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, including a PayPal link to pay dues (click here to make a separate donation). Members in good standing have access to the gated Barnegat Road Observing Site in the dark New Jersey Pines, while Atsion Field in the Pines is available to those with valid membership cards.

 

President:

Vice President:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

Al Meloni

Wade Evans

Suzanne Leap

Jim Brennan

      

Announcements   Last Update: Saturday, April 09, 2022

Apr 2 Public Star Watch at Atsion Field in Wharton State Forest, NJ. Starting time is 7:00 pm. Update April 3: The Star Watch was a great success; due to prior COVID restrictions, it was the first one since Batsto on November 2, 2019.
Apr 9 NEAF, the Northeast Astronomy Forum has been postponed to April 15-16, 2023 -- next year!
Apr 15 Informal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 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.
Apr 16 Full Moon at 2:55 pm EDT in Virgo.
Apr 21 Public Star Watch at Historic Smithville Park in Easthampton, NJ (near Mt Holly), 7:30 to 10:30 pm. Participation is limited and guests must register (no fee) at the Burlington County Parks site (at the top, select Nature Programs, scroll down to the Outdoors section and click Star Watches then Star Watch 4/21). Registration opens April 7.
Apr 30 New Moon at 4:28 pm EDT in northern Aries.
May 6 Formal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm.
May 16 Full Moon at 12:14 am EDT in Libra. There will be a total lunar eclipse with maximum eclipse at 12:12 am, but first umbral contact (partial eclipse begins) is at 10:28 pm EDT on May 15. Totality begins at 11:29 pm.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 4.02.2022

Observing Opportunity: Three planets will still be in a compact grouping (fitting inside a 10 degree circle) in eastern Capricornus, with Venus just crossing the border into western Aquarius. on Monday, April 4, 2022. This is the view during morning twilight. Saturn and Mars will be particularly close, about half a degree apart, and the following morning, April 5, Mars will have moved east (below left) of Saturn and their separation will be about a third of a degree. Jupiter is also beginning to emerge in eastern Aquarius, but will be more challenging to see lower in brighter twilight. Magnitude +8.0 Neptune is close to magnitude -2.1 Jupiter, but being 10.1 magnitudes dimmer (almost 11,000x), Neptune will be essentially impossible to see now. Here's a snapshot of Venus, Saturn and Mars on the morning of April 4. More celestial events are covered at Sky & Telescope's "This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 1 - April 9."

 

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 (UT)

Some items from the March 18, 2022, meeting.