Interplanetary exploration can be carried out by many means, from spacecraft and telescopes to a folding chair in a dark field. We do the last part together, every clear night.
We are amateurs in the old sense of the word: we do it for love. Members share telescopes, drive each other to dark sites, log what they see and turn it into open data that real observatories use. No experience needed — just curiosity and a warm coat.
Interplanetary exploration projects can be carried out using a variety of means and equipment. They require a large amount of patient observation, and they require international cooperation and joint efforts.
Members measure how bright the night is above their own street.
A pocket meter, a free app and ten minutes after midnight. Every reading lands on a public map that city planners and lighting engineers use to argue for darker streets.
One crater a night, drawn by hand at the eyepiece.
Two hundred and twelve pencil drawings of the terminator, bound into a printed atlas. The book is sold out; the scans are free to download from the archive.
Listening for meteors through the clouds with home-built receivers.
Fourteen stations count forward-scatter echoes from a distant broadcast transmitter, day and night, rain or shine. Build kits are lent out from the club library.
The daily design project: one object, one poster, every day.
Pitch a planet, a nebula or a lost probe. Each day a member designs its poster, and every poster ships with the coordinates to find the real thing in the sky.
Pick a tier, type your name and watch your card print. You can change tiers any time.