November 2022

I am beginning to get in a groove with writing a monthly message for The Skyscraper; learning to be vigilant throughout the month for a topic that I think may be of interest to our members. This month, a seed was planted just before AstroAssembly, was nourished during a discussion at AstroAssembly, and budded out at our last Program Committee meeting. My thoughts this month are about online discussion groups.

Back in January, while we were still plagued by COVID, we started a Lunar Observers group that met by Zoom. We met every two weeks until recently. At first, it was all about the Moon and the observing program, but it grew to be a time to get together and discuss astronomy, in general. You could tell that everyone enjoyed getting together to share their experiences. Plus, it was fun! 

Fast forward to AstroAssembly. In preparing for AstroAssembly, I spoke on the phone with Tony Costanzo, member of Skyscrapers and owner of the Astronomy Shoppe, in New Hampshire. Tony invited me to his weekly Zoom discussion group to promote AstroAssembly to the attendees, and I accepted. There were fewer than a dozen online, and I felt at home immediately. Some were from around New England, but others were in Florida. They expressed genuine interest in what I had to say and asked about Seagrave Observatory. They were very impressed when I showed them a photo of the Alvan Clark refractor. I’m sure one or two will visit us someday soon. Unfortunately, I had to leave the meeting before it ended.

Then, during AstroAssembly, I was passing time chatting with Bob Napier when he mentioned our Zoom gatherings for the Lunar Observers group, and how he enjoyed them as a way to share the hobby. 

That’s the background. Now, I am encouraging you to seek out and join one or more of these online discussion groups that suit your interests. There are many happening all over the country and the world.

Tony Costanzo’s group meets every Thursday afternoon at 1 PM on Zoom. You can contact Tony at tcostanzo@astronomy-shoppe.com for more information.

Skyscrapers member Steve LaFlamme also hosts another Zoom-based discussion group that he calls “Cosmic Coffeehouse” that meets on the 15th of each month at 7 PM. Contact Steve at astro-geek@comcast.net if you would like to join the fun.

These online groups are a great way to get to know other amateur astronomers. I hope to be at the next Cosmic Coffeehouse. See you there?