Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 9/13/2025
Clear Skies!
Past HAL Public Meeting: September 11, 2025 – Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS)
Mehdi Benna, Planetary Scientist with NASA at GSFC will be talking about the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/31/2025
Ten HAL members showed up for a very pleasant evening of observing and imaging at Alpha Ridge Park on the night of August 30th. The first-quarter moon was out until a little after 11:00. The temperature started out in the low 70s and dipped to the high 50s by 1:00 AM. Seeing and transparency seemed […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/23/2025
At least 17 HAL members enjoyed a wonderful night under the stars at the HAL members start party at Alpha Ridge Park on the night of August 23/24. Skies were clear all night, with comfortable temperatures in the low 70s and a 5-10 mph breeze. Several people were making visual observations. New member Colin was […]
August Object of The Month, “Cygnus Wall region of NGC 7000”
This image was captured over two partly-cloudy nights in August, 2025 and submitted as an Object of the Month entry to the HAL Discord Group. Capture Details:
5h 23m
SII – 36m (6x360s)
Ha – 2h 4m (31x240s)
OIII – 1h 16m (12x360s,1x240s)
UV/IR – 47m (47x60s)
Camera – ASI533 MC Pro
Scope – William Optics Z61 with flattener for f5.9 @ 360mm
Mount – EQM35
Guiding – Askar OAG with ToupTek IMX290 mono planetary camera
Filters – Svbony 5nm S,H,O, & UV/IR
Acquisition – N.I.N.A.
Stacking and Processing – Pixinsight, GraXpert
Past HAL Public Meeting: August 21, 2025 – NASA Balloon Program Operations
Presenter: Andrew Hamilton Deputy Chief, NASA Balloon Program Office Andrew Hamilton Artifacts: Meeting PDF YouTube Video of Meeting The meeting took place on August 21, 2025 at 7 PM on Zoom and at the Robinson Nature Center . Andrew Hamilton is currently serving as the Deputy Chief for the NASA Balloon Program having previously […]
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/02/2025
Clear Skies!
The Sky At Night – September 2025
Upcoming Night Sky Maps & Events
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 7/21/2025
Eight HAL members enjoyed clear skies and pleasant weather at Alpha Ridge on the night of July 21-22. Wildfire smoke reduced transparency, but it wasn’t too bad. Mike imaged M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major, with his Svbony Sv550 122mm refractor. Gary didn’t have a target in mind for his Celestron Origin smart telescope […]
The Very Small Array (VSA): A New Era in Collaborative Astronomy
The Very Small Array (VSA) is a grassroots, community-driven astrophotography initiative that brings together amateur astronomers using smart telescopes.