Category: News
News and Updates
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Fairfax County Announces First Annual One Dark Hour Event
The Fairfax County Park Authority is encouraging participation in the first annual One Dark Hour event. On April 22, the Fairfax County Park Authority is hoping residents will join them in turning off their lights to raise awareness of the importance of dark skies. Park Authorities ask you take part by turning off your outdoor lights between 9 and 10 p.m. on Friday, April 22, and encourage your neighbors to do the same. For more information see the official announcement or visit Fairfax Read more […] -
Join NOVAC at Viva Vienna 2022!
Join NOVAC at Viva Vienna 2022! NOVAC will host a tent on Sunday May 29th and Monday May 30th (event days #2 and #3) at this annual carnival of family fun. Viva Vienna serves as a major fundraising opportunity for the Vienna Rotary Club so that it may, in turn, provide support for charitable, educational, and community groups the following year. More information to follow, including how you can help NOVAC during the weekend event. We’ll need some greeters and a few volunteers with solar Read more […] -
Astro-Traveler Paul Derby Visits the Prime Meridian!
Suffering from COVID isolation or cabin fever? Longing to get out and do something related to your astronomy hobby? Consider a trip to London! My spouse was headed there for work meetings and I decided to tag along. Read about my travels and astronomy experiences! My spouse was headed to London for work meetings and I tagged along feeling the risks of contracting hospitalized COVID was low enough given the effectiveness of vaccines in diminishing the effects of COVID and the public Read more […] -
Urban Stargazing at George Mason University – Apr 9th!!
NOVAC is joining GMU’s Arlington campus with a campus stargazing event, Saturday, April 9th from 7:30pm to 9pm. We still need additional volunteers so if you’re interested in helping with this event, please send a note to: outreach@novac.com. [Read More] George Mason University, Arlington Campus Night Sky Viewing Date(s): Saturday, April 9; 8pm to 9:30pm Location: Arlington, VA- Outdoor plaza in front of Van Metre Hall, Schar School of Policy and Government (3351 Fairfax Read more […] -
A Messier Moment at Staunton River State Park
NOVAC Messier Marathon Challenge, by Dan Ward ….A wonderful 3-D view hit my eye with swirling streams of sparkling stars and dust lanes. Even the tether to the companion offered a great view. This was truly the most spectacular live galaxy view I have experienced in 55 years of observing… [Read More} On Friday evening, April 1, 2022 at the Staunton River State Park Starparty (SRSP), the night began with a public observing event from 7:30 – 9:30pm. I made a quick observation of Andromeda Read more […] -
Kevin Haslag’s Messier Journal 2022
Kevin took the NOVAC Messier Challenge! Read about his results – nice job Kevin and thanks for the lessons learned! Kevin’s Journal: The goal of this challenge was to try to identify 5 Messier objects in a single night. I decided to try this challenge from my house in Vienna, Virginia on the outskirts of Tysons Corner – a very light polluted area. Observing was done from the front driveway which has a good view from the zenith to the west/southwest horizon. Looking towards the east, Read more […] -
My First Year With NOVAC
I joined NOVAC almost a year ago now. As the first anniversary of my membership comes up, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on what I’ve done in this first year. If you’re thinking of joining NOVAC, I hope this will give you a glimpse into just some of the things you can do with the club. When I first joined NOVAC in 2021, I was like many new members. I had spent some time looking at the night sky and even used an app on my phone to figure out the names of some of the stars, but Read more […] -
April 10 – Public Monthly Meeting – How to Measure Velocities of Distant Galaxy Clusters, and Why
How to Measure Velocities of Distant Galaxy Clusters, and Why Arthur Kosowsky, Ph.D. Sunday, April 12, 2022 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM EST Online event meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti Monthly Meeting – Public Invited Abstract: Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound objects in the universe. Their hot ionized gas scatters photons of the cosmic microwave background, creating a microwave spectrum distortion (called the Thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect) which Read more […] -
A Pencil of Rays: Ultimate Guide to Lens Design
Recently several NOVAC members have been reading and discussing this great post on lens design from https://www.pencilofrays.com/
The Ultimate Guide to Lens Design Forms: The types of optical systems in a lens designer’s toolbox
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March 13 – Public Monthly Meeting – Improving the Performance of Your Imaging Mount
Improving the Performance of Your Imaging Mount In this presentation, Eric will share his experience on improving the performance of equatorial mounts, a critical and expensive component of astrophotography systems. He will start with the basics of operation and cover the common sources of tracking errors found in lower- to moderately-priced systems. Eric will then present a strategy to minimize these errors by using “hypertuning” and optimized guiding. The presentation Read more […]