Amateur astronomy has come a long way since the years of Robert Frost. A pursuit which was the province of a few is now accessible to all. Small and large telescopes are constructed by amateurs to focus on the night sky. Telescopes reaching for the sky at local star parties range from very small to our 27" Dobsonian.

The introduction of computers, reduction in weight and size of some scopes and the advent of the portable Schmidt-Cassegrain open opportunities for amateur astronomers unavailable to professionals only a few decades ago. The possibilities are promising for today's amateurs. With modern film, astrophotography is an activity easily available to an amateur astronomer. For the tinkerers among us, there are projects and telescopes to build, often utilizing skills acquired in other professions. For the theorist and cosmologist, hours of debate and speculation are possible. The scientists can follow the light curves of distant suns or chart the movements of double stars during years of observing. As individuals, we share the camaraderie and expertise of those around us, introducing our families to friends of like mind and interests. As a club we try to make these and other activities a possibility for our members, both those who are new to this hobby as well as to the seasoned observer.

The Hubble Space Telescope has evoked wonder and awe in all of us by the reality of what's out there in our universe. It is impossible to stand on a mountain top or in an open field on a summer night, looking at the full splendor of the Milky Way rising overhead, and not puzzle over our place in the universe, who we are, what we are and why we are.

Nearly a century ago, Camille Flammarion, a 19th Century French popularizer of astronomy, wrote:
 

"Is it not astonishing that nearly all the inhabitants of our planet have lived and died without knowing where they are, and without having the slightest conception of the marvels of our universe?"

It is our goal to make it not so.

Come wonder with us.