1) How do I join the Black River Astronomical Society?
First,
we recommend that you come to one of our monthly meetings.
We
meet the first Wednesday of each month at the Lorain County Metroparks
Visitor Center at 7:00 PM. If you enjoy our meeting and think
that the
club may be of interest to you, then you can obtain a membership
form
from one of our board members or officers.
2) How much are the club dues?
Dues
for active membership are $25.00 per year, payable in October.
We
also offer a reduced dues rate of $7.00 per year for students, junior
members and retirees.
3) Do I need to own a telescope to join BRAS?
No,
you do not need to own a telescope. In fact, some people join
the
club in order to find out what kind of telescope is the best one for
them to buy. Other members have been in the club for years
without
actually owning a telescope, although most members do eventually buy
some sort of a telescope.
4)
I think I like astronomy, but I
really don't know too much about
it.
Can I still join the club?
Absolutely.
One reason to join BRAS is to learn about astronomy.
Our
monthly meetings feature an informative talk by one of our members
about
some aspect of astronomy, as well as an update of what is happening
in
the sky for that month. Also, being a member gives you the
opportunity
to ask all the questions you want to your fellow members. You’ll
find
that they are very friendly and helpful. After all, we all were
novice
astronomers at one time.
5) Does the club have observing sessions?
The
Black River Astronomical Society, along with the Lorain County
Metroparks, hosts public viewing sessions at the Nielsen Observatory
at
the Equestrian Center on Nickel Plate - Diagonal Rd. in Carlisle
Township. These sessions are usually held twice per month.
The
observatory has a 14” reflecting telescope and at 4” refracting
telescope, and quite often our members bring out their own telescopes
as
well. The club also holds occasional observing sessions at its
observatory site at Camp Firelands Boy Scout Camp.
6) Does the club loan telescopes to members?
Yes.
BRAS owns a moderately sized refractor which it makes available
for monthly loans to our members. It is an easy-to-use telescope
which
can produce some very nice views of planets, star clusters, galaxies
and
double stars, for example.
You
can print out a membership
form and mail to John Reising,
36260 Sugar Ridge Road, North Ridgeville, Ohio 44039.
You
need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file. Get it here.
-OR-
Use or On-Line www form to join! (Note to self. Need to
build form)