Welcome to the WAA

We are a not–for–profit organization open to people of all ages with the desire to learn more about astronomy and who share an interest in viewing the universe. We range from enthusiastic amateurs and educators to casual stargazers and families. Everything you need to know about our organization is outlined below. Current astronomy news, feeds and astronomy resources can be found on the right side of the page.

Little Girl and Mom at park. (M. Gondek)

Newsletters

Read the latest SkyWAAtch newsletters:

We also have archived newsletters.

Monthly Lectures

Lectures are free and open to the public and begin at 8pm in the Andrus Planetarium, Hudson River Museum of Westchester, 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY. WAA Directions. Here are the lecture dates:

Friday, March 6th, 8:00 PM – "Methane Discovery and Its Implications for finding Life on Mars" - Brother Robert Novak will discuss the telescopic discovery of methane on Mars and how that affects the likelihood of finding life. Free and open to the public.

Friday, April 3rd, 8:00 PM – "Energy Technologies for Earth and Other Planets" - Join us as Prof. Steve Greenbaum gives an updated lecture on Energy Technologies for Earth and Other Planets. Free and open to the public.

Friday, May 1st, 8:00 PM – "In Search of Time" - Science writer Dan Fauk, the author of In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension, will discuss some of the most intriguing aspects of time: how our ancestors first learned to measure it; how Newton and Leibniz argued over its nature; how Einstein linked time and space; and a brief look at the physics of time travel and the paradoxes it seems to entail. Dan has written about science for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star,The Boston Globe, The Walrus, SkyNews, Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, and New Scientist, and has been a regular contributor to the Canadian radio programs Ideas and Quirks & Quarks on the CBC radio network. Free and open to the public.

Friday, June 5th, 8:00 PM – "The Great Comets of the Last 400 Years" - For our June meeting, Joe Rao will speak on "The Great Comets of the Last 400 Years.” Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Free and open to the public..

Attend our Social Hour at 7pm or the free Friday Star Nites planetarium show sponsored by Fuji Photo Film USA. And after the meeting we meet at Bennigan's for some casual conversations and a bite to eat.

Jimmy at Stellafane (G. Gondek)

Starway to Heaven

Starway to Heaven is our monthly observing night at The Meadow, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, NY. WAA Directions. The observing dates are:

2009 Observing Schedule

Saturday January 24th — 6:30pm to 9pm. Raindate: January 31st.
Saturday February 21st — 6pm to 9pm. Raindate: February 28th.
Saturday March 21st — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: March 28th.
Saturday April 18th — 8pm to 10pm. Raindate: April 25th.
Saturday May 23rd — 8:30pm to 10:30pm. Raindate: May 30th.
Saturday June 13th — 9pm to 11pm. Raindate: June 27th.
Saturday July 18th — 9pm to 11pm. Raindate: July 25th.
Saturday August 15th — 9pm to 11pm. Raindate: August 22nd.
Saturday September 19th — 8pm to 10pm. Raindate: September 26th.
Saturday October 17th — 8pm to 10pm. Raindate: October 24th.
Saturday November 14th — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: November 21st.
Saturday December 12th — 6:30pm to 9pm. Raindate: December 19th.

"Starway to Heaven" is free and open to the public through the generosity of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. We encourage you to bring your telescope — especially if you need help using or setting it up. Don't have a telescope? You can look through our members' equipment. Call 1–877–456–5778 for weather cancellations. A good rule of thumb: Don't show up if you can't count more than 10 bright stars. Please read our General Observing Guidelines. The WAA cannot guarantee the turnout of members and telescopes during the winter months.

Membership

Annual dues are $25.00 per family which includes discounts on subscriptions to Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines (see below). To join the WAA, fill out our application and send it along with a personal check or money order to our P.O. Box.

Inside the Andrus Planetarium (M. Gondek)

Magazine Discounts

For WAA members only. Sky and Telescope — $32.95. Make check payable to Sky Publishing. Astronomy — $34.00. Make check payable to Kalmbach Publishing. Please mail the completed renewal form, your payment and the return envelope (with proper postage) to our P.O. Box. If you subscribe to both magazines you need to fill out two separate renewals. New subscribers please enclose a note stating new subscription. Note any change of address.

WAA Staff

We'll be glad to answer all your questions; just send your inquiries to the appropriate officer — you'll have to manually type the addresses:

Picture of Charlie. Picture of Pat. Picture of Mike. Picture of Karen. Picture of John. Picture of Dave. Picture of Tom.

The "W"

The constellation Cassiopeia in its familiar "W" orientation as it appeared just above the treetops on Thursday, June 13, 1991 — the night the WAA was founded.

The WAA Logo (R. Davidson & P. Shug '92).

What's up in Space

From Spaceweather.com

  • MOONSHIP PHOTOGRAPHED: NASA's LCROSS spacecraft was 480 000 km from Earth on Monday June 29th when Paul Mortfield of Sierra Remote Observatories in California photographed it passing by galaxy IC3808: movie. "Amateur astronomers with mid-sized telescopes should be able to capture LCROSS during its cruising orbits over the next ...
  • VOLCANIC SUNSETS: The plume of volcanic dust and sulfur dioxide that has caused so many pretty sunsets over the USA this week has crossed the Atlantic and reached Europe. "The purple color of the sky on June 30th was unbelievable " says Rafael Gallego who sends this picture from ...
  • ART OR SCIENCE? Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder Colorado have created an unprecedented 3D supercomputer model of a sunspot. The result is not only scientificially informative but also a thing of beauty: ...
  • Night Sky Notes

    From the Abrams Planetarium

    • Thursday, July 2, 2009
      Venus and Jupiter are 90° apart in the morning sky. Venus is in the east while Jupiter is in the south. Venus is the brighter of the two planets.
    • Friday, July 3, 2009
      The Earth is at aphelion. Aphelion is the point in the Earth's orbit that is farthest from the Sun. Earth is now 1.017 AU from the Sun or 94,500,000 miles. That's about 1.6 million miles farther from the Sun than average.
    • Saturday, July 4, 2009
      Saturn and the Moon are easily visible in the evening sky. Saturn can be found in the west at dusk, about 20° from the horizon. The Moon is still a waxing gibbous but appears almost full. The Moon is low in the SSE at dusk. If you are watching fireworks tonight, sit NNW of the fireworks launch site to see the Moon as a backdrop for the fireworks show.

    Astronomy Resources

    Almanacs and Calendars

    Astronomy News

    Auroras

    ATM

    Charts and Maps

    Clear Sky Clocks

    Clubs

    Databases

    Earth

    Light Pollution

    Moon

    Museums

    Satellite, ISS and Shuttle Passes

    Satellite Images

    Stargazing

    Sun

    Space Exploration

    Weather

    Webcams

    Additional

    The WAA is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.