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: Sunday, October 22, 2017

Nominations for the 2018 WAS Officers are now being taken. Click here for more.

Now available!
WAS Logo Gear from CafePress... hats, shirts, mugs and more. Check it out!


Nov 3 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.
Nov 4 Full Moon at 1:23 am EDT in Cetus. It's the Hunter's Moon, since the Harvest Moon was in October for 2017.
Nov 5 Daylight Time Ends at 2:00 am EDT, which becomes 1:00 am Eastern Standard Time.
Nov 17 Informal Meeting, 7:30 pm at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ.
Nov 18 New Moon at 6:42 am EST in Libra.
Nov 18 Public Star Watch at Batsto. This will be the final Public Star Watch of 2017. Check back for the weather call, which is typically posted before noon on the day of the Star Watch.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 10.11.2017

Club member Joe Stieber captured the planets Venus and Mars when they were a degree apart on the morning of October 7, 2017, from Swede Run in Moorestown, NJ (about a mile from our meeting venue at Virtua). Brilliant Venus is below dimmer Mars (mouseover for labels). Taken at 5:57 am EDT (65 minutes before sunrise) with a Canon 6D digital SLR camera on a fixed tripod and a Tamron 45 mm f/1.8 lens. It was exposed 2 seconds at f/4, ISO 1000.

The picture below shows Mars on the morning of October 17, but now, Venus is 7° east of Mars, while the 6% illuminated waning crescent Moon (filled with earthshine) is next to Mars. Mouseover for labels.

Taken by Joe Stieber at 6:04 am EDT with a Canon 6D digital SLR camera (on a fixed tripod) and a Canon 24 to 105 mm F/4L zoom lens set to 70 mm focal length, then lightly cropped. It was exposed 2.5 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 1600.

 

Click here for the previous home page image.

 

Note: Club President, Roger Cowley, has published a 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