Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any astronomy society, astronomical club, observatory, star party, dark-sky park or reserve, the Federation of Astronomical Societies, the Society for Popular Astronomy, the British Astronomical Association, the Astronomical League, the NASA Night Sky Network, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, DarkSky International, any telescope maker, retailer, landowner, school, council or charity. Nothing here is legal, safeguarding, eye safety or privacy advice. Check your own society's guidance on gifts, photos, observing sites, children and members' details.
It's half past six on a clear Friday evening in February, and a field on a farm a few miles outside town is slowly turning blue. A man called Keith, a retired engineer who has been the astronomy society's observing coordinator for twelve years, is unlocking the padlock on a small wooden shed with a roll-off roof. Inside is the society's big telescope, a reflector on a heavy mount that took six members and a borrowed trailer to install. He switches on a red torch, checks the dew heater and starts the slow job of aligning it on a bright star as the sky darkens.
Behind him, in the car park, a few more cars are arriving with their headlights already switched off, because everyone knows the rule. A woman called Priya, who runs the society's beginners' group, is setting up a smaller telescope on a folding table for three new members who joined at the autumn open evening. She has brought a flask, a star chart in a plastic sleeve and spare red torches, because new members always forget theirs. A teenager who has been coming with his dad since he was nine is setting up a camera on a tripod, hoping to catch the Orion Nebula.
By eight o'clock, the sky is properly dark. Jupiter is high in the south. Keith has the big telescope on it, and there's a small queue of people taking turns at the eyepiece. Someone gasps when they see the moons for the first time. Priya is pointing out constellations with a green laser, briefly and carefully, explaining which ones are easy to find from a back garden. At ten, the clouds roll in from the west, as they always do, and everyone packs up in the dark, by feel, without dropping anything.
On Monday evening, the same society will meet in a school hall in town for a talk by a visiting speaker on exoplanets. The programme secretary booked him a year ago. The treasurer will be at the door with the raffle. Someone will bring biscuits. And next month, a small team will take the society's telescopes to a primary school for a stargazing evening, if the weather holds.
If you've ever looked through a telescope at a society open evening, or lived with someone who disappears every clear night with a flask and a red torch, you'll know how much quiet, unpaid work goes into it. This guide is about saying thank you to those volunteers, in words first and, if it fits, with a small extra: a photo from the observing field, the dome or a member's own image of the sky, used with permission, turned into a private digital jigsaw with your note at the end.
Who we mean
Most local astronomy societies are run entirely by volunteers. The titles vary, but most have some version of these roles:
- the chair, secretary and treasurer, who keep the society constituted, insured and solvent, book the meeting hall and handle the affiliation to a national federation or league;
- the programme secretary, who books speakers for monthly meetings, often a year ahead, and finds a stand-in when someone cancels;
- the observing coordinator or observing director, who organises observing evenings, watches the forecast and sends the "it's clear tonight" message at five o'clock;
- the observatory keyholders and equipment officers, who look after the society's telescopes, mounts, domes and sheds, and fix whatever has broken in the damp;
- the telescope loan scheme volunteer, who lends small telescopes to members and families and teaches them how to use one;
- the beginners' group leaders and mentors, who explain the night sky to new members, patiently and for the tenth time;
- the outreach volunteers, who take telescopes to schools, libraries, Scout and Guide groups, dark-sky festivals and public stargazing evenings;
- the imaging and astrophotography section leaders, who share techniques, software and hard-won advice;
- the newsletter editor, webmaster and social media volunteer, who keep members informed about meetings, events and what's in the sky this month;
- the dark-sky and light pollution campaigners, who talk to councils and neighbours about better lighting;
- the refreshments rota and the raffle team, who keep everyone warm and the society funded.
Many astronomy society volunteers do several of these, and some have done all of them over the decades. The person who opens the observatory on Friday may also be the one who gives the beginners' talk on Monday.
The words matter most
The best thank-you for any volunteer is a specific, honest message. Something like:
- "Thank you for showing me Saturn's rings for the first time. I'm fifty-three and I've never forgotten it."
- "I know you watch the forecast every afternoon so we don't waste a trip. Thank you for every 'it's clear tonight' message."
- "Thank you for lending us the little telescope. Our daughter now wants to be an astronaut."
- "Thank you for coming to the school in January. Thirty children saw the Moon's craters because of you."
Say what they did, what it meant to you, and, if you can, a small detail that shows you noticed: the spare red torches, the way the observing coordinator always lets the youngest person look first, the mentor who drew you a little chart of how to find the Andromeda Galaxy from your garden. That's the gift. Everything else is optional.
If you're on the committee yourself, a thank-you at the AGM, in the newsletter or at the start of a monthly meeting matters too. Name people where they're happy to be named. Many volunteers say the thing they remember most is not a present but the moment someone said, in front of everyone, "We wouldn't have an observatory without you."
