Welcome!
Greetings from the professional and amateur astronomers who comprise the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces (ASLC). The club was formed in 1951 by a group of dedicated astronomers including Clyde Tombaugh, who had discovered Pluto just 21 years earlier. For nearly 60 years, we've been sharing a little bit of the universe with our community under our beautiful Southern New Mexico skies.
The club has a variety of ongoing observing, education and public outreach programs. We host a public Moongaze each month, offer beginning astronomy courses and support countless star parties for schools, scouts and various organizations. We also hold a meeting each month which includes a featured presentation.
To learn more about our society, please click here or select from the tabs above or the 'Quick Links' on the left
Fantastic Planetary Alignment Plus Meteor Shower on August 12
Thursday, August 12 will offer a rare treat for visual observers. Four planets will be visible in the western sky at evening twilight. Mars, Venus and Saturn will be within 6 degrees of each other, while Mercury will be found just a few degrees above the horizon. A thin (3.5 day) crescent Moon will add to the beauty of the alignment. Binoculars will probably help you see Mercury along the horizon. The other planets will be bright enough and high enough to see unaided.
August 12 is also the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower. The Perseids are considered by many to be one of the finest annual meteor showers with rates typically in excess of 50 per hour. Observers in the SW United States will have a chance to observe the peak of the meteor shower between dusk (Aug 12) and to 1 am (Aug 13). The crescent Moon will have set, so if the weather cooperates, we could see 100 or so meteors per hour from a dark viewing site.
So find yourself a comfortable chair and a dark viewing location (as far away from the city's light pollution as possible), and enjoy the show. Admission is free!
July Presentation - Astronomy and Art by Kirby Benson (ASLC)
We will look at some of the philosophical and aesthetic questions regarding this branch of photography. I will also address some basic design principles that we may apply to astrophotography and if they are relevant to this type of photography. What are the limits this branch of photography impose if a photo is to be considered acceptable by the astronomy community?
The presentation will be given in room 77 of the Dona Ana Community College (main branch) at 7:30 on June 25.
ASLC Photo of the Week - Comet McNaught by Rich Richins
Comet McNaught's long ion tail sweeps across the telescopic field of view (a negative image is inset). Remarkably, the ion tail easily stretches past background star cluster NGC 1245 (upper left) in the constellation Perseus, about 1.5 degrees from the comet's lovely greenish head or coma. The coma also sports a short, stubby, dust tail.
The image was captured by Rich Richins at ASLC's Upham dark sky site. Rich used a C11 outfitted with a Hyperstar 3. A Canon T2i was used to capture the images. The image was selected as the Astronomy Photo of the Day for June 17 (2010).
Clicking on the image will bring up a larger copy of the image.
