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: Saturday, June 17, 2017

June 21 Solstice at 12:24 am EDT. Summer begins for the Northern Hemisphere.
June 23 New Moon at 10:31 pm EDT in Orion.
June 24 Public Star Watch at Batsto. Check back on the day of the event for the go/no-go weather call.
July 3 Earth is at aphelion, 4:11 pm EDT, its greatest distance from the sun for the year, 94,505,895 miles.
July 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.
July 9 Full Moon at 12:07 am EDT in Sagittarius.
July 21 Informal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 6.06.2017

Here's a cropped image of the Pelican Nebula in Cygnus captured by club member Dan McCauley on the night of June 3/4, 2017, from decidedly non-dark Palmyra, NJ. This impressive view from that location is possible because it was captured in Hydrogen-alpha light. It features the Herbig-Haro object HH 555 as highlighted in the inset. Dan's image was taken with a Takahashi TAO-130 apo refractor plus an f/5.3 focal reducer, and a QSI-683 CCD camera with an Astrodon H-alpha filter. It was exposed a total of 4.75 hours (19 x 15 minute subs), then processed with PixInsight and Photoshop. Note: the image at the HH-555 link was taken with a 4-meter telescope and doesn't really show any more detail than Dan's image with a 130 mm (0.13 meter) telescope.

 

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.

USNO Solar System Object Apparent Disc