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What's Happening This Month

All events below are free, kid friendly, and open to the public unless they are annotated with the following marks. Events marked with a $ have a small fee required by the event organizer. Events with a * have special requirements such as reservations, private, etc. Click on the event link on the club calendar to see further details.

** Due to the COVID-19 virus any BBAA event may be canceled at anytime.

In the BBAA	In the Sky
August 3: National Night Out	August 2: Saturn at Opposition - The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.
August 5: BBAA Club Meeting at ODU *	August 8: New Moon
August 12: Garden Stars $	August 10: Antares Rocket Launch - At 5:55 PM NG-16 Antares rocket launches to the ISS from Wallops Island
August 17: Boardwalk Astronomy #4	August 12-13: Perseids Meteor Shower - The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak.
August 21: Saturday 'Sun' Day	August 19: Jupiter at Opposition. The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long.
August 21: Ghent Market Shops/Muse Re-Opening	August 22: Full Moon, Blue Moon - Since this is the third of four full moons in this season, it is known as a blue moon. This rare calendar event only happens once every few years, giving rise to the term, “once in a blue moon.”
August 28: Skywatch
August 24: Saturday "SUN" Day

If you're planning to attend an event, please see our Event Information page. There you will find useful information about BBAA events and links for directions to our observing sites. Please also take the time to read our expected event etiquette for all attendees.

To see event details on the Night Sky Network head over to our club's Calendar page and click on the event you want more details about.

For more information on what's happening in the sky this week, see Sky & Telescope's "This Week's Sky at a Glance" page.

Download a free map of the sky from Skymaps.com "The Evening Sky Map".

Jupiter Asteroid Impact Detection Project

Our club is helping assist with this project. You do NOT have to be a member of our club to participate. If you are interested in contributing please see our Jupiter Asteroid Impact Detection Project page.

Observing Programs

BBAA club members dues pay for Astronomical League (AL) membership. This membership allows our club members to participate in the many Astronomical League observing programs. The AL programs are designed to provide a direction for your observations and to provide a goal. The programs have awards and pins to recognize the observers’ accomplishments and for demonstrating their observing skills with a variety of instruments and objects. The BBAA was responsible for creating the Astronomical League's Planetary Nebula Program. A detailed history of the programs inception is available on our page. For further information on observing programs, see our Observing Programs page or the Astronomical League's official page.

Planetary Nebula Program

BBAA Contact Info

Have questions? Drop us a note!

BBAA, PO Box 9877, Virginia Beach, VA 23450-9877

Information email contacts all club officers

info -at backbayastro -dot org

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BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"

BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"

BACK BAY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

"Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads"