Introduction
The St. Petersburg Astronomy Club, Inc. (SPAC), has been Tampa Bay’s “Home for Family Astronomy” for more than 50 years. We provide free educational programs for our members and the public.
Meetings - General Meetings are normally held on the fourth Thursday of each month (except November and December when it is on the third Thursday) at St. Petersburg College/Gibbs Campus 6605 5th Ave North, Saint Petersburg, FL 33710, at 7:30 PM. Meetings are free and open to the public.
General meetings take place in the Natural Sciences Building, Room SC236. Parties and picnics are held in the Philip Benjamin Social Arts Building, Room SA114.
Please contact our Membership Chair, Peter McLean, for additional information.
Visit Us On Facebook
This Week's Sky at a Glance, along with member-created astrophotographs and interesting astronomy related articles are all posted on our Facebook page.
Star Party Request
Our members set up their telescopes to introduce and share the night-sky with various organizations throughout the year. Most of our events are conducted when Eastern Standard Time is in effect as the sunset is a little late during Daylight Savings Time. A first-quarter moon provides interesting viewing and so is the best week for star parties.
Star Party Request Request a star party for your school, church, or other organization.
Announcements
Annual Telescope Raffle
Congratulations Laura Foley for winning a beautiful a 12.5" f/5.3 Dobsonian that was this year's raffle telescope. This is a Newtonian truss tube telescope that dismantles for easy transport.
The ticket counter is now closed and we look forward to next year's raffle telescope.
The drawing and announcement of the winner is usually at the annual Orange Blossom Special Star Party (OBS) You do not need to be present to win. However, it is the winner’s responsibility to arrange pick-up.
Orange Blossom Special International Star Party
The St. Petersburg Astronomy Club proudly hosts our annual star party in Dade City, Florida each year.
You must be registered to attend.
NOTE: OBS 2025 has been canceled due to flooding at Withlacoochee River Park.
Membership Cards
You may print your membership card by signing into the website and going to Members Only. You will need to show your membership card at Withlacoochee River Park to get the member camping rate.
General Meetings
The meeting days, times and rooms have changed. Please refer to Meetings paragraph in the Introduction above for details. Use the link below to join the meeting via Zoom.
Cats In Space
Cats in Space IV is an annual cat adoption and astronomy outreach event which will be held at First Ladies Farm and Sanctuary in Riverview on November 16th. The First Ladies Farm is an urban farm and animal sanctuary. They rescue cats and domestic poultry, providing love, care and a safe haven for as long as it takes to find their forever homes. SPAC has partnered up with this great rescue for an evening of telescope observing and 24 feet of charcuterie, an open bar and their famous trifle for dessert. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite and are limited. There will be many raffle prizes, including a telescope donated by SPAC to help raise funds for the rescue.
For more information contact: mileslegionis@verizon.net
The St. Petersburg Astronomy Club Examiner (SPACE) is published monthly. Please forward astronomy related articles, items for sale and suggestions to the Editor, Guy Earle, at SPACExaminer@gmail.com.
You may view our newsletters archive on Google Drive.
Contacts
Please send an email to Info@StPeteAstronomyClub.org for additional information.
Please contact our Webmaster if you encounter any problems with the membership application or website.