Public Star Watches for 2020
West Jersey Astronomical Society
www.wasociety.us Last updated 9.24.2020
"Star Watch" is a term amateur astronomers use for an evening get-together where we talk, look through telescopes, find new objects and enjoy each others company. Our public Star Watches are an opportunity for you to:
Look through a variety of telescopes at planets, star clusters and galaxies and discuss what you are looking at with a knowledgeable person.
Learn about the constellations - you don't need telescopes or binoculars for these.
Ask questions about our solar system, cosmology, stars and many other subjects.
Learn about telescopes, binoculars, books and software.
Our club has scheduled nine (9) public star watches for 2020. They will be in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest, at Batsto Village, where our telescopes will be set up on the field beside the visitors' center, or on Atsion Field (directions linked below for both locations). Attendees at Batsto should park in the paved parking lot at the front of the visitor's center.. These events are weather-permitting, so always check the WAS home page for the weather status (go/no-go) before heading out. This information will usually be posted by noon on the day of the event.
Etiquette and safety - following a few simple rules will maintain an adequate level of safety and improve the general experience:
Do not drive your vehicle near the telescopes. This area is dark and you might accidentally hit an attendee or astronomy equipment.
Flashlights can be useful, but keep them pointed at the ground. Usually you'll see more by keeping the light off allowing your eyes to dark adapt, otherwise, you'll see well in a small illuminated circle and the rest of everything will be black. Ideally, a flashlight should have a red filter to preserve night vision. It takes time for your eyes to adapt to the dark so you can see the fainter objects in a telescope such as galaxies. Someone shining a flashlight in your eyes will reduce your dark adaptation for a while.
Do not touch the telescopes. Not because you will necessarily damage them, but you may bump the telescope off the object it's aimed at and it will take time for the operator to reacquire it.
Cameras - it's ok to bring cameras but don't use a flash. A flash won't help to record the sky and it will ruin the dark adaption of anybody who gets flashed. If you wish, bring a tripod and one of our club members will show you how to image the night sky.
For more information, contact Bernie Hosko or Joe Stieber. Note: To thwart spam, you'll need to manually insert the "@" and the "." (dot) symbols in the addresses!
2020 Public Star Watch Schedule
All dates are Saturdays (except September 18 at Atsion is a Friday) and Eastern Daylight Time (except November 14 is EST). The end of Astronomical Twilight is listed.
The Public Star Watches are canceled through all of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Date |
Location (held?) |
Event Start Time |
Sunset |
Twilight Ends |
March 21 |
Batsto Village - N |
7:00 pm |
7:11 pm |
8:42 pm |
April 18 |
Batsto Village - N |
7:00 pm |
7:39 pm |
9:17 pm |
May 23 |
Batsto Village - N |
8:00 pm |
8:13 pm |
10:07 pm |
June 20 |
Batsto Village - N |
8:00 pm |
8:29 pm |
10:31 pm |
July 18 |
Batsto Village - N |
8:00 pm |
8:22 pm |
10:16 pm |
August 15 |
Batsto Village - N |
7:30 pm |
7:53 pm |
9:33 pm |
September 18* |
Atsion Field - N |
6:30 pm |
7:02 pm |
8:33 pm |
October 17 |
Batsto Village - N |
6:30 pm |
6:15 pm |
7:44 pm |
November 14 |
Batsto Village - N |
6:00 pm |
4:43 pm |
6:16 pm |
* There will be a weather backup date of September 19 for the Atsion
event, same start time. This is the only one with a backup date.
Check the WAS
home page on the day of each event for the go/no-go weather call.
Click here for a
printable PDF version of the schedule.
GPS Coordinates |
Latitude (north) |
Longitude (west) |
39 deg 38 min 37 sec |
74 deg 38 min 45 sec |
|
39 deg 44 min 32 sec | 74 deg 43 min 28 sec |
Finally, don't forget to check the web sites of other astronomy clubs in the Delaware Valley area, they frequently schedule as many or more star watches as we do and some may be much closer to you. You can find their web sites at Links. We'll also be holding less-formal Member Star Watches at Atsion throughout the year.