BASS -- Boulder Astronomy and Space Society

Calendar of Events

April 2010
Sat., Apr 17	7 pm	Sommers-Bausch Observatory	BASS Meeting. Mr. Aaron Reid of the local Colorado chapter of the IDA will talk to us about light pollution, the impact of light pollution on observing, and ways we can help to mitigate light pollution in our own backyards. The remainder of the meeting, and afterwards will address basic observing tips and tricks!
Sat., Apr 24	12 pm - 10 pm	Sommers-Bausch Observatory	Astronomy Day. Public open house at Sommers-Bausch Observatory and Fiske Planetarium. FREE! Free talks and science demonstrations all day. Great family events. Public observing with SBO telescopes after dark. BASS volunteers needed - we'll have a collection of amateur equipment and solar telescopes on the SBO observing deck during the day, and we'll give the public a chance to look through our telescopes in the evening (the public is often impressed that the views in some of our equipment can be as good or better than the SBO deck telescopes).
May 2010
Sat., May 15	7 pm	Sommers-Bausch Observatory	BASS Meeting. "Spring Time is Galaxy Time". We'll take a tour of the galaxies to be found in small scopes from Virgo through Coma Berenices, Canes Venatici , and up into Ursa Major. Observing to follow.
June 2010
Jun 9th - 13th			Regional Star Party: Rocky Mountain Star Stare : http://www.rmss.org/
Jun 11th - 13th			Regional Star Party: Western Colorado Astronomy Club 2010 Star Party : http://www.wcacastronomy.org/page6.html
Jun 11th - 14th			Regional Star Party: Western Nebraska Star Gaze : http://www.panhandleastronomyclub.com/StarGaze.htm
Sat., Jun 19	Time TBD	VP's Residence	BASS Annual Summer Potluck and Meeting. The third annual summer potluck and grillin' star party.
July 2010
Sat., July 17	7 pm	Sommers-Bausch Observatory	BASS Meeting.
Jul 31st		CU Boulder Campus	Astronomical Society of the Pacific : 122nd Annual Meeting and Cosmos in the Classroom conference: Kickoff public day. BASS volunteers needed for pubic astronomy day support to open the conference. http://www.astrosociety.org/
August 2010
Aug 1st - 4th		CU Boulder Campus	Astronomical Society of the Pacific : 122nd Annual Meeting and Cosmos in the Classroom conference: BASS volunteers needed for a conference attendees star party on Tuesday evening, August 3rd. BASS members who volunteer to support the conference will be eligible for complementary admission to the conference. http://www.astrosociety.org/
Aug 5th - 7th			Regional Star Party: Weekend under the Stars : http://home.bresnan.net/~curranm/wuts.html CANCELED due to Forest Service work in the area combating beetle killed trees. See the WUTS web site above for details on a smaller and much less formal star party that CAS and LASSO are to putting together.
Aug 8th - 13th			Regional Star Party: The Nebraska Star Party : http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/
Sat., Aug 21	7 pm		BASS Meeting.

If there is a topic you would like to present at a meeting or a topic you would like to see presented, please contact BASS.

All meetings are at the Sommers-Bausch Observatory at 7 PM unless described otherwise. From Broadway, enter the CU campus at Regent Drive and turn right onto Kittredge Loop Drive. Parking is free after 5PM in lot #418-419 off of Kittredge east of the observatory or lot #308 west of the Fiske Planetarium, see the map for more detail. Handicapped parking and a ramp are also available from lot #418-419.

Map to Sommers-Bausch and Fiske Planetarium

BASS meetings are the third Saturday of the month whenever possible. Occasionally we have to move a meeting due to sporting events on campus, which can access difficult to impossible. The default location for BASS meetings is the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, however, we may occasionally move the meeting location.

Past Presenters at BASS Meetings

Randy Cunningham of AstroSystems
Dr. Nahum Arav, University of Colorado (now at Virginia Tech)
Dr. Michael Shull, professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado
Dr. Dan Baker, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Dr. Nick Schneider, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Ashleigh Mcfadden, Inishowen Maritime Museum and Planetarium
Dr. Bill Farrand, Space Science Institute
Dr. Fran Bagenal, University of Colorado
Dr. Bob Pappalardo, University of Colorado (Now at JPL)
Dr. Erica Ellingson, University of Colorado
Bryan White of nitescapes3d.com
Dr. Dan Durda, Southwest Research Institute
Keith Gleason, Observatory Manager at SBO
Dr. Suzanne Traub-Metlay, University of Colorado
Don Hampton, Ball Aerospace

Public Star Parties and Classes:

BASS members often share their love of the night sky by helping out at local public star parties. Often hosted by schools these events give the public a chance to look through telescopes (often for the first time). When BASS is asked to help out with an event, we will send out an announcement via our club email list and post the event here on the club web page. To get on our email list for these events just send mail to BASS and we will keep you up to date. (Note: the society's email list is for internal use only and is not sold or distributed to commercial vendors)

Club Star Parties:

Star parties are gatherings to share the experience of viewing the night sky. Bring your telescope or binoculars, or just bring yourself and come look through other members equipment. It is a great way to try before you buy, or to learn from more experienced users how to get the most out of your own equipment. Plus it provides a nice social venue to just share and learn the night sky. As one would expect, star parties are subject to the weather. Luckily, Colorado has a lot of clear skies.

There are often short notice or impromptu star parties. Most BASS members use the Front Range Astronomy Community (FRAC) email list to communicate with other amateur astronomers in the area and to plan observing trips. Sign up for the FRAC email list here.