The Back Bay Amateur Astronomers is a group of amateur astronomers drawn together by a common interest in observational astronomy. The society was founded December 14, 1978 by members devoted to teaching the many aspects of observational astronomy.
The BBAA is a 501(c)(3) Scientific Educational organization dedicated to "Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads."
Our Current elected officers are:
NAME
TELEPHONE
PRESIDENT Mark Gerlack mgerlach@verizon.net (757) 434-4220 VICE PRESIDENT Courtney Flonta astrogirl12@yahoo.com (757) 482-7396 SECRETARY George Reynolds pathfinder27@yahoo.com (757) 497-0755 TREASURER Jim Tallman jctallman@cox.net (757) 553-8193
Donations to the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers are tax deductable as charitable donations on the donor's federal income tax return!
The public is invited to come to our monthly Skywatch at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake and take a look through our telescopes at the planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more! Learn about the sky and your place in the universe. And the best part is it's FREE! Click HERE for our schedule and directions to the viewing site.
The BBAA's motto is "Bringing Astronomy to the People of Hampton Roads" and we have many events throughout the year to advance that goal. On "Astronomy Day" we team up with the Virginia Beach Public Library to celebrate astronomy. Our members set up filtered telescopes to view the sun and the moon, and take the opportunity to talk to library patrons about our hobby. We do many events throughout the year with the Departments of Parks and Recreation for Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. We also are building a relationship with the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and have done several evening events we call "Gardenstars". You'll often find our members at the local planetariums too, where we set up telescopes and interface with the public.
Our outreach efforts extend to local schools. We attend events like science fairs and PTA meetings at several area schools each year. Every year the list of schools that invite us to participate grows and we now average about twenty such events each year. We would like to do even more and each year we attend the Tidewater Association of Science Educators (TASE) conference to advertise our availability to local educators.
Our members work with local youth groups like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs and Royal Rangers to interest young people in astronomy. One of our newest programs, Cloverwatch is a joint effort with the 4-h club to host monthly star parties in Southampton County.
We are building strong relationships with area colleges and universities and are currently participating in an exciting program. The Rapid Response Robotic Telescope project teams the BBAA with Norfolk State University and the University of Virginia to operate a robotic telescope at the Fan Mountain Observatory near Charlottesville. The 24-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope is designed to operate remotely and studies Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB's), Blazars and other transient events. When not actively engaged in GRB work, the scope is used by our members and area students for a wide variety of projects.
The BBAA actively participates in our "community"; both the local community and the wider astronomical community. The BBAA scholarship program offers financial assistance to graduating high school seniors in our area that demonstrate an interest in astronomy. The club mentors and assists school science and astronomy clubs. The club is proud to be an active partner with NASA's Space Place. An active member society of the Astronomical League, the club created and now administers one of the League's observing clubs, the Planetary Nebula Club.
Our members range in age from pre-teens to seniors and span the gambit of experience from novice to advanced amateurs. While most of our members come from the southside Hampton Roads cities of Virgina Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk, we have several members from the peninsula, outlying counties and neighboring states.
We work very hard to ensure that new members are welcomed and encouraged. Novice astronomers get the benefit of help from more experienced observers, and those that already have years in the hobby find observing partners and gain access to new observing sites.
Monthly newsletter, the Back Bay Observer
Membership In the Astronomical League (AL)
Quarterly Newsletter, the Reflector (AL)
Reduced rates on Astronomy/Sky & Telescope
Access to dark sky observing sites
Access to membership knowledge and experience
Access to club book and computer shareware library
Participation in club activities
Educational fieldtrips
Telescope buying advice
Trial of accessories before you buy
Students under 18 can become "Associate Members" for free! Associate Memmbers can participate in all club activities and receive the club newsletter by email. They can not hold office in the club and can not vote on business issues.Regular Meetings
The BBAA meet in the Science and Technology Building (Bldg J) at Tidewater Community College Virgina Beach Campus. Our meeting room is JC-12 which is on the second floor above the planetarium. The planetarium is the rounded end of the J Building on the map above. (Opposite the observatory). Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30pm and are open to the public. When classes are not in session at TCC, meetings are held at other locations as announced in the club newsletter and the club Yahoo e-group "backbayastro".