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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 60 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, a telescope loaner program, and much more. Joining is simple; you can sign up online or by snail mail.

In mid-2001 a coworker asked me to go stargazing at Columbus with him. He had just bought an LX200, and we looked at Messier objects. This was fun to do so I bought a 10" Meade Starfinder and began logging these objects. After a while someone said I should turn the list in and receive an Observing Program award. I didn't know there were "Observing Programs." So, I turned it in and after some "recommendations," Amelia Goldberg gave me my first observing award, Messier Award Number 2000.

Master Observer Steven Powell

I enjoyed participating in these programs and sometimes I brought them on vacation. The Binocular Messier was completed while on vacation in a park in New Mexico and the Constellation Hunter Southern Hemisphere #8 was completed while on vacation in New Zealand on a cruise ship going to Tanzania. What better thing to do on a cruise ship?

As an Electronics Engineer by profession, I wanted to do the Radio Astronomy program and completed award #13—gold level. This one is nice because most of it can be done during the day.

The Herschel 400 was saved for last because I didn't have the equipment to complete it. I wanted to use the club's Celestron C14 but after an evening struggling with alignment, I decided to purchase a new Celestron C11 and an iOptron CEM60 mount. Then it went smoothly.