Madison Astronomical Society

  • A Polar Telescope in the Spirit of Porter

    Friday, Jan 9, 2026, 7:00 PM, UW Space Place

    MAS promo image for January 2026 meeting

    The design for this unusual telescope, which features a polar-aligned, fixed eyepiece, takes me back several decades. At the time, I was investigating warmed-room observatories, many of which had been featured in the well-known Amateur Telescope Making book series (three volumes). One of the simplest of these had been constructed by Russell W. Porter (1871–1949), principal founder of the amateur telescope making movement, which (in the U.S.) began in the early twentieth century.

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    • Aurora Through Clouds?

      Photograph of red aurora shining through clouds: Timothy Hughes. timothyhughes.com.
      credit: Tim Hughes.

      When the aurora borealis is going off, clouds are almost always the spoiler. But is it possible to see the aurora through the clouds?

      Obviously you can see the northern lights through breaks in the clouds. When skies are mostly cloudy, every hole becomes an astronomer’s friend. Holes allow us brief glimpses of the heavens—planets, deep sky objects—for fleeting intervals as a cloud deck drifts overhead.

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    • Beginning Astronomy Guide

      Craig Jewell head shot

      by Craig Jewell

      When most people think of astronomy, they think of a telescope on a tripod on a clear night, where everything they look at is brilliant and in focus. That’s an ideal image, but it doesn’t necessarily happen the first time you set up your telescope and step outside. There’s much to learn along the way, and it can be awe inspiring and wondrous! And it shouldn’t start with spending money and getting frustrated. You can learn about the night sky from other people. Many of the tools don’t cost much, and you may already have them.

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