Jump start or further your exploration of the night skies by becoming a member of the Buffalo Astronomical Association!

There are many reasons to become a member of the BAA, just a few of which include:

Meet with other astronomers in your area -  General membership meetings of the BAA are held on the second Friday of each month from September through June (except for the month of March when we hold our annual dinner meeting and awards banquet) at 7:30 pm in the New Science Building auditorium (room NS213) on the campus of Buffalo State College. Socialize with local amateur astronomers and hear about astronomical activities that our membership has been involved in. Each meeting also features a guest speaker with topics spanning a broad range of astronomy-related topics. Not sure if you are ready to join? Visitors are always welcome at any of our meetings so feel free to stop by and check us out.

Help deciding what equipment to purchase -  One of the most daunting tasks facing beginning astronomers is deciding what type of equipment to buy when first getting into the hobby. Should you buy binoculars? Or is a telescope better suited to your needs? If so, do you want a Newtonian, refractor or a dob? Should you buy a German equatorial mount? A fork-mounted SCT? What kind of camera should you buy? How does the camera attach to the telescope? What purchases should you absolutely avoid? The possibilities are numerous and mistakes can be costly. One of the biggest advantages of membership in the BAA is that we have a wide variety of club-owned equipment that you can "try before you buy" to help you make an informed decision before purchasing your own equipment. We also have a membership with a wide variety of interests and experience to draw from and who are always willing to share an opinion or lend a helping hand.

Dark Sky Observatory - Get away from the street lights on your street or the neighbor who leaves their porch lights on all night. The BAA maintains an observatory at the Audubon Society's Beaver Meadow Nature Center in North Java, New York. Here the Association's varied instruments - including 20 inch and 12 inch Newtonian reflectors, 10 and 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrains and 6 inch equatorial refractor, along with CCD and video imaging cameras - are available for use by any member who has received proper instruction on equipment operation and observatory rules from an Observatory Director.

Star Parties - During the warmer months of the summer and fall, informal weekend star parties are held at numerous dark sky locations in Western New York. Members are encouraged to bring their telescopes.

Discounted Magazine Subscriptions - As a member of the Buffalo Astronomical Association you are able to subscribe to Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines at significantly discounted prices.

Bi-monthly Newsletter - As a member of the Buffalo Astronomical Association you are eligible to receive our bi-monthly newsletter, The Spectrum, which features articles by club members on all topics of astronomy. Both paper and digital versions of the newsletter are available.

Online Discussion Group - As a member of the Buffalo Astronomical Association you are permitted to join our online discussion group, the BAA Yahoo group, which gives members a casual forum to share thoughts, observations and the latest astronomy news flashes.

Buffalo Museum of Science Affiliation - We are an affiliate organization to the Buffalo Museum of Science and our collaboration on museum exhibits and programming brings the wonders of astronomy to a diverse city audience.

Membership Dues

To become a member download our membership form and return it to.

Alan Friedman
Phone: (716) 881-4310
Email: info@buffaloastronomy.com