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Welcome to the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association's Night Sky Network page. The TAAA has something for astronomers at all levels. Read on to learn more or visit our web page to learn more. Details for our public events can be found on our calendar.
Our General Meetings are held on the first Friday of each month and are open to the public free of charge. Each meeting begins at 6:30pm with a non-technical Astronomy Essentals Lecture and are usually given by fellow club members. Beginning at 7:30pm, we have our Invited Speaker Lecture. This lecture is most often given by a professional astronomer.
For the beginner, we offer the Astronomy Fundamentals Special Interest Group (AFSIG). The AFSIG has a monthly meeting (that's in addition to our General Meeting mentioned above). The AFSIG also holds a star party which is open to all TAAA members, but in particular to the beginner who might want help finding their way around the stars.
Any member interested in astro-imaging is invited to participate in the Astro-Imaging Special Interest Group (AISIG) activites. Monthly AISIG meetings give members the opportunity to share their techniques and their images with others. There is no requirement that AISIG members have astrophotography equipment - some members attend just to see the shared images.
The TAAA has an active outreach program. The Starry Messengers Special Interest Group (SMSIG) gives direction to our outreach programs. The SMSIG meets every other month to plan activities for our community events and to share our experiences and tips for interacting with the public.
In addition to our Special Interest Groups, TAAA membership has many other benefits. The foremost benefit are friendships that are sparked by our shared interest. Observing buddies make great friends!
Each month we have many star parties. They aren't much of a "party", but the observing and fellowship is great. Some of our star parties are for TAAA members and are held at dark sites outside of Tucson. We have two observing sites. The TIMPA site is west of Tucson about 30 minutes from downtown Tucson. Our Chiricahua Astronomy Complex site is located in Cochise County near Sunsites, AZ, about a 90 minute drive from downtown Tucson.
We also support several outreach/public star parties each month. During the school year, we may have 5 or more events at schools, churches, or other facilities. These are typically for kids, but we also provide telescopes for convention groups visiting Tucson.
We have two regular publications. The monthly bulletin keeps members informed of all TAAA events. Our quarterly publication, Desert Skies, includes observing reports and articles about astronomy.
Other benefits of membership are access to our lending book library and our equipment loaning program.
The TAAA is associated with the Night Sky Network, the Astronomical League, and the International Dark-sky Association. Our location in Tucson allows us to partner with professional astronomy organizations such as Kitt Peak/NOAO, the University of Arizona Steward Observatory and UA Lunar & Planetary Lab, and many others. We participate in activites with these organizations and many TAAA members volunteer for these organizations.
TAAA Membership: Anyone interested in astronomy can join the TAAA. Telescope ownership is optional; only astronomy interest is mandatory. Membership Rates are detailed on our membership application.
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