A new week! Member Brad Haakenson took this picture of Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, during the recent new moon using fifty minutes of data from his Vaonis Stellina telescope. Seen edge-on, astronomers are unsure if M104 is a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. #astrophotography
San Jose Astronomical Assoc
San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) is an educational organization based in #SanJose, California, United States. Its mission is to foster interest in #astronomy and #science, and bring astronomy opportunities to the public. #scicomm #astrophotography
Member Richard Seely processed 18 minutes of data captured from his new William Optics Pleiades 181 telescope (congrats on first light!) of M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, while at Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve last month.
Happy Friday! Member Kal Krishnan took this image of the Seagull Nebula (IC 2177) in March at Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve. Because it is such a large object, he only used his 200mm Canon Prime lens (no scope) and processed it recently. #Astrophotography #astronomy
Unable to attend our All About Telescopes Workshop? We have the video!
Tonight is a great night for some lunar photography! The moment of last quarter moon will fall at 4:59 AM PDT. It’ll rise after midnight and set around noon. Look for it high in the sky before dawn.
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
San Jose Astronomical Assoc boosted:
This weekend, we are holding our semiannual "All-About-Telescopes Workshop!" We will discuss telescopes, eyepieces, mounts, binoculars, and almost everything you could ever wonder about how light gets from the cosmos to your eye.
This event is open to all members and the public and starts at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 18th.
It is a three-hour workshop. We encourage you to attend as much of the event as you can. We will take breaks for cookies and to check out the telescopes and binoculars on display.
Details: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/307308858/
Unable to attend our May talk? We have a video! Our guest speaker, Dr. Bryan Gaensler, takes us on a journey through the discovery and rediscovery of Fast Radio Bursts, and the state of the art in detecting and analyzing them.
This weekend, we are holding our semiannual "All-About-Telescopes Workshop!" We will discuss telescopes, eyepieces, mounts, binoculars, and almost everything you could ever wonder about how light gets from the cosmos to your eye.
This event is open to all members and the public and starts at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 18th.
It is a three-hour workshop. We encourage you to attend as much of the event as you can. We will take breaks for cookies and to check out the telescopes and binoculars on display.
Details: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/307308858/
San Jose Astronomical Assoc boosted:
#Astrophotography ... from the International Space Station 🤩
TONIGHT
h/t EarthSky
This month’s full moon is called the Flower Moon. All full moons have unique characteristics, and this one is particularly interesting … What is special about this full moon? It’s a micromoon, or very distant full moon.
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
During the last week of April, member Francesco Meschia collected a grand total of 24 hours of light (10 hours in L, 10 hours in RGB, and 4 hours in H-alpha) from the pair of peculiar galaxies NGC 4631 and NGC 4656, known as the Whale and the Hockey Stick galaxies.
Visible planets and night sky guide for April and May
Tonight, see Jupiter near the Moon. Then, the Eta Aquariids shower peaks May 5-6. May's full moon is the Full Flower Moon on May 12-13.
Plus so much more!
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
PUBLIC TALK: May 10, 2025, 7:30 pm
Fast Radio Bursts: An Enduring Cosmic Mystery
Professor Bryan Gaensler will explain how fast radio bursts were discovered, why they’re so enigmatic, and how they could be key to understanding some of the fundamental properties of the Universe.
Sign up: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/307388659/
Welp. #CometF2SWAN may be disintegrating. You can still catch it in the morning sky, though!
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/science/comet-swan-how-to-watch/index.html
Our first club member picture of #CometF2SWAN comes from Nicola Nikolov and was taken with a Seestar S50 over two minutes. More photos to come! #astrophotography
New comet SWAN25F is turning heads — and telescopes — toward the morning sky
It's possible that the comet could brighten past 5th magnitude by the end of April, potentially becoming visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
San Jose Astronomical Assoc boosted:
PUBLIC TALK: April 5, 2025, 7:30 pm
Chasing Asteroid Occultations for Adventure and Science
Astronomer Richard Nolthenius will share his experiences, the gear needed, and highlights of the asteroid adventures he’s organized.
Sign up: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/306955990/
On Monday, March 24, a break in the cloudy weather allowed a group of 11 SJAA Members to set up equipment for visual observing and imaging at Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserve. Starry Nights program manager Joe Fragola captured this gorgeous image of Markarian’s Chain.
Image details:
ZWO Seestar S50; aperture 50 mm; focal ratio f/5; focal length 250 mm; no post-processing; 61-minute collection time (10 second subs)
PUBLIC TALK: April 5, 2025, 7:30 pm
Chasing Asteroid Occultations for Adventure and Science
Astronomer Richard Nolthenius will share his experiences, the gear needed, and highlights of the asteroid adventures he’s organized.
Sign up: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/306955990/
The Moon will pass into Earth’s shadow and appear to turn red on the night of March 13 or early in the morning on March 14, depending on time zone. Here’s what you need to know about the total lunar eclipse.
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