MAS Happenings – February 17 2026

by | Feb 17, 2026 | MAS Happenings

If you’re a visual observer who sketches at the eyepiece, you already know the routine. Glasses fog. You swap near and far lenses. The Telrad dot jumps depending on which part of your progressive lenses you’re using. Paper gets soggy. Stars become pen blobs. And if you’re on a ladder with a big Dob, you’re constantly deciding whether to sketch at the top or sprint down and hope your memory holds.

Some nights it’s just: look, climb, wipe glasses, sketch, climb, recenter… repeat until dawn.

This is why many people become imagers.

But now… introducing the AstroScribe™ AI-Powered Verbal Sketch Assistant.

Simply describe what you see while you’re still at the eyepiece—“slightly elongated,” “fainter than expected,” “two dimmer stars off to the left.” AstroScribe™ listens and sketches in real time. When you climb back down, a complete sketch awaits you on dew-resistant astro-vellum, helpfully annotated with labels like “core,” “halo,” or “confidence questionable.”

It even talks back, with voice modes ranging from Encouraging Mentor to Skeptical Reviewer to Imager Smart-Aleck.

AstroScribe™: Because sketching shouldn’t be this hard.

All Hands on Deck for Gemini Articles!

Dear MAS Member,

As editor of the Gemini, I email the membership about once a year to invite article submissions. In past years, I’ve been fortunate to receive enough material to carry us through many issues. This past November, however, when I reached out to all 700+ members of the MAS, I received four articles along with a few promises. Several additional articles arrived later, and all of these have been published in the December and February issues.

At present, I have two articles for the April issue and none lined up beyond that. Since the Gemini depends entirely on member contributions, we need more articles in order to continue publishing it.

I’ve noticed over the years that a small percentage of members provide the majority of our newsletter content. Many long-time members have never submitted an article—and that’s who I’d especially like to encourage now. If you’ve ever thought about writing something for the newsletter, this would be a wonderful time to give it a try.

The deadline for the April issue is March 10. If that timing doesn’t work, please consider writing for a future issue. Articles should be composed in Microsoft Word, with photographs sent as separate email attachments (not embedded in the document), along with a brief description or caption for each photo.

This past year has also included some personal health challenges for me, which may have affected my record-keeping. If you’ve submitted an article and haven’t yet seen it published, please feel free to email me with the date it was sent. I may ask you to resend it, along with photos and captions, to help ensure everything is properly accounted for and published as close as possible to the order received.

My hope is that 2026 will be a year when more MAS members choose to share their experiences, projects, and ideas through the Gemini. A full inbox would make me a very happy editor.

Thank you for considering contributing.

Sincerely,
Father Brown
Gemini Editor

Click the link below to email a Gemini submission:

Beginners Special Interest Group (BSIG)
Winter Virtual Session
Saturday, February 21
1:00 PM CT

Suresh Sreenivasan will be presenting “All About Telescopes”

Synopsis:

Have you been considering getting your first telescope?  Or maybe you’re thinking about upgrading to something bigger & better?  If so, this is the presentation for you!  We’ll review the various types of telescopes most visual observers use, including refractors, reflectors and catadioptrics.  We’ll go the optical benefits of each type, and review other factors, such as portability and cost, to help you decide what you really want in your next telescope. We’ll also cover the various types of mounts and touch upon the various telescopic accessories that can make your observing more enjoyable.

Biography:

I have been an amateur astronomer for 41 years and completed the Messier and Herschel 1 lists while I was in college in Illinois.  After 35 years as a visual observer, I started migrating over to imaging.  But I still enjoy observing, particularly with my 12″ and 16″ Dobsonian telescopes.  As a visual observer, I love viewing solar system objects, such as the Sun, planets and comets, as well as deep-sky objects such as galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.  I also dabble (poorly) in stellar spectroscopy.  I have been the MAS BSIG coordinator since 2016 and really enjoy helping beginners of all ages make their initial forays into astronomy.

Click the link below for instructions to join the Zoom meeting:

The MAS Outreach Committee

is looking for volunteers!

If you’d like to volunteer for these upcoming events, please email Jessi Palmer:

Long Lake Conservation Center (LLCC) Book Donations

The MAS/LLCC Committee is collecting used astronomy books for children.

MAS partners with Long Lake Conservation Center to help support their summer Astronomy Camp for youth. One of our signature events is “book bingo”– just like regular bingo but the prizes are astronomy books. We play out the final round of bingo until everyone has won a book.

Children attending Astronomy Camp are ages 11 – 15. Ideal books are juvenile-level astronomy and space exploration books, sky observing guides (any level), and astronomy picture books (Hubble compilations, etc.). We’re especially looking for old copies of “Nightwatch” by Terence Dickinson.

Book donations can be brought to any monthly MAS meeting and given to MAS President Valts Treibergs.

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

MAS on YouTube

The February 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.

MAS Store

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

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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to make a donation. Thank you.