Astroverde - Astronomers of Verde Valley - Amateur astronomy club in Northern Arizona

Who Are We?

We are an amateur astronomy club serving the communities of the Verde Valley, Arizona. To learn more about us, click here.

If you are as interested in Astronomy as we are, we hope you will join us at one of our star parties, meetings or guest lectures.

If you would like to become a member of AVV please use the contact information below. We will be happy to assist you.

Here is the Club Brochure.

Astronomers
of Verde Valley

The Digital Collection

A new wave in astro photography is in process with the Astronomers of Verde Valley. Several of the members have acquired digital photographic equipment and are now busy taking and processing images. In the Digital Collection, more and more pictures will be updated on the site as time goes by.

Click here and here for more digital galleries.

Special Events

The Alamo Lake Night Under the Stars event was designated as an Arizona Centennial Event. (02/23/2012)

Click for more info

Another Eclipse photo from April 8th showing the large Sun spot visible. The Sun spot is 25,000 miles across. The insert shows the spot in more detail. Click for a larger view.

Message in a Bottle

A message broadcast from Earth to the globular cluster M13 during the dedication of the Arecibo Observatory in 1974.

Check out our Members Telescopes here: Club Member Telescopes

For those who are somewhat nostalgic, check out our past star party page. Past Star Parties

Our new Solar and Lunar picture page is under progress. See the new page here.

Elsewhere on Our Website:

Observing Tools - Star Charts, Clear Sky Clocks and Topographic maps.

Astronomy Newsfeeds - From NASA, Astrowire, Space.com

Articles - by our very own members.

Astrophotography - see the Astrophoto Galleries.

Focus Sections on Observing Mars, Saturn, Asteroids, Comets and Satellites

News Flash:

The community of Cottonwood has achieved International Dark Sky status by being the 23rd Dark Sky Community in the World. Since 2017, the community has been working towards achieving the status by implementing rules to help keep the night skies dark and protecting this diminishing resource. Cottonwood joins Flagstaff (#1), Sedona (#8), Big Park/VOC (#14), Kaibab Paiute Indian Community (#21), Camp Verde (#20) and Fountain Hills (#17) as IDA Communities. Arizona has more IDA Communities and IDA Dark Sky Parks than any other state or country in the World. These efforts will help keep the nearly 100 commercial telescopes and over 200 private observatories in Arizona seeing the starry skies and universe above.

Click here for more info.

Vandenberg Air Force Base may be nearly 500 miles from the Verde Valley, but if a rocket launch occurs just after Sun Set, the rocket plume can be seen. A low western horizon helps as sometimes Mingus Mountain gets in the way.

And, if you have a very good south western horizon, you may be able to see the 1st re-entry burn as a bright red star heading towards the horizon. The 1st stage will land on the Of Course I still Love You platform barge in the Pacific.

The Blue Horse Head Nebula in Scorpius is captured by member Mike Cadwell. IC 4592 as it is also known is 420 light years from Earth. To see more of Mike's photos, click here.

Karen Maddy instructs the Sedona Parks & Recreation Summer Camp kids how to safely observe the Sun. Click the picture for more AVV Public Outreach.

A recently discovered comet, Lovejoy 2014 Q2 has been moving across the sky over the past couple of months. For more comet pictures click here.

Picture Credit: Robert Mueller

Global SUNday participation

A challenge for astrophotographers this winter is the Witch Head Nebula located in the constellation of Eridanus, the River. The Witch Head Nebula, aka IC 2118, is located near the star Rigel, which is in the constellation of Orion, the Hunter.

This photo was taken October 23rd at 3AM with 82 minutes exposure time.

Pictures from Club Member Larry H.

The Horse Head Nebula, Flame Nebula and other associated nebula located in the Belt of Orion in the Orion Constellation.

Click on picture to expand to full screen

Credit: Larry H.

The recent Lunar Eclipse collage on March 13th and 14th.

Click on picture to expand to full screen

Credit: Larry H.

Pictures from the Partial Eclipse at the Skate Park in Cottonwood. Over 400 were in attendance for this event.

Credit: Richard Bohner

The Diamond Ring effect from Glenrock, WY. Photo by Robert Mueller

The Corona Effect as seen from Glenrock, WY. Photo by Robert Mueller

Click above pictures for large view.

Click here for more eclipse pictures, past and present.

Up coming events

Meetings are the First Wednesday of every Month at the Cottonwood Library. Cottonwood, AZ. 4:00PM to 6:00PM. Public is welcome.

05/01/2025: West Sedona School Star Party. 520 Posse Ground Rd, Sedona. 7PM to 9PM.

05/15/2025: Cottonwood Ranch Senior Star Party. At Cottonwood Ranch Park. 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

06/14/2025: Details not yet available.

10/04/2025: International Observe the Moon Night. Old Town Cottonwood. 7 PM to 9:30 PM.

11/15/2025: 18th Annual Night Under the Stars at Alamo Lake State Park. See link below for more details. Call 928 669 2088 for Cabins, Campsites and information.

https://azstateparks.com/alamo-lake/events/night-under-the-stars-at-alamo-lake

11/05/2025: Monthly Meeting @ Cottonwood Library. 4 PM to 6 PM.

The next Super Moon of 2025 is on October 6th. A Super Moon is a Full Moon that is at its closest distance to the Earth. The Moon can vary in distance from the Earth. It is considered Super when the distance is from 218,000 miles to 225,000 miles. The farthest away the Moon can be is about 254,000 miles. Two more Super Moons will occur on November 5th and again on December 4th.

Click the above picture to enlarge.

____________________________________

Illustration Credit & Copyright: Robert Mueller

Explanation: The Rosette Nebula and its cluster reside in the constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn. This picture was processed in what's called a Modified Hubble Pallet. Using a variety of filters gives it a unique appearance. Click the picture for a larger view.

The Astronomers of Verde Valley are members of the Night Sky Network

Check out the Club's Community Outreach page for their latest activities by clicking here.

News Flash:

Keep up with the progress of Comet Pons-Brooks 21P as it gets closer to the Earth and Sun in 2024. Its closest to the Earth on June 2nd, 2024. But, it will be heading close to the southern horizon. Best views for most of the northern hemisphere will be during May, 2024.

This picture of Pons-Brooks 21P was taken as it passes thru the constellation of Hercules on Oct 18th. The comet at this point is 277 millions away from Earth. It will be as close as as 139 million miles from Earth around the 1st of June, 2024.

Welcome

Who Are We?