With the COVID-19 quarantine nearly lasting 1 year, it has taken a toll on everyone and astronomers have had to adapt in numerous ways. But once the quarantine is lifted, here are some of the favorite in person activities that will excite any astronomer!

Astronomy Club Meetings

It is great to see that astronomy clubs are allowing members to join live meeting and post their meetings to YouTube or other platforms for viewing, there is still something missing. Being able to attend the meetings in person provides the opportunity for new members to learn about a club, make friends, and for existing members to reconnect with their existing friends. This is something that might change post-COVID, but is a really important part of the social aspect of amateur astronomy on a local level. Astronomy clubs provide local star parties, networking opportunities, and ways to trade tips and stories on gear and local astronomy sites.

Star Parties

Star parties are a great way for astronomers to view the stars in a social venue. This social venue is a fantastic setting for sharing gear in real time, allow for viewing through your and others telescopes, and sharing tips. Star parties serve as a backbone for many amateur astronomy groups and the opportunity for amateur astronomers to network and do great astronomical viewing! Star parties do have a great social aspect and serve as a main method for many to observe in dark skies. Star parties are sometimes the only way for some to go to darker skies to observe, so are crucial for providing great astronomical skies for the public and astronomy club members.

Go To New Astronomy Sites

Being able to visit and travel to new astronomy venues has been something that has been missed. Going to a dark sky site with friends or alone has always been a great way to observe the skies and practice using gear! With COVID-19, many of these sites were closed and traveling with friends and getting supplies wasn’t possible. However, once everything opens up again, we plan on taking a few trips with friends to new astronomy venues such as Steens Mountain or Eastern Oregon or Craters of the Moon National Monument!

Attending Events And Conferences

Whether it be a NASA Social event or a local astronomy related conference, there are many in person events that provide amazing opportunities to network. Having online resources are great to have for future information to reference, but being able to attend an event and network takes the experiences to the next level. Making those friendships and networking allows people to expand their horizons in ways that simply an online conference cannot.

What in person events do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear you!

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