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Battle Point Observatory Grand Re-Opening!

Save the Date! Summer Solstice June 21, 2025 Battle Point Observatory Grand Re-Opening! Battle Point Park, Bainbridge Island Ribbon cutting at 10:00 am Tours from 10:00 to 3:00 pm See the amazing new lobby murals painted by artist in residence Deborah Milton! Watch a planetarium show on our new Digitalis projector for our new Park District summer programs! Scheduled tours available of the completely rebuilt observatory dome and new state of the art telescope thanks to Rotary grants and donations! AND Thanks to your donations and support last year, meet our new staff focused on aligning observatory and planetarium programs with Kitsap schools STEAM curriculum. Refreshments, space themed fun and games, telescopes galore to check out. See you then!

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BPAA Staffing Changes

It’s with very mixed feelings that we congratulate Liz Walker on her work anniversary, and at the same time announce her resignation from BPAA. Liz came onboard a year ago as our very first employee in the role of Communications Manager, and proved her capabilities far beyond our expectations. Among her many accomplishments, she managed the rebuilding of our BPAstro.org website, and started implementation of the Volgistics volunteer management tool. She organized events including our Artist in Residence reception for Deborah Milton and the Cosmic Countdown year-end fundraiser for our STEAM initiative. Liz has been working part-time for us, and also part-time at BARN. She recently was offered and has accepted a full-time position at BARN. Congratulations and good luck to you, Liz! You will be missed! At the same time, I’m happy to announce that Diana Oestreich, our volunteer ALCOR (Astronomical League Coordinator), has accepted our offer to work part time as our new Administrative Coordinator, taking on many of the tasks that Liz has been handling as well as the roles of Membership Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Welcome Diana! And a big thank you is due to outgoing Membership Manager Diane Dalton, who served on a volunteer basis for several years. Thank you Diane! […]

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BPAstro Classes through BI Parks!

Check out the Recreation Connection, BI Parks’ summer catalog of classes, page 34, for two offerings by Erin Howard, BPAA’s Education Officer and Planetarium Manager: Galaxy Guild for ages 13-17, and Planet Pioneers for ages 8-12. Each class meets monthly on 4th Saturdays, June 28, July 26, and August 23. Check out the class descriptions and register at https://biparks.org/register/

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Telescope Update – from Peter Moseley

We are very pleased to announce that the construction work on the dome is essentially completed, and we have been able to mount our new Telescope, the Planewave 14” CDK. We are testing the systems and the telescope and so far, are very pleased. Presently the telescope has its imaging camera mounted and this is being tested. We will then mount our visual system for testing and then be ready to start putting it all to work for our members, schools, astrophotographers and the general public. We aren’t ready to reveal them yet, but…. Well, here’s a teaser: So many thanks to all of you who made it happen. As noted in the top blog post, we are planning a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 21 (summer solstice) and have some things to do that include more of our facility beyond the dome. We want the place to look really spiffy. For the most part we will do this work on our Telescope Tuesdays but if other days will make it easier for you to participate let me know.

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Dark Skies Celebrated Across the U.S. – from Betsy Daniels

International Dark Sky Week 2025, held from April 21–28, was a global celebration aimed at raising awareness about light pollution and promoting the preservation of our night skies. Founded in 2003 by high school student Jennifer Barlow, the week underscores the importance of dark skies for astronomy, wildlife, human health, and cultural heritage. Artificial light at night disrupts ecosystems, obscures our view of the stars, and can negatively impact human health. Dark Sky Week encourages communities to adopt responsible lighting practices, helping to conserve energy and protect nocturnal environments. Across the United States, observatories and communities hosted events to engage the public in stargazing and education: • Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, Oregon: Featured a lecture on light pollution followed by a telescope viewing party. • McDonald Observatory, Texas: Offered telescope tours, astrophotography workshops, and lectures on preserving dark skies. • Prineville Reservoir State Park, Oregon: Hosted telescope viewing sessions focusing on celestial objects like Jupiter and binary star systems. • Maria Mitchell Association, Nantucket: Conducted a free public stargazing night at Loines Observatory, engaging students and families in observing the night sky. • Badlands Observatory, South Dakota: Organized Dark Sky Tours with guided stargazing experiences using high-quality binoculars. In […]

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Second Saturday

Join us Saturday, May 10th at 7pm for another riveting science talk! This month’s speaker is Ishan Ghosh-Coutinho, who will be presenting their talk “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: I Know Exactly What You Are!” Ishan is a post-baccalaureate researcher at the University of Washington working on stellar evolution and stellar population. They work with the Data Intensive Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology (DiRAC) Institute Time Domain group on preparing for early science with the Rubin Observatory and next generation of astronomical surveys. Registration required, open to the community and to BPAA Members.  Limited to 30 people, sign up now! Register

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Join our Speakers Bureau!

Are you passionate about sharing your knowledge of astronomy or other sciences with the community? The Speakers Bureau of Battle Point Astronomical Association is looking for individuals to join us in promoting science education through engaging talks and presentations. As a member of the Speakers Bureau, you’ll have the opportunity to share your expertise with curious minds of all ages and backgrounds. Whether you’re a seasoned scientist, an astronomy enthusiast, or someone with a deep interest in related scientific fields, your contributions will help inspire and educate others, and foster a love for learning. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/jpRVqmbZSe6KmAyF7  

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MATP is (almost) back!

Movies at the Planetarium is poised to make a comeback, but we need volunteers to get trained up and help out! MATP is a great opportunity to get used to operating the planetarium in a low stakes, low stress, and low technical know-how environment. We even have a quick and easy cheat sheet for you to use! If this sounds up your alley, please coordinate with us for drop in self-guided planeteer training. Currently we are planning to have MATP on the first and third Mondays starting in June, though this is subject to consistent volunteer availability.

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Paint Nights at the Planetarium

Battle Point Astronomical Association invites you to Paint Nights at the Planetarium! Inspired by a planetarium show, you will learn to paint with acrylics on an 11” x 14” canvas suitable for framing. The group’s camaraderie will put you at ease and you will experience your own awe, wonder & creativity. Become a BPAA member today for early access and earlybird pricing for Paint Nights. Tickets go  live to the public on May 15th and July 15th! June 28th, 2025— the Milky Way August 23rd, 2025—the Moon Time: 5– 7 pm Cost: $50, includes all art supplies Space is limited to 16 participants

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Cosmic Conversations

May 20, 7:00pm Topic: TBA On the third Tuesday of each month, we have been engaging in COSMIC CONVERSATIONS at the Ritchie Observatory in Battle Point Park. These are open to members and operate much like a book group, wherein we pick a topic, read some background material and then discuss what we’ve learned. These are nonmathematical discussions where we hope to learn from each other.

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