BLOG HOME
Bob was an amateur astronomer par excellence. He was deeply immersed in virtually all aspects of the hobby: visual observing, variable star, lunar and planetary, occultations and grazes, eclipses, and solar phenomena. He was fluent in the technical language and theory underlying all of these areas.
(more…)
Richard “Doc” Greiner joined MAS in 1995 and remained active in the club until his death two decades later. He served two terms as its president, from 1999–2001. Doc (as he was known to everyone) spent his career as a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW Madison from 1957 to 1992.
(more…)
It’s hard to overstate LeRoy Yanna’s impact on the the Madison Astronomical Society. The club’s current dark sky site, the Yanna Research Station (YRS), was named in his honor after Yanna donated much of the Green County land on which the observatory rests.
(more…)MAS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization – donations are tax-deductible. We are adding e-commerce options to make it easier to direct donations to the club. Until we have that up and running, please contact the treasurer at the link below to inquire about a donation.
Use the link above to send a general inquiry to the club.
You can also find us on the following social media:
MAS Membership Form (download)
Why join?
Membership has its privileges. Here are a few things you get:
While MAS is a club oriented around the science of astronomy, the experience is really centered around the people you’ll meet. One former member remarked that, for him, membership was “about meeting with people who, like me, are science oriented.” Likewise, another remembered, “I was never much of an observer, but I loved going out with folks and looking through their scopes.”
MAS is preparing an online payment system for memberships and renewals. For now though, download the membership form via the above link, fill it out, and bring it to a meeting or mail it to the address provided on the form.
Members
MAS partners with The Madison Top Company to provide quality MAS branded merch. Go to our merch store to learn more and purchase your MAS items! A portion of each purchase comes back to our general fund to help the club in its education and outreach mission.
Not all MAS members are active observers, but for those who are, we have a variety of options to appeal to all levels of expertise:
Public Events
MAS hosts several events for the public every year. Public events are outreach opportunities, designed around sharing the joys of telescopic observation with the public. You will find these events listed under “Public Events” at the top left when you visit our home page. These events include public star parties like our annual Moon Over Monona Terrace event as well as other options that take place in city or county parks and other locations as indicated. If you’d like to suggest a public event for your group, please send us an email at madisonastro.info@gmail.com.
Club Events
Unlike public events, club events are advertised only to our members and their invited guests. These events generally take place at our observatory, the Yanna Research Station (see below). These take place once per month near the new moon. These club events generally run all year long but may be canceled due to clouds or other inclement weather. The club always announces such events ahead of time (via email to members) and also lets you know if they are canceled.
Spontaneous Observing
Many observing opportunities are not scheduled ahead of time. Often our members (who are always watching weather conditions) will note that Friday (or Saturday, or whatever) looks like a great night. Messages will be exchanged, plans will be made, and before you know it, several people gather at YRS for an impromptu evening of observing, socializing, and camaraderie. Communications like this usually arise via email, our Google Observers group, Facebook posts, or even text messages among members.
Yanna Research Station
YRS is the Society’s dark sky site. It is in Green County, about a 25 minute drive south of Madison. It has a heated and air conditioned clubhouse, a vault-toilet, several observatories, and plenty of concrete pads with electrical service for members to set up their own equipment. There is no water available on site. YRS is for the exclusive use of MAS members and their guests, and it is where we hold our star parties, annual picnic, and other events. Any member may use all of MAS’s facilities at YRS after a short training session with the observatory director or designee. If you don’t have a telescope of your own, you can even borrow one of ours; there are several stored in the clubhouse.