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 23, 2022

Apr 30 New Moon at 4:28 pm EDT in northern Aries. The bright planets Venus and Jupiter will be just half-a-degree apart in morning twilight, similarly so on May 1 too.
May 5 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). Check back here on the day of the event for the go/no-go weather call.
May 6 Formal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm. We are now meeting in-person at Virtua, but it will also be simulcast via Zoom (log-on information posted to the WAS e-group). Guests are welcome at Virtua.
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.
May 20 Informal Meeting, at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center in Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm.
May 21 Public Star Watch at Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest, NJ. Starting time is 8:00 pm.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 4.18.2022

Observing Opportunity: The often overlooked and sometimes difficult-to-see planet Mercury is currently offering a favorable eastern elongation after sunset. As shown here on April 21, 2022, the evening of our upcoming Public Star Watch at Historic Smithville Park (see the line item above), Mercury will be relatively bright at magnitude -0.6 and accessible at 11.5° altitude half-an-hour after sunset. Mercury will have a close encounter with the Pleiades star cluster on April 29 when it reaches greatest elongation (and almost as close April 28 & 30). The planet  Uranus is also in the field, but dim at 6th magnitude, lower in the sky and deeper in twilight, so it will be essentially impossible to see (Uranus will be at solar conjunction on May 5). Check out Sky & Telescope's This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 22 - April 30 for additional upcoming celestial events. Chart prepared with SkySafari 7.

 

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)

United States Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications