Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club

The Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club is a group of like-minded astronomy enthusiasts who appreciate and observe the wonders of our universe. The CAAC was established in 1954 by local astronomy devotees, Charlotte Kelly and Forrest Selby who sought to share their experiences with other individuals in their area.

We currently have approximately 120 members of various experience levels - from the beginner to the most advanced, serving an eight-to-ten county geography roughly centered on Charlotte, North Carolina.

Each month, club members gather as a group for a meeting to share our night and day-time sky observing experiences and to hear from speakers who present a multitude of astronomy related topics to our members in their lectures.

Throughout the year, the Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club sponsors several community and private events to share our passion of the night sky at “star parties”. Here, club members assemble with their telescopes and allow the public to view the magnificence of the heavens that they have most likely only seen in books.

The Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club’s greatest physical asset is the “Gayle H. Riggsbee Observatory” where club members gather under dark skies, away from bright city lights, to view and photograph celestial objects using their own personal equipment or one of the club’s three large telescopes. Access to the club observatory is available to members who choose that membership option.

Meetings are held at 7:00pm on the 3rd Friday of each month (except for December) at the Masonic Temple, 500 North Sharon Amity Road.

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