Welcome to Houston Astronomical Society

The members below have completed the HAS Texas 45 observing program. Congratulations! Special congratulations to Carlos Arieu, certificate #13, whose award notice got lost in the shuffle.

Would you like to earn bragging rights for completing HAS's very own observing program? You can complete it visually, electronically, or photographically. Check out the Programs tab of this website.

HAS Texas 45 Honor Roll

• Carlos Arieu, silver level award, 65 objects, certificate #13
• Ron Birkhoff, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #12
• Kailash Mirpuri, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #11
• Mike Edstrom, bronze level award, 40 seasonal objects plus 5 solar system objects with an OSC camera, certificate #1
• Craig Lamison, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #10
• Steve Goldberg, silver level award, 45 objects via star hopping, certificate #9
• Brian Cudnik, silver level award, 65 objects, certificate #8
• Clayton Jeter, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #7
• Craig Lamison, silver level award, 65 objects, certificate #6
• Amelia Goldberg, silver level award, 45 objects via star hopping, certificate #5
• Chris Thiede, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #4
• Rene Gedaly, HAS Texas 45 author, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #3
• Rob Torrey, silver level award, 65 objects, certificate #2
• Steve Fast, gold level award, 65 objects via star hopping, certificate #1

To learn how to approach any observing list, view The HAS Texas 45: From Stargazer to Visual Observer on the HAS YouTube channel.

Monthly Outreach - September 21, 2024

John Paul Landing Park

24202 West Rd, Cypress, TX 77433

Start time: 7:30PM to 9PM

Lecture: Bill Spizzirri will present "21 Facts About The Moon"

Bring your telescope for an enjoyable evening of enlightenment as you show a very interested group of  visitors the wonders of space.  You will have the opportunity to answer individual questions, see the wide eyes of children and hear the exclamations of "Wow!" from young and old as they see the rings of Saturn for the first time or perhaps a close up view of the craters on the Moon.  No experience required and expect to have a lot of fun as you mingle with visitors and fellow HAS members. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Roy at this email.

Future dates:  Oct 26 7:00PM to 9:30PM,    Nov 23 5:30PM to 8PM,    Dec 28 5:30PM to 8PM

See what Chris Morisette has to say.

The Winter Sky"

By: Chris Morisette

Winter offers many wonderful celestial objects for viewing.  In “The Winter Sky” Chris Morisette will discuss methods for navigating the night sky using Orion as a signpost, will review several terrific objects available for viewing this time of year, and will provide tips on cold weather preparation.

Hear the whole presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHOh8I-3BJQ

At the last Houston Astronomical Society meeting, Walt Cooney talked about Recurrent Novae, specifically T Cor Bor.

" Recurrent Novae (Especially T Cor Bor)”

By Walt Cooney

Throughout history, the discovery of “new” stars (nova stella) has been recorded. They were not understood to be stellar explosions until recent centuries. Yet in all of human history, only ten novae in our galaxy have been discovered to be recurring novae, which actually explode more than once.  

Listen to the meeting lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnnWR7NhGls&t=21s

Did you miss the December 2023 Novice presentation because it was on November 30^th? Not to worry. You can always catch up with past presentations from the HAS YouTube channel. Justin McCollum’s presentation is here. And to learn a little more about Justin, aka Professor Comet, take a look here.

One of the joys of this hobby is sharing it with others. Want to know more? Take a look at "Joys of Outreach" on the HAS YouTube channel. For a little more info about the presenters at the December 2023 general membership meeting, take a look here.