Seattle Astronomical Society

10/19/2026

10/19/2026

The 2026 banquet is great!

10/19/2026

10/16/2026

The Bonney Lake star party on Saturday has been cancelled due to clouds and rain in the forecast. That was the last one planned for 2026, we will resume in April.

10/14/2026

Possible Christmas gift four that special someone?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CFKN6yrD7/

Explore the Palomar Observatory Hale Telescope 80th Anniversary Collector Edition featuring an iconic observatory and telescope design, astronomy heritage details, and collectible styling. Perfect for astronomy fans, science lovers, adult builders, collectors, and unique gift giving.

10/08/2026

Chance for Aurora tonight. If it is clear find a dark place with clear views to the north/ northeast. Midnight is usually best.

Watch noaa space weather website for up to the minute forecast info.

Aurora Dashboard InformationWhen and where can you see the northern and southern lights also known as the aurora? This page provides a prediction of the aurora’s visibility tonight and tomorrow night in the charts below. The animations further down show what the aurora’s been up to over the last...

10/03/2026

GET YOUR SAS BANQUET TICKETS NOW!
This year the Banquet is at the exclusive Mountaineers Club in Sand Point Way.

When: Oct 18, 5pm to 8:30pm

PROGRAM

5:00pm - Doors open and online auction begins
5:45pm - President's Welcome, Awards, and Recognitions
6:00pm, Dinner starts, catering by Olive Garden
6:30pm - Trivia
6:45pm - Keynote Speaker - Ben Williams
7:30pm - Telescope time (weather permitting) and mingling
8:00pm - Auction Closes
8:30pm - Event ends

As in previous banquets there will be a photo booth, w**e bar, and if the weather permits, maybe some sky viewing.

Guest Speaker: Ben Williams

A research professor in the Astronomy Department at the University of Washington. He has led several large Hubble Space Telescope programs aimed at mapping large areas of nearby galaxies, and he currently leads the nearby galaxies science group within the Roman Science Collaboration. His research focuses on the resolved stellar populations of nearby galaxies, using these to investigate star formation, stellar evolution, and galaxy evolution.

The Roman Space Telescope: The Power of Wide Field Imaging in Space

The Roman Space Telescope is the latest NASA flagship mission, which successfully launched on August 30, 2026. It is currently on route to its orbit at Lagrange Point 2, and it carries with it a very large infrared camera and an experimental coronagraph. While many of the scientific goals of the Roman mission center around cosmology and exoplanets, there is also a significant general astrophysics component that will be planned through proposals from the research community. I will briefly discuss the large cosmology and exoplanet programs, but the main focus of this presentation will be the near-field astrophysics enabled by this extremely powerful wide field camera. This includes surveys of our galaxy as well as nearby galaxies over larger areas in more exquisite detail than previously possible. These surveys will resolve billions of stars throughout the star forming regions and stellar halos of these galaxies, enabling a new era in our ability to probe the formation and evolution of stars and structures in these galaxies.

This year we are at the Mountaineers Club in Seattle.

10/01/2026

https://youtu.be/em4GazJpHpc?si=F_82c0Gp7dKYn6IM

Find out the best things to see in the night sky this month, courte...

09/29/2026

🔭Are you ready to hear from a great speaker, enjoy pasta and a phenomenal desert spread while catching up with fellow SAS members?

The annual SAS banquet is October 18th, 5-8:30pm. We hope to see you there!

(Registration link is in the comments)

09/26/2026

Members, friends, and the astro-curious are all welcome. Grab a seat before they're gone!!

✨To register, scan the QR code below, or click the link in the comments. ✨