Monthly Meetings

Monthly Meeting

The Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club meets on the third Friday of each month, with a break in December.
We meet at the Myers Park Baptist Church campus, in the Education Building, from 7pm-9pm.

The meetings are open to the public, and include an astronomy related lecture, followed by refreshments.  Guests should plan to arrive 10-15 min before the meeting begins in order to sign in.

Myers Park Baptist Church
1900 Queens Road
Charlotte, NC 28207

Buying a Telescope

Buying a telescope can be challenging. Sky and Telescope has a very educational article to read about the basics. In addition to reading, attending the club star parties is a great way to see some telescopes in action and decide on what scope might fits your needs best.

Loaner Telescopes

The CAAC has a Telescope Loaner Program (available to CAAC Members Only).  This is a great way to learn more about the night sky and to experience views from your own backyard!  A loaner telescope can help you get started and decide on the kind of telescope that you would like to buy. The CAAC also has a dark sky observatory with three magnificent examples of the common telescopes manufactured today, albeit much larger versions.

Astronomy Links

Books

NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe
The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide

Publications

Sky and Telescope Magazine
Astronomy Magazine

Manuals

Sky Commander User’s Manual

Software

Starry Night for Windows ($$$)
Stellarium for Windows, Mac, & Linux (free)
Google Sky (free)

SkyView for iOS (free)

Red Screen for electronic devices

Red Screen for Windows (free)
RedScreen for Mac (free)
iPhone Red Filter for iOS (free)
Rubylith Red Mask Film ($)

Gear

Meade
Orion
Celestron
TeleVue Optics

For Kids!

At Home Astronomy

Free Star Atlas
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