Von Braun Astronomical Society
Our History
   VBAS was originally founded in 1954 as the Rocket City Astronomical Association, thanks to the efforts of a group of high school students interested in Astronomy lead by Sam Pruitt, along with the help and influence of Wernher von Braun.

   By 1956, the organization had grown to include several members of the Von Braun Missile Team and they completed the observatory shown on the left while under construction and shown below on the right of how our facilities appear today, which includes a second observatory, astronomical library, solar telescope, and planetarium.  Click on "Facilities" above for additional details.
What We Do
   VBAS is a non-profit volunteer organization of amateur and professional astronomers.  In addition to operating our planetarium and observatories located in Monte Sano State Park just East of Huntsville, Alabama, we also conduct side walk astronomy events in conjunction with several local community events such as Concerts In The Park and we're working to establish a remote dark sky observatory near Huntsville.

 Member & Public Events
   Members meet at our planetarium on the third Friday of each month, except for December, to discuss recent and upcoming astronomy events which usually includes a guest speaker and the public is welcome to attend!

   We also have several planetarium programs through out the year that the public is invited to and we enjoy viewing the evening skies afterwards when the weather permits.

   Watch for details about upcoming Member & Public events on our "Home" page.

 Additional Information
   By using the links in the blue area above, you can contact us for additional information, get directions to our facilities, and find out about membership in our organization.