Staff photo / Bob Coupland Jodi McCullough of Salem, president of the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society, assists Mike Allen of Boardman on how to use his new telescope at a recent event hosted by the MVAS who assisted people in finding telescopes to purchase and then had them return to show them how to use the devices.

YOUNGSTOWN — Members of the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society are helping residents learn more about the stars and planets by assisting them with selecting and using telescopes.

The society, which meets throughout the year mostly in the winter at the Youngstown State University Ward Beecher planetarium and during the spring and summer at the observatory in Braceville, hosted a recent public program where they helped people select telescopes and then showed them how to use them.

Carl Pennington of Boardman, a MVAS member, said he enjoys being able to assist people in looking at different types of telescopes, including a SeeStar 50, which is automatic and points in a certain direction and takes photos of images through the lens.

“It can take different photos of the sky and store them in a database,” Pennington said. “On your iPad you can type in something you want to see, such as Jupiter, and the telescope will rotate to the planet and the images of that planet will appear for viewing on your iPad or iPhone.”

“The nice thing is if it is the middle of winter you can set it up outside and then go inside the house and sit by the fireplace. All the instructions come from the iPhone,” Pennington said.

The MVAS does two events each year, with one before Christmas to assist people on what telescope they may want to buy and then a follow-up event after Christmas to show people how to use the telescope they purchased.

“Many people may buy a telescope and not know how to best use it, so we are here to help them. We get adults, children and families,” Pennington said.

He said newer telescopes do all their own pointing and track the movement in the sky automatically.

Pennington said in 2026, there will be a solar eclipse in Spain, but it won’t be viewable in the United States, where it will already be dark.

“What I enjoy is being able to help and receive help from like-minded people. Like so many things there is a learning curve. The people here help you get through that learning curve,” Pennington said.

He said the question he is asked the most is how much the telescope costs.

Bob Danko of Cortland, who has been a member of MVAS since 1979, said he is referred to by the others as “a star hopper extraordinaire.”

“I have used top of the line telescopes, lenses and eye pieces. I like how the parents get the kids interested in using a telescope,” he said.

Danko said he remembers how people were always looking to see comets during the 1980s.

He said 2025 was not a good year in northeastern Ohio for looking through a telescope because of the many clouds that formed over Lake Erie, even in the summer.

Pennington said smoke from Canadian wildfires made viewing difficult.

He said some people are visual and want to look through the eye piece of the telescope. while others want to create images and pictures of what they see.

Jodi McCullough of Salem, president of the MVAS, said it is nice to see families who attend the events and want to learn about telescopes.

She was assisting Mike Allan of Boardman, who had a new telescope.

Allan said he and his wife have a summer home in Portage County, and he takes the telescope with him there.

“I needed some help and directions on how to use the telescope so I will be ready for summer,” he said.

Girard residents Abishai Irish, 8, and his father, Bruce Irish, brought a new telescope to the event to learn the best ways to use the equipment correctly. Bruce said they had fun at the event learning about telescopes.

HISTORY OF MVAS

The MVAS was established in 1939 and has spent 87 years advancing the science of astronomy one person at a time.

McCullough said the MVAS was founded by local enthusiasts to further the hobby of amateur astronomy in the Mahoning Valley. She said the MVAS owns and operates an astronomical observatory in Trumbull County that houses five major telescopes.

McCullough said the MVAS hosts public star gazing parties and other events.

She said outdoor events are weather permitting. Tentative dates are 9 p.m. June 12 in Beaver Township Park, 9 p.m. June 20 at Austintown Park for the Bill Pearce Memorial Stargaze, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 11 and 12 at the Festival of the Arts at Youngstown State University planetarium, and 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Beaver Township Park.

The MVAS meets the last Saturday of the month April through October at 8 p.m. at the Braceville location off state Route 534 north of Route 82 and November through March at 6 p.m. in Room 2000 at the YSU Ward Beecher Planetarium.

Those interested can visit www.mvobservatory.com for more information.