Note that this is a change from a date (Aug 29) some of us had discussed a while back. Apologies to anyone who wasn’t included in the rescheduling discussion. I was still posting to the listserv from my Yahoo address then, and most things weren’t getting through.
For the same reasons, I’m reposting a message below about a few galaxy images I processed recently:
I finally starting to get a stable processing routine in PixInsight for my LRGB images, and have managed to get through a bunch of galaxies that I shot since last fall. These were all taken from my little backyard dog-servatory in Dunn Loring, between Tysons Corner and the Mosaic District, so you know there’s plenty of light pollution. The springtime galaxy images really suffered from this, as transparency was lower then and the soggy air reflected more light back down into the scope. Seeing was also much better for the one image shot in the fall (NGC 891), so details are sharper in that image. FWHM (a measure of sharpness of the stars in the image) was 1.95 arcsecs for that one, vs. 2.7 for the three shot in the spring.
Dates for AHSP Event see http://www.ahsp.org for event registration and details.
NOVAC’s Byron Bergert Imaging Group will hold its Not-a-Leap-Year Processing Party online on Saturday, February 27 from 10am to 1pm. As our planet’s satellite moves into its springtime prime, when the first-quarter moon will ride high in the sky, this seemed like a good opportunity to take a step sideways from our usual focus on deep sky astrophotography to do a session on lunar imaging. Our Special Guest Processor for this meeting is Tom Glenn, a skilled lunar and planetary photographer who lives in San Diego. You may be familiar with Tom’s work from his fantastic APOD of the International Space Station transiting Mars, but if you look at Tom’s Flickr site you’ll quickly see that he’s equally talented at lunar imaging, and in fact he earned his first APOD for that work. Tom images the moon with a 9.25” Celestron SCT and an ASI183 camera.
We’ll be holding this meeting online via Google Meet. Follow the link below to join the meeting (you can dial in for audio only):
Phone: 414-436-7479
PIN: 891 623 500#
We’ll open the connection about 10 minutes before the meeting time.
Details and Google Meet link TBA.

RSVP here.
Members of the public are invited to view the urban night sky over George Mason University’s Arlington Campus through the telescopes of NOVAC volunteers.
Observing will take place on the outdoor plaza in front of Van Metre Hall (Schar School of Policy and Government). Visitor Parking is available in the Van Metre Hall Garage (hourly rate). There is also metered street parking around the campus.
As a reminder please ask permission from the telescope owner before using. Please monitor your children if they’re around expensive astronomical equipment.
Don’t forget to dress warmly. Please check the weather forecast.
Note: This outdoor event is weather-dependent and may be cancelled because of significant cloud cover or precipitation.

THIS EVENT IS CANCELED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR LATER THIS SUMMER.
RSVP here.
Members of the public are invited to view the urban night sky over George Mason University’s Arlington Campus through the telescopes of NOVAC volunteers.
Observing will take place on the outdoor plaza in front of Van Metre Hall (Schar School of Policy and Government). Visitor Parking is available in the Van Metre Hall Garage (hourly rate). There is also metered street parking around the campus.
As a reminder please ask permission from the telescope owner before using. Please monitor your children if they’re around expensive astronomical equipment.
Don’t forget to dress warmly. Please check the weather forecast.
Note: This outdoor event is weather-dependent and may be cancelled because of significant cloud cover or precipitation.