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Twin City Amateur Astronomers
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Public Observing Sessions

From March through October, the TCAA holds monthly observing sessions that are open to the public. The sessions are held at our observatory at the Sugar Grove Nature Center, a dark sky site southwest of Bloomington.
In 2010, we will hold the following observing sessions Additional prominent sky objects such as planets, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies will be viewed when visible.
DateFeature ObjectTime
March 20Crescent Moon and Mars7:30pm - 9:30pm
April 24Gibbous Moon and Saturn8:30pm - 10:30pm
May 22Variable Stars9:00pm - 11:00pm
June 19Virgo Cluster of Galaxies9:00pm - 11:00pm
July 17Globular Star Clusters9:00pm - 11:00pm
August 14Planets and the Zodiac8:30pm - 10:30pm
September 11Stars of Red, White and Blue7:30pm - 9:30pm
October 16Perseus double star Cluster7:00pm - 9:00pm

A Typical Public Observing Session includes:
  • Lecture about the featured object.
    This 20-30 min. presentation, held in the SGNC picnic shelter, includes images of and details about the featured sky object as well as information on other interesting celestial objects that might be viewed that evening.
  • Sky tour using a laser pointer.
    We step out under the stars to point out the major constellations and planets, and to designate the location of the featured celestial object for the evening.
  • Telescope observing session.
    We use the 12-inch Sugar Grove Observatory telescope and other telescopes at ground level to observe the featured object and other wonders of the heavens.
You can download our 2010 Public Observing Session brochure.
If you would like to arrange a special event for your group, please contact us.