MAS Happenings – April 8 2025

by Kris | Apr 8, 2025 | MAS Happenings

Happenings this Week

Dear Diary,These cloudy and cold winter months have left me spending too much time indoors on my couch, feeling down in the dumps. I’m starting to sense my Open Clusters project binder STARING AT ME OMINOUSLY from my coffee table. And whispering. Do binders have eyes? Is my binder SPEAKING? Or the star clusters are speaking to me? THROUGH THE BINDER? What are they saying? Geet ut dar and ops server?? Am I losing my mind?????????

Oops, I meant to paste in my Happenings notes rather than my personal diary entry!

Here are those Happenings notes:

* BSIG Winter Presentation Featuring Jerry Jones

* JJC Keyholder Training

* Registration for the Northern Nights Star Festival (NNSF) is now open…dates correction from last week

BSIG Winter Presentation
Saturday, April 12
1:00 – 3:00 PM CST

The MAS invites everyone to the virtual Beginners Special Interest Group (BSIG) presentation using ZOOM.

Featured Speaker: Jerry Jones, MAS Astronomical League Coordinator

Topic: Astronomical League (AL) Programs: Get Out There and Observe!

This is the final virtual meeting of the 24-25 winter season. (The BSIG will be out on the observing field later in April.)

“With warmer (and hopefully clearer) weather on the horizon, it’s time to gear up for the upcoming observing season!! Jerry Jones – MAS’s AL observing awards coordinator and Silver Level Master Observer – will offer some suggestions as to how to do that. Along with looking at the AL (Astronomical League) beginner observing projects, Jerry will suggest certain books and star charts that might be helpful, along with other observing aids, both electronic and manual.”

Jerry is a prolific observer, an excellent speaker, and our club’s resident cool dude! You can usually find him out on the observing field with his Dobsonian or Questar, searching for faint fuzzies on his observing list. As the MAS’s AL observing awards coordinator (and former Observing Chair), he speaks frequently about various ways to get involved in observing. The Astronomical League provides our members with many excellent visual/imaging/spectroscopy programs to help you learn the sky and build your observing knowledge.

More information on how to attend this meeting on ZOOM can be found here:

BSIG Virtual ZOOM Meeting

Joseph J. Casby (JJC)

Key Holder Training
Saturday, April 12
12:00 PM CST

Orientation to Belwin Conservancy (required for new trainees) will start promptly at 12 noon. Keyholder refresher training will begin at 12:30 pm. All MAS members in good standing (18 years and older) are welcome to become JJC keyholders. New trainees and keyholders wanting a refresher are welcome.

Please check the JJC Observatory Discussion on the MAS Forum for more information and to post questions.

NNSD Drone Shot. (c) Bill Kocken - used with permission

Northern Nights Star Fest (NNSF)

August 20-25, 2025
Registration is now open!

We know you’ve been waiting. Don’t miss one of the best MAS astronomy events of the year.

Click here for more information: 2025 Northern Nights Star Fest – Minnesota Astronomical Society

To register, click the button below:

NNSF 2025 Registration

NCRAL 2025 Convention

(North Central Region of the Astronomical League)
April 25-26, 2025

It’s not too late to register. Visit the NCRAL Conference website or Facebook page
by clicking the buttons:

NCRAL 2025

NCRAL 2025 on Facebook

Become a MAS Presenter!

We would like to enhance our monthly meetings and encourage our members to share your work and passion. Put together a 10–15-minute presentation about the astronomy topic that interests you (and quite probably the rest of the MAS).

Topics include – but are not limited to:

* Observing campaigns

* Astronomical objects

* History topics

* Adventures to dark skies and astronomical sites around the world

* ATM projects – show & tell

* Restoration projects

* Outreach projects

* Observing or Imaging techniques

* Research topics

* Software and telescope how-tos

* Manned or robotic space missions

* And even ‘Better Know a Constellation’!

The presentation is best done live at the meeting but can be done through Zoom if you are joining remotely. If you have something to share, please send an email to the Programs Coordinator Ahmed Reda at programs@mnastro.org

Observatory Training –
Save the Dates for 2025!

Eagle Lake Observatory (ELO):
Saturday, April 19
Saturday, May 17
Saturday, June 14
Saturday, July 26
Saturday, August 16
Saturday, September 13
Saturday, October 11Joseph J. Casby (JJC) Keyholder Training:
Saturday, April 12
Saturday, May 10
Saturday, June 7
Sunday, July 13
Saturday, September 13
Sunday, October 5

Cherry Grove Observatory (CGO) Keyholder Training:
Friday, April 18*
Friday, May 23
Friday, June 20*
Friday, July 25*
Friday, September 19
Friday, October 17*

Site training dates are for the Warming House, Observatory, LX-200, and Big Aperture Dobsonian (BAD). Dates with asterisks are training dates for the imaging rig.

Long Lake Conservation Center (LLCC):
Keyholder training will be part of the Northern Nights Star Festival (NNSF) on Wednesday, August 20-Monday, August 25

MAS on YouTube

The April Monthly Meeting is available in case you missed it. Follow the MAS YouTube channel to watch these meetings and other content you may have missed! Click the button below.

Watch Previous Meetings

Get Involved, Become a Member, Volunteer!

https://www.mnastro.org/about/beginners/
https://www.mnastro.org/membership/benefits/

MAS Store

Find MAS logo apparel and items at the MAS Store by clicking the button below.

MAS Store

Email Updates

Emails from MAS will be going out on Tuesday’s but only if there are announcements. If you have something that needs sharing to all please email secretary@mnastro.org by Thursday/Friday for the following Tuesday notice.

Thank you -Claire Weaverling, MAS Secretary

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Find Out More – MAS Homepage