West Jersey Astronomical Society  www.wasociety.us

Welcome to the Official Home Page of the West Jersey Astronomical Society (additionally known as the Willingboro Astronomical Society). Our club is in its 58th year of serving both the public and the amateur astronomers of the Delaware Valley. We have a long history of public education, star parties, interesting meetings, in-depth training and experienced leadership. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Click here for membership information. Members in good standing have access to the gated Barnegat Road Observing Site in the dark New Jersey Pines.

 

President:

Vice President:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

Starwatch Director:

Bob Lill

Frank Grupico

Karen Hagerman

Wade Evans

Suzanne Leap

   

Announcements   Last Update: Saturday, November 22, 2025

Dec 4 Full Moon at 6:14 pm EST in Taurus. When it transits just after midnight, the Moon will be nearly at its greatest possible altitude as seen from our location near 40°N-75°W.
Dec 5 Formal Meeting at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center, Conference Ctr, Room 155A, Moorestown, NJ, 7:30 pm. Guests are welcome. We will be holding the elections for the 2026 officers, click here more information.
Dec 13 The Geminid Meteor Shower will peak overnight, December 13-14. The Geminids are consistently one of the best of the year. However, a 26% crescent Moon will offer modest interference, rising just after 2 am EST on Dec 14.
Dec 19 The Informal Meeting will be the annual Holiday Dinner for members and their guests at the Legacy Diner in Audubon, NJ, starting at 6:30 pm We will not be meeting at Virtua in Moorestown. The club secretary, Karen Hagerman has been taking reservations on the WAS Google Group.
Dec 19 New Moon at 8:43 pm EST in Sagittarius, less than a degree from the Galactic Center.

Photo Spotlight   Image posted 11.12.2025

Much of the United Sates, and our own Southern New Jersey region, experienced a strong auroral display on the night of November 11, 2025. After spotting aurorae from her suburban home earlier in the evening under a light polluted sky, the Club's Starwatch Director, Suzanne Leap, headed to the darker skies of Wharton State Forest and captured these wonderful images of the aurorae with a Canon EOS 80D digital camera. They look towards the northeast and Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and Lynx, the Wild Cat. The Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major in the upper picture (11:38 pm EST) is overwhelmed by the auroral glow, but the bowl is clearly visible at the bottom-left corner in the image below (11:28 pm).

  

Click here for the previous home page image.

  

Sky & Telescope's This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 21 to 30, 2025.

Get the monthly Evening Sky Map.

Registration for the 2026 Winter Star Party is now open.

  

Click to contact the . Members are encouraged to submit their astronomical images to the webmaster for inclusion on the WAS Home Page. Be sure to include a description, date and time, as well as equipment and photo data.

Astrospheric Forecast for the Barnegat Road Observing Site...

Star & Constellation Pronunciation Guides

United States Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications

Minima of Algol

Lunar X Predictions for 2025

Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2025

Meteor Showers in 2025

APOD Mirror site