The University Lowbrow Astronomers

Who Are We?

We are a diverse group of around 90 amateur astronomers, ranging from amateur telescope makers to professional rocket scientists (really!). Some of us just like to read, while others like to get out and observe or photograph the heavens. The bottom line is that we all have a more than casual interest in astronomy, and you do not have to be a student or alumnus of the University of Michigan to join! Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, we hope that you will find us to be friendly, knowledgeable, and fun to be with. The University Lowbrow Astronomers are a non-profit, IRC 501(c)(7) organization.

See also the photo album.

Benefits

Your dues (see below) entitles you and your immediate family (spouse and children) to the following benefits:

• Monthly newsletter. Eight pages full of late breaking astronomical news, information, reports, and club business, delivered right to your door (or at least your mailbox). Many articles are written by our own members and some are available on this web site.
• Magazine subscription discounts. As a Lowbrow, you can receive Sky and Telescope magazine for $43.95 per year, and Astronomy magazine for $34.00 for one year, $60.00 for two years , or $83.00 for three. Subscribe to them both and you might save enough to cover your dues!
• Access to a 24 inch(!) telescope. The Lowbrows have access to the University’s 24 inch McMath Cassegrain telescope on Peach Mountain near Pinckney. See for yourself what REAL light gathering power is! Also, if you own your own telescope, there is room at the observatory site to set it up at one of the darkest sites in the Ann Arbor area. The observatory is on North Territorial Road, 1.1 miles west of the Dexter-Pinckney Road intersection.
• Private hotline. We have a private telephone hotline, for Lowbrows only, by which you can obtain late breaking news, or to find out if anyone is going out to the observatory on a given night.
• E-Mail list. All members have the option of being included in our e-mail list. A variety of information is distributed in this way.
• The University Lowbrow Astronomers are a member of NASA’s Night Sky Network. More information is available here.
• The Lowbrow Library. This consists of a variety of astronomy books and DVDs as well as materials for the Night Sky Network.

Activities

• Unless otherwise indicated, monthly meetings are held on the third Friday of every month, at 7:30 pm. Besides club business, meetings always feature a speaker and/or some kind of presentation. Unless otherwise indicated, meetings are held in Room G115 Angell Hall on the campus of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor [go here for a map]. (The July meetings are usually held on the campus of Eastern Michigan University). Per tradition, after each meeting we adjourn to the nearby Pizza House for food and camaraderie. See the calendar of astronomy events for meeting topics.
• Public Open Houses at Peach Mountain are scheduled on a regular basis. When it is clear, these are well attended by visitors, so you are encouraged to help with these events, whether directing parking or foot traffic, or providing a telescope for viewing. The Lowbrows are also involved with a variety of other astronomy related events over the course of the year. See the calendar of astronomy events.
• There also is a telescope making subgroup within the club, which meets each month on the Sunday that follows the regular Friday meeting, at club members’ homes. It is open to any member interested in telescope making. Announcements for subgroup meetings are posted in the monthly newsletter.
• In addition, there is a computer subgroup. This subgroup discusses the varied applications of computers within astronomy. Meeting times for the computer subgroup vary.

See the club photo album for a sample of some Lowbrow activities.

Officers

President	Charles Nielsen	(734) 747-6585
President Emeritus	Dr. Mark Vincent
Vice Presidents	Adrian Bradley	(313) 354-5346
	Jim Forrester	(734)-663-1638
	Dave Snyder
	Brian Ottum
Treasurer	Doug Scobel
Newsletter Editor	Amy Cantu
Observatory Director	Jack Brisbin	(734) 455-7827
Observatory Director Emeritus	Percival Lowell (deceased)
Webmaster	Krishna Rao
Online Coordinator	Jeff Kopmanis

The Observatory Committee

Jack Brisbin	Ken Cook	Jim Forrester	Tom Ryan
Kurt Hillig	Yasuharu Inugi	Mike Kurylo	D C Moons
Nathan Murphy	Charlie Nielsen	Mike Radwick
Dave Snyder

Joining the Club or Renewing Your Membership

To join online using PayPal then contact the club treasurer at

To join by check via US mail then send your name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, and dues check to

University Lowbrow Astronomers
1308 Gold Ct.  
Traverse City MI 49696

Make your check payable to "University Lowbrow Astronomers".

