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 50th 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).

 

President:

Vice President:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

 Roger Cowley

Jim Fusco

Bernie Kosher

Wade Evans

     

Announcements   Last Update: Thursday, March 30, 2017

Apr 7 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.
Apr 8 NEAF, the Northeast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, NY, begins. Continues on April 9.
Apr 11 Full Moon at 2:08 am EDT in Virgo (near Jupiter and Spica).
Apr 21 Informal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ. This will be "Show and Tell Night" in case you have any astronomical goodies from NEAF (or even if they're not from NEAF).
Apr 22 Public Star Watch at Batsto. Check back on the day of the event for the weather call.
Apr 26 New Moon at 8:16 am EDT in eastern Cetus.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 3.30.2017

The earthshine-filled  Crescent Moon was about 45 hours old and 5.4% illuminated when it joined the planet Mercury in this picture captured on March 29, 2017, at 8:09 pm EDT. Taken by Joe Stieber from the old Collins Farm site in Maple Shade, NJ, with a Canon 6D digital SLR camera and a Canon 100 mm f/2.8L macro lens (on a fixed tripod) plus a Kenko 1.4x teleconvertor, providing an effective focal length of 140 mm. Exposed 1/3 second at f/4, ISO 1600. This is the best evening elongation of the year for Mercury because of the current steep angle of the ecliptic in the west after sunset. During the picture-taking session, Mercury was about 9½° from the moon and easily visible with unaided eyes.

 

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.