Astronomers of Humboldt

Upcoming Events

The Astronomers of Humboldt are now scheduling observation meetings for Club members and guests on the weekend nearest the new moon. And, in addition, we are holding Zoom meetings for members on most weekends nearest the full moon.

Next events:

Friday March 21 or Saturday March 22. Messier Marathon postponed to next weekend.
Friday March 28 or Saturday March 29. Messier Marathon, Secondary Weekend. We will hold the marathon on either Friday night or Saturday night, depending on the weather forecast. We will post an update here a few days before the scheduled event. The location is Kneeland Airport. Before you go, check the weather forecast, the Kneeland Clear Sky Chart, the GOES West satellite imagery (single frame or timelapse), the air quality index, and the Kneeland Airport Sky Cam. Dress warmly and arrive in time to set up before dark. Sunset will be at 7:38 pm.
Some useful resources for the marathon are: The Messier Marathon, [at http://messier.seds.org/xtra/marathon/marathon.html] which contains a history of Messier Marathons as well as some tables, tips, and links to other resources; David Paul Green's The Ultimate Messier Object Log (TUMOL) (archived by AOH) [at https://www.astrohum.org/tumol.pdf]; and John Small's Sky Maps (archived by Custer Observatory) [at http://www.custerobservatory.org/docs/messier2.pdf]. The latter two links contain Telrad charts for all the Messier Objects.
Saturday March 29. Partial Solar Eclipse. There will be a deep partial eclipse of the Sun visible from the northeastern United States, eastern Canada, and Greenland. You can watch a livestream at Time and Date beginning at 1:50 am PDT.
Saturday April 12. AOH meeting on Zoom. We will hold a Zoom meeting from 7 to 9 pm. Login information will be sent to all dues-paying members.
Wednesday April 16. Night Sky Network Webinar. "Psyche: Exploration of a Metal World" with Dr. David Williams at 6 pm. AOH members can get more information here.
Monday April 21. Greatest Western Elongation of Mercury.. Mercury joins Venus, Saturn, and the crescent Moon in the morning sky. It rises anound 5:30 and remains very low throughout the morning dusk.
Monday-Tuesday April 21-22. Lyrid Meteor Shower. According to the American Meteor Society "The Lyrids are a medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. These meteors are best seen from the northern hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn. ... Maximum is predicted to occur near 13UT on April 22nd. The waning crescent moon will slightly interfere with viewing these meteors in 2025."
Saturday April 26. Observing at Kneeland. Weather permitting, we will meet at Kneeland Airport. Before you go, check the weather forecast, the Kneeland Clear Sky Chart, the GOES West satellite imagery (single frame or timelapse), the air quality index, and the Kneeland Airport Sky Cam. And check back here for any last-minute changes. Dress appropriately and arrive in time to set up before dark. Sunset will be at 8:08 pm.

Dues-paying members can get a downloadable and printable calendar of current astronomical events, historical events, and AOH activities here.

Here are links to some west coast star parties: California Dark Sky Festival [at https://www.easternsierraobservatory.com/california-dark-sky-festival], Golden State Star Party [at http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org/], Joshua Tree Night Sky Festival [at https://www.skysthelimit29.org/night-sky-festival.html], Nightfall Star Party [at http://nightfallstarparty.com/], Oregon Star Party [at http://www.oregonstarparty.org/], Yosemite Glacier Point Starry Night Skies [at https://www.travelyosemite.com/things-to-do/naturalist-walks-programs/#collapse-26967.