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.

“An Astro-Potpourri”

By Daniel M. Roy

This talk is about sharing interesting and fun tricks you can use in the field as well as to intrigue or amuse your guests at a party. It will cover:

Basic optics you can try with a magnifying glass
How a refractor magnifies the image (basic ray tracing with a fun applet)
Showing an earth-moon model and the moon phases wearing a head lamp
Displaying the mind-boggling scale of the solar system with one small poster
Using Stellarium to guide sungazing (including naked eyes and binoculars)
Why we all should outreach (with recognition to some HAS out-reachers)
Daytime astronomy and what to show despite cloudy skies
Coming HAS outreach events you can be part of

A list of URLs will be shared so that you can pursue what you find of interest and I will always be there to share stuff and interact on the HAS forum and through email.

Speaker Bio: After an international engineering career in biomed, aerospace and software businesses, Dan is now happily retired in League City TX where he leads monthly free public STEM parties for the city services (“Astronomy in the Park - YouTube” as well as “microscopy In The Park” League City Astronomy in the Park + Microscopy). Dan sits on the board of the non-profit Foundation for International Space Education (FISE) founded by ex. JSC director George Abbey. He teaches for United Space School (USS) which brings 50 brilliant kids from 25 countries to Houston for an intensive 2 week workshop about the space program. Please watch this 1mn clip This is United Space School! - YouTube

Dan is also the education and outreach coordinator for the Houston Astronomical Society (HAS) as well as an active member of the National Space Society (NSS) and of The Planetary Society (TPS).

Dan enjoys indulging his ignorance in a wide range of scientific subjects. He is an avid reader of several scientific periodicals and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He also enjoys cooking, biking, nature walking, microscopy, astronomy, paddling his kayaks and doing whatever is on wife Rebeca's "honey do" list.

To see the video, click An Astro-Potpourri

After a short holiday pause, we’re excited to resume our in-person General Meetings with a featured talk, held on the first Friday of every month.

Our next meeting will be on Friday, February 6th, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, and it will be at a new location.

Alief Hayes Campus
2811 Hayes Rd
Houston, TX

Please note that this venue is different from our November meeting. Parking is free. From the main entrance, walk down the atrium until you reach the “red velvet auditorium” (room C100).

You’re always welcome to join us via Zoom, but meeting fellow astronomers in person is where curiosity really comes alive.

We’d love to see you there. Come join us!

Clear skies,
Matt Boerlage
President
Houston Astronomical Society

The “original” nebula, Sh2-284, lies in the constellation Monoceros and climbs to nearly 60 degrees in the late evening. Rich in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur emissions, it’s an excellent narrowband target for both deep and wide-field compositions. But there’s more. Join us at the dark site to capture broadband data as well—something rarely attempted on this elusive object. Sh2-284 has no officially recognized name yet, so when you submit your image, include your proposed name and take part in our nebula-naming contest.

Dana Martin Lindstrom passed away unexpectedly on December 31, 2025. He was a dedicated member of the Houston Astronomical Society and a passionate supporter of amateur astronomy and astrophotography.

An engineer by training, Dana brought both technical skill and curiosity to the night sky. He was an active astrophotographer and a familiar presence at the Texas Star Party and the Okie-Tex Star Party. Dana strongly supported the development of the HAS Dark Site as an astronomy village, generously contributing his time, equipment, and resources.

Most notably, Dana donated the 16-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope and Paramount mount now housed in the HAS observatory. His generosity and love of astronomy will continue to inspire observers for years to come.

Here is a sample of his astrophotography - the total eclipse he witnessed in Kerrville, April last year.