You are invited!

If you have ever gazed up at the stars in awe and wonder you are not alone. Thousands of people are drawn to looking at the night sky and many do it with telescopes. In the Pittsburgh area a group of those on lookers have formed a club called the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh.

If you are like me I lived in Oakmont for a long time before I became aware of this group and the fact that they maintained an observatory in Deer Lakes Park just across the river. The Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory is owned and operated by the AAAP and the center piece of the facility is an eleven inch refractor telescope built in 1910 by John Brashear. There is quite a story behind this telescope that you can read on the organizations web site.

Every so often they have “star parties” that are open to the public and everyone is invited to share the joy of looking at the stars with a better view than you can get with the naked eye. This Friday and Saturday, August 12th and 13th 2005, will be the peak of the Perseid's Meteor Shower and the Wagman Observatory will be open to the public. If you find this interesting please visit their web site for directions and times for the star party.