PRESCOTT AStronomy Club
Exploring the Night Sky Together
Our Mission:
- Bring together people interested in astronomy
- Help them develop their astronomical skills and knowledge
- Encourage education about and public interest in astronomy
2026 Prescott Astronomy Club meetings and events:
Starry Nights Star Party
!!CLOUDS IN THE FORECAST FOR SATURDAY June 6!!June 6 (Saturday) @ 8:30p: Starry Nights Star Party @ Williamson Valley Trailhead. Free and open to the public, weather permitting (map)
(NOTE: JUNE MEETING – CHANGE OF DAY, same time, same location)
June 9 (Tuesday) @ 6p: Club Meeting – A Decade of Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics with LIGO. Dr Brennan Hughey @ ERAU
July 1 @ 6p: Club Meeting – Member Presentations
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Monthly club meetings, Starry Nights star parties, and solar/lunar viewing events are free and open to the public.
Club meetings are held monthly on the 1st Wednesday, from 6p-8p @ Prescott Public Library, Founders Suite
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Member Only events
(Details for Member Only events are sent to your registered PAC email address)
ABSIG (Astronomy Basics): Next Date TBD
APSIG (Astrophotography): Monthly on the 2nd Monday @ 10:30a
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All telescope viewing events as well as private star party events are weather dependent.
Cancelations will be noted above and sent via email to club members.
Upcoming Event Descriptions
Club Meeting
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
A Decade of Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics with LIGO
-- NOTE: Meeting Date is Tuesday June 9 --
LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, has detected hundreds of binary black hole mergers since the discovery of GW150914 over 10 years ago, and the tenth anniversary of gravitational-wave astrophysics was marked with a paper proving Hawking's black hole theorem with the most precisely measured black hole system to date. I'll give an update on the past, present, and future of the LIGO experiment, including things happening right in Prescott with our four faculty member LIGO group.
Dr. Brennan Hughey is a professor of physics and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, ERAU. Dr. Hughey holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. His doctoral thesis was done with the IceCube neutrino detector experiment, and his graduate work included a trip to the South Pole, where the detector is located. After earning his Ph.D. he joined the LIGO collaboration in the search for gravitational waves.
in 1 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes
Club Meeting
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Member Presentations
Club members give a 5-10 min short presentation about their astronomy project. Contact Brian Blau if you are interested in participating in our member presentation meeting.
in 23 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes