BSAC to observe Comet 17/p Holmes at the November Meeting

Weather permitting, The Big Sky Astronomy Club is planning an attempt to observe the recently famous comet 17/p Holmes at it's November meeting this Friday, November 9, 2007 at the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department on Farm-To-Market Road. This comet has brightened by a factor of a million in just a few days making it a naked eye object. Detailed information can be seen at Sky and Telescope or at Spaceweather.com Club members will be setting up their personal telescopes for participants to observe the comet.

2007 Telescope Workshop Planned.

The Big Sky Astronomy Club is pleased to announce its fourth annual Telescope Workshop. The workshop, which is open to the public, will be held Friday, February 16, 2007 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department on Farm-To-Market Road. Participants are encouraged to bring their telescopes. Club members will be available to assist visitors with the setup and operation of their personal telescopes and answer any questions they may have. Club members will also have several of their own scopes set up for the participants to examine. For those participants who own Meade telescopes with the AutoStar® "Go To" pointing system, a knowledgeable club member will be available to advise them on basic usage of the system and also how to update and upgrade the system on-line. Refreshments will be available.

Directions to the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department can be found on our Meeting Schedule Page

For more information, please email President Mark Paulson at m.paulson@bigskyastroclub.org, phone him at 257-7261 or contact Vice President Bruce Ruby at 857-3753.

2007 Meeting Schedule Now Available.

The club has prepared its meeting schedule for 2007. As with last year, the club members and our guests will meet on the Friday nearest the New Moon each month. The full meeting schedule can be found on our Meeting Schedule Page.

2007 Montana Starwatch Dates Announced.

After a year's hiatus, the popular state-wide star party - Montana Starwatch - is back this summer. The dates for this year's event are August 17 - 19. While the location for the party hasn't been formally announced, word has it that we will meet at Harley Park in the Little Belt Mountains west of Niehart, Montana, as we have for the last several years.

The formal announcement will be posted on the Central Montana Astronomical Society's (CMAS) web site.

Starwatch has been a wonderful experience and it's return is welcomed, but it is a lot of work. If you plan to attend this year's event, please contact CMAS and offer any assistance you can.

BSAC Observatory

Club members recently voted to look into the possibility of constructing a small, permanent observatory at a dark sky site somewhere around the Valley. The Club's Observatory Committee is currently investigating sites and funding sources for our planned observatory.

When it is up and functioning, the BSAC Observatory will be the focal point of the club's public outreach activities. The club will be offering public star parties, educational opportunities for the Valley's school children and other astronomy related functions. Please check back for further announcements as to progress in our endeavor.

If you have any questions or would like additional information about any of our "News Items", please feel free to contact us.

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Yet another outstanding astronomy-related web site has been developed and brought to our attention by Jeremy Mitchell called "Astronomy Clubs.Com". Within its many pages you will find contact information for over a thousand amateur astronomy clubs world wide. This is an amazing resource, and our sincere thanks go out to Jeremy for his efforts. His site can be reached by clicking the image below.