Observing – Madison Astronomical Society

Not all MAS members are active observers, but for those who are, we have a variety of options to appeal to all levels of expertise:

Public Events

MAS hosts several events for the public every year. Public events are outreach opportunities, designed around sharing the joys of telescopic observation with the public. You will find these events listed under “Public Events” at the top left when you visit our home page. These events include public star parties like our annual Moon Over Monona Terrace event as well as other options that take place in city or county parks and other locations as indicated. If you’d like to suggest a public event for your group, please send us an email at madisonastro.info@gmail.com.

the public waiting for the stars to come out, an MAS event at Donald Park — Members of the public waiting for darkness to fall at a Donald Park event. 2024 photo by Carol Santulis.

Club Events

Unlike public events, club events are advertised only to our members and their invited guests. These events generally take place at our observatory, the Yanna Research Station (see below). These take place once per month near the new moon. These club events generally run all year long but may be canceled due to clouds or other inclement weather. The club always announces such events ahead of time (via email to members) and also lets you know if they are canceled.

MAS members at YRS in 2007 — MAS members preparing to observe at YRS. 2007 shot by John Rummel.

Spontaneous Observing

Many observing opportunities are not scheduled ahead of time. Often our members (who are always watching weather conditions) will note that Friday (or Saturday, or whatever) looks like a great night. Messages will be exchanged, plans will be made, and before you know it, several people gather at YRS for an impromptu evening of observing, socializing, and camaraderie. Communications like this usually arise via email, our Google Observers group, Facebook posts, or even text messages among members.

Yanna Research Station

YRS is the Society’s dark sky site. It is in Green County, about a 25 minute drive south of Madison. It has a heated and air conditioned clubhouse, a vault-toilet, several observatories, and plenty of concrete pads with electrical service for members to set up their own equipment. There is no water available on site. YRS is for the exclusive use of MAS members and their guests, and it is where we hold our star parties, annual picnic, and other events. Any member may use all of MAS’s facilities at YRS after a short training session with the observatory director or designee. If you don’t have a telescope of your own, you can even borrow one of ours; there are several stored in the clubhouse.