The final expedition of the Association of General Celestial Observers took place in 1973. At the time, they were a handful of hardcore enthusiasts brought together by a shared interest. Three years later, key members of that group came together to form a new organization, launching the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers. Today, the DVAA has grown to 286 paying members who’ve made prolific astronomical discoveries, helping the region become something of a hotbed for astrophotography.
Hosting star parties across Delaware and Montgomery counties, public meetings at the Radnor Township Municipal Building, lectures and workshops, and astronomy presentations to Scout and school groups, the DVAA has become just as much of a social club as it is a resource for local astronomers. Thanks to these free events, nearly 2,500 nonpaying guests are finding ways to get involved with the stargazing community.
DVAA president Janet Rush lauds all the work her organization has accomplished in recent years. Their star parties are as popular as ever, with fields across the region filled with curious minds and hungry eyes gazing toward the heavens. “When you’ve done astronomy for a long time, it rejuvenates you to teach and see the enthusiasm of new people,” she says.
The proximity to Philadelphia does present its challenges, namely light pollution. It’s a catch-22. Most astronomy organizations need to be near a city to build membership, but they must be far enough away to observe the skies without industrial interference. While local fields have become prime gathering spots around the Main Line, more experienced DVAA members are willing to travel a little further for clearer skies.
Unfortunately for aspiring astronomers, most parks channel funds and efforts toward the daytime activities. Astronomers are often a second thought, if they’re considered at all. Most parkgoers aren’t looking for raised, open fields with a low horizon away from roads—but those things are vital to astronomers. One such spot is Green Lane Park, a northern Montgomery County green space popular with members of the DVAA looking to make better astronomical observations.
“We used [Green Lane Park] on an informal basis, and the rangers would come by and just make sure we weren’t doing anything illegal,” says Rush. “When we learned that they were going to be doing enhancements to the park, we panicked because we said, ‘What if they put up a bunch of bright lights?’ Because that’s some people’s idea of enhancing the park.”
Apparently, planners really had no idea the DVAA existed. They’d been listening to runners, equestrians and hikers without taking into consideration the needs of the park’s more mysterious nighttime crowd. “They had an individual meeting with us to make sure they heard what we were saying,” says Rush. “We progressed from being unknowns to being players.”
Though the enhancements to Green Lane Park won’t be completed for more than a decade, provisions were made for the astronomers of the DVAA—and bright lights won’t be illuminating the fields any time soon. For some, the skies at the park aren’t dark enough. Obviously, the DVAA can’t do anything about the surrounding community, so their only choide is to go farther afield.
Up north in Potter County lies Cherry Springs State Park. The Bortle scale measures night-sky brightness, with one being dim and nine being bright. Cherry Springs is a highly desirable two. At this level, the Milky Way is complex to the naked eye, clouds appear only as dark holes against the sky, and globular clusters are visible without binoculars or telescopes. Simply put, DVAA members can view the night sky more clearly at Cherry Springs, and atmospheric inference is less of a factor. Though several locals regularly make the five-hour drive north to the region, some prefer their night skies even darker.
Bala Cynwyd native Dan Stern got serious about astronomy during Covid, when his wife bought him a telescope for his birthday. Five years later, he operates four telescopes remotely in Chile’s Atacama Desert—a one on the Bortle scale.
Though Stern’s first trip to Chile was just this past year, he’s had telescopes there since 2022—and he’s used them to amazing effect. His photos have been featured by the BBC and in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day series. But his greatest contribution has been his images of StDr 156, a planetary nebula candidate discovered by Marcel Drechsler and Xavier Strottner. Thanks to Stern’s contacts in Europe, he was given the coordinates of the object before they were released to the general public.
After an exposure time of well over 100 hours, Stern had some feedback. “It’s still very exciting when you’re working and working and working, and all of a sudden, you see something pop up because you’ve had so much integration time,” he says. “It’s a really fun thing to see—and processing that data is very, very challenging.”
For Stern, the ability to attend DVAA events and speak with fellow enthusiasts is invaluable. As one of the prominent members of that community, his platform helps the organization gain legitimacy and foster further growth. “It’s my greatest pleasure to be able to share my passion with other people,” he says.
For young and old, the DVAA has fostered a love of astronomy. Though still teenagers, some junior board members are helping to build a promising future for the organization. As the DVAA prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2026, they’re looking forward to another summer of sating astronomical curiosity around the Main Line and beyond.
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