Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association

10/12/2026

A few more fantastic images that were recently acquired remotely (not in Bucks County), by BMAA member Oleg Sh. Oleg is able to log in to his remote telescope located in very dark skies, and take these images all via the Internet. Click on each pic to see more information

10/12/2026

Although we were sad we had to cancel our Saturday October 10th Star Watch due to the weather. However, our club members have definitely taken advantage of some of the glorious days and nights last week and earlier to capture some spectacular Astro images from right here in Upper Bucks. If you click on each image separately you can read the captions and see the work of our talented members!

10/10/2026

Good morning, I know this going to sound like a broken record, but we are cancelling tonight's Star Watch at Nockamixon State Park. This morning and around Noon, it is going to be fairly bright and sunny, but beginning in the afternoon the clouds from hurricane Isaias will be sweeping over the area. The screenshot below is for 8PM, and it looks like a frustrating wave of one cloud band after another between 7 and 10 PM.
We will hold out some hope at Sat. Nov. 7th will be better conditions for our last Star Watch of 2026.
You also have a chance of some stars and a beautiful Full Moon rising about the lake on Sat. October 24th. See: https://events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/full-moon-walk-9254 (The hike will go on, even if cloudy).
Weather Graphic - Astrospheric.com

10/09/2026

We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Isaias and what impact it might have on our scheduled Star Watch Saturday night October 10th. As it moves northward after landfall we are expecting to be dealing with those cloud bands late Saturday afternoon and evening. As always, it all depends on the timing.
Be sure to check:
This BMAA page and/or Nockamixon State Park Events webpage or our https://www.bma2.org/ website for any updates regarding cancellation. We will publish any changes by 5 PM Saturday or before.
Image credit: Astrospheric.com

10/07/2026

Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association was honored to be asked to contribute in a recent article published by WHYY in Philadelphia. Reporter Kenneth Cooper came out and interviewed us at our International Observe the Moon Night event.

You can click on the line to see the article. You can also listen to the audio broadcast by clicking on the "Listen" link right below the reporter's name.

Light pollution and consecutive summers of Canadian wildfires have made it harder to stargaze in even the most remote places in Philadelphia’s suburbs.

10/04/2026

A busy week coming up!

Before dawn on Tuesday October 6th around 5:30 AM you can train your telescopes on a pretty crescent Moon rising up in the East and see Jupiter and its moons emerge from the darkness of the shadow side edge of the Moon. Naked eye and in binoculars Jupiter will appear as a bright "star-like" object popping out of the darkness.

On Wednesday October 7th we will have out monthly club meeting at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler, PA. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM and is free and open to the public. Our main topic for the night will be talking about digital smart scopes. Specifically we'll be highlighting the club's new DwarfLab Mini. A small scope that packs a lot of powerful features for users.
If you can't come in person, you can get a link to attend virtually via Zoom here - https://bma2.org/our-events/

Then on Saturday October 10th we will have our monthly Star Watch in Nockamixon State Park at the Tohickon Boat Access Area from 7 to 10 PM. Come out and see a long lost friend - SATURN! We lost Saturn all summer in the glare of the Sun, but he has now returned again to grace our early evening sky.
More info here:
https://bma2.org/event/public-starwatch-18/
https://events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/starwatch-2581

Image credits:
Stellarium screenshot https://stellarium-web.org/
Moon Jupiter infographic https://www.astroleague.org/
Dwarf Lab composite Dwight Dulsky, BMAA
Saturn Astro photo Eric Colon, BMAA

09/18/2026

Come on out and join us at Nockamixon State Park (Tohickon Boat Access Area) at 7 PM on Saturday evening September 19th to enjoy some telescopic Moon viewing and partake in some fun family friendly Moon activities between sunset and dark.
We are hoping for a break in the clouds to get some spectacular close up views of craters, mountains and the Lunar "seas". As long as it is not raining, we will be doing the Moon activities starting at 7 PM - even if somewhat cloudy.
This event is free and open to the public with no advance registration required. Feel free to bring your own telescope and binoculars to set up in the field with us.

More Information here:
https://bma2.org/event/public-starwatch-17/
https://events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/starwatch-international-observe-the-moon-night
https://science.nasa.gov/moon/observe-the-moon-night/overview/

09/02/2026

Tonight's September 2nd BMAA Monthly Club Meeting
In person and Zoom meeting starts at 7:30 PM EST
In person meeting held at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church 411 Susquehanna Road in Ambler, PA. Just minutes from the 309 Expressway.
In addition to our regular agenda items:
NASA What's Up for June
Bob's Observing Challenging
Club Updates

Main Topic: We will have a presentation by member and Co-Vice President Gary Sprague on binoculars in astronomy - members are encouraged to bring the binoculars they use for observing, and to share their experiences.

For Zoom Meeting Link - See monthly meetings at our website https://bma2.org/our-events/

08/11/2026

Wednesday August 12 is going to be a good day for sky watchers if the weather cooperates. We will be at Nockamixon State Park in the afternoon to view a Partial Solar Eclipse at the Marina Parking Lot. Then in the evening at Tohickon Boat Access Area we will be kicking back to take in the annual Perseid meteor shower.
In our area we will see just a small "bite" that the Moon takes out of the Sun, only about 8%. If you want to see the big dramatic total solar eclipse you will need to get yourself to either Iceland, the middle of the Atlantic Ocean or Spain to catch the big show. For us, the first nibble out of the Sun begins at 1:09 PM. The maximum coverage for us is at 1:52 PM. Then the Moon retreats back off the edge of the Sun by 2:34 PM. This is a short partial eclipse as the Moon is just skimming the Sun's limb. At the Marina site we will have safe solar telescopes on hand for you to get a good close up view. We'll also have a few of the famous Eclipse Glasses you can borrow as well. Remember - you must always protect your eyes with either eclipse glasses or properly certified solar filters for any optical or camera gear.
Then we'll reconvene later that same evening at 8 PM for Perseid Meteor viewing by the lake at the Tohickon Boat Access Parking Lot. This year, we are lucky to not have the meteors having to compete with Moonlight. So bring a comfortable lawn chair or chaise lounge, enjoy the sunset and settle in to see how many Perseids come flying our way. We will also have some of our astronomers on hand with telescopes for some general star gazing, you don't need a telescope or binoculars to enjoy the meteor show.
Although the clouds are looking less of a factor Wed. afternoon and evening,, we are still dealing with wildfire smoke in our region for the next few days. This shouldn't be much of a problem for the partial eclipse part of the day, but could obscure some of the fainter meteors later on. Bright meteors might still be visible,
Additional information and any schedule plans will be posted here, or our www.bma2.org website and also at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/nockamixon-state-park and their page as well.

07/11/2026

After looking at the cloud forecast for Saturday night's Star Watch at Nockamixon State Park, we have decided to postpone to our rain date, next Saturday July 18th, same time, but hopefully a clear sky. We will update everyone again next week 🔭