A key membership benefit of NPMAS is the opportunity to participate in club star parties. Scheduled regularly throughout most of the calendar year, the NPMAS gather at dark sky sites and work on personal observing merit programs, astrophotography, observational sketching, or just plain socializing with an occasional peek through the scope. These star parties are a great way for beginners to pair up with experienced members as well as seasoned observers to work on observing very difficult to find deep sky objects. Bottom line, there is something for everyone to broaden their experiences with the night sky.

The NPMAS routinely invites the public to join in the fun of start gazing via our "Public Observing Night" events. Typically held twice a year at a local park or nature center, members set up their scopes and the public can meander about and visit each scope to see something different. If you haven't seen the moons of Jupiter, or the rings of Saturn, be sure to mark down when we are hosting these events by visiting our events page and come on out to join us. If have seen those objects, maybe try your luck to see the Ring Nebula in Lyra the Harp!

As an NPMAS member, you are able to use, free of charge, any of our available loaner scopes and accessories. This is the perfect opportunity to become familiar with different telescopes and how each works before deciding to buy one of your own.

One of the key highlights of club membership is access to viewing the cosmos at the Ron Parmentier Observatory just a short drive Eastward of Green Bay. The Observatory houses the largest privately owned 30" Cassegrain Telescope in Wisconsin fitted with a 6" refractor finder scope!