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 October 16. College of the Redwoods Science Night. From 5 to 8 pm, AOH will be in classroom AT-106 with informational displays and activities and, weather permitting, will set up an outdoor telescope for observing. Contact Brent at brent@astrohum.org if you would like to participate.
• Wednesday-Thursday October 21-22. Orionids Meteor Shower. According to the American Meteor Society, "The Orionids are a medium-strength shower that sometimes reaches high-strength activity. In a normal year, the Orionids produce 10–20 shower members at maximum. In exceptional years, such as 2006–2009, peak rates were comparable to the Perseids, at 50–75 per hour. Recent displays have produced low to average activity." The Moon will be 77% illuminated. Expect significant interference while the Moon is above the horizon, though brighter meteors can still be visible.
• Thursday October 22. Night Sky Network Webinar. Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Thursday, October 22, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time with NASA scientist Rebekah Hounsell to learn about the next NASA flagship telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Get more information at the members-only webinar page.
• Saturday October 24. AOH Zoom Meeting. Login information will be sent to all dues-paying members.
• Wednesday-Thursday November 4-5. Southern Taurids Meteor Shower. According to the American Meteor Society, "The Southern Taurids are a complex shower made up of two main components: the annual component, which peaks on October 14th, and the fireball-swarm component, which peaks on November 5th. The Southern Taurids are rich in fireballs and are often responsible for an increased number of fireball reports from September through November." The Moon will be 21% illuminated. Expect favorable lunar conditions, with limited moonlight interference.
• Saturday November 7. Observing at Kneeland. 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 Barry Ridge Webcam, and check back here for any last-minute updates. Dress warmly and arrive in time to set up before dark. Sunset will be at 5:05 pm.
• Wednesday-Thursday November 11-12. Northern Taurids Meteor Shower. According to the American Meteor Society, "This shower is much like the Southern Taurids, but is active a little later in the year. When the two showers are active simultaneously in late October and early November, there is sometimes a notable increase in f ireball activity." The Moon will be 5% illuminated. Expect very favorable lunar conditions, with little or no moonlight interference.
• Saturday November 14. Pizza Party / Annual General Membership Meeting. We will gather at Babe's Pizza in Cutten for pizza at 5:30 pm. The Annual AOH General Membership meeting will begin at 6:30. On the agenda for the meeting is the presentation of the slate of Nominees for the Board of Directors. Under the bylaws, if there is no change to the slate of nominees, the election may be held at this meeting. Babe's Pizza is located at 4015 Walnut Drive in Cutten.
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• Monday-Tuesday November 16-17. Leonids Meteor Shower. According to the American Meteor Society, "The Leonids are best known for producing meteor storms in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999, 2001, and 2002. These outbursts are best seen when the parent object, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, is near perihelion. It is not fresh material from the comet that we see, but debris from earlier returns that happens to be most dense at the same time. Unfortunately, it appears that Earth will not encounter any dense clouds of debris until 2099. When the comet returns in 2031 and 2064, there may not be any meteor storms, but there may be several good displays with rates exceeding 100 per hour. Each passing year also presents new possibilities from old debris fields." The Moon will be 42% illuminated. Moonlight may obscure fainter meteors while the Moon is above the horizon.
• Friday November 20. Greatest Western Elongation of Mercury. At 5:30 am Mercury, at magnitude -0.5, rises to join brilliant Venus, at magnnitude -4.5, in the morning sky. Look for Mercury 10 degrees lower than and to the left of Venus.
• Wednesday November 25. Opposition of Uranus. The planet Uranus, at magnitude 5.6, appears directly opposite the Sun in the night sky. Here's a finder chart.

Dues-paying members can get a downloadable and printable calendar of current astronomical events, historical events, and AOH activities here [at https://www.astrohum.org/members_only/calendar.php].

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 https://www.goldenstatestarparty.org/], Joshua Tree Night Sky Festival [at https://www.skysthelimit29.org/night-sky-festival.html], Nightfall Star Party [at https://nightfallstarparty.com/], Oregon Star Party [at https://www.oregonstarparty.org/], Yosemite Glacier Point Starry Night Skies [at https://www.travelyosemite.com/things-to-do/naturalist-walks-programs/#collapse-26967.