The Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club belongs to the Great Lakes Region of the Astronomical League .

The BGAAC joins with the International Astronomical Union in in celebrating 2009 as the the International Year of Astronomy, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galeli. The aim of the Year is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science under the central theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover."

Winter meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. on one Friday evening a month, usually December through March. Which Friday depends upon a speaker's availability. They are normally in Room 179 of the Chemistry-Physics Bldg. on the UK campus, although December is usually a holiday party and may be held elsewhere.

Warm weather observing sessions take place one Saturday evening a month (usually the one nearest the new moon) from March through October. The observing sessions take place at Raven Run Park on Jack's Creek Road in rural Fayette County. They begin around sunset and last two to three hours. There is no rain date. The main gate is open for parking and park personnel there will direct you to the observing field. Persons with telescopes can drive up a dirt road by the barn (turn off just before the main gate) and park at the edge of the observing field. If the weather is partly cloudy, phone the park around 6:30 p.m. (272-6105) to see whether it's a go.

The BGAAC website is www.bgaac.org. A club Newsletter is mailed to members bimonthly.

Dues are $10 annually. Make a check payable to BGAAC and send it to club treasurer Brad Canon, 1016 Della Dr., Lexington, KY, 40504. Please include your phone number and email address. Members can subscribe to the national amateur astronomy magazine Sky and Telescope, for $32.95. This is $10 below the regular subscription price. In other words, you can be a BGAAC member and get Sky and Telescope magazine for the same price that a non-member would pay for the subscription to Sky and Telescope alone. If you want to become a member and subscribe to Sky and Telescope, please send Brad a check for $42.95.

Other questions: Please contact our treasurer, Brad Canon, 859-278-6155 (H) or 859-257-4895 (W), or Rick Schrantz, President, 859-224-3468 (H).