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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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, Saturn,
Asteroids, Comets and
Satellites
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
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.
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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.
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.
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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