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.
Click here and
here for more digital galleries. |
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The Alamo Lake Night
Under the Stars event was designated as an Arizona
Centennial Event. (02/23/2012)
Click for
more info |
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
The community of Cottonwood has achieved International Dark Sky status by being
the 23rd Dark Sky Community in the World. Since 2017, the community has been
working towards achieving the status by implementing rules to help keep the
night skies dark and protecting this diminishing resource. Cottonwood joins
Flagstaff (#1), Sedona (#8), Big Park/VOC (#14), Kaibab Paiute Indian Community
(#21), Camp Verde (#20) and Fountain Hills (#17) as IDA
Communities. Arizona has more IDA Communities and IDA Dark Sky Parks than any
other state or country in the World. These efforts will help keep the nearly 100
commercial telescopes and over 200 private observatories in Arizona seeing the
starry skies and universe above.
Click
here for more info.
The Blue Horse Head Nebula in Scorpius is captured by member
Mike Cadwell. IC 4592 as it is also known is 420 light years from Earth. To see
more of Mike's photos, click here.
Karen Maddy instructs the Sedona Parks & Recreation Summer Camp
kids how to safely observe the Sun. Click the picture for
more AVV Public Outreach.
A recently discovered comet, Lovejoy 2014 Q2 has been moving
across the sky over the past couple of months. For more comet pictures click
here.
Picture Credit: Robert Mueller
Global SUNday participation
A challenge for astrophotographers this winter is the Witch Head
Nebula located in the constellation of Eridanus, the River. The
Witch Head Nebula, aka IC 2118, is located near the star Rigel,
which is in the constellation of Orion, the Hunter.
This photo was taken October 23rd at 3AM with 82 minutes
exposure time.
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Pictures of the recent Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023. This was a partial
eclipse for the Verde Valley.
The picture above was taken with a glass solar filter on a 6" telescope.
The photo above was taken with a Lunt Solar Hydrogen Alpha telescope. This scope
allows the viewing of solar flares off the side of the Sun.
Rising in the sky after sunset in the north east this time of year is the Andromeda Galaxy. M31 as it is also
known lies between the constellations of Cassiopeia and Pegasus. It can be see
with the unaided eye as a small cloudy patch in the sky. Photo by JD
Maddy
The next Total Solar Eclipse is coming up next April 8th,
2024. It will take a path thru Mexico, Texas heading all the way up to Maine.
Click the link below for the eclipse path.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2024/apr-8-total/where-when/
It's time to start preparing for the April 8th,
2024 Total Eclipse. It may be nearly a year off, but plans should be in the
works soon. Hotels and camp sites will be booking up quickly.
The Diamond Ring effect from Glenrock, WY. Photo by Robert Mueller
The Corona Effect as seen from Glenrock, WY. Photo by Robert Mueller
Click above pictures for large view.
Click here for more eclipse
pictures, past and present.
I
Astronomy Picture of the Day by NASA (01/19/2017)
Click picture to
super size. Elephants Trunk Nebula
Image Credit &
Copyright: Stephen
Leshin
Explanation:
Like an illustration in a galactic
Just So Story, the
Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star
cluster complex IC
1396, in the high and far off constellation
of Cepheus. Also
known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years
long.
This colorful close-up view includes image data from a
narrow band
filter that transmits the light from ionized hydrogen atoms in the
region. The resulting composite highlights the bright swept-back ridges
that outline pockets of cool
interstellar dust
and gas. Such embedded, dark,
tendril-shaped clouds
contain the raw material for
star
formation and hide
protostars within. Nearly 3,000
light-years distant,
the relatively faint
IC 1396 complex covers a
large region on
the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This dramatic scene spans a 1 degree
wide field, about the
size of 2 Full Moons.
To see more of Steve's APOD pictures
and others, click here. To see how this
picture was put together, click here.
Up coming events
11/01/2023:
Monthly Meeting. Cottonwood, AZ Library. 4:00PM to 6:00PM. Public
welcome
11/04/2023: 15th
Annual Night Under the Stars at Alamo Lake State Park. See link below
for more details.
https://azstateparks.com/alamo-lake/events/night-under-the-stars-at-alamo-lake
The next Super Moon of 2024 is on September 18th. A Super Moon is a Full
Moon that is at its closest distance to the Earth. The Moon can vary in distance
from the Earth. It is considered Super when the distance is from 218,000 miles
to 225,000 miles. The farthest away the Moon can be is about 254,000 miles.
Click the above picture to enlarge.
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Illustration Credit & Copyright:
Robert Mueller
Explanation:
The Rosette Nebula and its cluster reside in the
constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn. This picture was processed in what's
called a Modified Hubble Pallet. Using a variety of filters gives it a unique
appearance. Click the picture for a larger view.
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.
Keep up with the progress of Comet Pons-Brooks 21P as it gets closer to the
Earth and Sun in 2024. Its closest to the Earth on June 2nd, 2024. But, it will
be heading close to the southern horizon. Best views for most of the northern
hemisphere will be during May, 2024.
This picture of Pons-Brooks 21P was taken as it passes thru the constellation of
Hercules on Oct 18th. The comet at this point is 277 millions away from Earth.
It will be as close as as 139 million miles from Earth around the 1st of June,
2024.
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