Amateur Astronomers Association, Inc. was organized in 1927 to promote the study of Astronomy, emphasizing its cultural and inspirational value. We are a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of New York led by a Board elected by our membership.

What We Do

We sponsor free lectures at the American Museum of Natural History by leading researchers, provide economical classes in astronomy to members, plan free solar observing and nighttime sky observing, and offer a school outreach program. For what you can view, check out what’s in the sky this month. All of our upcoming events are listed here and on our calendar. We hope you’ll come out and join us!

We also produce a magazine, Eyepiece, containing many articles of interest as well as a podcast filled with interviews with club members, prominent scientists, and personalities on the New York astronomical scene. Topics range from current space missions, night sky observing, astrophotography, cosmological research—plus AAA news and messages.

If you’re interested in astrophotography, be sure to take a class with our world renowned photographers and follow our members work on Instagram for inspiration. If you have a photo you’d like to share with us, make sure to tag it #AAAdotOrg when posting to be featured on our socials!


AAA’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Amateur Astronomers Association provides astronomy enthusiasts of every kind — regardless of age, or level of education — free solar observing and nighttime sky observing (sidewalk astronomy), lectures, school outreach and economical classes, to improve the public’s understanding of astronomy and their abilities to share their knowledge with others.

AAA is committed to expanding and diversifying its membership, and believes astronomy should be accessible to everyone, regardless of:

    • race
    • ethnicity
    • religion
    • disability
    • gender
    • sexual orientation
    • socio-economic status

Leadership

The Club is run by the Board of Directors and Executive Committee Officers operating under Club By-Laws. Members of the Board are Club Members, and any Member in good standing may become a candidate for a three-year term on the Board. The officers of Amateur Astronomers Association, Inc. are elected by the members of the Board.

Board of Directors

Our current Board of Directors are listed below (term ends May 31 of specified year). The Board of Directors is elected by the Membership. Per our By-Laws in 2020, the Club has introduced the position of Chairperson.

Executive Committee Officers

Executive Committee officers are selected and elected by the Board of Directors.

President – Alfredo Viegas (2026 – first term)

Executive Vice PresidentBart Fried (2026 – second term)

Vice President of OperationsKatherine Troche (2024 – first term)

Vice President of FinanceMichael Towers (2024 – first term)

TreasurerAmy Wagner (2024 – first term)

Corresponding SecretaryGiselle Pemberton (2024 – first term)

Recording SecretaryVACANT (2024 – first term)

History

In its almost 100-year lifetime, the Club has had many distinguished Presidents:

Dr. Clyde Fisher
(May 1927–June 1936)
Dr. Orestes H. Caldwell
(June 1936–June 1938)
Dr. Clement S. Brainin
(June 1938–June 1952)
Leo Mattersdorf
(June 1952–May 1954)
Virginia Geiger
(May 1954–June 1954)
W. Wallace Benjamin
(June 1954–June 1956)
Robert Frey
(June 1956–June 1958)
Edgar M. Paulton
(June 1958–June 1960)
Aileen A. Pindar
(June 1960–June 1962)
Patrick V. Rizzo
(June 1962–June 1964)
Alfred Goldsmith
(June 1964–June 1966)
Antoinette Pridmore
(June 1966–June 1967)
Jane H. Douglas
(June 1967–June 1969)
Abel M. Silvan
(June 1969–June 1971)
Carmine V. Borzelli, Jr.
(June 1971–June 1973)
David Nevin
(June 1973–June 1975)
Carmine V. Borzelli, Jr.
(June 1975–June 1977)
Philip Pinches
(June 1977–September 1978)
John Marshall
(November 1978–June 1985)
Sidney I. Scheuer
(June 1985–June 1988)
John Pazmino
(June 1988–June 1990)
Fred C. Hess
(June 1990–June 1992)
Lynn Darsh
(June 1992–June 2002)
Michael O’Gara
(June 2002–June 2006)
Richard Rosenberg
(June 2006–June 2012)
Marcelo Cabrera
(June 2012–September 2017)
Peter Tagatac
(September 2017–June 2019)
Irene Pease
(June 2019–June 2020)
Brian Berg
(June 2020–2023)
Alfredo Viegas
(June 2023–present)

Read Article: A History of the First Forty Years of the Amateur Astronomers Association

Patrick Rizzo wrote the original version of this history in 1967. At that time the Eyepiece was a mimeographed newsletter. I first saw a photocopied version of this in 1997. I saw that he had put a great deal of work into making this article. I also realized the great value of keeping this record and making it available to whoever would like to know about the early history of our organization. Rizzo’s style includes much recording of lists of names. Many people today might not appreciate such detail. Anyone who reads this will soon come to see that the AAA had a fine history with many different activities taking place. These activities helped enlighten many people, most of whom do not get recognized here. This is an organization that has touched many lives. Here in a small way is a part of that story. Mr. Rizzo’s original text contained many errors and typos. This is understandable considering the fact that it was difficult to correct a mimeographed copy. One would not expect a highly polished work to appear. Still the amount of labor that he put into this deserves recognition. Stew Rorer was kind enough to scan the copy of this history into an electronic format. I tried to correct as many of the spelling and grammatical errors as was possible. I did this while trying to keep to his original words as much as possible. Stew also found many errors that I had overlooked. Susan Forma then did some extensive proofreading. Without their help this history would not have been possible.

Patrick Rizzo passed away on December 5, 1998. This article is a tribute to his hard work.

Stephen Lieber
November 6, 1999

The New York City Urban Star Fest was the first held by the AAA and took place on Saturday, Sept. 30, 1995 at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Then New York City parks commissioner Henry J. Stern gave an introductory welcome and the new acting director of the Hayden Planetarium, a young astrophysicist named Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson also gave remarks.

More Info: NYC Urban Starfest – Background & History of the Event

With the recent change of the Bylaws, the Board of Directors elects its Chairperson.

  • 2020-2021: John Bills, Inaugural Chair
  • 2021-2023: Alfredo Viegas
  • 2023-present: Daniel Kirby

Credits

The website was modernized and revamped by AAA members and volunteers in 2021.

Special thanks to Cidney Hue, Parker Bossier, Naomi Cosman, and Martin Kemp for making the new website possible.

Photos

Featured photos by John Bills, Stan Honda, and Alfredo Viegas.

All photos on this site were taken by AAA members (unless otherwise credited).