AstroVerde

 

 

Astronomers
of
Verde Valley

 

 

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Welcome

Updated

05/2013

 

AstroVerde is the website of the Astronomers of Verde Valley.

 

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

Click for Cottonwood, Arizona Forecast

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

Special Event Update

The Alamo Lake Night Under the Stars event has just been designated as an Arizona Centennial Event. (02/23/2012)

Click for more info

 Astronomy Clubs click here

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, SaturnAsteroids, Comets and Satellites

News Flash:

May and June is prime time to see the Virgo and Coma Berenices galaxy clusters. This picture is the M84 and M86 region of Virgo. Many galaxies can be seen in one field of view.  To see a larger version click here.

Photo Credits: J D Maddy

News Flash:

The continued effort of the Astronomers of Verde Valley working with the Arizona State Parks has earned the club recognition as the 2012 Team of the Year. The AZ Parks Team of Richard Bohner, John & Terry Wozniak, Dennis Casper, Doug Ostroski and J D & Karen Maddy were mentioned at a recent awards luncheon in Flagstaff, AZ.

 

The planet Venus made a two day pass by the Pleiades on April 2nd & 3rd, 2012. This pass was on the later of the dates. Click here for a full size image.

The Semi Annual Star Night at Kartchner Caverns is now in the books. Lunt Solar Systems show cased two of their premium Hydrogen Alpha telescopes during the solar viewing. Lunt rep Brian Stephens explains the technology behind the telescopes to a customer. Click the picture for more Kartchner pictures and other Outreach events.

See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

Click picture to super size.

Sun with Solar Flare
Image Credit: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory

Explanation: This week the Sun gave up its strongest solar flare so far in 2013, accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME) headed toward planet Earth. A false-color composite image in extreme ultraviolet light from the Solar Dynamics Observatory captures the moment, recorded on April 11 at 0711 UTC. The flash, a moderate, M6.5 class flare erupting from active region AR 11719, is near the center of the solar disk. Other active regions, areas of intense magnetic fields seen as sunspot groups in visible light, mottle the surface as the solar maximum approaches. Loops and arcs of glowing plasma trace the active regions' magnetic field lines. A massive cloud of energetic, charged particles, the CME will impact the Earth's magnetosphere by this weekend and skywatchers should be on the alert for auroral displays.

 

Click picture to super size.

Large flare erupts Nov. 18th, 2012.

Image Credit & Copyright: J D Maddy

A large solar flare decorates the Sun and it spews Hydrogen gas aloft. This flare was short lived and lost its detail in a two hour period. I call this a Serengeti Flare as it has the appearance of a tree on the Serengeti Plains. To see more solar pictures click here. To see the Annular Eclipse and Venus transit pictures, click here. For a look at a Serengeti Tree compared to the flare, click here.

Up coming events

05/04/2013: Sunset Crater Solar Viewing & Star Party @ Lava Flow Trail

05/11/2013: Two Trees Dark Sky Weekend

05/25/2013: Monthly Meeting @ V VMC

06/01/2013: Sunset Crater Solar Viewing & Star Party

06/07/2013: Sedona Community Campout Star Party @ Sunset Park

06/15/2013: Two Trees Dark Sky Weekend

See the Club Calendar for the complete 2013 schedule.

Details of 2012 Special Events are here.

News Flash:

Comet Panstarrs has now become circum polar, which means that you can see it at dusk and in the early morning hours. This 4 AM picture is as the comet enters Cepheus on May 2nd. It is headed towards Polaris and is fading a bit every night. Projected magnitude at picture time is about 7.5. Click on the picture to see full size. A  movie of Comet Hergenrother's movement can be seen on U Tube here.

Photo by J D Maddy

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.

News Flash:

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. 

 

   

      Contact Information:

               Astronomers of Verde Valley

       PO Box 714 Cottonwood, AZ  86326

       928 649 0485

        Here is a membership application form. Here is the Club Brochure.

President:
J. D. Maddy

Website

Vice President:
Rich Bohner

 

 Treasurer:
Barbara Westhafer

Outreach Director:
Karen Maddy

Secretary:
Nancy Snyder