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The Peoria Astronomical Society is a non-profit organization of amateur astronomers from Peoria, Illinois and the surrounding community.
 current sky conditions in Peoria
Meetings
Our regular meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month, at 7:30 pm. We meet in the planetarium at Lakeview Museum. The members' meeting is a great place to meet other members, swap stories, and learn more about astronomy. The meetings are always free and open to the public. During the summer months (June, July, and August), we do not hold regular meetings. Instead we plan a star party event each month! In September, we have our Annual Banquet, which takes the place of our September monthly meeting.
Our board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at the Hardee's in the Willow Knolls Shopping Center at 7:30 pm, and is open to all PAS members.
John Barra achieves Astronomical League's "Master Observer Award" !
As As evidence of John’s expertise, it is our great privilege to award the ultimate in observing
awards to him at our March 7th meeting. John has earned the Astronomical League’s "Master
Observer Award". He is only the 123rd recipient of this honor. To earn this award, John earned
the following observing awards: Messier Club, Binocular Messier Club, Lunar Club, Double Star
Club, Herschel Club, Lunar ll Award, Globular Cluster Award, Open Cluster Award (advanced),
Deep Sky binocular Awards, and Urban Sky Award. In total John had to locate and record, 1,095
celestial objects. To make all this even more impressive, he did it all by star-hopping.
Congratulations John!
John Barra (right) receives Master Observer Award, presented by Rich Tennis (left).
Jubilee Dome Restoration
Special thanks to the Brimfield Fire Department!
Observatories
The Peoria Astronomical Society maintains two observatories.
Northmoor Observatory is open to the public every cloudless Saturday night from the beginning of May through the end of October. You will find volunteers on hand to aid you in your discovery of the cosmos, from sunset until midnight. Private groups can also be scheduled any other time. Contact the Northmoor Observatory chairman for more information. Northmoor observatory has a brand new dome! Click here to read all about it!
Jubilee Observatory can be scheduled by any group almost any time. Please contact the Jubilee Observatory Chairman for more information.
We also have a variety of "loaner" telescopes available for members to use.
PAS member Scott Hay assists the crowd at Northmoor Observatory
to see Mars closest approach to earth in over 1,000 years
Membership
Membership to the Peoria Astronomical Society is open to anyone with an interest in astronomy. We are a family oriented club and sponsor various activities throughout the year to encourage family involvement. Annual dues are $30.00 per family per year. Benefits of membership include:
- Subscription to our newsletter "The StarLite"
- Membership in the Astronomical League
- Subscription to the Astronomical League's newsletter, "The Reflector"
- Membership in the Peoria Academy of Science
- Use of the society's numerous telescopes
- Members may become keyholders to any of our observatories
- The option to join the PAS email list
- Fellowship with other amateur astronomers and others whose eyes are turned to the stars!
Interested in joining? Simply download the printable membership application and mail it in!
The PAS set up solar telescope viewing at the Grand Prairie Mall
a pre-dawn crowd gathers at ICC to witness the rare occurance of Venus transiting the sun
More Information
For more information, contact us by email or write to us at:
Peoria Astronomical Society
PO Box 10111
Peoria, IL 61612-0111
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The largest, most violent star forming region known in the whole 
