Event Updates

The state of Pennsylvania has decided to lift many pandemic restrictions as of May 31st. In line with this change LVAAS has decided to open up some activities for its members.

The BOG has approved the following activities for LVAAS Members Only at the South Mountain site:

  •  Astro Imaging Meeting June 19th 7 p.m.
  •  Star Party June 26th 7 p.m.
  •  LVAAS Picnic July 10th
  •  Star Party July 17th  7 p.m.
  •  Star Party August 14th 7 p.m.

Note: These events will be held for LVAAS Members Only with the following restrictions:

  •  Masks and Social Distancing are required as per Pennsylvania state requirements in force at the time of the event.
  •  While the building will be open to use the bathroom and look around, the Star Parties will not have Planetarium Shows, there will be No Speaker Presentation, and the Red Shift will not be open. We will make drinks and snacks available outside the building.
  • Observatories that are open will have alcohol swabs available to wipe down the equipment and viewers will only be allowed in the building one at a time. Others are asked to wait outside the Observatory until it is their turn.

 

 

 

LVAAS General Meeting

Sunday June 13 at 7:00 p.m. (via Zoom)

Finding My Place in the Universe

Here's the story of the professional life of an astronomer whose scientific interests range from the origins of life to the structure of the universe, across orders of magnitude of size and distance in time and space, and whose main contributions have been tools to help other astronomers and astrophysicists understand their data.

 

Jessica Mink

Jessica Mink has been a positional astronomer and developer of astronomical tools, data pipelines, and archives at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for over 30 years, working with data from ground-based (and one space-based) telescopes. Between her MIT BS and MS degrees and this job, she was involved in solar system optical spectroscopy, high-speed occultation photometry, and the geometrical astronomy and catalog development needed to predict the occultations she observed with her colleagues. Her life story is complicated by the fact that she has spent the last decade of her life in a different gender than she spent the first six decades.

 

 

- Meeting will be held ON-LINE ONLY! -

Prospective new members who wish to attend the meeting should email membership@lvaas.org.

 

—    LVAAS    —

THE LEHIGH VALLEY AMATEUR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY -- 620B East Rock Road -- Allentown, PA 18103 -- 610-797-3476 -- www.lvaas.org

WELCOME!

Founded in 1957, the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society (LVAAS) is one of the oldest continuously-operating amateur astronomy organizations in the U.S. The mission of LVAAS is to promote the study of Astronomy and to maintain a meeting space, observatories, and a planetarium.

LVAAS operates two astronomy sites: The South Mountain site in Salisbury Township is the headquarters of the Society. It has a planetarium with a Spitz A3P projector, a 21 foot dome, meeting space, the Red Shift store, library, workshop space, and three observatories. The Pulpit Rock site near Hamburg is LVAAS's members-only dark sky site. At 1600 feet above sea level, the site features five observatories and a pad for member's scopes.

Members who receive training on the scopes may obtain keys to the observatories. LVAAS also maintains a rental "fleet" of telescopes that members may rent at low cost. Members also receive access to The Observer, our online newsletter, as well as reduced subscription prices to Sky and Telescope and Astronomy Magazine. If you want to learn more about astronomy and LVAAS, please join us at our next public star party.

 

South Mountain Clear Sky Chart  image

Pulpit Rock Clear Sky Chart         image