Join us on Friday December 19, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the VBAS Planetarium for our monthly member meeting. Admission is open to the public.
Apollo 8
In 1968 the Space Race was in full tilt. The Apollo program was on schedule to make it to the Moon before the end of the decade. However, reports held that the Russians were still ahead of NASA to get to the moon. To further complicate the issue, the Lunar Excursion Moduel (LEM), the vehicle necessary to land on the moon and that Apollo 8 was supposed to test in Earth orbit only, was not going to be ready for the scheduled test flight. In a classified meeting and with only a few months left to prepare, NASA charged Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Boreman, Jim Lovel, and Bill Anders with a new mission. They would no longer be testing the LEM in Earth orbit. They would go without the LEM and orbit the Moon before Christmas. As a result, these three astronauts would become the first people to leave Earth orbit and see the far side of the Moon. As part of their new mission, they were to photograph the surface of the Moon and find an adequate landing site for the upcoming Apollo 11 mission. But what they discovered and photographed on December 24th, on their fourth orbit around the moon, was nothing anyone anticipated or planned for.
We have a special treat for those attending our Stars Fell on Alabama show this coming Saturday night, November 15! VBAS member Lonnie Puterbaugh will bring his amazing meteorite collection to share with us. ‘Space Rocks!’ is an extensive traveling meteorite exhibit consisting of over 70 meteorites. The specimens originate mostly from the main asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter, but also include Mars and several Moon pieces. A few specimens born in the solar nebula predate Earth by several hundred million years to multi billions of years and contain water and amino acids. The exhibit includes very unique colorful meteorites rarely observed by even professional astrophysicists.
The planetarium doors will open at 6:30 pm ahead of the 7:30 pm program and the meteorites will also be available for viewing afterwards.
Boo! Join us for a fun and child-friendly look at the scarier side of the autumn night sky. Learn about ancient traditions based on observations of the night sky and take a look at some scary nebulas! Costumes for ages 12 and under welcome. Treats available after the show.
Presented by Beth Bero
November 8th – The History of VBAS
In honor of VBAS 70th Anniversary our program tonight will highlight some
of the history of our organization.
Presented by Gena Crook
November 15th – Stars Fell on Alabama
Come celebrate our Alabama heritage as seen through the lens of meteorites and meteor showers! Objects both large and small have landed in Alabama, both in deep history and more recently. Learn how we observe such occurrences every night and how you can search for rocks that fall on Alabama.
Presented by Beth Bero
November 22nd – 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.
We can use the star projector in the planetarium to pretend to fly anywhere on Earth – like a magic carpet! Gena Crook will demonstrate the motion of the stars across the sky at the equator, the north pole, and the southern hemisphere. We will also watch how the sun changes positions at these locations. You may be surprised if you haven’t actually been to the equator or the north pole in person! This program will put the star projector to work and allow us to see its unique educational capabilities.
Presented by Gena Crook
October 11th – The Universe is Trying to Kill You
Beyond the calamities that face us here on our planet, there are other forces in the universe that can do us in. Since our planet formed, it has been under constant threat of annihilation from both terrestrial and extraterrestrial influences. Disastrous terrestrial events pale in comparison to what lies out in the solar system and beyond that could cause our ultimate demise, such as giant meteors, comets, asteroids, exploding stars, and more. Join us as we take a somewhat lighthearted look at the dark shadow of doom that awaits us from within our solar system and the deep recesses of the universe.
Presented by Jared Cassidy
October 18th – Spooky Skies
Boo! Join us for a fun and child-friendly look at the scarier side of the autumn night sky. Learn about ancient traditions based on observations of the night sky and take a look at some scary nebulas! Costumes for ages 12 and under welcome. Treats available after the show.
Presented by Maggie Sexton
October 25th – Spooky Skies
Boo! Join us for a fun and child-friendly look at the scarier side of the autumn night sky. Learn about ancient traditions based on observations of the night sky and take a look at some scary nebulas! Costumes for ages 12 and under welcome. Treats available after the show.
Launched in August 2011, The Juno spacecraft travelled for five years to reach the king of the planets, Juputer. Juno has been in Jupiter’s orbit for a little over nine years and has provided a wealth of information about Jupiter and its surroundings. Join us to learn about the discoveries made by Juno about Jupiter’s interior, atmosphere, auroras, Galilean moons, rings, radiation belts, other moons, and magnetosphere.
Presented by Naveen Vetcha
September 13th – Autumn Skies
The Summer Triangle hangs in the west and the less brilliant stars of fall are climbing high in the sky. The geometry of where the Earth is in its orbit around the Sun in the fall allows us a view out into the depths of the Universe. Come and learn what there is to see with your eyes, binoculars or a telescope.
Presented by Alex Hall
September 20th – History of Huntsville and VBAS
The histories of Huntsville and the Von Braun Astronomical Society are intertwined. Come along and let’s learn about this fascinating history.
Presented by Beth Bero
September 27th – Astronomy Day
The VBAS planetarium volunteers will be taking turns giving mini planetarium shows on topics of their choice while we are open for Astronomy Day.
