Dark Site Observatory
The BAA maintains a dark sky observatory on the grounds of the Buffalo Audubon Society’s Beaver Meadow Nature Center in North Java, New York.
The facility along with the club’s varied instruments (which include the 20-inch Obsession, one of the largest telescopes for public observing in Western NY) was historically open to the public on the first Saturday evening of the month from April through October.
Members are encouraged to attend our public nights, to assist visitors and to observe with their own telescopes. In doing so, one becomes familiar with the equipment and the operation of the observatory. Once approved by the observatory directors, members can access the BMO year round. You will find club members observing, taking photos, processing images and just enjoying the beautiful setting on most clear moonless nights.
Dark Site and Observatory Access
The BAA Dark Site is available to all members in good standing who have:
1. Paid their current year’s dues.
2. Have been a member in good standing for at least 3 months
3. Completed the on-site orientation training or volunteered at at least 3 Public Nights
The BMO Observatory is available to members who have completed an additional training course on the usage of the building. To be eligible to attend an Observatory Training Course, members must be at least 16 years of age, be up-to-date with the Dark Site orientation and be a member in good standing for a minimum of 3 months. Those interested in attending this training who are under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is also a member. Underage members whose parents are not members may attend the training, but will not be eligible to use the observatory unless supervised by a trained adult user.
Prior to observatory training, it is strongly recommended that users have a working understanding of equatorially mounted astronomical telescopes. It is also recommended, though not required, that users be familiar with using TheSkyX.
The training classes are typically held several times each year, usually on or near a full-moon week, and are conducted by Gene Timothy. The class typically begins in the afternoon and runs well into the evening so that trainees can demonstrate their understanding under nighttime conditions.
Training to use the 14″ Celestron telescope for imaging requires a separate training orientation which is open to those who have successfully completed the Observatory training.
All training is at the discretion of the Observatory Directors.
Contact Observatory Directors Dan Marcus or Gene Timothy for more information.