News and Updates
NOVAC member Elizabeth McGovern Assink provides a glimpse into her experience at the Almost Heaven Star Party (AHSP) through sketching. What a great way to tell a personal story about this year's AHSP at the Spruce Knob Mountain Center in West Virginia. Read her story here and improve your sketching skills too! NOVAC AHSP 2022 [...]
Join NOVAC astrophotographers, Mitch Stover, Chris Kagy, and Juan Marin Otero for a engaging discussion of astrophotography - how they got started, what they recommend for new amateurs, and decisions they made on gear selection, techniques, and targets. There will also be a show 'n tell so you can ask all your questions concerning their setups [...]
The big news this month is that Jupiter will be in opposition on the 26th and will be the closest distance to Earth in decades. We also have the Autumnal Equinox on the 22nd and the full Moon on the 10th. This month's full Moon is commonly referred to as the Harvest Moon due to [...]
A short list of interesting events in the August sky with 'x' and 'v' shapes on the moon, Jovian moon shadows across Jupiter, Saturn at opposition and the Summer Triangle starting to become more easily visible throughout the night. Dates and times based on observing from Alexandria, VA. as predicted using Stellarium. Thursday, August 4 [...]
Join NOVAC and Eithne McDonald from Columbia University for a talk about NASA's exciting Lucy mission - the first space mission to explore the population of small bodies known as the Trojans. These primitive bodies hold vital clues to deciphering the history of our Solar System and the origins of organic materials on Earth. Title: The NASA [...]
Join us for an informal discussion on the science and technology behind the recently released James Webb images. These early images illustrate Webb's amazing capabilities. What do we know and how can we apply what we see to begin to address some of the popular questions in astronomy? Beyond the five or so images [...]
Meet Jeff Ball, NOVAC member, West Virginia resident and one of the best choreographers of astrophotography, drone video, nature photography, and music out there! He combines it all into some very special, well conceived videos. The best way to meet Jeff is to watch them. They're amazing! Here are a few of Jeff's [...]
Join the Westminster Astronomical Society's next virtual talk on 13 July at 7:30pm EDT. The topic is: "The Hubble Space Telescope - a Long Term Perspective". Title: “The Hubble Space Telescope–a Long Term Perspective“ Larry Dunham (HST Chief Systems Engineer) and Dr. Ken Carpenter (NASA, HST Project Scientist) will provide the talk. NOVAC is welcome to join this Zoom [...]
Planets outside of our solar system look nothing like our own, with most of these detected exoplanets falling right in between the size of the Earth and Neptune. How can we understand such differences? Join NOVAC and Dr. Eve Lee for a virtual discussion on Sunday, July 10 at 7:30pm EDT. Eve Lee, Ph.D. Sunday, July [...]
About 21 years ago, a group of NOVAC ATMs (amateur telescope makers) led by John Avellone combined surplus optics into a 16” diameter Dobsonian. The telescope build effort was described in an article in a 2001 NOVAC Newsletter. Continue reading for additional technical information and your opportunity to acquire the Sweet 16! This telescope was an [...]
