Newstar

Northeast wisconsin stargazers

HTML Radio Generator Next Club Meeting February 19th | Barlow Open Letter | Future of the Barlow Planetarium | Sheboygan Astronomical Society Swap N Sell March 15th

Wednesday, February 19 – Room 1229


Dr. Teri Gee – Director, Barlow Planetarium


Surveying the Stars: A History of Pickering’s Computers

When you look at the stars at night, you can see that they have different colors and brightness. Our understanding of stars today is largely based on the work of a group of women at the Harvard Observatory in the late 19th and early 20th century, called Pickering’s Computers. Through painstaking observations of stellar spectra, these women were able to figure out what stars are made of, how bright they are and what their surface temperature is. Many were well-educated. Some were self-taught. All were devoted to their work at the observatory and their work contributed to our understanding, not only of stars, but also of galaxies.

STSI Tonight's Sky: February 2025
JPL What's Up: February Skywatching Tips from NASA

NEWSTAR member Tom Eisch has created a few videos showing the process of image processing. Check them out on NEWSTAR’S YouTube channel. Click on the YouTube icon below.

NEWSTAR YouTube Channel

About us

NEWSTAR is a member society of the  Astronomical League.  We are dedicated to promoting amateur astronomy.  Our informal meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM in a classroom or the Barlow Planetarium – University of Wisconsin Oshkosh – Fox Valley (map) in Menasha, Wisconsin. Please check the calendar for meeting room information.  All interested persons are encouraged to attend.  All meetings are open to the public.  We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.  Additional information about NEWSTAR can be found on the About page.

Talk to us

Have any questions? We are always willing to answer any questions about the club, astronomy and how we can help you. You can also join us on Facebook and Discord. Facebook is open to anyone and our Discord channel is a benefit of membership.