πŸŽ‚ Celebrating our 3rd Anniversary!

NBAS observing in dark Vermont skies
Three years ago this month, NBAS started as a handful of Northern Berkshire astronomy enthusiasts looking for an excuse to get together under dark skies. Since then we’ve put out a newsletter every single month without missing an issue – this is #36 – alongside 36 constellation highlights, 18 Closer Look deep-dives, and everything from smart-scope challenges to astronomy quizzes along the way. We’ve also taken the club on the road, with public observing nights at Williamstown and partnerships with Arunah Hill and Notchview that put telescopes in front of anyone curious enough to show up, plus gathering for member observing nights at several dark-sky locations in the area.

None of that happens without the club’s founding goals staying front and center: promoting and teaching astronomy, welcoming hobbyists at every level, and making the resources – telescopes, cameras, know-how – available to everyone who wants to look up. Three years in, that’s still the whole point. Here’s to the next three.

🎀 Public Observing - Williamstown Historical Society - Sep. 12

Come join us at our upcoming public event!
The Little Red Schoolhouse (historically the South Center School) is a beautifully preserved 1865 one-room schoolhouse. Located at 32 New Ashford Road (Route 7) in South Williamstown, MA (next to the Store at Five Corners), it currently serves as the home of the Williamstown Historical Museum.

We’ll be there with a lecture by NBAS member Dr. Bob Donahue talking about “30 Years of Exoplanets” and observing through telescopes to follow. (Saturn and Neptune will definitely be on the menu! Maybe even Pluto in a smart scope!)

πŸ“… Upcoming Events

  • Arunah Hill Days - Sep 4-6
  • NBAS Public Observing - Sep 12 (see above)
  • Arunah Hill STARWATCH - Sep 18 - this is the opportunity for people to be trained on the telescopes at Arunah Hill and become members of that group
  • Moon Occults Jupiter - Oct 6 (details)
  • Mars Crosses the Beehive (M 44) - Oct 11 (details)

🌐 What’s Happening on Our Website

Here are a few upcoming articles to look for in September:

And keep an eye out for Planet Watch: Jupiter Meets the Moon, Mars Crosses the Beehive (Sep 19) – it’s the source for both October events listed above.

πŸ“Έ This Month’s Image

IC 10, Bob Donahue, NBAS, Two Seestar S50s, 272 min

Continuing the theme from last month using a pair of Seestar S50s to “gang up” on an object, here’s IC 10 - “the Starburst Galaxy” in Cassiopeia.

While the nickname evokes something bright and dynamic looking, the dim, hazy galaxy is anything but. But looks deceive - and particular here: IC 10 is actually one of the galaxies in the Local Group, and its true brightness is masqueraded by the unfortunate coincidence that it’s located very close to the Galactic Plane. So, it’s shrouded by local gas and dust block much of the light (in visible wavelengths) and also causing it to appear quite red.

For this challenge, the goal was “get as many images as you can in a single night”, and the Seestar S50s (Elusippe and Ellen) did their best - 1,633 images went into this stack - that’s just over 4Β½ hours!

βœ¨πŸ”­ Monthly Starmap

To help you navigate the night sky this month, we’ve provided a high-resolution starmap. The PNG is great for quick viewing, while the PDF is optimized for sharp home printing.

Reference starmap for September 2026 (no planets)

September 2026 Reference Starmap

Reference chart (no planets) β€” optimized for sharp home printing.

πŸ“₯ Download Chart (Print Ready)