Calendar of Astronomy Events in Southeast Michigan

The University Lowbrow Astronomers (Lowbrows for short) maintains an astronomy calendar. This calendar is focused on events in the Southeast Michigan area and includes:

1. Open Houses at Peach Mountain Observatory (located near Dexter Michigan).
2. Club Meetings of the Lowbrows (held on the central campus of the University of Michigan).
3. Other astronomy events that may be of interest in the Southeast Michigan Area.

You don't need to be a club member or affiliated with the University of Michigan to attend these events. There are four different ways to view the calendar:

1. Go to the web page: http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/calendar/

2. If you have an Android tablet or smartphone, you can download the Lowbrow App at

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.lowbrows.lowbrowapp

This app is free. You can view the calendar directly from the app.

3. If you use a calendar program that supports the ICAL format (such as Google Calendar), you can subscribe to the Lowbrow Calendar by using the subscribe function within your calendar program. This will allow you to view Lowbrow events along with the events in your personal calendar and/or other calendars. When subscribing to the calendar, you will be asked for a URL. This is the URL:

http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/lowbrowcalendar%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics

4. If you use a calendar program that supports the ICAL format (such as Google Calendar), you can take a snapshot by downloading this file:

http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/lowbrowcalendar%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics

and importing it into your program. The events in the Lowbrow calendar will be added to events already in your calendar, but if there are changes to the Lowbrow calendar they will not be automatically incorporated into your calendar without a subsequent import.

The Club's new telescope

A long time ago (no one seems willing to admit, or remember, how long) there was a proposal to allow the ATM group  (amateur telescope making group) group to rebuild the club’s Coulter telescope. This telescope was a large Dob sitting in the observatory building, unused.

The idea: rebuild the telescope so it would be more usable. The mirrors would be used in a newly constructed telescope. The proposal passed, but progress was slow. That is until the autumn months of 2013, when a Telekit was ordered. The ATM group started meeting once a week, to assemble the kit. There were many tasks that needed to be coordinated among the group, such as sending the mirror to be recoated. It took time, but there was steady progress.

The most recent of the ATM meetings was last Saturday. While there were some mirror issues that remain (not to mention the possible addition of electronics, which would be yet another project), the end result was a usable telescope.

The telescope was brought to the Saturday open house. It was performing well, and Lowbrows as well as club visitors had the chance to look through it. There were some photographs taken at the open house and I plan to post some of them later this week.

For information about open houses at Peach Mountain (located a few miles from Dexter, Michigan) see http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/calendar/regular.html

For a schedule of astronomy events in Southeast Michigan (including open houses at Peach Mountain) see http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/calendar/

Open Houses at Peach Mountain

After hibernating for the winter, we have two open houses scheduled at Peach Mountain....

Saturday, March 9, 2013.

Saturday, March 16, 2013.

(either one may be cancelled if it is cloudy or too cold).

What is it?

Peach Mountain is a facility owned by the University of Michigan and is located within Stinchfield Woods (a wood lot owned by the University about four miles from Dexter, Michigan). There is a radio telescope and other equipment on Peach Mountain operated by various departments in the University. There is also a 24 inch optical telescope operated by an amateur astronomy club known as the “University Lowbrow Astronomers.”

The public has the opportunity to look through the 24 inch telescope and other telescopes. Members of the club often bring their own telescopes and visitors are also encouraged to bring their own telescopes and setup before its dark. Visitors are also encouraged to bring their own binoculars.

When is it open?

Open houses begin at sunset. If conditions are unusually cold or if it is cloudy, the open house may be canceled. If in doubt, call (734) 975-3248 after 4 PM the day of the event to determine the status. Closing time is season dependent: 11:00 PM in winter, later for the rest of the year. Peach Mountain often gets quite cold, dress warmly. In warm weather mosquitoes can be a problem, so do not forget insect repellent.

(Go here for a calendar of open houses and other astronomy events.)

How do I get there? & Guidelines for Lowbrows and Guests

See Open Houses at Peach Mountain