The Longmont Astronomical Society is a non-profit amateur astronomy club based in Longmont, Colorado. The club was founded in 1987 by people enthused about astronomy and who were looking for an avenue to share their enthusiasm with others of like interest. Since then the club's roster has grown to around 30 members that embody all levels of experience and interest. Membership in the L.A.S. is open to all people of any age and membership dues are $20 per year.
The Longmont Astronomical Society's main goal is to promote local amateur astronomy. This is accomplished through regular monthly meetings, star parties and public observing sessions. Regular meetings are held every month (except December) on the third Thursday, the location being Longmont Christian School at 550 North Coffman Street in Longmont. Meetings are open to the public and begin at 7:30 PM. A broad spectrum of topics are covered at the meetings and include such things as making your own telescope, deep sky observing, grinding your own optics, equipment demonstrations and astrophotography just to name a few. These subjects are presented by both club members as well as special guests who are professionals in their individual fields of vocation.
In basic form, a star party is an informal gathering of people with one purpose in mind: to observe astronomical phenomena. Attendance is always optional and groups can be as small as two or as large as 30. Many members bring their own telescopes and related observing equipment, but one doesn't have to own any kind of telescope to enjoy an L.A.S. star party. Members are eager to share their knowledge and celestial views with both newcomers and experienced observers alike. Star parties are also an excellent place to learn about the night sky and to discover the types of views diverse astronomical instruments provide. Of course, as any astronomer knows, star parties are highly weather dependent and we have yet to devise a telescope that can see through clouds!
Membership in the Longmont Astronomical Society offers the opportunity to expand your horizons in the science of astronomy. Through the monthly meetings, star parties and general camaraderie of members much can be gained. The club also publishes a monthly newsletter that includes informative articles from members, a calendar of events, a monthly star chart and maps to star party locations. Additionally, the L.A.S. also offers access to observing hardware. The club currently owns three telescopes, two of which are available for member checkout. These include a club built 10" Newtonian for nighttime observing and a six inch solar telescope designed specifically for observing the sun safely. The third telescope is a classic Cave 10" Newtonian on a full equatorial mount, however this instrument is usually not available for general checkout due to its weight and complexity. The club would ultimately like to find a permanent observatory site for this telescope!
If learning more about the wonderful science of astronomy sounds appealing and you would like more information, contact one of the club officers listed below. Better yet, come to one of our monthly meetings - we'd enjoy seeing you there!
President: Thom Peck 962-9695 Vice President: Randy Cunningham 587-5838 Secretary/Treasurer: Bob Ross 673-9910 Newsletter Editor: Kevin Brose 772-9160 ALCOR: Bob Spohn 772-1470
(Back to L.A.S.) -- _ __ __ [ |/ /__ _ __ _ _ [ .\ __ ___ __ Kevin Brose [ /| _| \/ /_ | \ | | [ /| .\ _ / _/| _| Hewlett-Packard Loveland [ \| _ \ /| || \| | [ .\| //.\ _\ \ | _ kevinb@lvld.hp.com [_|\_|__| \/ |_||_\ __| [__/|_ \\_//___/ |__| 970-679-2428 One of the nice things about standards is that there are so many of them.