The Bays Mountain Astronomy Club holds regular meetings.
All are welcome to attend the club meetings. Each meeting is unique and will include an interesting keynote speaker that presents a topic of astronomical interest. All of these programs should be of great interest to the general public and are lots of fun. We hope to see you at a future meeting!
March 6, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Location – Bays Mountain observatories
Topic – Club Observing Night
April 3, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Location – TBD
Topic – TBA
May 1, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Location – Bays Mountain Planetarium Theater
Topic – Student Presentations
June 5, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Location – TBD
Topic – TBA
Opportunities & Rules
There are endless learning opportunities while being a member of the astronomy club. Our members are more than happy to help. Topics can run from using a telescope and star chart, to learning the details of astrophotography, or understanding the basics of astronomy like Moon phases and seasons.
Volunteerism
This is not the same as being a member of the Bays Mountain Astronomy Club. Anyone of any age can be a member of the club.
If you want to do more and provide help with public events such as StarWatch or Astronomy Day and engage with the public, use City equipment, or be the club chair, then this is considered volunteerism. We really appreciate your desire to help out! But, this will require you to fill out the City’s volunteer form and visit with the Park’s Volunteer Coordinator for an orientation meeting. The form is simple and should only take a few minutes. Part of the form is a background check and there is NO COST to you for this. Please bring the completed form to a club meeting, mail in or bring it to the Park’s front desk in a sealed envelope. After the form is processed and accepted by the Park, the Volunteer Coordinator will then contact you to attend an orientation meeting. They will then contact the Planetarium Director about your status.
Please note, doing a singular effort during a year, like providing a presentation at a meeting or helping out during Astronomy Day or such, would not require you to fill out the form.
If you are younger than 16, then you won’t be able to “volunteer,” but we still want to offer the opportunity for you to learn directly from one of our volunteers or staff on astronomy, how to use a telescope and how to find celestial objects in the night sky. If this occurs during a StarWatch, you won’t be able to bring in your own equipment as we can’t exclude visitors from wanting to look through your instrument. But, you can be instructed and use the instrument the volunteer is using.
Link to BMP Volunteerism
Rules
In order to enjoy the full benefits of being a member of the Bays Mountain Astronomy Club, like earning the opportunity to run a scope in one of our observatories or even help at a public event, one needs to understand that being a member is akin to volunteerism to Bays Mountain Park. As such, a member needs to be in good standing, of good character and doesn’t abuse this privilege.
The Park and the City of Kingsport is enforcing some long held basic, good behavior guidelines regarding volunteers. If a volunteer (that has successfully been accepted into the volunteer program) does not play well with others, then they will not be a part of the volunteer program. Again, it is a privilege, not a right, to be a member of the club and to volunteer.
Not to put a negative tone to this letter, it is important to establish guidelines that we can all work by. Here is a short list of unacceptable behaviors:
- Being rude and/or abusive to another member/public/staff person. This includes verbal, unspoken, online and physical methods. Abuse also includes micromanaging, passive/aggressive behavior, high type-A behavior and more.
- Theft.
- Damage to equipment/property through gross negligence or on purpose.
- Shirking responsibilities.
- Being intoxicated, even by the smallest amount, by alcohol or drugs.
This is not an absolute list, but it should get the point across.
