What we’re about
We are a group of people in the Mid-Hudson Valley who are interested in Astronomy and Science. We hold monthly star parties at Lake Taghkanic State Park, and monthly presentations at SUNY New Paltz -- both open to the public.
Our star parties are generally held on the Friday before a new moon (with Saturday as a back-up). The dates are listed our web page about Astronomy at Lake Taghkanic State Park. You must register to attend the event (here on Meetup) and you will need to provide your car's license plate and make and model so that we can give that info to the park police. You can see the forecast for viewing conditions on the Lake Taghkanic State Park Clear Sky Chart. If you will be attending one of our star parties it may help for you to review our MHAA Etiquette Guide.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic we hold our monthly meetings both in person at SUNY New Paltz and share then live online using Zoom.
We also participate in local education and outreach events; our members are available to make presentations or arrange for public observations of the night sky or the sun, and to help beginners learn how to get started in astronomy. When the weather allows, we often set up telescopes on the Walkway Over the Hudson when they hold their Walkway At Night events.
Club events are listed on the MHAA Google Calendar. Both our Star Parties and our Monthly Presentations are open to the public. (Our Monthly Presentations are preceded by an open club business meeting, which may be less interesting.)
Recordings of our public presentations, some star parties, and some other activities are available on our YouTube channel. Occasionally our events are also announced (and broadcast and recorded) on Facebook. If you would like to keep up with club news then you can follow us by joining our email list on groups.io. None of these require you to become an MHAA member.
If you are interested in becoming a member of MHAA (not just following us here on Meetup or by email or Facebook) then you can use these instructions. Annual dues are $25, which we use to support our activities, including insurance for our star parties and paying for Zoom. MHAA members can borrow club telescopes or DVDs from our collection and can participate in exclusive discussions on our Slack discussion channels.
Donations are always welcomed to help support the club's education and outreach activities. You can use this PayPal link or send email to treasurer@midhusonastro.org.
If you have any questions, send them to questions@midhudsonastro.org.
