Here is some information about the different committees within HAS. Check back often for more articles.
7/17/2024
Astrophotography Special Interest Group - We host monthly Zoom meetings focused on deep sky astrophotography and scientific imaging, including spectroscopy and photometry. Utilizing equipment such as DSLRs, astro cameras on GoTo mounts, or star trackers, our meetings provide an open forum to exchange insights, share lessons learned, and celebrate successes. Each month, we introduce a new astrophotography challenge to inspire and engage participants. Our community welcomes everyone, from absolute beginners to highly advanced enthusiasts, regardless of skill level! Hosted by Matt Boerlage and Erica Coenen.
6/18/2024
Education and Outreach - The purpose of the Education and Outreach committee is to inspire minds of all ages with the wonders of the cosmos. We have a couple of monthly events where we show a model of the solar system, we bring laptops to demo free astronomy software and handouts from the Astronomical League, a list of relevant URLs, educational flyers, maps of the moon (courtesy of our friends at LPI) and science mags free for the taking. We bring our scopes and give talks to schools, libraries and even Space Center Houston on request. We help families select a telescope, set it up or even fix it when needed. We work one-on-one with educators and have plans for a teacher's workshop since astronomy is the gateway to STEM. We are “eager to teach if we are called upon, be taught if we are fortunate” ( Kurt Waldheim). There is so much to do. So come on, outreach and touch someone, join us! This committee is chaired by Dan Roy.
6/17/2024
Novice - Amateur astronomers do what they do because they want to do it, because they are interested in how the universe works. Most of us are not professional astronomers, and most of us have no formal training in astronomy. We all start somewhere, and we’re all novices at some level. To meet the needs of novice astronomer HAS has a novice presentation at 7 pm the first Thursday of each month. In addition a periodic “Novice Lab” is held at the HAS Dark Site in order to help newcomers learn how to navigate the night sky and practice finding objects. The program is coordinated by Chris Morisette.
