What: APL Astronomy Club monthly meeting
Where: Gibson Library room L-2
When: Wednesday, March 21, noon to 1:00 pm
This month’s topics: Transit of Venus, presented by Ron Farris.
Open to anyone with an interest in astronomy.
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Solar Star Party Feb. 14 Bldg 200
What: Solar Observing
Where: Building 200 Cafeteria Patio
When: Tuesday, February 14, noon to 1:00 pm
Come view the Sun, our very own star, with the APL Astronomy Club. Count sunspots, see faculae and plages and maybe granulation and spicules, and compare the view through different kinds of equipment. Venus and Jupiter will also be visible in regular telescopes.
Open to anyone on campus who is interested.
If it’s too cloudy the event will be canceled, but we’ll try again on Mar. 20, at the building 1 main cafeteria patio.
Monthly Meeting Jan. 18
What: APL Astronomy Club monthly meeting
Where: Gibson Library room L-2
When: Wednesday, January 18, noon to 1:00 pm
This month’s topics: Guest speaker Nick Pinkine, Solar Probe mission.
Open to anyone with an interest in astronomy.
Solar Star Party January 17
What: Solar Observing
Where: Building 17 Cafeteria Patio
When: Tuesday, January 17, noon to 1:00 pm
Come view the Sun, our very own star, with the APL Astronomy Club. Count sunspots, see faculae and plages and maybe granulation and spicules, and compare the view through different kinds of equipment. Open to anyone on campus who is interested.
If it’s too cloudy the event will be canceled, but we’ll try again on Feb. 14, outside the building 200 cafeteria.
* * * UPDATE * * *
Tuesday, Jan 17, 9 am: The weather forecast says Rain. Today’s event is * * * CANCELED * * *.
Dec. 21 Monthly Meeting
What: APL Astronomy Club monthly meeting
Where: Gibson Library room L-2
When: Wednesday, December 21, noon to 1:00 pm
This month’s topics: Guest speaker Dan Smith, APL’s Radiation Belt Storm Probe (RBSP) mission.
Open to anyone with an interest in astronomy.
Nov. 4th Star Party is a GO
The forecast is for clear skies. We are a GO for tonight’s star party. See you there! Star party details: in the right-hand panel, see Categories > Star Parties > “Friends & Family Star Party”
Orionid capture during time lapse sequence
This past weekend I was out at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia
. We had awesomely clear skies Saturday night (and the temps dropped to right about 20 F by morning – brrrr!), but I managed to get two time lapse sequences shot (unfortunately not with the dolly; forgot the power cord that connected the battery with the controller 
). However, I managed to catch at least two meteors (that I’ve seen in my photos so far, anyway), one a sporadic, one an Orionid. The photo here (click to enlarge) has the Orionid in it, right at the horizon on the left side. In the foreground relative to the meteor is an orangish glow of a cliff face, which is Seneca Rocks itself. (for scale, it is about 300′ high, and I am more than a mile, mile and a half away) 25 second exposure, f/3.8, 21mm lens, 3200 ISO. The Praesepe (aka, Beehive Cluster, M44)) is the cluster of stars just above the middle tree, the bright star just right of center is Procyon, the very bright star far right is Sirius. Saturn is the brightish star up and slightly right from the meteor trail.
Orionids peak Oct 22 early AM
Orionid Meteor Shower:
This year should be great for the Orionid meteor shower!
Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley’s comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, with more than 15 meteors per hour. Earth isn’t the only world in the debris stream; NASA researchers will also be watching for meteoroid strikes on the Moon.
FULL STORY at science.NASA.gov
November 16 monthly meeting
What: APL Astronomy Club monthly meeting
Where: Gibson Library room L-2
When: Wednesday, November 16, noon to 1:00 pm
Open to anyone with an interest in Astronomy.
This month’s topics: Equipment purchases, club projects, reports on the Nov 4th Star Party, and member observing reports.
Friends & Family Star Party Nov. 4, 2011
The weather forcast is for clear skies. We are GO for the star party 🙂 See you there!
The APL Astronomy Club’s fall Friends & Family Star Party will be held November 4th, starting at 6:30 pm (club telescope set up starts at 6). Check for a Weather Status Update at this web site on Nov. 4 in the afternoon. NO FLASHLIGHTS.
APLers and their friends and families are invited. Club members will have several telescopes out for your viewing pleasure. Bring your own optics if you have ’em – the more, the merrier!
Where: on the lawn next to the Big Dish on the West side of the Main Campus, outside the perimeter fence.
Dress for temperatures at least 10 degrees colder than predicted. NO FLASHLIGHTS.
Park near the turnstyle entrance by building 21, or near the building 23 lobby entrance.
Sun: sunset at 6:05 pm; end civil twilight at 6:32 pm.
Moon: waxing gibbous (69%), transit at 8:47 pm EDT.
Jupiter: rises 5:41 pm, 32 degrees altitude by 8:30, transits just after midnight, visual magnitude about -3.
Neptune: 11 degrees from the Moon (west and below), about 8th magnitude, transit at 8pm at about 38 degrees altitude.
Uranus: 23 degrees from the Moon (east), about 6th magnitude; at 8pm at altitude 40d, azimuth 135d; transit is at 10 pm.
Bright double stars: Albireo in Cygnus; eta Lyrae (the double-double).
Nebulae at 8pm: M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) ENE at 57d altitude. M13 (globular cluster) WNW at 29d altitude. M57 (Ring Nebula) W at 52d altitude. M45 (the Pleiades) just rising in the East at 15d altitude.
JHU/APL Astronomy Club 
