West Jersey Astronomical Society www.wasociety.us
Welcome to the Official Home Page of the West Jersey Astronomical Society (additionally known as the Willingboro Astronomical Society). Our club is in its 54th 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. Use of the Barnegat Road Observing Site in the dark New Jersey Pines is available to members in good standing.
Announcements Last Update: Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Nov 4 | New Moon at 17:15 am EDT in Libra. |
Nov 5 | Formal Meeting, online via Zoom, opening at 7:30 pm (log-on information will be posted to the WAS e-group). Physical meetings at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, remain suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions at the venue. |
Nov 19 | Full Moon at 3:57 am EDT in Taurus. There will be a deep partial eclipse (about 97%) reaching maximum at 4:03 am EST. The eclipsed moon will be half a dozen degrees from the Pleiades and a dozen degrees from the Hyades. |
Nov 19 | Informal Meeting, online via Zoom, opening at 7:30 pm (log-on information will be posted to the WAS e-group). |
Note: | The status of 2021 Public Star Watches at Batsto and Member Star Watches at Atsion is still indeterminate as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions. However, member star watches at the Barnegat Road Observing Site have been, and will be held as the moon and weather permit (they will be announced on the WAS Google group). |
Photo Spotlight Image posted 10.22.2021
WAS member Steve Mattan submitted this image of Orion's Belt and Sword that he took on February 23, 2012, at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys. It's a ten-minute exposure at ISO 800 captured with a Canon 50D digital SLR camera and a Canon 200 mm f/2.8L lens set to f/3.2, tracking on a Losmandy G8 German equatorial mount. Mouseover for labels.
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.
Astrospheric Forecast for the Barnegat Road Observing Site
Star & Constellation
Pronunciation Guides
Lunar X predictions for August through
December 2021
Alan Daroff submitted this challenge: He took a snapshot of his
TV screen saver showing the Summer Milky Way as viewed from Thailand, so the
orientation differs from what we would see at 40°N. Three major planets are in
the TV image, can you find and identify them, and based on their position, can
you tell when the TV image was taken? Here's a
smaller version
(2400 x 1800, 369 KB) and here's the larger
original version
(4032 x 3024, 2.56 MB). Bonus question: Can you identify the bright celestial
object near the right edge of the TV screen? Ignore the room reflections at the bottom
and the right-hand side of the TV screen.
Posted 03-Sept-2021.
During the meeting on Sept 17, we
reviewed the picture. Here's a
labeled version
showing the solution.