Our meetings are held at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of the months of September through June at the Laurel Manor Recreation Center. No meetings are held in July or August.

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BELOW ARE IMAGES TAKEN BY ERNIE ROSSI OF THE PLANTATIONS ASTRONOMY CLUB.

M82 is a galaxy approximately 12 million light years away and contains about 50 billion stars. This is an edge on galaxy and sometimes is referred to as the cigar galaxy. It has a dark black dust lane in the center.

Image taken in Leesburg, almost a full moon overhead. C11 F/6.3 focal reducer, on CGEM equatorial mount, Auto-guided with 80 MM refractor and the Orion Star shooter. 15-75 second exposures using Image Plus camera controls, Canon 450 D Dsir, ISO set to 800. Deepsky stacker, photoshop, Image Plus.

M66 is about the size of our Milky Way galaxy and is located in the constellation Leo about 40 million light years away.

M66 was fairly low in the sky and the moon almost full was nearby. C 11 on a CGEM eq. mount, auto-guided 15-75 second images using a Canon 450 C at ISO 800 using Image Source camera controls, Deepsky Stacker, Photoshop, Noel Carboni, star in hancement, Image plus size and cropping.

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NEW: As a new feature of our club there will be presented every week a 30 minute DVD pre-meeting (starts at 6:30pm) lecture by Professor Alex Filippanko of the University of California. This weeks DVD lecture is on " A Grand Tour of Our Universe.

NEW: For Villages Astronomy Club Members only a New DVD Lecture Library Series is available. There are 18 presentations of 30 minutes each that can be borrowed from the clubs' Library. The lectures are by Professor Alex Pilippenko.

NEW: Village and Plantation astronomy club members are invited to join the VPAG (Villages & Plantations Astronomy Group). VPAG is a no cost discussion group hosted by Yahoo. Members can post messages and ask questions about things astronomical, as well as access files and photos. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/vpag/

Starry Starry Night was held on February 20, 2010 in the area behind the Saddlebrook Softball Complex. Telescopes and other astronomy devices were set up for the general public to enjoy. Our turn out was absolutely great! It was estimated that over 150 people turned out for our Starry Starry Night. Thanks to all those people who showed up and helped to make this a truely outstanding event.

Special Event

Several times a year we host Starry Starry Night events. Our next event is scheduled for Saturday November 13, 2010 at dusk in the area behind the Saddlebrook Softball Complex. Telescopes and other astronomy devices are set up for the general public to be exposed to the wonders of the universe. All members with or without a telescope are encouraged to participate and share their knowledge. Bring your children and grandkids to this wonderful and well attended event which will also include food vendors. Often we are also joined by another astronomy club from the area. For all star gazers, to find The Villages on the internet go to: http://itouchmap.com/latlong . To locate The Villages viewing site, input + 28.932 deg. North Latitude, - 81.996 deg. West Longitude into the appropriate boxes.

Mission Statement

The Villages Astronomy Club is open to all The Villages residents and their guests having an interest in astronomy. Our monthly meetings focus on sharing our knowledge and learning about the latest theories and developments in astronomy. Our goal is to develop community programs and encourage member participation in an effort to enhance our members' and community's awareness of our solar system and universe.

M78 NGC2068 NEBULA

SSRO Messier 78/NGC2068 Nebula

HORSEHEAD NEBULA

IN THE CENTER OF THE TRIFID NEBULA

Credit & Copyright: Daniel Lopez (Observatorio del Teide)