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 58th 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. Members in good standing have access to the gated Barnegat Road Observing Site in the dark New Jersey Pines.

 

President:

Vice President:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

Bob Lill

Frank Grupico

Suzanne Leap

Wade Evans

   

 

Announcements   Last Update: Tuesday, April 29, 2025

May 2 Formal Meeting at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center, Conference Ctr, Room 155A, Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm. Guests are welcome. Members will vote on proposed bylaw amendments.
May 2 The asteroid (4) Vesta will reach opposition at 2:28 am EDT. Shining at magnitude +5.7, it and its daily movement will be an easy binocular target, and for those with keen vision at a dark site, potentially visible with unaided eyes for a week or more before and after opposition.
May 12 Full Moon at 12:56 pm EDT in Libra.
May 16 Informal Meeting at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center, Conference Ctr, Room 155A, Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm. Guests are welcome.
May 17 Public Star Watch at Batsto, beginning at 8:00 pm, no registration required. Check back here on the day of the event for the go/no-go weather call.
May 26 New Moon at 11:02 pm EDT in Taurus, about one day after perigee on May 25 at 9:34 pm.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 4.04.2025

Club member John McDaniel captured this fine image of the magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, located in the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, about 5° northeast of the end of the Big Dipper asterism's handle. It was taken on April 1, 2025, from Mt Laurel, NJ (not a dark site), with an Askar FRA500 90 mm, f/5.6 apo refractor and a ZWO ASI2600MC digital astro-camera, riding on a ZWO AM5 harmonic equatorial mount  It represents 140 sub-exposures of 120 seconds each, for a total integration time of 4 hr 40 min. Click the picture for a larger version.

 

Click here for the previous home page image.

 

Sky & Telescope's This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 25 to May 4, 2025.

Get the monthly Evening Sky Map.

 

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

United States Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications

Minima of Algol

Lunar X Predictions for 2025

Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2025

Meteor Showers in 2025