Who might send one
A photo jigsaw with a note can suit:
- a new member thanking the beginners' group leader or mentor who helped them find their way around the sky;
- a society chair thanking a long-serving observing coordinator, programme secretary or treasurer;
- a family thanking the volunteer who lent them a telescope and showed them how to use it;
- a teacher or school thanking the outreach team for a stargazing evening, if the school's practice allows it;
- a member thanking the imaging section leader who helped them take their first image of a nebula;
- a landowner or farmer being thanked for letting the society use a dark field, or thanking the society in return;
- a partner or family member thanking someone who has spent years of clear nights outside in the cold;
- a member who has moved away and misses the society's observing field.
It suits people who like a small, personal thing more than another mug, and it suits societies that would rather spend their subscriptions on eyepieces and observatory repairs than on presents.
Gifts, societies and good manners
Some practical points:
- Society money is members' money. Subscriptions, raffle money and donations usually pay for the hall, the speakers' expenses and the equipment. If you're thanking a volunteer personally, pay for it yourself, and if the society is thanking someone, agree it at committee first.
- Speakers have their own etiquette. Many visiting speakers are volunteers from other societies who travel for expenses only. A handwritten thank-you and a prompt expenses payment are always welcome; check before adding anything else.
- Not everyone wants the spotlight. Some volunteers enjoy being thanked at the AGM. Others would rather stay out in the dark. Ask, or follow their lead.
- Keep it modest. A note and a small gesture is more comfortable than something expensive. Puzzlify is a small digital gift, not a lavish present.
- Respect the photographer. Astrophotos take hours of work, sometimes many nights. If you want to use a member's image, including one taken by the person you're thanking, ask first.
- Protect the observing site. Many societies use private land, remote dark sites or observatories with expensive equipment. Don't share anything that shows exactly where the kit is kept or how to get in.
- Never encourage unsafe Sun-watching. If your photo is from a solar observing day or an eclipse event, make sure it shows proper filtered equipment, not someone looking at the Sun without protection.
When to send it
Good moments include:
- the morning after a great observing night, when everyone is tired and happy;
- the AGM, especially when someone is stepping down from a role;
- after a big public event, such as a stargazing festival, a comet, an eclipse or an aurora night that the society helped people see;
- after a school or library outreach evening;
- at the end of a beginners' course, when the new members can find the Plough on their own;
- the start of the observing season in autumn, as a way of saying "thank you for coming back";
- a society anniversary, if it's marking a milestone;
- any time you've been meaning to say it and haven't.
If the society has had a hard year, such as months of cloud, a storm-damaged observatory or the loss of a long-standing member, a thank-you to the people who kept it going can mean even more.
Why a jigsaw can fit
Astronomy is a hobby of patience. You wait for the clouds to clear, for your eyes to adjust to the dark, for the planet to rise above the trees, for the faint smudge of a galaxy to resolve. Astrophotographers spend hours stacking dozens of images to bring out detail nobody could see in one frame.
A photo jigsaw asks for the same kind of slow attention. The person solving it puts the picture together piece by piece and, at the end, finds your note. It's quiet, it's personal, and it's a small way of saying "I noticed the patience it takes", which is something astronomy volunteers rarely hear.
If you're thanking the chair and committee
The chair and committee carry the weight of the whole thing: the hall, the insurance, the accounts, the observatory lease, the arguments about whether to buy a new telescope or fix the old one. A good photo is the meeting hall before a talk, with the chairs out and the first slide on screen, or the observatory at dusk with nobody in shot. Your note can be short: "Thank you for keeping the society going. And the lights off."
If you're thanking the observing coordinator
The observing coordinator watches the forecast, checks the Moon phase, sends the message, opens the site, sets up the big telescope and stays until the clouds come in. A good photo is the society's telescopes lined up on the field at dusk, silhouetted against a blue sky, or the open roof of the observatory shed. Your note might say: "Thank you for every clear-sky message, and every cloudy one too."
If you're thanking the programme secretary
The programme secretary fills the calendar with speakers on everything from black holes to meteorites, and finds a replacement at short notice when a speaker is ill. A good photo is the printed programme card or the meeting hall with the projector on. Your note could be: "A year of Mondays, and every one of them worth coming out for. Thank you."
If you're thanking the beginners' group leader or mentor
Mentors are often the reason new members stay. They show people how to use a planisphere, how to collimate a telescope, how not to buy the wrong one. A good photo is the first image a new member took through the society's telescope, even if it's a slightly blurry Moon on a phone, or a photo of the small telescope set up on its table. Your note might say: "This is the first thing I ever saw through a telescope. You were standing next to me."
