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: Thursday, May 05, 2022

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, click Nature Programs, scroll down to the Outdoors section and click Star Watches). While not ideal, tonight's forecast looks promising, so the Star Watch is a Go!
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 15 Total Lunar Eclipse – First umbral contact occurs at 10:28 pm EDT and totality begins at 11:29 pm. Maximum eclipse occurs at 12:12 am on May 16, totality ends at 12:54 am and last umbral contact is at 1:56 am.
May 16 Full Moon at 12:14 am EDT in Libra (during the total lunar eclipse).
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.
May 30 New Moon at 7:30 am EDT in Taurus.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 5.02.2022

Observing Opportunity: The often overlooked and sometimes difficult-to-see planet Mercury is beginning to wind down its currently favorable eastern elongation after sunset. As shown here on May 2, 2022, Mercury has faded a bit to magnitude +0.9 as it becomes increasingly a crescent (27% illuminated on May 2) and remains relatively close to the Pleiades star cluster (here's the view on April 29). It will be joined this evening by the 2.2-day-old crescent moon, just and 4.2% illuminated. It might be worth trying to sight Mercury in a telescope to see its crescent shape, but at the low altitude (12° at 8:30 pm), seeing conditions can present a challenge. Check out Sky & Telescope's This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 29 - May 6 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