Central Pennsylvania Observers

Contact us info@cpoclub.org
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Things we do

 

We hold star observation events throughout the summer at the Penn State Arboretum. Here is the 2026 schedule:

April 4 8:30-10:30

May 2 9:00-11:00

July 11 9:30-11:30

August 1 9:00-11:00

October 3 8:00-10:00

March 3, 2026, CPO Meeting:  A Tour of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in State College
(Rescheduled from October due to the government shutdown)
 
We amateur astronomers end up paying a lot of attention to weather forecasts so we can take advantage of those clear night skies, when they come. The March meeting of the Central Pennsylvania Observers will offer a firsthand look at how weather forecasts are made and what goes into them. We will have a tour of the State College Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service, as well as look at the Weather Service’s Mid-Atlantic River Forecast Center. (Long-time CPO member Bill Gartner recently retired for the Weather Forecast Office after many years of service, and member Peter Ahnert, who arranged the tour, is the retired director of the River Forecast Center.)
 
We will meet at the Forecast Office in Innovation Park at 7:00 pm, and please be on time. Peter has provided directions and instructions for entering the building, which are attached.
 
Meeting time & location:
Thursday October 2, 7:00 pm
National Weather Service Forecast Office
328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330
State College, PA 16803

Monthly Astronomy Meetings

Our meetings are open to the public. They are held (typically) on the first Thursday of each month at the South Hills Business School, 480 Waupelani Dr, State College, PA 16801 from 7-9PM.


Skywatches

Want to see what’s up in the night sky? Come and join CPO’s free night time public viewing events. We call them Skywatches, and they’re held at city parks around the State College area. You’ll be able to view celestial objects through telescopes provided by our volunteer members! We’ll tour the night sky and point out special features that will be different every month. Note that we can only hold the events when the sky is clear enough to use the telescopes, so if it is cloudy or raining we will have to cancel the session. All ages welcome, but children should be present only with a parent or guardian

Black Forest Star Party

The Black Forest Star Party (BFSP) is an annual dark-sky amateur astronomy observing event hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Observers (CPO).

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