Welcome to the WAA

We are a not–for–profit organization open to people of all ages with the desire to learn more about astronomy and who share an interest in viewing the universe. We range from enthusiastic amateurs and educators to casual stargazers and families. Everything you need to know about our organization is outlined below. Current astronomy news, feeds and astronomy resources can be found on the right side of the page.

Little Girl and Mom at park. (M. Gondek)

Newsletters

Read the latest SkyWAAtch newsletters:

We also have archived newsletters.

Monthly Lectures

Lectures are free and open to the public and begin at 8pm in the Andrus Planetarium, Hudson River Museum of Westchester, 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY. WAA Directions. Here are the lecture dates:

May 2 – Brother Novak, TBA.

Attend our Social Hour at 7pm or the free Friday Star Nites planetarium show sponsored by Fuji Photo Film USA. And after the meeting we meet at Bennigan's for some casual conversations and a bite to eat.

Jimmy at Stellafane (G. Gondek)

Starway to Heaven

Starway to Heaven is our monthly observing night at The Meadow, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, NY. WAA Directions. The observing dates are:

April 5 — 8pm to 10pm. Raindate: April 12.
May 3 — 8:30pm to 10:30pm. Raindate: May 10.
June 21 — 9pm to 11pm. Raindate: June 28.
July 5 — 9pm to 11pm. Raindate: July 26.
August 2 — 8:30pm to 10:30pm. Raindate: August 9.
September 20 — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: September 27.
October 4 — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: October 25.
November 22 — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: November 29.
December 20 — 7pm to 9pm. Raindate: December 27.

"Starway to Heaven" is free and open to the public through the generosity of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. We encourage you to bring your telescope — especially if you need help using or setting it up. Don't have a telescope? You can look through our members' equipment. Call 1–877–456–5778 for weather cancellations. A good rule of thumb: Don't show up if you can't count more than 10 bright stars. Please read our General Observing Guidelines. The WAA cannot guarantee the turnout of members and telescopes during the winter months.

Membership

Annual dues are $25.00 per family which includes discounts on subscriptions to Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines (see below). To join the WAA, fill out our application and send it along with a personal check or money order to our P.O. Box.

Inside the Andrus Planetarium (M. Gondek)

Magazine Discounts

For WAA members only. Sky and Telescope — $32.95. Make check payable to Sky Publishing. Astronomy — $34.00. Make check payable to Kalmbach Publishing. Please mail the completed renewal form, your payment and the return envelope (with proper postage) to our P.O. Box. If you subscribe to both magazines you need to fill out two separate renewals. New subscribers please enclose a note stating new subscription. Note any change of address.

WAA Staff

We'll be glad to answer all your questions; just send your inquiries to the appropriate officer — you'll have to manually type the addresses:

Picture of Charlie. Picture of Pat. Picture of Mike. Picture of Karen. Picture of John. Picture of Dave. Picture of Tom. Picture of Bob.

The "W"

The constellation Cassiopeia in its familiar "W" orientation as it appeared just above the treetops on Thursday, June 13, 1991 — the night the WAA was founded.

The WAA Logo (R. Davidson & P. Shug '92).

What's up in Space

From Spaceweather.com

  • NEW MEXICO FIREBALL: On May 12th a brilliant green fireball (probably meteoritic) flew over eastern New Mexico and lit up the ground like a full Moon. Using a Sandia Labs all-sky camera and a 60-80 MHz radio receiver Thomas Ashcraft not only photographed the fireball but also recorded distant radio ...
  • SOLAR ACTIVITY: Is something lurking just over the sun's eastern limb? Yesterday's impressive display suggests the answer is yes. Amateur astronomers in Europe and North America witnessed fountains of hot magnetized gas surging over the eastern edge of the sun. "My hard drive is full of movies " says Didier ...
  • WHAT WOULD GALILEO SAY? Before you read any further click here. That's what Galileo saw in 1610 when he turned his small telescope toward Jupiter: a fuzzy disk surrounded by four point-like moons. It wasn't much to look at but his pioneering observations upended 17th century cosmology. ...
  • Night Sky Notes

    From the Abrams Planetarium

    • Tuesday, May 13, 2008
      Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the Sun, The swift moving planet is now 22° east of the Sun. Look for Mercury in the WNW an hour after sunset. Mercury is now at +0.3 magnitude. Over the next week or so, Mercury will dim quickly as it moves between us and the Sun. On June 7th, Mercury will be at inferior conjunction.
    • Wednesday, May 14, 2008
      Saturn, Mars and Mercury span 75° across the evening sky. Look for Saturn high in the southwest near the star Regulus. Mars is in the west to the left of the stars Castor and Pollux, and Mercury is low in the WNW.

    Astronomy Resources

    Almanacs and Calendars

    Astronomy News

    Auroras

    ATM

    Charts and Maps

    Clear Sky Clocks

    Clubs

    Databases

    Earth

    Light Pollution

    Moon

    Museums

    Satellite, ISS and Shuttle Passes

    Satellite Images

    Stargazing

    Sun

    Space Exploration

    Weather

    Webcams

    Additional

    The WAA is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.