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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: Saturday, December 03, 2016
| Dec 10 | Holiday Party at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ. Starts at 7:30 pm. There will be a $5 dollar fee for members and their family members, $10 for non-members. |
| Dec 13 | Full Moon at 7:06 pm EST, in eastern Taurus |
| Dec 16 | 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 who will direct you to the conference room. Elections for the 2017 officers will be held at the December 16th meeting. Check the elections page for more information about nominations. |
| Dec 21 | Solstice at 5:44 am EST. The sun reaches its most southerly declination and winter begins for the northern hemisphere. |
| Dec 29 | New Moon at 1:53 am EST, in Sagittarius. Note: This new moon presents the possibility of seeing the old moon about 19 hours before new on the morning of the 28th and/or the young moon about 15 hours after new on the evening of the 29th. Even with good weather, these will be challenging observations, especially the latter! |
| Jan 6 | Informal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ. |
Photo Spotlight Image posted 12.03.2016
The old Crescent Moon was at 4°42' altitude when this image of it was captured at 6:25 am EST on November 28, 2016, 30 minutes after moonrise. Taken by club member Joe Stieber with a Canon 6D digital SLR camera plus a Kenko 1.4x teleconverter and a Canon 400 mm f/5.6L telephoto lens on a fixed tripod (then cropped to 85% of the original size for a field about 3.1° wide x 2.1° high). Exposed 1/15 second at f/8, ISO 1600. Mouseover for label.
The last sighting that morning with unaided eyes was at 6:30 am. It was last seen with 10x50 binoculars at 6:45 am, 15 minutes before sunrise, when it was 1.0% illuminated, 4°42' altitude, 28.76 days old and 24 hr 33 min before new. The old moon on December 28, 2016, might be seen even closer to new, about 19 hours, then on the evening of December 29, an ultra-thin crescent might be seen when it's little more than 15 hours old (for a combined spread of only 34+ hours between old and young). However, even with excellent weather, a 15-hour crescent will be quite challenging from the Philadelphia area. A mountain location would be much better, but it's worth trying if the weather cooperates.
Click here for the previous home page image.
Note: Club President, Roger Cowley, has published a new book, Gauging the Solar System: Measuring Astronomical Values for Yourself. Have fun and do more than just snap pictures of the sky! Available at Amazon too.
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.