Web Site

The University Lowbrow Astronomers maintain the web site you are now viewing which contains a variety of information. Club members have contributed most of the material on this web site. The web server is provided by the University of Michigan.

This site is regularly updated (look at the calendar for recent changes) and consists of several different sections:

• Open Houses—Information about open houses (where the public can look through telescopes) and other astronomy events in Southeast Michigan.
• Links—Links to other astronomy web sites.
• Peach Mountain—Information about the facilities used by the lowbrow astronomers (including a history of the various observatories operated by the University of Michigan from 1854 to the present).
• Pictures—Photographs and sketches made by Lowbrow Astronomers (many taken at Peach Mountain).
• The Club (which includes this file)—Information about the club, its members and activities (this includes a list of topics of past and upcoming club meetings).
• The Club Photo Album—Photographs of Lowbrows at various club activities.
• Club Newsletter—A collection of articles from our newsletter. These articles are all written by club members and cover a variety of topics (including astronomy equipment, history and other information).
• Book List—A list of astronomy books (from astronomy books for children to more advanced books).
• Observer’s Guide—Information on astronomy observing (includes an overview of what a beginner can expect to see in the night sky and more advanced topics).

This and other information may be found on our home page or through the club search engine.

For comments about this web site or to obtain more information about the club, contact us.

By-Laws

The club operates under a set of by-laws. The current version of the by-laws was approved at the April 2010 meeting. View the current by-laws

In April 2010, the club approved the first amendment made since the bylaws were approved by the membership in 2003. One amendment is to correct a wording problem. In the description of the Webmaster’s duties the word “newsletter” is used in a place where it should be “website”. Obviously, the Webmaster deals with our website, and our Newsletter Editor with our newsletter. The other proposed amendment is to raise the club spending limit without a general membership vote of approval, from $100 to $250. The reason for this is because more than once club members have spent funds exceeding the limit due to time limitations. The money needed to be spent for a club function or property before it was possible to bring it to the next available club meeting for vote.

University Lowbrow Astronomers Bylaws, Rev. 2, 3/3/03

Page 4, Article IV, Section B, 3, f, 2:

"General expenditures are the ongoing expenses incurred in the fulfillment of the duties of officers and the basic objectives of the Club" to be changed to "General expenditures are the ongoing expenses incurred by the officers in the fulfillment of their duties and the basic objectives of the Club"

Page 4, Article IV, Section B, 3, f, 3:

Part of text "($100)" to be changed to "($250)".

After IV.B.f.3.c, add the sentence: "Special expenditures under $250.00 must be approved by a majority of the club officers, including either the President and/or the Treasurer." This will become IV.B.f.3.d.

After the above sentence, add the sentence: "Since the Treasurer and the President have check signing authority, checks written to either party must be written and signed by the other". This will become IV.B.f.3.e.

Page 5, Article IV, Section B, 6, a, 2:

"The contents of the newsletter should not be" to be changed to "The contents of the website should not be"

Links

• The Home Page for the University Lowbrow Astronomers.
• The University of Michigan Astronomy Department.
• The University of Michigan Gateway.
• A List of Other Astronomy Clubs in SE Michigan.
• Other Astronomy Related Pages.

Copyright Info

Copyright © 2018, the University Lowbrow Astronomers. (The University Lowbrow Astronomers are an amateur astronomy club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan).

University Lowbrow Astronomers Privacy Policy

This page revised Monday, August 29, 2022 2:59 PM.

This web server is provided by the University of Michigan; the University of Michigan does not permit profit making activity on this web server.

Do you have comments about this page or want more information about the club? Contact Us.