BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"

BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"

BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"

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Welcome to the BBAA website

We are a group of dedicated amateur astronomers drawn together by a common interest in astronomy. Our club was founded on December 14, 1978 by members dedicated to promoting amateur astronomy.

We invite you to come to our any of our free monthly events to take a look through our telescopes and learn more about the night sky.

The BBAA is an active member society of the Astronomical League, a part of the Night Sky Network, and a member of the Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies (VAAS). We are also active on social media. Please visit our social media pages on BBAA Yahoo Group, BBAA Facebook Group, BBAA Twitter page, BBAA Facebook page and Instagram to stay up to date with our club's latest activities.

Clear skies

AL logo

BBAA logo

NSN logo

International Observe the Moon Night is Oct 16th. The BBAA will be at ODU between the Oct 15th - Oct 17th in the evenings celebrating it.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

(APOD)

Click on the picture to open the APOD website for a higher resolution image with a description of the photo

What's Happening This Month

All events below are free, kid friendly, and open to the public unless they are annotated with the following marks. Events marked with a $ have a small fee required by the event organizer. Events with a * have special requirements such as reservations, private, etc. To find out more information about the events listed below go to our calendar and click on the event link that you want more information for.

In the BBAA In the Sky
November 2: BBAA Club Meeting Nov 1 - Dec 12: Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard ☄
November 5: Cornland Park 🔭 * November 1: Venus ♀ is about 50% illuminated will appear larger than Mars ever gets
November 5-7: James River Star Party 🔭 $ November 3: Daytime Lunar Occultation of the Planet Mercury ☿ (3:55PM - 4:42PM EST)
November 6: Nightwatch @ Chippokes Plantation State Park 🔭 * November 4: New Moon 🌑
November 12: The Nature Bus Star Party 🔭 $ November 4-5: Taurids Meteor Shower ☄🌠
November 18: Moon Night at the Carrollton Branch Library 🔭 November 5: Uranus ♅ at Opposition
November 20: Saturday 'Sun' Day 🔭 November 17-18: Leonids Meteor Shower 🌠
November 26: Cornland Park 🔭 * November 19: Full Moon 🌕
November 27: Skywatch 🔭 November 19: 98% Partial Lunar Eclipse 🌕 (02:18 - 05:47 AM EST)
November 27: Ceres At Opposition

If you're planning to attend an event, please see our Event Information page. There you will find useful information about BBAA events and links for directions to our observing sites. Please also take the time to read our expected event etiquette for all attendees.

To see event details on the Night Sky Network head over to our club's Calendar page and click on the event you want more details about.

For more information on what's happening in the sky this week, see Sky & Telescope's "This Week's Sky at a Glance" page.

Download a free map of the sky from Skymaps.com "The Evening Sky Map".

Jupiter Asteroid Impact Detection Project

Our club is helping assist with this project. You do NOT have to be a member of our club to participate. If you are interested in contributing please see our Jupiter Asteroid Impact Detection Project page.

Benito Loyola's GIF animation of an imaging run from 2019-05-28-0145 to 2019-05-28-0516 GMT of Jupiter and its moons.

BBAA Spotlight Photo/Video

Congratulations to our 2021 BBAA scholarship recipient Elizabeth (Sam) Burris pictured here with her grandfather, BBAA VP George Reynolds, who was a big influence on her interest in astronomy! She will be headed off to college in the fall with $2500 thanks to generous donations to the club and the hard work of our volunteers.

Observing Programs

BBAA club members dues pay for Astronomical League (AL) membership. This membership allows our club members to participate in the many Astronomical League observing programs. The AL programs are designed to provide a direction for your observations and to provide a goal. The programs have awards and pins to recognize the observers’ accomplishments and for demonstrating their observing skills with a variety of instruments and objects. The BBAA was responsible for creating the Astronomical League's Planetary Nebula Program. A detailed history of the programs inception is available on our page. For further information on observing programs, see our Observing Programs page or the Astronomical League's official page.

Planetary Nebula Program

Lapel pin awarded for completion of the Planetary Nebula Program

Current Sun and Moon

Norfolk, VA

Sun

Moon

Current Solar System Configuration

This interactive 3D model shows the today's configuration of the major bodies of the Solar System along their orbits.

BBAA Contact Info

Have questions? Drop us a note!

BBAA, PO Box 9877, Virginia Beach, VA 23450-9877

Information email contacts all club officers

info -at backbayastro -dot org

BBAA Twitter Feed
BBAA Membership and Social Media