Welcome to Houston Astronomical Society

Fostering the science and art of astronomy through programs that serve our membership and the community. Founded in 1955, Houston Astronomical Society is an active community of enthusiastic amateur and professional astronomers with over 70 years of history in the Houston area. Through education and outreach, our programs promote science literacy and astronomy awareness. We meet via Zoom the first Friday of each month for the General Membership Meeting and the first Thursday of the month for the Novice Meeting. Membership has a variety of benefits, including access to a secure dark site west of Houston, special interest groups that focus on particular areas of astronomy, an active community outreach program, and much more. Joining is simple.

“Gems of the Summer Sky”

By Chris Morisette

Summer offers a wide array of fascinating objects for viewing. In “Gems of the Summer Sky” Chris Morisette shows how we can continue to use The Big Dipper, as well as adding “The Keystone”, “The Summer Triangle”, and “The Teapot” to our repertoire of navigation signposts to help us find and observe some wonderful star clusters and nebulae.

Speaker Bio: Chris Morisette is HAS Novice Chairperson and an active member of the Houston Astronomical Society, North Houston Astronomy Club, and the Fort Bend Astronomy Club. He is also a member of The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy Board of Visitors.

To see the video, click Gems of the Summer Sky.

Please Note – Summer Schedule 6:00 to 8:00pm

"Collecting the Cosmos: Astronomical Highlights from the Harry Ransom Center”

By: Benjamin Gross, PhD

The Harry Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research center at The University of Texas at Austin. It is home to the world’s oldest photograph, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and the personal papers of Gabriel García Márquez, Gloria Swanson, and Lorne Michaels. While best known for its literary and artistic collections, the Center has also been acquiring rare scientific books and manuscripts since the 1960s. This presentation will provide an overview of the Center’s collections and showcases some of its remarkable astronomical holdings, including early lunar maps, handwritten notes and drawings created by the Herschel family, and memorabilia from the launch of Apollo 11.

Speaker Bio: Benjamin Gross is Head of Fellowships and Scholarly Programs at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. Before moving to Austin, he served as Vice President for Research and Scholarship at the Linda Hall Library, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Science History Institute, and consulting curator of the Sarnoff Collection at the College of New Jersey. He earned a PhD in the history of science at Princeton University, and his book, The TVs of Tomorrow: How RCA’s Flat-Screen Dreams Led to the First LCDs, was published in 2018 by the University of Chicago Press.

To see the video, click Collecting the Cosmos: Astronomical Highlights from the Harry Ransom Center

Hot off the presses. Right click image and select Fullscreen to display GuideStar.

“Celestial Wonders Down Under -

Exploring the Night Skies of Australia”

By Chris Morisette

“Celestial Wonders Down Under” recounts Chris Morisette’s journey across Australia in search of heavenly treasures seldom seen by stargazers here at home. Along the way we’ll will learn the basics of navigating the southern sky before embarking on a guided “Sky Tour” featuring several deep-sky objects captured during the trip with the Dwarf Mini smart telescope.

The tour includes several iconic objects, including Eta Carinae, Omega Centauri, and the Southern Pleiades. Chris will also provide an overview of the observing sites visited throughout the expedition, along with practical insights for anyone considering a long-distance astronomy road trip.

Through a collection of images and commentary, participants will experience the splendor of Australia’s night skies — a true bucket-list destination for novice and experienced astronomers alike.

To see the video, click Celestial Wonders Down Under - Exploring the Night Skies of Australia.

“Navigating the Spring Sky”

By Chris Morisette

By May we are “knee-deep” into Galaxy Season. In “Navigating the Spring Sky” Chris Morisette will present various references and methods to help you find your way around the cosmos. In particular we’ll see how we can use The Big Dipper as a “signpost”, which will allow us to find and view several beautiful celestial objects, including some very cool galaxies.

To see the video, click Navigating the Spring Sky.

"Mauve – New Eyes Study how Stellar Activity Shapes the Exoplanet Environment”

By: Dr. Christopher Johns-Krul

Blue Skies Space, a United Kingdom space science data company, has successfully launched its first satellite, Mauve, marking the start of a three-year mission to study the stars and how their activity influences the habitability of distant exoplanets. The satellite was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Nov. 26 as part of the Transporter-15 rideshare program.

Mauve will enable the study of transient, energetic phenomena from stars, largely emitted through powerful explosions, known as flares, that will affect the planets around them. This emission is largely seen at energetic ultraviolet wavelengths, which Mauve can observe over long periods of time. In addition to stellar flares, research priorities include young exoplanet hosts, hot stars and binary stars.

Speaker Bio: Dr Christopher Johns-Krull is Professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University, and Blue Skies interim vice president for research. Dr. Johns-Krul researches star formation and early stellar evolution in addition to solar and stellar magnetic activity, in addition to extra-solar planets. Dr. Johns-Krul is a key member of the Mauve science program.

To see the video, click "Mauve – New Eyes Study how Stellar Activity Shapes the Exoplanet Environment”.