When most people think of astronomy, they think of a telescope on a tripod on a clear night, where everything they look at is brilliant and in focus. That’s an ideal image, but it doesn’t necessarily happen the first time you set up your telescope and step outside. There’s much to learn along the way, and it can be awe inspiring and wondrous! And it shouldn’t start with spending money and getting frustrated. You can learn about the night sky from other people. Many of the tools don’t cost much, and you may already have them.

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Stirring Up The Cosmos

Announcing our first ever cookbook!

The Madison Astronomical Society has been gazing at the stars and sharing our passion for the night sky for decades.  Now we are celebrating our other passion: Great food!

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Pareidolia is the perception of apparently significant patterns or recognizable images, especially faces, in random or accidental arrangements of shapes and lines. When you see a cloud that looks like a dog, you are experiencing pareidolia. Astronomers have long experienced pareidolia when they look at the night sky.

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The Midwest’s Largest Star Party

This years’ event was on Friday, October 3, 2025 (link)

Every year since 1998, when weather permits, MAS has partnered with Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center to throw a huge star party on its rooftop terrace (known formally as the William T. Evjue Rooftop Gardens).

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Sometimes a picnic is just a picnic. The MAS picnic is much more.

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