May
6
Sat
2017
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower
May 6 all-day

The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year on the night of May 6 and the morning of the May 7. The waxing gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year. But if you are patient, you should be able to catch quite a few of the brighter ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
http://seasky.org

May
7
Sun
2017
Monthly Meeting @ George Mason University
May 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Monthly Meeting @ George Mason University | Fairfax | Virginia | United States
This meeting is moved to a week earlier to avoid Mothers Day.  Our meetings on the second Sunday of the Month. The events are normally held evening at 7:00 pm in Research Hall Room 163 on the campus of George Mason University. Our web page, http://www.novac.com/meetings/, has directions and additional details.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday evenings!

 

 

 

 

May
27
Sat
2017
Cancelled – C.M. Crockett Public Night @ C.M. Crockett Park
May 27 @ 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Most forecasts predict cloudy skies with a 10 to 20 percent likelihood of light rain or drizzle. Conditions won’t be suitable for astronomy.

Even though the Clear Sky Chart currently predicts only 10% cloud cover <http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/CrckttPrkVAkey.html>, most of the other

weather-guessers say that the evening will be cloudy with a significant chance of precipitation

<https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/22728:4:US>

<http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/midland-va/22728/hourly-weather-forecast/2111280?hour=19>.

Please read the C.M. Crockett Page for park details.

 

Jun
3
Sat
2017
Venus at its Highest (Again)
Jun 3 all-day

Venus will be at its “greatest western elongation”. This is a great time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the enormously bright thing in the western sky before sunrise.