LVAAS General Meeting at Pulpit Rock

Why do we only see one side? Why does the moon rotate the way it does? Did we ever have more than one moon? What is on the dark side of the moon, and why is it so different? We will be going on a journey to the dark side of the moon, how it has been studied, what missions are to come, and even a little bit of astrophotography of our favorite neighbor.  There will be props and probably a Pink Floyd reference or two as we unwrap the history and new info out there about an old celestial favorite.

Dr. Becky Frank DVM, CVHEP, ACPEV, CT is an end-of-life veterinarian with a deep love of physics and quantum mechanics. In fact if she’d had any more time to do another minor than the two she received with her BS in biology from University at Buffalo, she would have gone for physics. It is from this joy that she has approached astronomy later in life, even though she now lives in the most light polluted place she ever has. When she can, she learns what she can about the scopes from her fellow club members who are vastly more knowledgeable, and in exchange brings her strong organizational qualities, and her background as a former professor to share any astronomical knowledge she soaks up. A voracious reader, she continues to deepen her understanding of the universe with books on black holes, wormholes, and all the wonky things that can happen when one ventures outside the Earth’s atmosphere.  She joined LVAAS in 2024 after attending a riveting lecture on the Europa Clipper mission, and no one has kicked her out yet, so she has happily remained to learn and serve.

Founded in 1957, the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society (LVAAS) is one of the oldest continuously-operating amateur astronomy organizations in the U.S. The mission of LVAAS is to promote the study of Astronomy and to maintain meeting spaces, observatories, and a planetarium.

LVAAS operates two astronomy sites: The South Mountain site in Salisbury Township is the headquarters of the Society. It has a planetarium with a Spitz A3P projector, a 21-foot dome, meeting space, the Red Shift store, library, workshop space, and three observatories. The Pulpit Rock site near Hamburg is LVAAS’s members-only dark sky site. At 1,600 feet above sea level, the site features five observatories and a pad for members’ scopes.

Members who receive training on the scopes may obtain keys to the observatories. LVAAS also maintains a rental “fleet” of telescopes that members may rent at low cost. Members also receive access to The Observer, our online newsletter, as well as reduced subscription prices to Sky and Telescope and Astronomy Magazine. If you want to learn more about astronomy and LVAAS, please join us at our next public star party.

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