Who Are We?
We are an amateur astronomy club serving the communities of the Verde Valley, Arizona. To learn more about us, click
here.
If you are as interested in Astronomy as we are, we hope you will join us at one of
our star parties, meetings or guest lectures.
If you would like to become a member of AVV please use the
contact information below. We will be happy to assist you.
Here is the Club Brochure.
Astronomers
of Verde Valley
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The
Digital Collection
A new wave in
astro photography is in process with the Astronomers of Verde Valley. Several of
the members have acquired digital photographic equipment and are now busy taking
and processing images. In
the Digital Collection,
more and more pictures will be updated on the site as time goes by.
Check out Jerry Madero's recent astro photos
here. Jerry's Pics |
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JD's Obsession
Iridium flare and
Comet Holmes
Iridium 52 is the bright
streak intersecting this shot. Comet Holmes 7P is above the satellite
at the top of the page. The photograph was
captured on December 12th, 2007, from Clarkdale, Arizona, by our
very own JD Maddy and published in the UK's Sky at Night
Magazine.
Iridium Gallery click here:
Iridium
Flares
Equipment used: Pentax IST digital camera, 50mm lens at f/2.0
for a 30-second exposure
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Message in a
Bottle
A
message broadcast from Earth to the globular cluster M13
during the dedication of the Arecibo Observatory in 1974.
Check out our Members Telescopes here:
Club Member
Telescopes
For those who are somewhat nostalgic, check out
our past star party page.
Past Star Parties
Our new Solar and Lunar picture page is under
progress.
See the
new page here.
Elsewhere
on Our Website:
Observing Tools - Star Charts,
Clear Sky Clocks and Topographic maps.
Astronomy Newsfeeds
- From NASA, Astrowire, Space.com
Articles
- by our very own members.
Astrophotography - see the Astrophoto Galleries.
Focus Sections on Observing
Mars, Saturn,
Asteroids, Comets and
Satellites
An asteroid the size of a battle ship made a near pass by Earth
on the evening of Nov. 8th. Asteroid 2005 YU55 was a mere 200,000 miles away and
crossed the path of the Earth. Many astronomers were able to see the pass in
spite of a near full Moon. The small streak in the photo is the distance the
asteroid traveled in 30 seconds. See a full sized picture
here.
Photo Credits: J D Maddy
The Astronomers of Verde Valley were recognized at the November
Arizona State Parks Board meeting in Apache Junction for their continued support
and participation at Night Under the Stars at Alamo Lake State Park and Star
Night at Kartchner Caverns State Park. Also, individually recognized were the
AVV members participating at these events. Click on picture for full view.
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For more Astronomy Photos of the Day,
Click Here.
A Colorful Side of the Moon
Credit: NASA /
GSFC / DLR / Arizona State Univ.
/ Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter
Explanation:
This colorful topographical map of the Moon is centered on the lunar
farside, the side not
seen from planet Earth.
That view is available to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter though,
as the spacecraft's wide angle camera images almost the entire lunar
surface every month.
Stereo overlap of the imaging has allowed the computation of
topographical maps with coverage between 80 degrees north and south
latitude. The results have about a 300 meter resolution on the lunar
surface and 10 to 20 meter elevation accuracy. Data
closer to the
north and south poles is filled in using the
orbiter's laser altimeter.
In this map, white, red, green, and purple represent progressively lower
elevations. In fact, the large circular splotch tending to purple hues
at the bottom is the farside's
South Pole-Aitken Basin. About 2500 kilometers in diameter and over
12 kilometers deep, it is one of the
largest impact
basins in the Solar System.
Lunar Eclipse December 10th
2011
Image Credit &
Copyright: J D Maddy
Explanation: As the Moon enters a total lunar
eclipse, the colors of the surface turn red and orange as the light
refracts around the Earth's atmosphere. This was a unique eclipse as it
occurred just before sunrise. Click on the photo for a large version. For more eclipse photos
present and past click
here.
Up coming events
01/07/2012: Monthly Meeting @ VVMC
01/21/2012: Two Trees Dark Sky Weekend
02/04/2012: Monthly Meeting @ VVMC
02/18/2012: Two Trees Dark Sky Weekend
02/25/2012: Two Trees Dark Sky Weekend
03/03/2012: Monthly Meeting @ VVMC
03/10/2012: Tonto National Monument Star Night
at Roosevelt Lake
03/17/2012: Kartchner Caverns Star Night
03/23-24/2012: Messier Marathon Weekend at Two
Trees
See the
Club Calendar for the complete
2012 schedule.
Details of 2011 Special Events are
here.
This is Comet
Garradd 2009 P1 as it
passes near the Coat Hanger Cluster (Cr399) on Sept 3rd, 2011. The
Coat Hanger is an asterism located in the constellation of Vulpecula. Garradd may be naked eye visible later in
September. To see more
of Comet Garradd and others, click here.
Illustration Credit & Copyright:
J D Maddy
and Gerald Madero.
Explanation: The Great
Spiral Galaxy
in Andromeda (aka M31), a mere 2.5 million light-years
distant, is the
closest large spiral to our own Milky Way. Andromeda is visible to the
unaided eye as a small, faint, fuzzy patch, but because its surface
brightness is so low, casual
skygazers
can't appreciate the galaxy's impressive extent in planet Earth's sky.
This entertaining composite image compares the
angular size
of the nearby galaxy to a brighter, more familiar celestial sight. In
it, a deep exposure, tracing beautiful blue star clusters in
spiral arms far beyond the bright yellow core, is combined with a
typical view of a nearly full Moon. Shown at the same angular scale, the
Moon covers about 1/2 degree on the sky, while
the galaxy is
clearly several times that size. The deep Andromeda exposure also
includes two bright satellite galaxies,
M32 and
M110
(bottom). This composite image is made from a stack of M31 images taken
with a Celestron GPS11, Hyperstar 3 with a Canon 450D (XSI) and a single
image of the Moon taken with the same setup.
The Astronomers of Verde
Valley are members of the Night Sky Network
Check out the Club's Community Outreach page for their latest
activities by clicking here.
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