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.
All the fall objects are looking pretty good this month. Especially at the picnic & star party. Find details about both the visual and the astrophotography HAS Texas 45 observing programs under the Programs menu. Or here: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/programs.
By: Peggy Mueller
It is now well accepted that stars form from clouds of gas and dust that collapse under their own gravity. However, if the angular momentum of the collapsing cloud was not removed during its formation, the young star would spin up so much that it would ultimately tear itself apart. Nevertheless, there are young stars rotating at a fraction of their break-up speed. How can we explain this conundrum? After an overview of the early stages of stellar evolution, this talk will focus on how we tested one of the explanations for this puzzling observation and what we learned.
Speaker Bio: Peggie Mueller has been a member of the Houston Astronomical Society since 2021. Her interest in astronomy deepened in 2016 after taking Modern Astronomy as part of the Master of Liberal Arts program at Rice University. Under the mentorship of Prof. Chris Johns-Krull, Peggie developed her capstone project which led to a published paper, Tests of Disk-Locking in T Tauri Stars of the ONC, in the March 2024 Astrophysical Journal. Tonight’s talk draws from their research, offering insights from her project and ongoing engagement in astronomy.
To see the video, click The Birth of Stars: Unraveling a Cosmic Conundrum.
“Open Clusters and Asterisms”
By: Larry Mitchell
Visually stellar open clusters and asterisms are unique as no two clusters are alike, and often stunning detail can be seen. This differs from observing many deep-sky objects which due to distances and physical parameters often present similar apparent views. We will explore how star clusters form, where and what they are, and how they evolved to their present state. Unpublished data will be presented which displays a level of accuracy previously un-imagined. Stellar clusters are particularly valuable for stellar evolution analysis, and this also applies for objects in other galaxies, which are visible in amateur instruments, and we will explore some of these. It is always great to visually observe this wonderful universe through any telescope, but it is much – much better if one knows something about the object being seen. We will analyze and view some of the finest stellar clusters in the current fall and winter sky
Our Speaker: Larry Mitchell has had a lifelong interest in astronomy, He began observing at age 10 with a 3-inch telescope and in 1985 became a serious visual astronomer – Still Serious 40 years later! Larry owns too many telescopes including a 36-inch f/5 which he recently sold, a 30-inch f/3.3, a 20-inch f/5, an 18-inch f/4 as well as several others.
To see the video, click Open Clusters and Asterisms.
“My Astronomy Journey”
By: Tim Russ
I would like to discuss my journey as an amateur astronomer. From learning the constellations and objects in the night sky using a simple, small, manual Newtonian scope, to assisting NASA's Lucy Mission using the newest and latest consumer telescopes available. Tim Russ
Our Speaker: Tim Russ is an actor, musician, screenwriter, director and amateur astronomer. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, Robert Johnson in Crossroads (1986), Casey in East of Hope Street (1998), Frank on Samantha Who?, Principal Franklin on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly, and D. C. Montana on The Highwaymen (1987–1988). He appeared in The Rookie: Feds (2022) and reprised his role as Captain Tuvok on Season 3 of Star Trek:Picard.
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To see the video, click Tim Russ - Amateur Astronomer.
“A Tour of the Autumn Night Sky”
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“Astronomy & The Nobel Prize”
By: Chris Morisette
So long to this dreadful heat and hello to cool(er) nights! Autumn is a great time to get out under the stars as a plethora of beautiful and exotic deep sky objects present themselves. Novice Chairperson Chris Morisette will provide a brief review on how to navigate the night sky using celestial signposts, then take us on a tour of the autumn night sky.
In addition, Chris will present a brief topic entitled “Astronomy & The Nobel Prize”. Here he’ll provide some background on the Nobel Prize and recognize some of the astronomers and astrophysicists that have been recipients of the award. At the end of the meeting your input will be requested for the 2025 Novice presentation program.
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 Astronomy Department Board of Visitors. On clear Saturday nights you may find him volunteering at the George Observatory engaging with visitors and sharing his love of the night sky, or you may find him at the HAS Dark Site trying his hand at astrophotography.
To see the video, click A Tour of the Autumn Night Sky.
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Dawn: 04:59 A.M.
Sunrise: 06:29 A.M.
Sunset: 08:10 P.M.
End Twilight: 09:39 P.M.
Learn how to read it the clear sky chart.