) - NCRAL Fall Mini-Messier Marathon at the G-E-T Observing Site (Track down and view 27 Messier objects with the Club. Win a pin and certificate!)
October 6 – Regular Club Meeting Location: RHP
October 8 - Dark Sky – G-E-T site (Moon is 9% full and sets at 8:00PM)
October 9 - Astronomy Day - Riverside Park, Solar observing 11:00am - 2:00pm, night observing 6:30pm - 10:00pm. Tentative due to COVID-19.
November 3 – Regular Club meeting Location: UW-L Cowley Hall Planetarium
November 5 – Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 2% full and sets at 6:29PM)
December 3 – Regular Club Meeting (Party)- Location: RHP NOTE THE DATE CHANGE TO FRIDAY
December 3 – Dark Sky – RHP site (Moon is 0% full and sets at 3:59PM)
11 Inch SCT
Harry explaining the finer points of a Celestron Nexstar 11 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope.
Paul beside his inflatable planetarium
Paul Kinzer can give presentations on the night sky in a portable planetarium.
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Night Sky Network demo kit
Bruce Klubertanz explaining the science behind telescopes.
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