Welcome!
Our new astronomy group had its first meeting at the North Adams Public Library on 6 Sep 2023, with 8 people present. Since this was the first meeting, most of the discussion was about what everyoneβs thoughts were in terms of what the group could do to promote and support their own interests in astronomy, and to provide outreach to the local community.
The North Adams Public Library staff also stated their commitment to our success, and outlined several ways they could actively support the group.
The only official decision made was that monthly meetings would be held at NAPL on the first Wednesday of each month, at 6PM.
Space Art Exhibit
Local enthusiast Rick Costello doesnβt just sponsor observing sessions with his 12.5β Meade telescope around the Berkshires, heβs also a talented artist, specializing in βspace artβ showcasing the Milky Way and other solar-system objects.
His paintings are currently on display at Kimball Farms, in the Connector Gallery, 235 Walker St. in Lenox.
Partial Annular Solar Eclipse
On Saturday, October 14th, thereβs an annular eclipse of the Sun. Unfortunately the path for the full eclipse is from Oregon down to Texas, but here we can see a small part of the Sun (20%) blocked by the Moon, starting in the late norming with the maximum happening about 1:20PM EDT.
Remember to take all necessary precautions whenever viewing the Sun!
This Month’s Image
Thanks to some prodding I turned my small imaging scope to parts of the Veil Nebula the night of 9/14. While it was always on my to-do list, I was discouraged by itβs faint surface brightness (18 mag/arcmin2 ). This is a crudely post-processed image of a 25m exposure of the Eastern part of the nebula (NGC 6992) in Cygnus. I still have a lot to learn, but being able to see some of the subtle blues amongst the reds in its characteristic wispy stricture is really exciting! β Bob D.