Membership Benefits

Membership Levels

• Regular: Regular membership is open to adults age 18 or older. Dues are $30 per year. Regular members are entitled to all the benefits listed below. In addition, all family members of our Regular members are welcome to attend any club event and to rent club equipment. Adult family members can also use the club's observing sites. Most members join as Regular members.
  
  
• Patron: Patron membership is open to Regular members after their first full year of membership and requires Board approval. Dues are $100 per year. Patron members enjoy all the same benefits as Regular members, but they also have access to the club's 17.5-inch equatorially mounted telescope in the main observatory building at Hidden Hill Observatory, the club's dark-sky observing site. The observatory is currently closed and being rebuilt.
  
  
• Student: Full-time students can join TVS for only $10 per year. Student members under the age of 18 do not have access to the club's two observing sites and require parental approval to rent any club equipment. Otherwise, Student members enjoy all the same benefits as Regular members.
  
  

Membership Benefits

• Monthly club meetings: TVS holds club meetings on the third Friday of every month at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore. Ten of our twelve meetings each year feature a guest speaker followed by refreshments and conversation. Our other two meetings are pot-luck dinners (typically July and December) fully devoted to conversation. Meetings are always an excellent venue for talking with other club members about equipment, observing locations, or just about anything else astronomy related.
  
  
• Monthly newsletter: Each month all club members receive email notification of the availability of Prime Focus, the club's monthly newsletter. Our newsletter is posted on the club's web site and is usually available a week or so before that month's meeting. Members can refer to the newsletter for information about upcoming meetings, star parties, and other events.
  
  
• Enrollment in the Astronomical League: All members of the Tri-Valley Stargazers are also enrolled as members in the Astronomical League. TVS members receive the Astronomical League's quarterly magazine, Reflector, at their home address and are eligible to participate in the League's many observing programs.
  
  
• Club email group: Anyone can visit our club's discussion group at groups.io, where we post meeting announcements, announce star party details, aand discuss other topics of interest.
  
  
• Dark-sky observing site: All adult members have access to Hidden Hill Observatory (or H2O), our club's dark-sky observing site. H2O is located on private property about an hourss drive south from downtown Livermore. The club has had a special arrangement with the landowner for over 30 years, allowing any club member use of the location for $10 per year (plus a one-time $20 key deposit) and $3 per visit. If any club member would like to visit H2O before enrolling for access, they are welcome to go as a guest of one of the many club keyholders or to attend any Open House we have at the site. We hold two Open Houses each year, usually in May and August.
  
  
• Del Valle observing site: New in 2018, all adult club members also have access to our observing site within the Del Valle Regional Park upon completing an online form. The Del Valle site is much closer to the Tri-Valley than H2O, but the night sky is typically 0.5 to 1.0 magnitude brighter (still superior to most Bay Area backyards) and has no facilities. There is no additional cost to use the Del Valle site.
  
  
• Club star parties: Several times each year we hold star parties for club members and their guests at a local Livermore winery. Despite its urban location the winery has reasonably dark skies and the summer Milky Way is easily visible with the unaided eye. Our club star parties are a wonderful opportunity for all club members to enjoy a night of observing with fellow amateur astronomers while still being close to home.
  
  
• Outreach star parties: The club holds outreach star parties throughout the year for the benefit of a wide variety of educational and recreational groups. These events are a great opportunity for members to share their enthusiasm for the night sky with the public and to become an ambassador for the club and for amateur astronomy.
  
  
• Telescope rental program: The club has several telescopes that are available to rent for $15 per month plus a refundable deposit, or free for 1 month if brought to an outreach event. Newtonian reflectors, Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, and refractors are available along with a selection of eyepieces.
  
  
• Reduced rate subscriptions: All club members can subscribe to Sky & Telescope at the reduced rate of $43.95 per year and to Astronomy magazine at the reduced rate of $34.00 per year. Both are excellent magazines for learning more about the night sky, observing techniques, new equipment, and so on.
  
  

Membership Application