If you're thanking the outreach team
Outreach volunteers bring the sky to people who've never looked up properly: children at a school, families at a library, visitors at a dark-sky festival. They answer the same questions a hundred times with the same delight. A good photo is a row of telescopes on a school field before the families arrive, or a solar telescope set up safely at a daytime event, with no children's faces. Your note can be: "Thirty children saw the Moon's craters because you drove out on a cold night. Thank you."
If you're thanking the equipment officer or keyholder
The equipment officer keeps everything working in the damp, the cold and the dark: mounts, motors, dew heaters, eyepieces, the roof that sticks. A good photo is the telescope inside the observatory, or a tidy tray of eyepieces, with no padlocks, gate codes or labels in shot. Your note might say: "Thank you for every time it worked first time. I know it wasn't by accident."
If you're thanking the imaging section
The imaging section turns faint light into pictures: galaxies, nebulae, star trails, the Moon's craters in astonishing detail. A good photo is one of the leader's own images, used with their permission, or a member's first successful image after the leader's help. Your note can be: "Twelve hours of data, and you made it look easy. Thank you for showing me how."
If you're thanking the landowner
Many societies observe on farmland or private estates where the sky is darkest. The landowner may never come out at night, but without them there'd be no observing field. A good photo is the field at dusk or the farm's skyline under the stars, with nothing that reveals the exact location. Your note from the society might say: "Thank you for lending us your sky."
If you live with an astronomy society member
Some of the most important thank-yous are the ones nobody hears: from the partner who has learned that "it's clear tonight" means dinner alone, or the family who don't mind the telescope in the hall. If you're the member, a photo jigsaw for them is a nice way round. Choose an image you took on a night you'd like them to remember, perhaps the aurora you woke them up for, and your note might say: "Thank you for every clear night you let me go, and for coming outside the night the sky turned green."
When a long-serving volunteer steps down
Many societies have someone who has done it for decades: who remembers Halley's Comet in 1986, who helped build the observatory, who knows exactly which key opens which padlock. When that person steps down, a thank-you matters.
A good photo might be an old photo of the observatory being built, a scan of an early newsletter, one of their own images from years ago (with their permission), or the telescope they looked after. A higher piece count, like 130 or 252, can suit a slow, reflective solve. Your note could collect messages from several members, or simply say what the society owes them.
In memory of a member
If a society is remembering someone who has died, a puzzle can be a gentle way to share a memory with their family or the society, but only if the family would welcome it. Ask first, keep it quiet and personal, and choose a photo the family recognises, ideally one the member took themselves and loved. Some societies name a telescope, an observatory or an annual lecture after a member; a photo of that can be a fitting choice.
For astronomy societies elsewhere
The same ideas work for:
- local astronomy societies in the UK and Ireland, many affiliated to national federations and societies;
- astronomy clubs in the United States, many affiliated to the Astronomical League or part of the NASA Night Sky Network;
- Royal Astronomical Society of Canada centres and other Canadian astronomy clubs;
- astronomical societies in Australia and New Zealand, many running public observing nights under southern skies;
- school, college and university astronomy societies, with student committees that change every year;
- dark-sky park and reserve volunteers, star party organisers and public observatory guides.
Every one of them depends on volunteers, and every one of them has someone who stays out after the clouds come in to pack the last eyepiece away.
Photo ideas and consent
Good photos for an astronomy society thank-you include:
- the society's telescopes lined up on the observing field at dusk, silhouetted against a blue sky;
- the observatory or roll-off shed at sunset, roof open;
- the Moon through the society's telescope, even a phone photo held to the eyepiece;
- a member's own image of a planet, nebula, galaxy, star trails or the Milky Way, used with their permission;
- a wide shot of the night sky over the field, with telescopes in the foreground and red torches glowing;
- the meeting hall before a talk, chairs out and the first slide on screen;
- a solar observing day with proper filtered equipment;
- a scan of an old newsletter, programme or photo from the society's archive.
Keep out of the frame:
- members' faces, unless every person has agreed;
- children at outreach events, unless their family has agreed and your society's policy allows it;
- other members' astrophotos, unless the photographer has said yes;
- padlocks, gate codes, key safes and anything that shows where expensive kit is kept or how to get in;
- signs, landmarks or GPS data that reveal the exact location of a private observing site;
- membership lists, contact sheets and anything with names, emails or phone numbers;
- car registration plates, house numbers and anything that shows where a member lives;
- anything that might suggest looking at the Sun without proper protection.
If the photo has people in it, ask them first. A photo without people, just the telescopes, the sky or the observatory, is often the easiest and best choice.