Learn about the history of planetariums, the “recent” projector technology, and the possible future of star viewing indoors.
Presented by Tom Burlington
August 9th – Choosing a Telescop
So, you are interested in astronomy. You may be wondering: What gear do I need to get involved? We are here to help you! We will show how to best meet your interests, and avoid the most common costs & frustrations, at all common budget levels, in this our wonderful hobby.
Presented by Cyril Bryan
August 16th – Choosing a Telescop
So, you are interested in astronomy. You may be wondering: What gear do I need to get involved? We are here to help you! We will show how to best meet your interests, and avoid the most common costs & frustrations, at all common budget levels, in this our wonderful hobby.
Presented by Cyril Bryan
August 23rd – Exoplanets
Extrasolar Planets (Exoplanets) are planets that are outside our solar system. Since the discovery of first exoplanet in early 90s, the field of exoplanet research has expanded rapidly and resulted in the discovery of close to 6000 exoplanets so far. Some of these orbit other stars and some are just freely floating in the vacuum of space. Studying these objects helps us understand our own solar system. Join us and learn all about these fascinating worlds.
Presented by Naveen Vetcha
August 30th – Life in the Universe
Well, we’re looking for it. Life in places other than Earth, that is. The Clipper Mission is on its way to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. And the James Webb Space Telescope has a super interesting technique for looking for evidence of life on exoplanets. You’ll want to join us at the VBAS planetarium tonight so you can learn about how we’re searching. If you have some knowledge in your noggin’ then you’ll be prepared to be really excited when news of a discovery breaks.
Von Braun Astronomical Society will celebrate Astronomy Day on September 27th in person at Monte Sano State Park! Daytime events (between 1 – 5 pm) will include: mini-planetarium shows, Telescope tours, and Meteor radar demos. Evening events (between 7:30 – 9 pm) will include a keynote speech followed by a planetarium show.
Astronomy Day is FREE and open to the public!
7:30 PM Keynote talk by Mr. Rod Pyle
Silver Dust and Red Dreams: The Moon and Mars Circa 1950
Rod Pyle is a space author, journalist, and historian who has authored 20 books on space history, exploration and development for major publishers and NASA that have been released in ten languages. He is the Editor-in-Chief for the National Space Society’s quarterly print magazine Ad Astra and his articles have appeared in Space.com, LiveScience, Futurity, Huffington Post, Popular Science, the BBC’s Sky at Night, the World Economic Forum, Caltech’s E&S magazine, and WIRED. Rod has written extensively for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, including Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s annual Technology Highlights book. Rod co-authored and lectured for the Apollo Executive Leadership Program for NASA’s Johnson Space Center and The Conference Board. His recent books include Space 2.0 (with a foreword by Buzz Aldrin), Interplanetary Robots, Heroes of the Space Age, and First on the Moon (also with a foreword by Aldrin). Both First on the Moon and Rod’s previous Missions to the Moon (foreword by Gene Kranz) were national bestsellers and translated into multiple languages. He was recently commissioned by
the Library of Congress to write the preface for Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon for its
accession to the permanent collection.
Rod has also produced or consulted on multiple space documentaries for The History Channel, Discovery Communications and National Geographic. He also worked in visual effects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Battlestar Galactica 2004 reboot, as well as sci-fi TV pilots. Rod was a consulting producer on the National Geographic documentaries Apollo 11 and The Real Stuff (based on Tom Wolfe's iconic book The Right Stuff).
Rod is an advisor for the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP), a NASA-affiliated Mars analog base in the High Arctic. Besides assisting with fieldwork there, he handles publicity and outreach for HMP and the Mars Institute with Dr. Pascal Lee.
Rod can be seen on The History Channel’s UnXplained: With William Shatner and is a regular guest on national radio with KFI/Los Angeles, WABC/New York, and WGN/Chicago as well as popular podcasts and radio in other markets. Rod co-hosts and produces the This Week in Space with Space.com’s Tariq Malik. He holds an MA from Stanford University and a BFA from
the Art Center College of Design, and lives in Alhambra, California.
Join us on Friday July 18, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the VBAS Planetarium for our monthly member meeting. Admission is open to the public.
NASA Meteor Monitoring at VBAS
Our topic will be: NASA Meteor Monitoring at VBAS with NASA specialist Dr. Bill Cooke. The Global Meteor Network is a Canada based project with sites all over the world collecting and reporting data on meteor strikes in Earth’s atmosphere. Each site uses a visual camera and specialized software to monitor the night sky for meteors. Each day, calibrated data from the previous night is reported back to a central database. More info available at https://globalmeteornetwork.org
Bill Cooke’s team at NASA participate in the network and one of their cameras is now mounted at the VBAS Swanson observatory. The VBAS station is called USN009 and you can access the latest and archived data from this station through the VBAS website on our Sky Conditions page or at https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/US/.
Please enjoy the following video with details about our newly planted “moon tree” and updates on its growth. Produced by Greyden Kutner – our very own student director!
