Los Angeles Astronomical Society

Los Angeles Astronomical Society In 1926, local amateur telescope makers organized the L.A.

Telescope Makers Society; and in 1939 adopted the name the Los Angeles Astronomical Society in recognition of the growing public interest in astronomy. Our Outreach Program is a group of volunteers dedicated to helping your children learn more about the universe and the Solar System. LAAS has one of the busiest Outreach programs in southern California, and we provide Outreach to all schools in the Los Angeles area and are available to Boy/Girl Scouts, Indian Scouts and various other organizations. How to contact our Outreach Program:

Please follow this link to Night Sky Network where you will find the form to request an Outreach event from LAAS. (http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club-eventrequest.cfm?Club_ID=1344)

Take a moment to look at our calendar to make sure that the date you are requesting is available. You may view our calendar of events by following this link: (http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/event-calendar.cfm?Club_ID=1344)

If you are an Educator, you might like to look at the "Astronomy Activities" section highlighted near the top portion of the Night Sky Network (NSN) site. NASA and JPL have listed many activities that will make your Astronomy event a fun and educational experience!

09/19/2026

A Zodiacal Night (APOD: 2026 Sep 19)
Image Credit & Copyright: Neelam and Ajay Talwar (TWAN)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260919.html

Explanation: Also known as the false dawn, a luminous band of zodiacal light is captured in this dark night skyscape. The serene view was recorded just before the beginning of astronomical twilight during September's star party at the remote Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, Ladakh, India, planet Earth. At about 4,500 meters altitude, the dark sky reserve presents a haven for hardy stargazing and astrophotography enthusiasts. While meteors streak through the night, bright planet Jupiter appears immersed in the faint zodiacal glow near the eastern horizon. Follow the zodiacal band toward the zenith to find open star cluster M44 and a yellowish tinged planet Mars near the center of the frame. In fact, serendipitous detections of interplanetary dust by NASA's Juno spacecraft suggest Mars itself is the source of dust that back scatters sunlight and creates zodiacal light in planet Earth's night.

http://ajaytalwar.com/
http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/index.asp

Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260919

09/19/2026
09/19/2026
09/19/2026

The landing location has officially been named for NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission! 🪐

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the global body responsible for officially designating objects in space, has approved a name for the large dune field on Saturn's moon Titan: Ahmakiq Undae.

In the Mayan tradition, people appealed to the spirit Ahmakiq (pronounced “ah-mahk-eek”) to stop strong winds from damaging their crops. This name selected by the Dragonfly team literally translates to the “one who locks up the wind,” while undae comes from Latin gods and goddesses of wind.

Read about Dragonfly's mission, set to launch no earlier than July 2028: https://go.nasa.gov/4roc27Q

09/19/2026
09/19/2026

The late September evening sky features 2 low in the west after sunset. But only one — — is easy to see from the Northern Hemisphere. And Venus currently at its greatest brilliancy, a blazing eerie light low in the western twilight. Meanwhile, on October 12 will be at its greatest distance from the sun on the sky's dome. But, for us on the northern half of Earth's globe, Mercury's distance from the sun is nearly all sideways along our western horizon. So it's tough! But, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, this is your best evening view of Mercury all year.

For more sky events, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide at: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/

09/18/2026

Messier 33: The Triangulum Galaxy (APOD: 2026 Sep 18)
Image Credit & Copyright: George Chatzifrantzis
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260918.html

Explanation: The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, Messier 33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and astronomers in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. As for the view from the Milky Way, this sharp telescopic image shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions along the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 5 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe.

https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeChatzifrantzis/

Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260918

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