Evansville Astronomical Society’s next public star watch is 7:30-1 p.m. May 17, 2024, at the Wahnsiedler Observatory.
While the Tri-State counts down to the solar eclipse that will be overhead in April 2024, one area group is basking in the glow of its passion rising to the headlines.
The Evansville Astronomical Society traces its roots to celestial enthusiasts in the 1930s. After a few decades of nomadic life, the group received its non-profit status in 1963 and made its home at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science.
The society typically meets the third Friday of the month at Wahnsiedler Observatory, which sits on one acre at Lynnville Park in Lynnville, Indiana, in Warrick County. Built and dedicated in 1980, the observatory — named for late schoolteacher, philanthropist, and EAS president Walter Wahnsiedler — contains a dome housing a 14-inch Celestron Schmitt-Cassegrain telescope and a refractor. The society also has access to a pair of portable Dobsonian telescopes, a solar telescope composed of a Coronado 40mm refractor with H-alpha filter, and a small portable tracking mount.
“EAS brings the stars to the people,” society president Tony Bryan says. “Not only do we have telescopes to view from at our star parties and other public events, we also have amateur astronomers ready and willing to share their knowledge of the night sky.”
The 45-member group also holds astronomy-related events at Patoka Lake and the Evansville Museum, as well as public star watches at the Lynnville observatory where the public can join members for a free evening of stargazing. Some- times, the events coincide with phenomena such as comets, eclipses, and meteor showers.
EAS is coordinating educational events and star watches in the yearlong lead-up to the society’s big moment in the sun, but still makes time for everyday activities, including enjoying the re- cent appearance of aurora borealis in the U.S.
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