HOWARD

ASTRONOMICAL

LEAGUE


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Featured:

Upcoming Events (including next star party and general meeting)
Note: We have resumed in-person General Meetings at Robinson Nature Center (as well as on Zoom).
HAL Seestar S50 Loaner Program NEW
May Object of the Month: Whirlpool Galaxy by Jared Case
April Object of the Month: Total Solar Eclipse from Arkansas by Gene Handler
2024 Star Party Schedule
and 2024 Star Party Reports
August 10th Public Star Party Photos & Report NEW
2024 Regional Non-HAL Star Parties
Video Recordings and PDF Slides from recent General Meetings:
- Aug 2024: SOFIA: The Last Flying Observatory NEW
- Jul 2024: Two Years of Exploring the Universe with JWST
- Jun 2024: Cosmic Visions (The World According to Sound)
- May 2024: Great North American Eclipse of 2024 - HAL's Collective Experience
- Apr 2024: Weather in the Outer Solar System is Cloudy and Stormy
- See more videos on HAL's YouTube Channel
HAL's Officers and Positions for 2024
Book of the Month
Links for HAL's Instagram account
HAL's YouTube channel: @howardastro
Presidents page and HAL Officers

Upcoming HAL and Non-HAL Events

September 7: Members-Only Star Party
September 9: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome). Note: Rescheduled due to Labor Day. Login for Zoom link
September 14: Public Star Party
September 19: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: The Past, Present, and Future of Lunar Sample Analysis
October 5: Members-Only Star Party
October 7: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome). Zoom link will be available in early Oct.
October 17: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: Space Shuttle Stories - Astronaut Tom Jones
October 26: Public Star Party
November 2: Members-Only Star Party
November 4: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome). Zoom link will be available in late Oct.
November 9: Public Star Party Last one until March 2025!
November 21: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: AI-based Surveying of Exoplanet Atmospheres

Past HAL and Non-HAL Events

August 15: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: SOFIA: The Last Flying Observatory
August 10: Public Star Party
August 5: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome).
August 3: Members-Only Star Party CANCELLED due to weather
July 18: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: Two Years of Exploring the Universe with JWST
July 13: Public Star Party
July 6: Members-Only Star Party
July 1: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome).
June 22: 6:00 - 11:00 pm Astronomy Festival on the National Mall in front of Hirshhorn Museum, DC
June 20: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: Cosmic Visions
June 15: Public Star Party

Did You Know?

HAL has an Instagram Account: hocoastro!
- To post, use our Instagram Submission Form.
- To share your own posts on our Instagram stories, use the #howardastro hashtag.
- To contact our Social Media coordinator, email socialmedia@howardastro.org.
HAL has a Discord Group (members only)
How to Join HAL's Impromptu Mailing List?

What is HAL? - MD STEM Festival Interview with Phil Whitebloom, HAL President (8 min.)
2022 Keyholder Responsibilities (Duties and Agreement) (members only)
You Can Help NASA Observe Other Worlds! - Exoplanet Watch
Recent Star Party Reports
Recent Planning Meeting Minutes and Latest Treasurer's Report (member login required)

The next HAL General Meeting is September 19th at 7pm. This meeting is open to the public.

NOTE: We have resumed in-person General Meetings at Robinson Nature Center (as well as on Zoom).

Presentation: The Past, Present, and Future of Lunar Sample Analysis

    Topic: HAL Monthly Meeting - September 19th, 2024
    Time: Sep 19, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84790281973?pwd=hArh9mbJ0s5Deru8K2RHG44EpTmi1Z.1

    Meeting ID: 847 9028 1973
    Passcode: 298170

Welcome
to the Howard Astronomical League. HAL is an astronomy club located in Howard County, Maryland. We hold monthly meetings on the lower (mezzanine) level of the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, MD, conduct public star parties at Alpha Ridge Park utilizing the "HALO" observatory, and provide community outreach events at various Howard County locations - often in public library parking lots. We invite everyone to be a part of amateur astronomy with us. You will find information about our meeting dates on the Our Meetings page. Information on membership is located on the HAL Membership page.

The monthly board of directors' Planning Meeting and the HAL public General Meeting are being held virtually using Zoom. However, as of September 2023, we have resumed in-person General Meetings at Robinson Nature Center (as well as on Zoom).

The parks have re-opened. HAL is now scheduling public events. HAL keyholders are also free to call members-only impromptu observing sessions via the closed hal_impromptu email list for Carrs Mill Park or Alpha Ridge Park.

Join Us
for our Star Parties and Outreach events. We also provide an e-mail group for communication of timely club News and for astronomical discussions.

Information
to help plan your observing sessions is available on the calendar page or the astrolinks page -- where you can check for moonrise times, Iridium flares, International Space Station sightings, Jupiter's Great Red Spot transit and a lot more. And don't forget to check the weather before you venture out.

HAL's Observatory at Alpha Ridge Park (HALO)
HALO houses HAL's 6 inch "Illig" Refracting telescope. Check these web pages for full details about the observatory. For a schedule of events at the observatory, check the HAL star parties page or the HAL calendar.

HAL is proud to have official affiliations with:

	Robinson Nature Center		Astronomical League
	Howard County Recreation & Parks Alpha Ridge Park		Dark Sky International
	Howard County Conservancy		Alpha Ridge Park

Last modified: September 06, 2024 @ 12:28 EST