About us
We are a group of people in the Mid-Hudson Valley who are interested in Astronomy and Science. We hold monthly star parties at Lake Taghkanic State Park, and monthly presentations at SUNY New Paltz -- both open to the public.
Star Parties: MHAA star parties are generally held on the Friday before a new moon (with Saturday as a back-up). The dates are listed our web page about Astronomy at Lake Taghkanic State Park. You must register (here on Meetup) to attend the event, and you will need to provide your car's license plate and make and model so that we can give that info to the park police. You can see the forecast for viewing conditions on the Lake Taghkanic State Park Clear Sky Chart. If you will be attending one of our star parties it may help for you to review our MHAA Etiquette Guide.
Public Lectures: Monthly public lectures are presented on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, at 8:00 PM. Anyone who is interested can come in person to the Coykendall Science Building (CSB) Auditorium on the campus of SUNY New Paltz. (The Auditorium is right across the lobby from the Planetarium.). These events are also broadcast live on Zoom for those who wish to view remotely. To get the Zoom link you should sign up for the event here on meetup. Most presentations are recorded and later made available on our YouTube channel.
Education and Outreach: MHAA also participates in local education and outreach events. Our members are available to make presentations or arrange for public observations of the night sky or the sun, or the moon, and to help beginners learn how to get started in amateur astronomy. When the weather allows, we often set up telescopes on the Walkway Over the Hudson when they hold their Walkway At Night events.
Calendar: Club events are listed on the MHAA Google Calendar. Both our Star Parties and our Monthly Presentations are open to the public. (Our Monthly Presentations are preceded by an open club business meeting, which may be less interesting.)
YouTube: Recordings of our public presentations, some star parties, and some other activities are available on our YouTube channel.
Mailing List: If you would like to keep up with club news then you can follow us by joining our email list at mhaa.groups.io . This is a low traffic email list, and membership in MHAA is not required.
Joining MHAA: If you are interested in becoming a member of MHAA (not just following us here on Meetup or by email or Facebook) then you can use these instructions. MHAA members can borrow club telescopes or DVDs from our collection and can participate in discussions with other members on our Slack discussion channels. Annual dues are $25, which we use to support our activities, including insurance for our star parties and paying for Zoom and Meetup.
Business Meetings: There is a club Business Meeting every month just before the public presentation, at 7:30 PM, at the same location. It is also on Zoom. Anyone is welcome to attend, but it's probably mostly of interest to club members and boring for anybody else. If you join the Zoom call before 8:00 PM you may catch the end of the meeting, but be assured that we try to start the presentation promptly at the scheduled time.
Donations: Donations are always welcomed to help support the club's education and outreach activities. You can use this PayPal link or send email to treasurer@midhusonastro.org. We also accept donations of telescopes and other equipment, which we can fix up and lend to our members, or pass them on to other organizations that will make use of them.
If you have any questions, send them to questions@midhudsonastro.org
Upcoming events
17
February 2026 Star Party
Lake Taghkanic State Park, Elizaville, NY, USEnjoy the night sky as we prepare to transition from Winter to Spring. Get away from the bright lights of the towns and cities in our area! The night will be dark - perfect for star gazing. Bring your own telescopes and binoculars or use those provided by our members. A telescope is not required.
Orion will be visible early, but Gemini will be prominent near zenith, and Leo will be high in the sky before the end of the evening. It's the beginning of "Galaxy Season", and views of galaxies like M81 (featured image) will be be possible both through the eyepiece and on a screen. Andromeda (M31) and Triangulum (M33) will be visible early, then set. Others will be rising, including the famous Leo Triplet, before the end of the evening.
Telescope operators will arrive about 30 minutes early to set up. Observing begins about an hour after sunset and will probably end around 10, or whenever club members decide to leave.
You must RSVP with your car's make, model, and license plate number at least one day beforehand. This info is required by and sent to the State Park authorities because we are there after park hours. If you attend without being on the list and the police show up, the consequences can include revocation of our permit for after hours use.
If you have not been to one of our star parties before then please review our guide to star party etiquette.
A forecast of the viewing conditions can be found on the Astrospheric Sky Forecast. It shows various viewing conditions (cloud cover, transparency, darkness) as well as temperature, wind, etc. If you scroll down the page you'll find additional useful info such as sunset timing, position of the planets, and more.
Note well: Winter viewing conditions can be very clear - but also cold. Since you will be standing around looking at the stars for a while you may feel even colder than otherwise when outdoors. Dress warmly and consider bringing extra layers in case you need them as the night goes on. Handwarmers can help fight the cold.
For further information, email info@midhudsonastro.org
Featured image credit: Greg Salyer, an MHAA member since 2011, specializes in deep sky astrophotography. This includes the photography of galaxies, star clusters, supernova explosions, planetary nebula, and beautiful clouds of gas and dust scattered throughout the Milky Way.
21 attendees
March 2026 Star Party (Messier Madness)
Lake Taghkanic State Park, Elizaville, NY, USMarch is when more Messier objects (those Deep Space Objects whose catalog number starts with an "M", like M42) are visible than any other month of the year. If you're there between 7 and 9 PM, something like 65 of the 110 Messier objects will have risen above the horizon. More will be on the way if you stay later. No doubt someone will have pointed a telescope at M82, the Cigar Galaxy, as shown in the featured image for this month, taken by an MHAA member from his back yard.
Telescope operators will arrive about 30 minutes early to set up. Observing begins about an hour after sunset and will probably end around 10, or whenever club members decide to leave.
You must RSVP with your car's make, model, and license plate number at least one day beforehand. This info is required by and sent to the State Park authorities because we are there after park hours. If you attend without being on the list and the police show up, the consequences can include revocation of our permit for after hours use.
If you have not been to one of our star parties before then please review our guide to star party etiquette.
A forecast of the viewing conditions can be found on the Astrospheric Sky Forecast. It shows various viewing conditions (cloud cover, transparency, darkness) as well as temperature, wind, etc. If you scroll down the page you'll find additional useful info such as sunset timing, position of the planets, and more.
Note: Late Winter viewing conditions can be very clear - but also cold. Since you will be standing around looking at the stars for a while you may feel even colder than otherwise when outdoors. Dress warmly and consider bringing extra layers in case you need them as the night goes on.
For further information, text or call Tim Denman at 845-245-5483 or Jack Chastain at 845-430-6851.
Image by Krists Auders, MHAA Member
5 attendees
Past events
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