Welcome to Houston Astronomical Society

Fostering the science and art of astronomy through programs that serve our membership and the community. Founded in 1955, Houston Astronomical Society is an active community of enthusiastic amateur and professional astronomers with over 70 years of history in the Houston area. Through education and outreach, our programs promote science literacy and astronomy awareness. We meet via Zoom the first Friday of each month for the General Membership Meeting and the first Thursday of the month for the Novice Meeting. Membership has a variety of benefits, including access to a secure dark site west of Houston, special interest groups that focus on particular areas of astronomy, an active community outreach program, and much more. Joining is simple.

At the last Houston Astronomical Society meeting, Walt Cooney talked about Recurrent Novae, specifically T Cor Bor.

" Recurrent Novae (Especially T Cor Bor)”

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By Walt Cooney

Throughout history, the discovery of “new” stars (nova stella) has been recorded. They were not understood to be stellar explosions until recent centuries. Yet in all of human history, only ten novae in our galaxy have been discovered to be recurring novae, which actually explode more than once.

Listen to the meeting lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnnWR7NhGls&t=21s

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Did you miss the December 2023 Novice presentation because it was on November 30^th? Not to worry. You can always catch up with past presentations from the HAS YouTube channel. Justin McCollum’s presentation is here. And to learn a little more about Justin, aka Professor Comet, take a look here.

One of the joys of this hobby is sharing it with others. Want to know more? Take a look at "Joys of Outreach" on the HAS YouTube channel. For a little more info about the presenters at the December 2023 general membership meeting, take a look here.

"Imaging the Total Eclipse"

Don Selle, speaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL5FPuQE7_I

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On April 8th, 2024, many locations within the State of Texas will experience a total solar eclipse. This is an awesome natural event that should not be missed. While the eclipse will not be total in the Houston area, traveling somewhere within the state to experience totality is very highly recommended. A 99% eclipse is nowhere as breathtaking as totality.

Many eclipse observers will want to photograph the event. Eclipse photography can be challenging, but with a little know-how and the right equipment, even first-time eclipse observers can safely photograph the eclipse with great results.

"Total Eclipse Texas – A Once in a Lifetime Event"

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George Ellis, speaker

Watch George's presentation on YouTube

Total eclipses of the sun are one of the world’s most amazing natural phenomena. This talk will attempt to engage those who have never seen a total eclipse to take full advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime event over Texas on 4/8/2024. Even the Texas Star Party will be migrating from its usual format to host eclipse enthusiasts on the center line near Aquilla, Texas, sharing totality with the world.