EVENTS

Updated January 28, 2012

In addition to our monthly club outing following each meeting, the Big Sky Astronomy Club schedules a minimum of two public star parties each summer. Please contact a club officer for more information on upcoming star parties.

Over the winter, members of the BSAC will be planning events for the upcoming observing season. As events are scheduled, information will be posted here, so check back often.

Upcoming Events

June 5, 2012 Transit Of Venus Observing

On the afternoon and evening of June 5 (for us in the Flathead Valley), the planet Venus will traverse the face of the Sun. This is the second time in eight years that a "transit of Venus", as it is known, will have occurred. The previous event was in 2004 and this one will be the last one visible in your lifetime (the next one occurs in the year 2117). The Big Sky Astronomy Club will have several telescopes set up for the public to use to witness the event. Our scopes will be equipped with solar filters that allow us to safely observe the transit.

A cautionary word about observing the sun: Never look directly at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope without the protection of a solar filter designed specifically for that purpose! Severe and permanent eye damage, up to and including total blindness, will occur if you do.

The location and times for the event are being finalized and will be posted here. In the mean time, you can find out about the transit by visiting transitofvenus.org.

July 20, and August 17, 2012 Logan Pass Star Parties

The Big Sky Astronomy Club, in conjunction with Glacier National park, will be offering two star parties this summer at the Logan Pass Visitors' Center at the summit of Going-To-The-Sun Road. The first of these is scheduled for Friday, the 20th of July, from 9pm to Midnight. The second is scheduled for Friday August 17th. In the event of inclement weather on the night of the party, the will be rescheduled for the next night (Saturday July 21st and August 18).

Admission to the events will be limited to ticket holders in an effort to ease overcrowding in the parking lot. Tickets will be available at no charge at various locations around the park. Information about the specific ticket locations will be posted when it becomes available, so check back here as we approach the dates of the Star Parties.

August 17, 2012 First Annual Ruby Valley Star Party

Those of us with long-time ties to amateur astronomy in Montana often look back with fond memories of the annual state-wide star party known as "Montana Starwatch". Starwatch was originally held along the banks of Ruby Reservoir in the southwestern part of the state. Following several successful years there, it was relocated to the Little Belt mountains southeast of Great Falls and continued there for three more years. Following the 2004 Starwatch, the popular event was suspended. Despite continued interest in resurrecting the event by amateur astronomers from across the state, a state-wide star party hasn't been held for seven years.

Good News:

Thanks to the efforts of two of the Big Sky Astronomy Club's more active members (kudos to Joe Whitherspoon and Russ Lucas!), plans for a state-wide star party are nearly complete. Like the fabled Phoenix arising from the ashes, Son-Of-Starwatch is being resurrected! The first annual Ruby Valley Star Party is scheduled for August 17, 2012 on Joe's property near Twin Bridges, Montana. A web site with detailed information and registration will be available shortly and a link will be posted here.

Past Events - 2010

July 9, 2011 Lone Pine Star Party

The annual Lone Pine star party was held Saturday, the 9th of July. This year we had three special guests attending the star party. Ray Stinson, an astronomer from the Tacoma Astronomical Society, gave a PowerPoint presentation at 9 PM. Also attending from Three Forks, Montana was another astronomer, Joe Whitherspoon. Ray and Joe will anchor the astronomy program in Glacier Park this year at St. Mary and Apgar. And, from the Seattle area, International Dark-Sky Association, Northwest Chapter representative, David Ingram attended. We all had a great time meeting and learning from our guests and later observing with them.

August 2010 Logan Pass Star Party

On Sunday, August 15, 2010, several club members set up their scopes at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. See details in Club News sidebar to the left. Here are two pictures of the event. Click on the small thumbnail images below for larger images.

BSAC President Mark Paulson talking with a visitor waiting for dark skies

Russ Lucas with his LX200 with the moon behind Logan Pass visitor center

Past Events - 2006

The November Transit Of Mercury

On Wednesday, November 8, 2006, several club members set up their scopes in the courtyard at Flathead Valley Community College to view the transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun.

Throughout the afternoon, several dozen students and staff came and went, taking advantage of the unusually clear autumn skies to view the innermost planet's silhouette as it slowly crept across the backdrop of our Sun through the club members' scopes.

Here are a few representative pictures from November's event.

Click on a thumbnail below for a larger image and a brief description.

The 2006 Big Mountain "Stargazer"

On Friday night, July 17, 2006, we set up our scopes at the summit of The Big Mountain, located about 10 miles north of Whitefish. This year's "Stargazer" was another huge success, with a total of twelve telescopes brought to the summit by club members and an additional two scopes brought up by non-member participants. Last year's event was unusually chilly, as a brisk breeze blew from the northeast most of the evening. This year, however, we were blessed with clear, dark skies and calm winds.

This year, the event coincided with the Big Mountain's Summer Festival. With several other competing events going on in Whitefish as well as on the Mountain, our visitor numbers were down from previous years. However, with less people to shuffle past the scopes, they could actually spend a lot more time at the eyepiece, taking full advantage of the clear, dark skies to appreciate the moon, double stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.

Here are a few representative pictures from the 2006 event.

Click on a thumbnail below for a larger image and a brief description.

The 2004 Montana "Starwatch"

Unfortunate circumstances prevented the Southwest Montana Astronomical Society from putting on a Montana Starwatch in 2005.

The 2004 Montana Starwatch, however, was held under beautiful dark skies the weekend of July 16 and 17. For the third year running, the event was held at Harley Park (elevation 7,400 ft.) in the Little Belt Mountains, near Neihart, Montana. Two club members, Russ Lucas and Al Ebeltoft made the trek to Starwatch this year. Below are some thumbnail links to larger images.

Astronomy Day/Space Day 2004

The Big Sky Astronomy Club was invited to participate in this year's Astronomy Day/Space Day event, which was held on May 1 at the National Guard Armory in Kalispell. Attendance at the day-long event was estimated at close to 3,000 people. The club had four scopes set up for solar viewing and, as you can see from the photos below, there was very little time all day when there wasn't someone taking a look. We enjoyed summer-like weather and everyone had a great time.