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President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: |
Roger Cowley Bernie Kosher Dave Neunheuser Wade Evans |
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West Jersey Astronomical Society www.wasociety.us
Welcome to the Official Home Page of the West Jersey Astronomical Society (formerly known as the Willingboro Astronomical Society). Our club is in its 49th year of serving both the public and the amateur astronomers of the Delaware Valley. We have a long history of public education, star parties, interesting meetings, in-depth training and experienced leadership. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Click here for membership information (dues can now be paid through PayPal).
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President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: |
Roger Cowley Bernie Kosher Dave Neunheuser Wade Evans |
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Announcements Last Update: Sunday, April 10, 2016
| Apr 15 | Formal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ. As always, guests are welcome and no astronomical experience is necessary. Use the Main Entrance and check with the security guard. This will be Show & Tell Night, so be sure to bring any interesting astronomical items, especially those from NEAF. |
| Apr 21 | WAS President Roger Cowley will be giving a talk, Looking at the Night Sky, at the Greenwich Township Branch of the Gloucester County Library. 7:00 to 8:15 pm in Meeting Room 2. |
| Apr 22 | Full Moon at 1:24 am EDT |
| May 6 | New Moon at 3:30 pm EDT |
| May 6 | Informal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ. |
| May 9 | The planet Mercury will transit the sun between 7:14 am and 2:41 pm EDT for observers in the Philadelphia area. Appropriate solar filtration will be needed to see this event safely. |
| May 14 | Public Star Watch at Batsto Village. The full schedule of Public Star Watches for 2016 is available here. |
Photo Spotlight Image posted 04.10.2016
On Friday evening, April 8, 2016, the Crescent Moon (filled with earthshine) and the planet Mercury were just 7½° apart in the evening twilight after sunset. Mercury will reach Greatest Eastern Elongation on April 18th and start its sprint back towards the sun, inferior conjunction and the solar transit on May 9th, so now is a good time to look for it on its final approach. This picture (mouseover for labels) was taken by club member Joe Stieber at 8:23 pm EDT from Swede Run in Moorestown, NJ, with a Canon EOS 6D digital SLR camera on a fixed tripod and a Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 APO DG zoom lens set to 135 mm focal length (so the field is nominally 15° wide x 10° high). It was exposed 0.6 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600 and daylight color balance. The Moon and Mercury were also a lovely view with unaided eyes.
Click here for the previous home page image.
Click to contact the . Members are encouraged to submit their astronomical images to the webmaster for inclusion on the WAS Home Page. Be sure to include a description, date and time, as well as equipment and photo data.