Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 10/23/2025
Five HAL members attended an impromptu star party at Alpha Ridge Park on October 23, 2025. Skies were clear all night and the weather was fine, although seeing and transparency were both subpar. Welcome to Bruce and Neil, two new members who were attending their first impromptu event! Both of them were imaging comet Lemmon […]
Members-Only Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 10/18/2025
What a perfect night for stargazing! Temperatures were comfortable, and the skies started out beautifully clear. A few high clouds drifted through around 10 PM, but by 11 they had moved on, leaving us with crisp, transparent skies once again. We had a fantastic turnout with about 20 members joining in. The observing field was […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 10/15/2025
I hosted a sparsely attended impromptu star party on Wednesday, October 15 at Alpha Ridge Park. Temperature was in the low 60s to upper 50s, winds were calm and skies were clear until 11:00 PM. Transparency seemed a little better than usual to me, but I forgot to take a measurement with my sky quality […]
September Object of The Month, “Veil Nebula”
This image of the “Pickering’s Triangle” region of the Veil Nebula was captured this month under Bortle 5 skies in Linganore, MD using a 9.25″ Celestron SCT at f6.3. Additional capture details…
Losmandy G11G
ASI294mc pro
ZWO duo narrow band filter
107 x 180” lights with darks, flats and dark-flat calibration frames
NINA, PHD2, and PixInsight
Past HAL Public Meeting: October 9, 2025 – Looking Back at A Century of Innovation in Amateur Telescope Making — Is It Still Worth It?”
Featuring Guy Brandenburg speaking from experience on “Looking Back at A Century of Innovation in Amateur Telescope Making”
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 […]
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!