Getting the JPG right
Puzzlify works from a JPG. A few practical tips, especially for night-sky images:
- export a JPG from your processing software at a good resolution; you don't need the full stacked file, and a long edge of a few thousand pixels is plenty;
- strip location data from the file before you upload, especially for images taken at a private observing site or from a member's back garden;
- night-sky images can be very hard to solve as a jigsaw, because large areas are almost black; a dusk photo with blue sky and telescope silhouettes, a detailed Moon or a colourful nebula usually works better than a wide field of faint stars;
- if you do choose a deep-sky image, pick a lower piece count, like 24 or 48, so the solve stays fun rather than frustrating;
- crop to the part that matters before you upload;
- landscape images usually make the most comfortable puzzles on a phone turned sideways;
- if you're scanning an old print or slide, scan it at a good resolution, straighten it and clean up the dust;
- remove anything private before you upload, even if it's small: a name label on a telescope case, a watermark you don't own, a sign at the gate.
Privacy, an optional PIN, and saying it's from you
The puzzle is private: it's shared as a link, not posted on a public board. You can add an optional PIN so that only someone who knows it can open the puzzle, which is useful if you're sending it to a society email list or a group chat. Even so, treat the photo as if it might be forwarded, and keep anything private out of it.
Some members, especially older ones, may be wary of unexpected links, and rightly so. Say who it's from and what it is in the message itself: "This is a little jigsaw of the telescopes on the field at dusk, with a note at the end. It's from me, and it's safe to open."
How many pieces?
| Pieces | Feels like | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | a quick look at the Moon | a few minutes |
| 48 | one bright planet in the eyepiece | around 5–10 minutes |
| 80 | an evening on the field | around 10–20 minutes |
| 130 | a whole night's observing | around 20–40 minutes |
| 252 | twenty years of clear skies | an hour or more |
If you're not sure, 48 or 80 pieces suits most people on a phone. Dark skies and smooth gradients get tricky at high piece counts, so start lower if the image has large areas of one colour.
The leaderboard: only for a group
If you're sending one puzzle to a whole society or committee, the optional leaderboard lets everyone see who finished first. Some societies love a bit of friendly competition; others would rather just solve it quietly. If it's a personal thank-you to one volunteer, you probably don't need it.
A few note ideas
- "To Keith: twelve years of clear-sky messages, and the night you showed me Jupiter's moons. Thank you."
- "To Priya: I came with a telescope I didn't know how to use. Now I can find the Andromeda Galaxy on my own. Thank you."
- "From Year 5: thank you for bringing the Moon to our school field."
- "To the equipment team: the roof stuck, the motor died, the dew got in, and you fixed it every time."
- "To the farm: thank you for lending us your sky."
- "To my wife: thank you for every cold night you let me go, and for coming out the night of the aurora."
(Change the names, and keep anything personal or identifying out of a puzzle that may be shared.)
How to make one (about a minute of setup)
- Open Puzzlify's puzzle maker in a browser: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/
- Upload your JPG: the field, the observatory, the Moon or a member's image used with permission.
- Pick a piece count from 24 to 252.
- Write your note. It appears when the last piece goes in.
- Add a PIN if you want one, and preview it for free.
- When you're happy, publish the link and send it by email or message, print it as a QR code inside a card, or ask the society secretary to pass it on.
Honest pricing and notes
Making and previewing a puzzle is free in your browser. You only pay when you publish the link to send it: one credit is EUR 3.99, three credits are EUR 8.99, and Plus is EUR 14.99 a year for ten credits, which can make sense if you want to thank several volunteers separately. The person you send it to doesn't need an account or an app; they just open the link in a browser.
This is a digital jigsaw you play on a screen. It isn't a cardboard puzzle in the post, a printed product or a public puzzle board, and it isn't connected to any astronomy society, federation, observatory, dark-sky body or telescope brand. It's also not puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
Honestly, some of the best thank-yous for astronomy society volunteers cost nothing at all:
- a handwritten card, handed over at the monthly meeting;
- volunteering yourself: on the refreshments rota, at an outreach evening, or on the committee;
- staying behind on the field to help pack the telescopes away in the dark;
- bringing a friend, a neighbour or a family to a public observing evening;
- offering to give a short talk at a members' evening on something you've observed;
- writing to your council in support of the society's dark-sky campaign, if you agree with it;
- for a long-serving volunteer, a small printed book of members' images and messages, made with everyone's permission;
- a flask of hot chocolate for the people on the field at midnight, which never fails.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose a photo of the telescopes at dusk, the observatory, the Moon or a member's image used with their permission, keep faces, children, padlocks and anything that reveals the site out of the frame, pick a piece count and add your note. You only pay if you decide to send it. You can start a free preview at https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who watched the forecast, opened the padlock, aligned the telescope, lent the little scope, drove to the school and packed the last eyepiece away at midnight, so that next clear night, someone new would see Saturn's rings for the first time.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, safeguarding, eye safety or privacy advice. Check your own society's guidance on gifts, photos, observing sites, children and members' details.