Welcome to VBAS!
The Von Braun Astronomical Society is a non-profit organization of amateur and professional astronomers. We are sharing our love of space with the community through our planetarium and observatories located in Monte Sano State Park just east of Huntsville, Alabama.
Latest News
Donate to the VBAS Stars for All Endowment Fund
VBAS established an agency fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville in 2024. VBAS is the sole beneficiary of the distributions from this fund, which is used to provide long term financial stability for our organization. Your donation will help continue VBAS operations well into the future.
- Member Meeting – June 20Join us on Friday June 20, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the VBAS Planetarium for our monthly member meeting. Admission is open to the public. Starlore from India Astronomy is one of the oldest branches of Science. All the known ancient civilizations were equally fascinated by the motion of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and the… Read more: Member Meeting – June 20
- Astrophotography 101The Von Braun Astronomical Society is offering a beginner level classin astrophotography (AP 101). This course is designed for individualswith little knowledge of astronomy. It is planned for 3 sessions asoutlined below. Cost is $25 for VBAS members and $30 fornonmembers. Session 1: Introduction to the night sky and equipment overview Session 2: A detailed… Read more: Astrophotography 101
- Moon Tree dedicationLaunched atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Moon Tree seeds traveled into lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis I mission in 2022. The seeds travelled thousands of miles beyond the Moon and spent more than 25 days in space before returning to Earth. The Von Braun Astronomical Society applied to… Read more: Moon Tree dedication
Upcoming Shows
- June 2025 Planetarium Shows
All planetarium shows begin at 7:30pm.
Admission opens at 7:00pm; $5/adult, $3/student, 6 and under free.
Telescope viewing afterwards on clear nights.
June 7th – AL Astronomy Summer Fun
Alabama is a great state to explore in the summer with many notable places related to astronomy to visit! Join VBAS educator Beth Bero as we tour Alabama’s summer astronomy fun destinations and learn how to enjoy our astronomy hobbies right here in our own state.
Presented by Beth Bero
June 14th – Summer Skies
Join us on a cosmic journey, navigating our summer skies: the stars, the constellations, many beautiful deep sky objects, and perhaps even some historical tales about them. We will also use our sky dome simulation projector to show where in the sky all these are located.
Presented by Cyril Bryan
June 21st – Summer Skies
Join us on a cosmic journey, navigating our summer skies: the stars, the constellations, many beautiful deep sky objects, and perhaps even some historical tales about them. We will also use our sky dome simulation projector to show where in the sky all these are located.
Presented by Cyril Bryan
June 28th – Variable Stars
Stars that change brightness have been known for thousands of years, but those that do it regularly and predictably turned out to hold the key to unlocking our understanding of the distances in our Universe! Come and find out about this fascinating story, and learn about observing variable stars.
Presented by Alex Hall
