Sharing the wonder and excitement of astronomy!

The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association is a group of people that explore, observe, and learn about the objects in the solar system and night sky, and who enjoy sharing their knowledge. Our members vary in expertise from beginner to professional.

Don't feel that you need to own a telescope to belong to the TAAA! Many members attend observing sessions to get a feel for the kind of telescope they may someday like to buy or make.

Learn more about TAAA activities and programs.

Find out How to Join TAAA

TAAA MEMBER PHOTOGRAPHY:
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Visit the TAAA Gallery Page for image descriptions and credits.

Upcoming TAAA Meetings...

July 2, 2010 Meeting, Begins at 6:30pm

Astronomy Fundamentals Lecture 6:30pm
Title: Objects of the Season
Presenter: Dr Mary Turner

Our Chief Observer, Dr. Mary Turner, will give her quarterly update on the best objects for observing during the summer season.

Invited Lecture 7:30pm
Title: LOGing and Blogging
Presenter: Dean and Melinda Ketelsen

At the July meeting, Dean Ketelsen, former TAAA president and 20 year Steward Observatory Mirror Lab employee, will present an update on current ongoing projects at the Mirror Lab. These include the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), and a few others of interest. This will be the LOGing (Large Optical Generator) part of the presentation.

Dean and his wife Melinda have maintained a blog for over 2 years and 400 entries, writing about not only his work at the Mirror Lab, but astronomical topics, home improvement, road trip stories, and birding and nature photography. In an effort to encourage others to pick up the activity, for the second part of the meeting, Melinda will create a blog and demonstrate how easy it is to add text and images to express your inner selves!

See Public Calendar for further details.

Community Events

Pima Air and Space Museum Night Wings
July 24, 2010 5pm-9pm
The TAAA will be providing telescopes for night time viewing between 7pm and 9pm at this event being organized by the Pima Air and Space Museum. See the Pima Air and Space Muserum events page for details.

News and Information

ALCON 2010 Photos
The 2010 Astronomical League has wrapped up after a successful few days! Take a look at some photos snapped during the event which included several presentations, observing sessions, a luncheon with David Levy, lots of door prizes and raffles, the AL Banquet dinner, award presentations, a wonderful display by the exhibitors, and lots of time with friends old and new.

Do you want to Join the TAAA? Visit Join TAAA to learn more about the benefits of TAAA Membership and how to join!

Contacting the TAAA
Email addresses noted throughout this site are displayed in a format to avoid receiving SPAM (e.g., username [at] tucsonastronomy.org). Please type all email addresses with the "@" sign in the appropriate place.

Announcements for Members

Community Star Party Volunteers: See the updated list of community star parties that need your support. Login to see how you can share your interest of astronomy with others throughout Tucson and southern Arizona.

Monthly meetings are held at Steward Observatory Auditorium, Room N210, 933 N. Cherry on the University of Arizona campus. Meetings are scheduled the first Friday of each month. (When first Friday falls on July 4, or January 1, meetings are scheduled the following Friday.)

Friends of TAAA

Project Astro

National Optical Astronomy Observatory’s educational outreach program.

Steward Observatory

Located at the University of Arizona and associated with facilities on Kitt Peak, Mt. Bigelow, Mt. Lemmon, and Mt. Graham.

Astronomical League
Promoting astronomy education and research, and supporting amateur astronomical societies.

Night Sky Network

Nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology and inspiration of NASA's missions to the general public.

International Dark Sky Assn (IDA) IDA supports the ongoing effort to preserve dark skies and starry nights - founded by TAAA Members.

Prototron Circuits

Prototron Circuits manufactures prototype and quick-turn printed circuit boards. We thank them for the generous donation of custom printed circuit boards for a TAAA project.

Credits and Disclaimers
All photographic material on this site was generated by club members and is used with permission of the copyright holder. All attempts are made to avoid improper use of copyrighted or proprietary material. Likewise we try to avoid inaccuracies or material offensive in nature. If you feel we have infringed, published inaccuracies, or material offensive in nature, please email our webmaster at webmaster [at] tucsonastronomy.org to advise us so that we may promptly address the issue.