General Interest

(Submitted 2026-03-08) Recent events: February 6 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast and Astronomy Days load-in. February 7 & 8 – Astronomy Days (Raleigh) Coordinator: Chris C Volunteers: many Recap: Chris C – Thank you everyone who were able to volunteer there time for Astronomy Days 2026.  The final attendance count for this Astronomy Days was just over 15000 people which is surprising considering how the date was moved twice.  I…

(Submitted 2026-02-07) Recent events: January 3 – First Fridays Saturdays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast. January 15 – Museum of Life and Science Teen Science Club (Durham) Coordinator/presenter: Tony V Recap: Tony V – Last night I presented “How to Become an Amateur Astronomer” to the teen club at the Durham Museum of Life and Science. We began with hands-on planisphere exercises, giving students a chance to experience a traditional star chart–without their…

(Submitted 2025-12-31) Recent events: December 3 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Blair, Chris, Mike, and Steve B Recap: Steve B – It was a mostly clear night tonight except for the cloud of hamburger-flavored smoke from Char Grill next door, but we had approximately 25 people stop by to observe the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, the Pleiades, and M41. We were just a few miles from the path of the Moon/Pleiades occultation and hence missed it. Despite…

(Updated 2025-12-01) Recent events: November 7 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Coordinator: Naveen Volunteers: Naveen, Blair, Jesus, Kimberly, Jim, Al, Benjamin, Patrick, Marshall, Ayyavoo November 13 – The Hartwell (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Steve B, Mike, Jesus Recap: Steve B – We had about 30 people stop by the rooftop deck at The Hartwell to skywatch. Light pollution is severe at this site but we were able to view Saturn, Uranus, the Pleiades, and…

(Updated 2025-10-01) Recent events: September 5 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Coordinator: Ana V September 9 – Sanderson High School (Raleigh) Coordinator/volunteer: Tony V Recap: Tony V – I was the guest speaker representing the Ralegh Astronomy Club The Sanderson High School Astronomy Club hosted an engaging outreach event, How to Become an Amateur Astronomer, that drew a strong turnout of curious and enthusiastic students. The session offered a hands-on introduction to stargazing and the…

(Updated 2025-09-06) Recent events: August 16 – Perseid Meteors at Howell Woods (Four Oaks) Coordinator: Dana Volunteers: Dana, Marshall, Ollin, Blair, Steve B Recap: Steve B – Well, I think we saw a total of one meteor last night. Humidity was > 85% and everything dewed up by 10:00PM, but despite that the Milky Way was visible to the naked eye and we were able to get good views of M13, M7, and a few nebula. About 30 people who…

(Updated 2025-07-31) Recent events: July 12 – Second Saturday with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast July 26 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron) Coordinator: Dana Volunteers: Susan, Dean, Dana, Blair, Alan, Yvonne Recap: 45+ people attended Press coverage: Lee: Raleigh astronomers delight daytime stargazers at James Creek Cider House Upcoming events: August 1 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Coordinator: Ana V Volunteers registered: telescopes: 4/15 floaters: 2/5 August…

(Updated 2025-06-29) Recent events: June 02 – Sanderson HS (Raleigh) Coordinator/presenter: Tony V June 06 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast June 18 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Bill, Blair, Dean, Susan, Annelies, Lauren, Steve B Recap: Steve B – We had a fantastic turnout of at least 80+ people who turned out at the Willard, despite the late start and heat. Mars and various globular and…

(Updated 2025-05-31) Recent events: May 02 – First Fridays with TLC at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast May 09: Stargazing with Sagan: A Journey Through the Cosmos (Durham) Coordinator: Ana V Volunteers: Ana V, Jesus, Rob, Arun May 15 – Weatherstone ES (Cary) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteer: Steve B Recap: Steve B – Yesterday I set up a RAC table with handouts for 2+ hours at the Weatherstone Elementary School STEM event. There were hundreds of…

(Updated 2025-04-30) Recent events: March 15 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Alan, Blair, Steve B Attendees: 75 Recap: Steve B – We had a good night of observing at James Creek Cider House in Cameron on Saturday night. Despite intermittent high clouds, we were able to help approximately 75 people observe Jupiter, Mars, Orion Nebula, Pleiades, Almach, Double Cluster, M36, M37, and the Moon. Anything below 30 deg above the horizon to the W-NW…

(Updated 2025-03-18) Recent events: February 7 – First Fridays with TCL at Three Bear Acres (Creedmoor) Canceled due to weather forecast February 8 – Astronomy Night at Joyner Park (Wake Forest) Postponed to March 08 due to weather forecast February 15 – Stargazing on Tap Star Party (Cameron) Postponed to February 22 due to weather forecast February 19 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Postponed to February 26 due to weather forecast February 20 – Morrisville Community Library (Morrisville) Postponed to…

(Updated 2025-02-21) Recent events: January 23 – Buckhorn Creek ES (Holly Springs) Postponed due to weather forecast January 29 – STEAM Night: Githens MS (Durham) Coordinator: Matt L Volunteers: Matt L, Steve B Attendees: ~100 Recap: Matt L – Steve and I had a good time at Githens Middle School in Durham.  This has become an annual event as exhibitors at their STEAM night.  It was light for the first hour while we set up and spoke to students and…

(Updated 2025-01-16) Recent events: December 18 – The Willard Rooftop (Raleigh) Coordinator: Steve B Volunteers: Blair, Susan, Dean, Chris C, Steve B Attendees: 50+ Recap: Steve B – Despite intermittent clouds and a 61F dew point in mid-December (!), we were able to show 50+ attendees at The Willard Saturn, Jupiter, the Orion Nebula, and a few nebulas from Blair’s Seestar. Unfortunately we had to hurry to pack up at 9:20 PM due to incoming rain. January 3 – First…

(Updated 2024-12-10) Recent events: November 09 – TechnoQuest (Girl Scouts) (Raleigh) Coordinator/volunteer: Frank H Attendees: 33 Recap: Frank H – 30 well-behaved very attentive 6th & 7th grades who asked a lot of questions. Accompanied by three adult “aides.” I brought a mounted H-alpha solar scope and a mounted 80mm Orion Short Tube along with 5 pairs of binoculars (2 solar white light) along with an “extra” 90mm f/6.5. It was a good thing I had a lecture worked out…