Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club offers free membership, welcoming all skill levels of stargazers
- by Guest Contributor
- February 13, 2023
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By Steve Conard, Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club
A new club focused on studying the sky, called the Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club, has formed in north-central Pennsylvania and is now accepting members!
The club welcomes members from anywhere in the Pennsylvania Wilds, a 13-county region of Warren, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Lycoming, Clinton, Elk, Cameron, Forest, Clearfield, Clarion, Jefferson and northern Centre Counties.
The club is a community partner of the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania, a network of place-based organizations and entrepreneurs that provide products, services and experiences only found in the PA Wilds.
“Using the name of the Pennsylvania Wilds helps ground the club in this region and builds recognition, as it demonstrates we’re based in this landscape of phenomenal dark skies,” said Steve Conard, president and founder of the club.
The Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club is free to join. The club welcomes members of any skill level or age, whether you are a dedicated observer or just have a casual interest in space. To join, contact Steve Conard.
The club hopes to begin having meetings in the fall of 2023. Meetings are expected to be hybrid, with both in-person and remote attendance.
In addition to meetings for members, the Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club is also planning to have monthly public events, some in conjunction with Step Outdoors, libraries, and local festivals. The group will also be promoting awareness of the region’s dark sky resource.
Some public events are already planned, including a night sky viewing in conjunction with the public planetarium at Mansfield University’s Strait Planetarium on March 10 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
“I hope that this club creates a space for people of all skill levels to appreciate the skies,” says Conard. “Whether it’s the solar system or deep sky objects, there is so much to explore through binoculars or a telescope. This type of club also helps connect people with similar interests, build relationships, and share stories of our observations.”
Additional information on coming events can be found on the club’s website at PAWildsAstro.org.
If someone is interested in hosting an event and having the club set-up telescopes for solar or evening viewing, contact Steve Conard at 410-227-7663 or astro@ptd.net.
About the author: Steve Conard of Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club
The Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club provides education and outreach events for stargazers and dark sky enthusiasts who observe in the 13-county PA Wilds region. Steve recently lived in suburban Maryland, where light pollution fairly severe. Despite the less-than-optimal skies, Steve continued to stargaze and observe. After moving to Tioga County for retirement, he is enjoying much darker skies even though he is less than a mile from downtown Wellsboro. Steve has teamed up with other night sky observers to form the Pennsylvania Wilds Astronomy Club, helping to spread awareness of incredible resource of these dark skies and encourage others to take up the hobby.
