The Northern Berkshire Astronomical Society is a group of astronomy enthusiasts from across the Northern Berkshires and into southern Vermont and eastern New York — a region that has something increasingly hard to find: genuinely dark skies. On a clear night here, the Milky Way is visible. Most people who live in the area have no idea what’s above them once the lights go out.
What We Do
We observe. Several times a year we hold star parties at dark sites around the Berkshires — places far enough from city lights that the Milky Way is actually visible. We also observe informally: a clear night, a few people, a couple of telescopes. If you’ve never seen Saturn’s rings, or the Andromeda Galaxy, or a star cluster through an eyepiece, that experience is available to you.
We talk. About what’s up in the sky this month. About the science behind what we’re looking at. About how to get started if you’re new, or how to go deeper if you’re not. The range of experience in the room on any given meeting night runs from absolute beginner to decades-long observer, and that’s a feature, not a bug.
We learn. The club website — this site — has over 100 articles: observing guides, deep dives into specific objects, explanations of the science, image galleries, and more. It’s a real resource, built for people who want to understand the sky, not just be told facts about it. You can start reading long before you ever come to a meeting, and people do.
We help. If you have a scope you can’t figure out, bring it to a meeting. Someone will know how to use it. If you’re trying to decide whether astronomy is actually for you before investing in any equipment, come find out first. The sky is the same whether you’re looking at it with a $50 pair of binoculars or a thousand-dollar telescope, and we can help you figure out what — if anything — makes sense for how you want to observe.
Who This Is For
Anyone curious about the sky. That really is the whole list.
If you’re 17 or 70, if you’ve been staring at the sky since childhood or just started wondering what’s up there, the range of experience in the room is the point — it’s how the questions get answered.
Maybe you have a telescope you haven’t used. You got it somewhere along the way — bought it, inherited it, found it — and the idea of actually getting it out has been waiting for a Saturday that hasn’t arrived yet.
Or maybe you don’t have any equipment at all, just a long-standing curiosity about the sky that never quite found anywhere to land.
Or maybe you were into this once, and something recently reminded you — a photograph, a clear night when you stopped and actually looked up.
Any of those is enough. Join us at a meeting or one of our public events.
Monthly meetings: First Wednesday, 6 PM
North Adams Public Library · 74 Church Street, North Adams, MA
See our calendar in the sidebar for updates on observing events and public talks.
Whatever your experience, you belong under our skies.