Astronomical Societies and Astronomy Clubs Locations Locator Map and Directory

An astronomy club or astronomical society is a group of usually amateur astronomers or hobbyists who share a fascination for phenomena in outer space. In particular, a local astronomy club or society may focus on the Moon, comets, stars, meteor showers, galaxies, or other deep sky objects. A local astronomy club is a great place to share projects, ideas, and participate in activities related to astronomy.

From Wikipedia

Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena sometimes with equipment that they build themselves. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur astrophotography, involves the taking of photos of the night sky. Many amateurs like to specialize in the observation of particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them. Most amateurs work at visible wavelengths, but a small minority experiment with wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. This includes the use of infrared filters on conventional telescopes, and also the use of radio telescopes. The pioneer of amateur radio astronomy was Karl Jansky who started observing the sky at radio wavelengths in the 1930s. A number of amateur astronomers use either homemade telescopes or use radio telescopes which were originally built for astronomy research but which are now available to amateurs (e.g. the One-Mile Telescope).[44][45] Amateur astronomers continue to make scientific contributions to the field of astronomy. Indeed, it is one of the few scientific disciplines where amateurs can still make significant contributions. Amateurs can make occultation measurements that are used to refine the orbits of minor planets. They can also discover comets, and perform regular observations of variable stars. Improvements in digital technology have allowed amateurs to make impressive advances in the field of astrophotography.