{"id":3877,"date":"2026-04-04T10:12:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/?p=3877"},"modified":"2026-04-04T10:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:12:32","slug":"aprmayjun2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2026\/04\/04\/aprmayjun2026\/","title":{"rendered":"AprMayJun2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recent Public Outreach Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Star Gazing at Lyman Orchards, March 14, 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Donna Pursley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first event of the year happened on March 14 at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was cold. Six of us braved the cold and set up on the cart path near the golf driving range. The view to the west was hampered by a large tent frame. There was also some bad lighting shining from the west onto some of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jupiter was the first object to show. The public starting trickling in about 6:30 and all the scopes were on Jupiter. The groups seemed to come in slowly so we were never overwhelmed. I think there were about 40 people attending. We were able to spend time with each group to show them the constellations and anything we could find in the sky. Most of the people were first time telescope viewers, which I consider to be a very good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had 5 scopes of various sizes which worked out perfectly. There was a steady flow of people until the stop time of 9:30. By then most of us were pretty cold, though the wind had died down. All in all, I would consider this a successful first public night of viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family Astronomy Night at Hammonasset, March 28, 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Mazur<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first Hammonasset event of the year turned out very well. It was cold, but the skies were clear, and 20 telescopes were set up by members of three local astronomy groups (ASNH, Shoreline Astronomical Society, and Thames Amateur Astronomy Society). About 140 visitors had a chance to observe the gibbous Moon, Jupiter and its moons, and Venus. Some of the deep-sky targets were the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades, Bode’s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, and the double stars Mizar and Alcor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just after 8:30 pm, everyone stopped to watch the International Space Station fly over, passing right through the belt of Orion and then dimming and fading as it entered the Earth’s shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One young astronomy enthusiast with her father brought a table-top Orion Starblast 4.5-inch reflector, which they were delighted to try out under the clear dark skies. They told us the scope was borrowed from the Milford Public Library. It was provided to the library by ASNH as part of our library telescope program.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Upcoming Observing Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Members with telescopes are needed for these outreach events. If the weather looks questionable for an observing event, check the ASNH website<\/a> after 4:00 pm. There will be a scrolling message on the home page if an event has been cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, May 22, 7:00 pm<\/strong>
Silver Sands State Park
Milford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, May 23, 7:00 pm<\/strong>
Young\u2019s Park
60 Blackstone Ave, Branford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, June 5, 9:00 pm<\/strong> (rain date, Saturday, June 6)
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Meigs Point Nature Center, 1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, June 12, 7:00 pm<\/strong>
Silver Sands State Park
Milford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, June 13, 7:00 pm<\/strong>
Young\u2019s Park
60 Blackstone Ave, Branford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More events may be added as the schedule for 2026 takes shape. Please check the online calendar for additions to our outreach events: https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/Outreach\/SPEvents.php <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming Monthly Meetings on Zoom<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, May 26, 7:00 pm


We will continue to use this format for monthly meetings for now. A week or two before each meeting, members will receive an email announcement with a link that will allow them to connect to the online meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just click the link or copy and paste in your browser and that will connect you to the meeting. You can do this on any device that has an internet connection and a browser.  You can do this on a smart phone. You can display yourself if you like with your selfie camera on your device. If you don’t that’s okay, don’t feel you have to.

You can also dial in to the meeting. The number and password will be given in the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Lunar Occultations in 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Chris Predom obtained these predictions and maps for lunar occultations that will take place on June 17<\/strong>, September 8<\/strong>, and October 6<\/strong> using IOTA’s Occult v4 software (International Occultation Timing Association<\/a>). The predictions are for Bethany Observatory, but they should be fairly accurate for nearby locations. Start looking early to be sure you do not miss the key events.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Lunar Occultations in 2026, continued:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Observing Reports<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Michael Amato<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The March 2026 issue of Sky & Telescope<\/em> magazine has an article about an association of stars located to the right of Orion’s belt stars that is not really known to many amateur astronomers. On Thursday night, January 15, I decided to explore this area, known as the OB 1a association, with my 5.1″ Short Tube Newtonian Reflector Richfield Scope. The group of stars impressed me as I explored around the area. It turned out to be well worthwhile. The better-known OB areas are OB 1b which is the band of stars around the three belt stars which we have all seen and enjoyed. OB 1c is the group of stars in the area above and below The Orion Nebula which is also well known to us. Finally, OB 1d association is both the Orion and Flame Nebulas. I ended up looking at all of the OB associations in one sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the morning of February 24, I read on Spaceweather that the Sun’s face has no sunspots for the first time in more than a year. The Sun’s image on Spaceweather was blank. With this in mind, I took out my 62-mm Sun Spotter Solar Telescope to see for myself. Sure enough, the Sun’s face was a complete blank. I did scan the edge of the Sun’s disc to see if I could see any spots rotating onto the Sun’s disc. I didn’t see even one. As the Sun continues to head into solar minimum, we’ll see more blank face images of the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just finished reading a new astronomy book titled Starry Wonders<\/em>, authored by Janine Bonham and illustrated by Erin Miller. The main feature of this book is her discussion of the 25 brightest stars in our night sky. She discusses the meaning of their color and where they are in the life cycles. She also discussed how each star will end its life. Her speculation on how and when Betelgeuse and Rigel end their lives is very interesting. She also talks about some interesting stars like Myra and Algol. The last part of this book discusses some open clusters that we have seen. The book is 239 pages long and I finished it in two days. This book is a good read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday night, March 14, I decided to turn my 5.1″ Short Tube Newtonian Richfield Scope based on an article I read about Procyon.  When I looked at Procyon, I noticed how very yellow it looked. According to the article, the reason Procyon is so yellow looking is because it is about to leave the main sequence and become a red giant star. It is just beginning to use helium as its hydrogen is used up. This is the first time I really looked at Procyon and Canis Minor in all the years I viewed the sky. I think looking at Procyon as it begins to move to a red giant star is very interesting. Too bad we won’t be around to see it complete its transition to a red giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomy Links<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

From Ray Kaville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Webb Telescope Just Revealed the True Scale Of The Universe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n