HOWARD

ASTRONOMICAL

LEAGUE


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		Alpha Ridge Star Parties Canceled. Meetings Virtual Until Further Notice.

The next Planning Meeting (for current members only) will be held on Monday, March 1st at 7PM. Zoom information is now available via the member's log-in.

Hubble online lecture: Tuesday, March 2nd from 3:30 to 5:00. Dr. Tom Brown (Space Telescope Science Institute) will present The Hubble Space Telescope: From Cosmological Conflict to Alien Atmospheres.

What's happening with the Mars 2020 mission and Perseverance?

The next General Meeting (open to the public) will be held on Thursday, March 18th at 7PM. Presenter and topic to be announced soon.

Election Update: As required by HAL bylaws, a new board of directors is elected each year at the HAL general meeting in January. The elected positions and duties for each position are provided in the HAL Bylaws.

See the complete list of 2021 HAL Officers and Positions. Congratulations to HAL's new board members: Jim Tomney (2nd VP) and Yvonne Chiarelli (Secretary). Thanks to outgoing HAL leaders: JoAnn Shapiro (2nd VP) and Cheryl Kerr (Secretary). In the February planning meeting, Dale Ghent was appointed Observatory Chair (replacing Joel Goodman who remains as Treasurer) and Ken Sall was appointed Webmaster, attempting to fill the shoes of long-time Webmaster, Chas Rimpo. Thanks also to Jim Johnson for serving as election committee chair.

Looking for member photos of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn?

NOTE: The parks have now partially re-opened. However, HAL is still not scheduling live members-only or public events. HAL keyholders are free to call members-only impromptu observing sessions via the closed hal_impromptu email list for Carrs Mill Park or Alpha Ridge Park. There are no restroom facilities available at either location at this time.

Due to COVID-19, the monthly Planning (board of directors) meeting, Astroschool, the HAL public meeting, and various observing events will be held "virtually" using Zoom.

Check back frequently for updates. HAL looks forward to getting back to normal as soon as prudent. We look forward to seeing everyone and again showing members of the public the wonders of the night sky.

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.

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)
is normally open monthly but not at the current time due to the pandemic. 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		International Dark Sky Association
	Howard County Conservancy		Alpha Ridge Park

Last modified: February 28, 2021 @ 12:18 EST