Wabash Valley Astronomical Society (WVAS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the science
and hobby of astronomy. We've been in the Greater Lafayette,
Indiana, area since 1971 and our current membership includes people with many different backgrounds
and with ages from high school through retirees. People join WVAS because they have an interest in planetary
and deep sky observing, locating constellations, astrophotography, telescope making, cosmology, or they
just "want to see what's out there". We are affiliated with the
Astronomical League, a nationwide federation of astronomy clubs.
We are available for group educational presentations and observing sessions.
WVAS is a supporting organization of the
International Dark Sky Association
in their pursuit of reduced light pollution through better lighting practices.
Our base of operations is the West Lafayette Observatory at 600 Cumberland Avenue. (Directions to WLO) The observatory is owned by the West Lafayette School Corporation and is operated by the Purdue University Physics Department and is used for teaching and research. The observatory's exact location is 86º 54.39'W, 40º 27.68'N, 216m.
The observatory has a 20 seat classroom and houses a computerized 16" diameter Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a 10" Newtonian, an 8" binocular telescope, and an 8" Orion Deep Space Explorer Newtonian. The 10" Newtonian and 8" binocular telescopes were built by WVAS members. The Deep Space Explorer telescope can be signed out by WVAS members and by community organizations.
WVAS activities include:
Prairie Grass Observatory at Camp Cullom,
a few miles southeast of Mulberry, has a 28" telescope, one of the largest in the state.
It is located in a rural, dark-sky location for far better
viewing than is possible in the city of "deep-sky" nebulas and galaxies. The observatory
has other excellent telescopes that are used for public viewing. The observatory is owned and administerred
by the the same group that runs Camp Cullom, the Clinton County Foundation for Youth,
a United Way agency. WVAS provides technical and man-power support of this facility.
The observatory is available for group or public observing events. For information
on the observatory, including a schedule of upcoming events, click
here
or contact
Russ Kaspar or
John Mahony.
Have you got any plans for August 5th through the 8th? Why not consider coming out to our flagship event each summer - the Indiana Family Star Party! We have these dates scheduled at scenic Camp Cullom - home of a great new frisbee golf course. Each year our family grows just a bit more and we enjoy ourselves a bit more. We have people come in from all over the midwest to join us with their families and have a great weekend. We plan family-friendly astronomy activities in addition to astronomy talks and presentations. Note that you won't need any special viewing equipment or astronomy experience to have a great time because we have plenty of scopes that you can look through. You can keep tabs on updates to the schedule at either our WVAS Public Events page or the Prarrie Grass Observitory page for the star party. We would really enjoy having you join us!
Interested in recommendations for a first telescope? Sky & Telescope has put together a review of several telescopes with recomendations of what to look for and watch out for.
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Thinking of spending good money to name a star? There's a bridge in Brooklyn that could use a more imaginative name too, but it's not for sale either. Save your money and get the straight facts here.
Wabash Valley Astronomical Society, Inc. P.O. Box 2020 West Lafayette, IN 47996-2020 |
Last modified December 14, 2009