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VBAS is planning an observing event for the evening of Friday, April 1st. The first part of the evening is a “Bear Hunt”, which is an attempt to find many of the deep sky objects (DSOs) in the constellation Ursa Major, the “Big Bear” and in nearby Canes Venatici, the “Hunting Dogs”. Designed for new and experienced observers, we’ll have observing guides and fun games and certificates for finding some key objects.

The evening is also the ideal time of the year for a Messier Marathon. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want in the added effort to hunt down as many of the Messier objects as you can find in our annual Messier Marathon.

Bring your scopes and join the fun!  Setup starts at 6:30pm.

Saturdays, April 2, 9, and 30 7:30 pm
Astronomer William Herschel

William Herschel made numerous discoveries that give cause for some to call him the father of modern astronomy. His most famous discovery doubled the size of the Solar System. Come learn about this musician/composer turned astronomer/telescope maker who left forever one of the biggest marks in the history of astronomy.

Presented by Jared Cassidy

Saturday, April 9 10 and 11 am, 12 and 1 pm
The Zoo in the Sky

VBAS will be doing 45 minute planetarium shows on the hour during the North Alabama Zoological Society (NALZS) Kid’s Festival. All proceeds will go to NALZS.

Presented by Alex Hall and Gena Crook

Saturday, April 16 7:30 pm
Magic Carpet Tour

With a magic carpet we could travel anywhere we wanted, right? Tonight the planetarium star projector will become a magic carpet and take us to the north pole, the equator, and beyond! Why? So we can see the stars and the sun from different places on Earth. The sun’s path across the sky and the effects it has on earth at different locations might surprise you!

Presented by Gena Crook

Saturday, April 23 7:30 pm
Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope-one of humanity’s most successful scientific creations will turn 32 in April. For 32 years, it has been providing scientists and the public with spectacular images of most distant stars and galaxies as well as planets in our solar system. Come learn about the Hubble Space Telescope and its amazing discoveries.

Presented by Dr. Naveen Vetcha

Don’t miss the Monthly Meeting this Friday, Nov. 19, in person and on Zoom! 7:00 pm for Pizza, 7:30 pm for our speaker, Michael Buford, our Vice-President. Michael will give a presentation on “The History of Space Flight: Early Space Flight to the Future”.

Link for Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89393503262

That’s right! VBAS’s Saturday evening shows are resuming in December with this year’s Christmas show! Seating is limited and must be reserved in advance, read below for details.

All planetarium shows have limited seating and a reservation is required.  To reserve a seat go to our Events calendar and click on the date you wish to attend.  There will be a link where you can make a reservation.

Admission for a show is $5 for adults, $3 for students.  VBAS members are free.

When the sky is clear and the planetarium is open on Saturday nights there will be telescopes in the observing field after dark.  No reservation is required and there is no admission fee for this ‘star party’.  There will not be a star party if the planetarium is closed or if the sky is cloudy.

For several years, Jeff Delmas and Don Martin have been distributing guides for telescope buyers, aimed at helping beginners (and others) purchase a quality telescope. Both documents, updated for 2021, are available below.

We wanted to let everyone know that we are holding star parties at the VBAS observing field every clear Saturday night, beginning Saturday, October 16th.

Until shows reopen on December 4th, we’ll gather in the field for observing shortly before dark. If the sky is overcast viewing will be cancelled.