Our next Public Observing session for Sunday, September 24th is CANCELLED due to the weather. Our next scheduled event is Saturday, October 21st at 6:45pm.
The next General Meeting of the Society will be held on Monday September 25th at 730pm at Naylor Observatory. The meeting will be held outside, bring a comfortable chair if you wish. Meeting is open to the public, see our Meetings page for more information. If the weather is bad, meeting will be held via Zoom.
ASH's Public Observing Sessions
ASH's has public observing sessions planned during the warmer weather months where we open our observatory up for the public to view objects through our telescopes! Please see the public observing page for dates and times! . The Public Observing sessions are held at ASH's Naylor Observatory located at 670 Observatory Drive in Lewisberry PA. The public is able to view celestial objects through telescopes located in multiple observatory buildings. Also be sure to see our meteor collection located in the Asper Building! We can only hold the events when the sky is clear enough to use the telescopes, so if it is cloudy or raining we will have to cancel the session. If we are forced to cancel a session, we will announce it on this website, on the Naylor Observatory Facebook page, or you can call the observatory at 717-938-6041 30 minutes before sunset on the day of the session to see if it is cancelled.
We invite you and your family to visit Naylor Observatory on selected evenings this year. Come and observe the beauty of the moon, planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies with your own eyes through our large telescopes. Admission is free.
Cherry Springs Star Party
The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg is proud to host the Cherry Springs Star Party each spring at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, PA, an IDA dark sky park. This star party is a 3 day gathering of more than 400 amateur astronomers and night sky lovers who gather to observe together, listen to speakers, and enjoy each other's company under some of the darkest skies east of the Mississippi River.
Registration is required to attend the party and is planned to open in March 2023 for the 2023 Cherry Springs Star Party which will take place from June 15th to June 18th 2023 at Cherry Springs State Park - Cherrysprings.org
Introductory Observational Astronomy Course is planned to be held again in Fall 2023 - check back for start date.
The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg will be holding a Fall public Astronomy Course will be held on six consecutive Wednesdays beginning September 6, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm followed by additional observing with telescopes if the sky is clear. All sessions will be held at the Edward L. Naylor Observatory, 670 Observatory Drive, Lewisberry PA 17339. The course is open to those 14 and older.
Cost is $50 which includes a text, the Petersen Field Guide Stars and Planets 4th Ed. by Pasachoff, an Edmund Star and Planet Locater planisphere and ESSO Star Chart. Preregistration is necessary: send a check to “ASH” c/o Robert Young, 224 Herr St., Harrisburg PA 17102.
ASH Membership Benefits Include:
Access to the Naylor Observatory and training on club telescopes
Members only observation times
Monthly Stardust Newsletter
Use of the ASH Library and loaner telescopes / astronomy gear
Access to dark sky sites
Contact the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
President - Vacant President@astrohbg.org
Vice President - Dave Gryger Vice.President@astrohbg.org
Secretary - Jim Davis Secretary@astrohbg.org
Treasurer - Dayne Eyer Treasurer@astrohbg.org
Mailing address for the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
P.O. Box 160
Lewisberry, PA 17339