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The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society is the oldest organization of its kind in Michigan and one of the largest. Its purpose is to promote the exchange of information among those with a common interest in all areas of astronomy, to educate the public about astronomical discoveries and events and to cooperate with other amateur and professional astronomical organizations.

Our membership consists of people from all walks of life, educational backgrounds and ages.  The majority of the membership are novices or armchair astronomers; most don't even own a telescope. Therefore, you don't need any technical knowledge or fancy equipment to be a part of the KAS. Please consider attending a meeting or joining us under a starry sky.



07/02 Free Lecture at Kingman Museum
WMU Professor of Astronomy and KAS member Dr. Kirk Korista will give a talk entitled Galaxies through Cosmic Space and Time at the Kingman Museum in Battle Creek on Tuesday, July 7th at 6:00 pm. Admission is free. For more information please visit the Kingman Museum's web site.
06/27 General Meeting Delayed One Week
As usual, the July General Meeting will be delayed one week due to the Independence Day holiday weekend. Join us in Rood Hall, located on the main campus of WMU, on July 10th. The theme of the July meeting will be "Gadget Night". Members will share their innovative creations or favorite astronomical accessories. As an added bonus Bill Nigg will lead an eyepiece cleaning workshop. Bring your dirty eyepieces and get them sparkling again! Check out the schedule page for more info.
06/01 Autographed Books by the Bad Astronomer
We have a limited number of copies of Bad Astronomy and Death from the Skies! still available. They have been personally autographed by Dr. Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, and we're selling them at no additional cost. Order your copies now before they're gone. All proceeds go toward the outreach and educational programming of the KAS. Visit the SkyShop for more information.
05/31 Astronomy Day 2009 a Stellar Success
Astronomy Day 2009 was a great success.  We'd like to thank the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and Kalamazoo Nature Center for hosting our event. We'd especially like to thank all the KAS members that volunteered their time; without which this event would not have been possible. A full report and many images will be posted on KAS Online soon.  If you attended Astronomy Day, please tell us your thoughts.
You can also follow the latest KAS news and events on Twitter.



Thursday, July 9th
The 5th magnitude star Mu Capricorni will be about 19 arcminutes north-northwest of Jupiter during the early morning hours of July 9th. Distant Neptune will be 17 arcminutes to the north of Mu Capricorni. At a distance of over 29 Astronomical Units, Neptune will appear as a tiny 7.8 magnitude dark blue dot. The entire scene can be viewed with medium to low power eyepieces.

July 18th - July 19th
Early morning risers have all the luck in July. The Pleiades, Mars, Aldebaran, and Venus form an inverted celestial L at dawn on July 18th and 19th.  Look due east about an hour before sunrise. The Waning Crescent Moon will be about 4º to the upper right of faint Mars on the 18th and about 6º to  the left of brilliant Venus on the 19th.
Check out Abrams Planetarium's Night Sky Notes for more highlights.



07/02 Fermi Telescope Probes Dozens of Pulsars
With NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, astronomers now are getting their best look at those whirling stellar cinders known as pulsars. In two studies published in the July 2nd edition of Science Express, international teams have analyzed gamma-rays from two dozen pulsars, including 16 discovered by Fermi. Fermi is the first spacecraft able to identify pulsars by their gamma-ray emission alone.
07/02 Phoenix Results Point To Martian Climate Cycles
Favorable chemistry and episodes with thin films of liquid water during ongoing, long-term climate cycles may sometimes make the area where NASA's Phoenix Mars mission landed last year a favorable environment for microbes.
06/25 Mars Rover Yielding New Clues While Lodged in Martian Soil
NASA's Mars rover Spirit, lodged in Martian soil that is causing traction trouble, is taking advantage of the situation by learning more about the Red Planet's environmental history.
06/24 Salt Hints at Ocean within Saturn's Moon
For the first time, scientists working on NASA's Cassini mission have detected sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn's outermost ring. Detecting salty ice indicates that Saturn's moon Enceladus, which primarily replenishes the ring with material from discharging jets, could harbor a reservoir of liquid water - perhaps an ocean - beneath its surface.
06/03 Titan's Clouds Hang on to Summer
Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have monitored Titan's atmosphere for three-and-a-half years, between July 2004 and December 2007, and observed more than 200 clouds. They found that the way these clouds are distributed around Titan matches scientists' global circulation models. The only exception is timing -- clouds are still noticeable in the southern hemisphere while fall is approaching.
Browse the NASA News Archive.


Amateur Astronomers (9:52)


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