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President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: |
Al Meloni Wade Evans Suzanne Leap Jim Brennan |
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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 55th 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 gated Barnegat Road Observing Site in the dark New Jersey Pines is available to members in good standing, and now, Atsion Field for those with valid membership cards.
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President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: |
Al Meloni Wade Evans Suzanne Leap Jim Brennan |
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Announcements Last Update: Thursday, January 13, 2022
| Jan 21 | Informal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:00 pm. We are now meeting in-person at Virtua! It will also be simulcast via Zoom (log-on information posted to the WAS e-group). Guests are welcome at Virtua. |
| Feb 1 | New Moon at 12:46 am EST in Capricornus. |
| Feb 4 | Formal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:00 pm. |
| Apr 9 | NEAF, the Northeast Astronomy Forum returns in-person to Suffren, NY, April 9-10, 2022. |
| Note: | The Public Star Watch season for 2021 at Batsto was lost to COVID-19 restrictions; however, plans for 2022 are already in progress. Member observing at the Barnegat Road Observing Site commenced in July 2021 (sessions organized through the WAS e-group), and WAS members are now permitted nighttime observing at Atsion Field in Wharton State Forest, as long as they are carrying their membership card and have astronomical equipment in use. |
Photo Spotlight Image posted 12.09.2021
Club member Steve Mattan captured this image of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) in the constellation Boötes on the morning of December 5, 2021, from Atsion Field in Wharton State Forest, NJ. Comet Leonard has become the brightest comet of 2021, and as of December 9, was in the magnitude 5.x range, technically a naked-eye object, although as it rapidly approaches the sun, morning twilight will interfere. The image below was captured at Atsion by club president, Al Meloni, on December 9, 2021, at 5:35 am, a few minutes after the start of astronomical twilight. Comet Leonard was then in Serpens Caput. A couple of satellite tracks are visible too.
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
With great sadness, we
mourn the passing of long-time member, Alan
Daroff, on November 27, 2021.
Alan submitted this, his final 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.
Alan, circa 2001
Alan, the "Sol Man," with his backyard solar scope, circa 1970s?