Discussed this months observations in particular trying to split Sirius and Eridanus B. It was successfully completed and what a sight it was! The club watched the recent Space X launch as well. Future star parties discussed as well as this summers plan for astronomy outreach at Craters of the Moon.
This month’s meeting was a potluck dinner, the club discussed this year’s highlights of observing. This meeting members John Reed and Kasey Davis received the astronomical leagues outreach award certificate and pin. John and Kasey have spearheaded quite a bit of outreach projects for public star parties at Craters of the Moon the past few years. The club is always excited to introduce people to the wonders of space and it was a pleasure getting people to look up at the stars with us. Looking forward to more observations this year and hopefully we have lots of clear skies next year!
This meeting we discussed this month’s observations and decided on a star party this weekend at Gibson Jack Trailhead. Mike Beer continued his presentation about the fate of sun like stars. We are looking forward to some observing this weekend hopefully the weather is cooperative!
Sorry about lack of recent updates. Been busy with other commitments!
This month we discussed recent observations and the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. We are planing for a star party up at Lava Hot springs this month on the 18th and 19th. It has excellent skies for not being a far spot to travel to. That Saturday will be a pot luck dinner so weather permitting we should have an excellent night under the sky.
This months meeting we discussed the past months observing. The Venus and Jupiter conjunction was the main topic of conversation. Several club member got excellent photos of the conjunction. We also welcomed some new members to the club as well as to the Astronomical League we look forward to observing with them.
After discussions and showing off some new gear and eyepieces we did a telescope trouble shoot and maintenance clinic for members of the Pocatello Astronomical society. We troubleshot their EQ mount and verified collimation of the telescope with a sight collimator, it was unfortunately very cloudy so hopefully we have a change to see how the scope operates as the storm this week passes by.
The March stary party was discussed as well and we determined that the week of the 20th this month during new moon would be the best day to shoot for (weather permitting) we planed on going to East fork of Mink Creek past the Nordic Center again due to it having excellent skies to the East and South, we should get good views of Winter Milky Way as well as the last good look at the Great Orion Nebula and a little preview of Leo the Lion roaring in with galaxy season!
The Pocatello Astronomical Society yearly pot luck was great this year. Everyone brought some great food and no one left with an empty belly. We mainly discussed this years observation highlights and plans for next years activities. The Moon occulting Mars was the main topic of conversation at the pot luck.
Next meeting will take place 2nd Thursday of the month in January 2023 at Marshall Public Library. Looking forward to some observing; if these clouds ever burn off…. The site will be updated if we make any plans to have a star party. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone this year!
This photo of the Leo Triplet is brought to us by club member Jeff Reitzel. The Leo triplet is a small group of Galaxies seen in the Constellation Leo. It consists of three spiral galaxies identified as Messier 65, Messier 66, and NGC 3628 located about 35 million light years from Earth. This group is very unique in that you see each galaxy from a very different angle ranging from face-on to edge-on. This was imaged using a Stellarvue SVX127D scope and QHY410C ca.
This outstanding photo is brought to us by club member Jeff Reitzel. NGC 281 aslo known as the Pac-man Nebula, it is a popular target for amateur astronomers due to its resemblance to the popular arcade character when seen in larger images. It is found in the Constellation Cassiopeia and actually located about 10,000 light years away in the Perseus Arm of our galaxy. Jeff’s goal for this photo was to capture detail of the intricate structure within the core area. It is full of dark dust lanes and Bok Globules all in the process of condensing to eventually ignite into new stars. A lot of this was done at our clubs observing site near Massacre Rocks. Imaged with a Stellarvue SVX127D scope, QHY268M camera, and narrow band filters (Ha, Oiii, Sii).
