News
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
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.
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
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.
Telescope Tuesdays
Every Tuesday, 10:00am – 3:00pm There’s always a lot to do at the Ritchie observatory! As you can see from the progress report above, we’re working on getting our new CDK telescope and its supporting infrastructure ready. Come on out every Tuesday, 10am to 3pm, and get involved. Learn how stuff works. Help make improvements. An enormous amount of progress has been made, but there’s always more to do. And we might even have pizza! Come on out and support Telescope Tuesdays!
Bodes and Cigar Galaxies – Chuck Wraith
These two beautiful galaxies are found high in our northern skies in March and April and reside approximately 12 million light years distant. On the left is Bode’s Galaxy (M81) which is a grand design spiral galaxy with two large spiral arms and a super massive central black hole (four times the mass of the one at the center of the Milky Way). To its right and tidally locked by gravity is the Cigar Galaxy (M82). The large gravitational interactions with Bode’s Galaxy have spawned a rate of star formation near the Cigar Galaxy’s center ten times that of normal – designating it a “starburst galaxy” and creating the red glow of energetic ionized hydrogen that can be seen. Bode’s Galaxy is one of the brightest galaxies in our sky and can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope in the constellation Ursa Major and is a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers. Chuck captured this image in Sequim over three nights this past April.