8 July – 17 August 2024
22 July 2024
– Locate Elusive Mercury at Dusk
Illustration created using PowerPoint and SkySafari software
Upcoming Public Star Gazes
Image credit: club member Jerry Sherman – taken at Grassland Mtn. Obs.
Continue to check this home page as weather could change the venue or postpone and possibly cancel a star gaze. Check again after 5:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the observing session for the latest info and update.
26 July 2024 — Friday night — This public star gaze will be held at Grassland Mountain Observatory in Madison County, with a weather backup night of Saturday, 27 July. This event is free and open to everyone — registration is not necessary to attend. A temporary gate code, required for entry, will be provided here on the day of the star gaze by 5:00 p.m. Directions to Grassland Mountain Observatory can be found here. These star gazes normally conclude about 3 hours after sunset, and visitors are not permitted to stay past the conclusion time. Sunset occurs at 8:38 p.m.
2 Aug. 2024 — Friday night — The location for this star gaze will be Lookout Observatory on the UNC Asheville campus, with a weather backup date of Saturday, 3 August. While the event is free and open to everyone,
pre-registration is required to attend. To learn more about how to register, please visit the UNCA Lookout Observatory website here. Sunset occurs at
8:32 p.m., with shuttle service beginning about 9:00 p.m.
23 Aug. 2024 — Friday night — This public star gaze will be held at Grassland Mountain Observatory in Madison County, with a weather backup night of Saturday, 24 August. This event is free and open to everyone — registration is not necessary to attend. A temporary gate code, required for entry, will be provided here on the day of the star gaze by 5:00 p.m. Directions to Grassland Mountain Observatory can be found here. These star gazes normally conclude about 3 hours after sunset, and visitors are not permitted to stay past the conclusion time. Sunset occurs at 8:08 p.m.
30/31 July 2024
– The Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower Peaks
Illustration courtesy of
SKY & TELESCOPE
1 August 2024 – Club Meeting Presentation
— Thursday night, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
This free speaker presentation will be offered in-person at the UNC-Asheville Reuter Center and virtually online. Registration is not required; use this Zoom link to watch the presentation remotely.
PARI: An Untold History of Spacemen and Spies
– presented by
Craig Gralley,
Author and former CIA senior executive
After six decades, the communities of Rosman and Balsam Grove are finally learning the truth about the large, mysterious satellite dishes that operate in their neighborhood behind rows of barbed wire and a chain-link fence. Craig Gralley’s new book, “PARI: An Untold History of Spacemen and Spies,” reveals the secret past of PARI—a facility buried deep in the mountains of western North Carolina, whose very existence was denied for decades by the U.S. government. Read more…
2 August 2024
– Venus & Mercury Gather with Regulus at Dusk
Illustration courtesy of
SKY & TELESCOPE