Author: Emilyann Kerr

Hello and welcome to the BAA blog. We had another virtual stargazing event with Penn Dixie on June 26th — here’s a recap of what we saw and imaged. This post is only a small sample of what was shown, so if you’d like to watch an archive of the stream, it’s available on Penn Dixie’s Facebook page here.

Moon Views Galore

The moon was waxing this week, nearly approaching first quarter, so many BAA members were able to show live views through their telescopes. Ernie ended up taking some captures to combine into a single photo:

(click on the image to see a larger view)

Dan ended up producing an image as well, of asteroid 2Pallas. The while blur at the center is the asteroid, moving over a period of minutes.

(click on the image to see a larger view)

Some other portions of the program involved Mark from the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium describing the visuals of a lunar eclipse, and Tim from the Buffalo Museum of Science showing viewers the Summer Triangle — an asterism formed by bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair which is visible during the summer months:

(click on the images to see a larger view)

Besides Tim and Mark, we also had Phil and Paul join in from from Penn Dixie, who were able to answer viewer questions (and provide relief to BAA members when clouds intervened.)

If you ever want to get live answers from an astronomer, you should try joining in at the next Virtual Stargazing night. Our next event will be on July 18th — we are hoping to feature views from our own Beaver Meadow Observatory this time! It will also be close to new moon, when deep-sky objects are best viewed. Hope to see many viewers in the next stream!

-Emilyann

Hi all,
With the moon waxing, we will be joining in another Virtual Public Night with Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium. We will have overviews of the night sky this month, questions and answers (you can ask questions yourself if you join in the Facebook livestream!), and activities for young astronomers. This event will start tomorrow night (Friday, June 26th) at 8:30 PM. Live viewing and discussion with BAA members will begin (weather permitting) around 9:30PM. The event page, which is hosted on Facebook by Penn Dixie, is here.

If you are a BAA member and would like to show a view through your telescope, help answer questions from the public, or present on astronomical topics, please contact Ernie Jacobs or reach out in the Members forum. Perhaps we’ll have some planetary views this time — Jupiter and Saturn are rising earlier and earlier now! Hope to see lots of members and perhaps some inquiring public there.

Hi all,
The BAA will be participating in another virtual stargazing event. This one will be on Saturday, June 6th, starting at 8:30PM, and is being held in place of our typical Public Night. Like the other Virtual Astronomy events, representatives from Penn Dixie, the Explore & More Children’s museum, and the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium will be lending their knowledge and expertise alongside seasoned BAA members. If you want to watch along, you’ll be able to view the stream through Facebook — you can find the upcoming event page here.

If you are a BAA member and would like to show a view through your telescope, help answer questions from the public, or present on astronomical topics, please contact Ernie Jacobs or reach out in the Members forum. It might not be Public Nights like we are used to them at the BMO, but this is still a great way to reach out and bring the stars to people. Personally, I’m anticipating a lot of great lunar views due to the proximity to full moon (providing the weather holds up!) Hopefully lots of people can join in. See you all there!