About the MAS Online Communities

The Minnesota Astronomical Society provides two options for online communities – Slack and the Forum.

Both Slack and the Forum are optional resources, and require people to OPT-IN.  New members will receive information about these communities in their welcome letters.

Lastly, for those who wish to receive the Weekly Happenings and Gemini newsletters by email, simply fill out the form below to be added to the email list.

​Slack is a team chat platform for MAS members only.  Access to Slack must be requested at the email below.

Within Slack, we have topic-specific channels set up that you can subscribe to. You can change your notification settings on a channel by channel basis.  Private discussion channels can also be configured by users.  Real-time team audio and video are available through Slack ‘huddles’.  Posted images are of very good quality.

Slack is easily accessed on any web browser and on Android and iOS apps.

MAS members in good standing can request Slack access by sending an email to slack@mnastro.org.

The MAS Forum is a traditional web-based discussion board powered by phpBB.  The Forum is open to MAS members and non-members.

Forums are home to the MAS Special interest Group (SIG) discussions, as well as club announcements, events, equipment discussions, and MAS operations.  There are special discussion groups for observatory Keyholders. 

Connect with other members and friends of the MAS through online astronomy discussion forums, ranging in topic from general astronomy to space exploration. There are also a number of special interest groups centered around specialized topics.

Anyone can sign-up for the MAS Forum from the main page using the Register link on the top of the page.

Email Sign-up

Fill out this form to receive the Weekly Happenings and Gemini newsletters to your email inbox.  These both are free and MAS membership is not required.