Our Meetings
HAL General Meetings (Open to the Public) are held from 7:00PM to approximately 9:00 on the 3rd Thursday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
HAL Planning Meetings (Open to all Members) to discuss future club direction, events, meeting topics, outreach, etc. are open to all members. They are usually held from 7:00 to 8:00PM on the 1st Monday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
Our Meetings
HAL General Meetings (Open to the Public) are held from 7:00PM to approximately 9:00 on the 3rd Thursday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
HAL Planning Meetings (Open to all Members) to discuss future club direction, events, meeting topics, outreach, etc. are open to all members. They are usually held from 7:00 to 8:00PM on the 1st Monday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
Public Meeting: January 8, 2026 – The Hubble Space Telescope: 35 Years of Discovery. Presenter: Faith Vowler, Hubble Space Telescope Outreach Coordinator, NASA
Presenter: Faith Vowler
Speaker:
Faith Vowler
The meeting will take place on January 8, 2025 at 7 PM on Zoom and at the Robinson Nature Center.
Speaker: Faith Vowler, Outreach Coordinator, Hubble Space Telescope
Brief description of the Discussion: Since its launch in 1990, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has been at the forefront of astronomical research, forever changing our view of the universe and humanity’s place in it. Now, 35 years later, Hubble’s scientific discoveries and images continue to inspire. Join Hubble Outreach Coordinator Faith Vowler for this presentation to celebrate Hubble’s past with of a brief history of the telescope, learn about its present highlights and exciting resources, and discuss its future.
Brief bio of the main speaker:
Faith Vowler—an astronomer, educator, and space enthusiast from Michigan—has worked at NASA since January 2022 as the Outreach Coordinator for the Hubble Space Telescope. She attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a B.S.E. in Space Science & Engineering with minors in Physics and in Astronomy & Astrophysics, and an M.S. in Space Science. She formerly lived and worked in New Mexico as the Education Specialist for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the Very Large Array (VLA). Her hobbies include reading, collecting books, baking, and going to the movies.
Members’ Celebration Meeting: December 5, 2025 – Annual Holiday Party (RSVP or Zoom)
Presented: Tasty Food and friendships
Holiday Party 2025
Dear Fellow HAL Members,
Once again, as is our long-standing tradition, we will use the occasion of our December meeting to hold our Holiday Party at the Robinson Nature Center. The meeting will be on Friday, December 5th from 7 to 9 pm and will include catered food and a potluck, with doors opening at 6:30 for those who bring a dish and need some time to set up. We’ll also hold a zoom meeting so those who can’t attend in person can be included.
If you can make it, please check your email to RSVP directly or you may **RSVP** to [**president at howardastro.org**] with **Subject line: HAL Holiday Party RSVP** and indicate how many people will attend and if you anticipate bringing any pot-luck food items.
Please RSVP as soon as you determine if you can make it, so that we can get an accurate head count on how much food to order. Note that this is a **members-only event**, but you’re welcome (join now and) to bring family members. Examples of items brought to past holiday parties include… Meatballs, Ham, Salads, Chili, Casseroles, Potato salad, Coleslaw, Desserts, Juices and Sodas, Vegetables, Chips, etc. We’ll order mains and sides from Mission Barbeque (or similar) as well.
In addition to the food and fun, if you want to bring in telescopes and related products to swap, sell, or giveaway, bring the items with you. It is a great way to pick up gear you have been looking for and/or unload items you no longer need or want. Also, If you have kids or someone whose social battery runs low, the Robinson Nature center will have two planetarium shows that night: one from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and another from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. They are not HAL sponsored so you’ll have to purchase tickets.
Robinson Nature Center Event: ($10/person) if you want to attend.
Hope to see you on the 5th and thanks again for being part of HAL.
Clear skies,
Victor Sanchez HAL President
HAL featured on Maryland Public TV
Exploring the Sky with HAL on Maryland Public TV
HAL was featured in the second part of this MPT special. Our President, Victor Sanchez, represented amateur astronomy and HAL quite well. The drone footage at the beginning was fun to watch.
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 11/23/2025 – 11/24/2025
One night leads to the next day.
The night was nice and a little cold but the moon set early and 5 members attended the party. 4 of us were imaging and Earnie was doing some visual astronomy and also imaging with his Vespera.
For what I could see, one person was doing the helix nebula, another one the flaming star nebula, and I was doing the Pleiades.
I closed the park at around 11:45 pm as it got really cold and we did not prepare for it.
No incidents to report, however, I tested the red bollards as someone asked me last time and they all look fantastic with the new filters.
I also noticed the gate to the park is vent like of it was hit by a car or a truck. It made it quite difficult to close.
Jose Urias
Part 2
Just to report the second half of this impromptu star party. The first half of the party was hosted by Jose on November 23.
I arrived at Alpha Ridge Park at 3:35 am yesterday and unlocked the gate (the gate was very well locked so good job Jose!). I closed the gate with the bungee rubber band and left it unlocked.
I was the only member who showed up.
The weather was calm and the sky was clear. The temperature was in the mid 30’s.
I was able to capture some images for I3/ATLAS, though the guiding was barely tolerable. I haven’t got time to process the photos yet.
By the time I left Alpha Ridge around 6:15 am, apparently someone had widely opened the gate and parked a school bus at the entrance (inside the park). I left the gate as was.
The take home message is that I feel the eastern horizon of Alpha Ridge Park at the playground is as clear as the Carrs Mill park (though it is not available any more). For the clearest western horizon, no place is better than the Howard County Conservancy.
Richard Ren
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 11/01/2025
It was a great turn out for members and the public. David and I lost count at around 200 people. There were a lot of groups and families who joined us for view from over 15 telescopes setup and 2 exhibit tables. The lines were long but the excitement was big to see the rings of Saturn edge on and the various features of the moon which were the main show along with star clusters and double stars because of the thin cloud cover that ruled the evening. The observatory finished off the evening with a small group and continued views invaded by clouds.
Thank you to everyone who shared views from their telescopes and helped HAL finish off another great year!
Hosts:
Christopher Miskiewicz
and
David Stein
Past Public Meeting: November 13, 2025 – Camera Basics of Astrophotography
Presenters: Wes Fewerda, Astrophographer, Amateur Astronomer and
Christopher Todd, Former HAL President and Astrophotographer
Wes Fewerda, Astrophographer, Amateur Astronomer
Artifacts: Meeting PDF YouTube Video of Meeting
The meeting took place on November 13, 2025 at 7 PM on Zoom and at the Robinson Nature Center.
Speaker Bio:
Wes Fewerda is an amateur astronomer and HAL member. His day job is as a digital operations manager.
He has been interested in photography since his teenage years and says that he has dabbled in it in one form or another ever since.
He has developed film, taken college classes in photography and digital video, and recently traded his motorcycle hobby for astrophotography. By day, he manages the operations for the digital signage department of Gable, a job that he says has provided considerable experience in everything from computer networking to forklift operation. He enjoys putting together systems and making them work almost as much as the results of those systems. And importantly, he enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.
Christopher Todd
Former HAL President and Astrophographer
11685 Old Frederick Rd, Marriottsville, MD 21104, United States