Lots of Telescopes on the field

Astronomers from across southeastern Michigan will set up solar telescopes during the afternoon, and telescopes of all shapes and sizes during the evening for you to observe numerous night sky objects! In 2023, we had reps from NASA Glenn who brought a giant inflatable Artemis rocket.

Jack Brisbin with Lowbrows’ telescope. Credit: Amy Cantu

Presentations and Hands-on

There will be a keynote lecture from a special guest both Friday and Saturday nights, as well as presentations by local astronomers – many of whom are volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors!

Jeff Kopmanis presenting “Diving into Astrophotography (without selling a kidney!)” on June 8, 2019 at the Cromaine District Library for their Alive 55+ program.

Astronomy Club Tables

Several Astronomy clubs and event hosts will be set up at tables with representatives, freebies, teacher resources, demonstrations and more! You can chat with local astronomers, and maybe schedule a lecturer to speak to your group.

This year’s theme is: Our Home Star

The Sun is nearing solar maximum, and is becoming more active – sunspots are appearing more often, and flares are more frequent; space weather is more energetic, and auroras and radio disturbances are occurring more frequently. Our lecturers will discuss the life-cycles of stars, the amazing processes taking place within them, and how space weather can affect space-based telecommunications and ground-based electrical infrastructure.

Raffle

TBD

Keynote Speakers:

TBD

Schedule

Friday Sept. 25

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Solar Observing with Astronomers – Telescope field
7:00 – 7:30 PM: How to Make a Comet – Michigan Science Center
7:45 – 8:45 PM: Keynote: TBD
8:30 –11:30 PM: Night Sky Observing with Astronomers – Telescope field
9:00 – 9:50 PM: Presentation: TBD
10:30 – 11:30 PM: Laser Tour of the Night Sky – Telescope field

Click here to download a PDF of the AATB Schedule

Saturday Sept. 26

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Solar Observing with Astronomers – Telescope field
7:00 – 7:30 PM: How to Make a Comet (tentative) – Michigan Science Center
7:45 – 8:45 PM: Keynote: TBD
8:30 –11:30 PM: Night Sky Observing with Astronomers – Telescope field
9:00 – 9:50 PM: Presentation: TBD
10:30 – 11:30 PM: Laser Tour of the Night Sky – Telescope field

Food and Drink

The Civil Air Patrol will be the food vendor this year. The selections should be similar to previous years – pizza, chips, soft drinks, etc.

Location

The event is at Island Lake State Park

Site Plan

Field Layout

Cost and Parking

The Astronomy at the Beach event itself is free. However, it is located within a state park, so a Michigan State Park “Recreation Passport” on your license plate tag is required to get you in; a metro-park sticker is not adequate (since this is not a metro-park).

If you do not have a Recreation Passport, you can buy the annual sticker at the gate for $13 (plus a $5 convenience fee – because they really want you to buy this option when you renew your vehicle registration tags).