HOWARD

ASTRONOMICAL

LEAGUE


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Upcoming Events (including next star party and general meeting)
NEW: August Public Star Party Report and Photos
NEW: June/July Object of the Month: NGC 6995, Eastern Veil Nebula by Ken Everhart
Astroschool: 2nd Thursday most months from approx. 6:30 to 8:30 at RNC. NOTE: SEPTEMBER AstroSchool Canceled.
Video Recordings and PDF Slides from recent General Meetings:
Book of the Month
2023 Star Party Schedule and 2023 Star Party Reports
HAL Covid Policy a la Howard County
Links for HAL's Instagram account
HAL's YouTube channel: @howardastro
Presidents page and HAL Officers

Upcoming HAL and Non-HAL Events

September 21: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public). See Zoom link below. Topic: The Art and Science of Visualizing Webb Imagery
September 23: HAL Public Star Party [more...]
September 24: Robinson Nature Center 12th Anniversary Open House (All Ages) from 12PM-5PM.
October 2: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome). Zoom link will appear in late September.
October 12: HAL Astroschool
October 14: about Noon Solar Eclipse - Daytime event at HALO. Details forthcoming. NEW
See also NASA 2023 Eclipse info and Maryland STEM Festival
October 14: HAL Members-Only Star Party [more...]
October 19: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public). Topic: TBA
October 21: International Observe the Moon Night
- Event Hashtag: #ObserveTheMoon NEW
- NASA Observe the Moon Event Materials NEW
- Find an Event Near You NEW
- Moon Maps NEW
October 21: HAL Public Star Party [more...]

Past HAL and Non-HAL Events

September 14: HAL Astroschool NOTE: SEPTEMBER AstroSchool Canceled
September 9: HAL Members-Only Star Party [more...]
September 5 (Tuesday): HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome)
August 26: HAL Public Star Party [more...]
August 17: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public). Topic: DarkSky International 2023, A Presentation to the Amateur Astronomy Community See Zoom link below and on Meetings page.
August 12: HAL Members-Only Star Party [more...] See also Wayne's announcement
August 10: HAL Astroschool August AstroSchool Canceled.
July 22: HAL Public Star Party - Star Party Report with photos
July 20: HAL General Meeting at 7pm (open to the public).
Topic: CCOR: NOAA's New Space Coronagraphs & Celebrating the 2023 and 2024 Eclipses
July 15: HAL Members-Only Star Party [more...] Event Canceled due to weather.
July 13: HAL Astroschool July AstroSchool Canceled.
July 11: HAL Planning Meeting (members welcome)
July 8: Solar Fest at Alpha Ridge Park, 6:30-9pm. Children ages 5 to 11. HAL is the community partner host of Howard County Rec & Park's Solar Fest at Alpha Ridge Park. Besides the loads of activities covering most of the parking lot, HALO will be open for tours and hopefully an activity outside. This event fills up each year. Cost is $5 per child. Solar Fest Registration Link

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.

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
How to Join HAL's Impromptu Mailing List?
HAL's COVID-19 Policy for Events
Recent Planning Meeting Minutes and Latest Treasurer's Report (member login required)

The next HAL General Meeting is September 21st at 7pm. This meeting is open to the public.

Presentation: Art and Science of Visualizing Webb Imagery

      Topic: HAL Monthly Meeting - September 21st, 2023
      Time: Sep 21, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

      Join Zoom Meeting

      https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85056148999?pwd=aktsdnRITk13blpzWGg2RllLQnp6Zz09

      Meeting ID: 850 5614 8999
      Passcode: 054644

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.

HAL's COVID-19 Policy for Events - Updated May 2023

In Howard County, COVID-19 community level is Low. We are following Howard County guidelines:
https://www.howardcountymd.gov/health/covid-19
https://www.howardcountymd.gov/News021822
Face coverings are optional inside the Alpha Ridge HALO building. People may choose to mask at any time.
If you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or have tested positive for COVID, please be considerate of others and refrain from attending HAL events.
For HAL impromptu and member-only star parties, participants should wait for an invitation before approaching to look through others’ telescopes; respect each other’s desires for social distancing.

Currently, the monthly board of directors' Planning Meeting and the HAL public General Meeting are being held virtually using Zoom. Check back frequently for updates. HAL looks forward to resuming in-person gatherings.

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 21, 2023 @ 17:35 EST