Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society

Welcome to the KVAS Website!

     The Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society is a non-profit educational organization. We are dedicated to the promotion of amateur astronomy in and around the West Virginia area and work closely with local schools and the Avampato Discovery Museum at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences.

    The Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society operates and maintains Breezy Point Observatory, located at Camp Virgil Tate, near Cross Lanes, West Virginia. This rolling-roof design observatory houses the club's 16" F-4.5 Newtonion Reflector Telescope. Breezy Point Observatory is host to many of the club's monthly meetings as well as a number of star parties each year.

     The Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society is also co-sponsor of Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend and Green Bank Star Quest. Central Appalachian Astronomy Club along with Dominion Resources are our partners for Green Bank Star Quest. Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend is possible thanks to the cooperation of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend is held every fall at Blackwater Falls State Park. Green Bank Star Quest is held every summer at the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Both of these events are highly educational and well worth the trip.

Club Scope

Exciting news. The work on the scope that Chuck Spann donated to the club is complete, with the transfer to the new tube with the rotating rings. It works great. It has been put back in the observatory and is ready for club use.

Click on image to enlarge

Meetings

Meetings are held the third Friday of the month. The regular monthly meetings are held at 7:30 PM at the Hansford Senior Center, 500 Washington Street, St. Albans, WV 25177. Occasionally the meeting may be held at the observatory or another location. If so, the address and directions will be noted in the "Next Meeting" area.

The St. Albans/Nitro Bridge has been closed for repairs until approximately November, 2013. Please plan your route accordingly.

Driving Directions: In St. Albans, from intersection of Rt. 60 and 3rd Ave. (at St Albans/Nitro bridge) proceed between Taco Bell and Tim Horten's on 3rd. Ave, under railroad underpass. Continue to 1st. stop light. Go-Mart will be on your left. Turn left on 6th Ave. Go 10 blocks to 3rd. stop sign at Lincoln Ave. You will have just passed under a railroad bridge. The main parking lot for the Hansford Senior Center will be across the intersection to the left. Enter main doors to first hallway. Turn right and KVAS usually meets in the room at the end of the hallway.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is Friday, June 21, 2013. The June meeting will be held at the Hansford Senior Center in St. Albans starting at 7:30 P.M. Dan Pleska will provide refreshments.

Hansford Senior Center

Nite Sky by Brent Ogle

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012 NITE SKY

Moon phases: New 8/17, FQ 6/24, Full 8/31, LQ 9/8, New 9/15, FQ 9/22, Full 9/29.

Events: August KVAS Monthly Meeting 7:30 P Hansford Center, 9/22 Sat. annual Picnic see www.kvas.org for details.

CASSIOPEIA (Kass-ee-oh-PEE-uh) The Queen ties into the mythology of Andromeda, Pegasus, and Perseus & the constellation looks like the Queen’s chair or throne. The most impressive object is the supernova remnant Cas-A (exploded some 300 years ago & 11,000 ly. distant) which is the brightest object in the sky at radio wavelengths but it’s is very difficult to see with highest power optical scopes. More than 6 open clusters can be found & M52 is one of the richest, NGC 663 is good with small scopes & M103 a little smaller but brighter.    Gamma is a very irregular erratic type BOe subgiant star.

ANDROMEDA (an-DROH-me-duh) The Chained Princess in ancient mythology is the daughter of King Cepheus & Queen Cassiopeia and they all became names of Constellations. The most spectacular feature is The Great Andromeda Galaxy, the closest known spiral type Sb, 178’ x 63’ in size, Mag. 3.4, & 2.3 million ly. away. Check it out along with its 2 much smaller companions M 32 & NGC 205 using binoculars through a 16” scope. Spiral galaxy NGC 891 type Sb is an edge-on with a dust lane bisecting it (13.5’ x 2.8’ size, 12.0 Mag, & about 20 million ly. away) but it requires a very large scope plus a very clear moonless night for details. Use binoculars to enjoy open cluster NGC 752 which is located 5 degrees south of Gamma named Almach . Almach is a beautiful close double with orange, type KO primary & blue-green, type AO secondary with 10 arcsec. separation.

PISCES (PIE-seez) The Fish has been a constellation for thousands of years and it also the twelfth zodiacal constellation. M 74 is a large, 9th mag, type Sc galaxy requiring at least an 8” scope as does Wolf 28, Van Maanen’s star which is a white dwarf of mag. 12.2. 14.1 L.Y. away.   The brick Red variable star TX Piscum is a rapidly dying type N, Alpha is a close double (separation 1 arc second) and Zeta is an easy double with 23 arc sec. separation.

PEGASUS (PEG-a-sus) The Winged Horse is also ancient and its image has been found on Assyrian coins minted about 1500 BC. M15 is an outstanding globular cluster for small scopes & binoculars with mag.6.3 & diameter 12.3 arc min. (1/3rd the apparent diameter of a full Moon). NGC 7331 is a galaxy, type Sb, similar in size & form to our Milky Way with 10.7 x 4.0 arc min. diameter, 9.1 mag., some 50 million ly. distant. Another treat is a little group of remote galaxies called “Stephan’s Quintet” which are distorted and possibly interacting. But a large scope of 10” or greater is needed for a good view.

SCULPTOR (SKULP-tor) The Sculptoris a recent constellation named by Lacaille ca. 1750. It contains little of interest but NGC 253 is a large beautiful 7thth magnitude edge-on galaxy, type Scp some 10, million L.Y. away.   NGC 55 is an irregular galaxy, type SBM & NGC 300 is a type Sd which also is a member of our Local Group, only 3 million L. Y. distant.

Welcome to the KVAS Website!

Club Scope

Meetings

Next Meeting

Links

Nite Sky by Brent Ogle