The Fort Bend Astronomy Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to the acquisition and dissemination of information pertaining to the science of Astronomy.  Our goal is not only to serve our members, but the general public as well.

FBAC holds monthly meetings and members regularly get together to observe at the George Observatory, a satellite facility of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located within Brazos Bend State Park.

For information about FBAC membership, please visit the About FBAC page.  For directions to the monthly club meeting, click here. For information about our community outreach activities, click here. For information about the FBAC list server click here.  To contact FBAC, send an email to fbacastro@gmail.com.

New club officers were elected during the August 20th meeting. Click here to see the list of 2010-2011 club officers.

The FBAC Novice Presentation - 9/17/10: To be announced

The FBAC Main Presentation - 9/17/10: To be announced

September Astronomy/Space Calendar
(more at JPL Space Calendar)

• Sep 01 - Asteroid 3895 Earhart Closest Approach To Earth (1.772 AU)
• Sep 02 - Cassini, Distant Flyby of Polydeuces & Telesto
• Sep 03 - Asteroid 79896 Billhaley Closest Approach To Earth (2.010 AU)
• Sep 04 - Gonets M2/Cosmos-Rodnik N3 & N4 Rokot KM Launch
• Sep 05 - Asteroid 9007 James Bond Closest Approach To Earth (1.181 AU)
• Sep 06 - Asteroid 4813 Terebizh Occults HIP 2762 (5.2 Magnitude Star)
• Sep 06-10 - Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting 2010 (JENAM 2010),
• Sep 07-11 - 22nd Indian Summer School Of Physics And SPHERE School On Strangeness Nuclear Physics, Rez/Prague, Czech Republic
• Sep 08 - Asteroid 3673 Levy Closest Approach To Earth (1.208 AU)
• Sep 09 - Lecture: Hayabusa and Hayabusa 2 Missions and Space Weathering, Houston, Texas
• Sep 10 - Asteroid 2010 PR10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.090 AU)
• Sep 11 - Moon Occults Venus
• Sep 12 - 40th Anniversary (1970), Luna 16 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample Return)
• Sep 13 - Asteroid 19383 Rolling Stones Closest Approach To Earth (0.971 AU)
• Italy
• Sep 14 - Asteroid 8 Flora At Opposition (8.2 Magnitude)
• Sep 15 - B-Sat 3B/ Eutelsat W3B Ariane 5 Launch
• Sep 16 - Lecture: The Story of the Enceladus Plumes - Is There liquid Water Underneath?, Houston, Texas
• Sep 17 - Asteroid 4147 Lennon Closest Approach To Earth (1.467 AU)
• Sep 17 - Lecture: Mars Science Laboratory - The Search for Habitable Environments, Pasadena, California
• Sep 18 - Asteroid 3354 McNair Closest Approach To Earth (1.237 AU)
• Sep 19 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (18 Degrees)
• Sep 20 -International Symposium on Asteroid Mitigation, College Station, Texas
• Sep 21 - Jupiter At Opposition
• Sep 21 - Uranus At Opposition
• Sep 21 - Asteroid 1541 Estonia Closest Approach To Earth (1.947 AU)
• Sep 21-25 - 40th International Symposium On Multiparticle Dynamics (ISMD 2010), Antwerp, Belgium
• Sep 23 - Autumnal Equinox, 03:09 UT
• Sep 24 - Lecture: Mitigation of Lunar Dust Adhered to Mechanical Parts of Equipment Used for Lunar Exploration, Houston, Texas
• Sep 25 - Asteroid 11650 (1997 CN) Occults HIP 91347 (5.9 Magnitude Star)
• Sep 26 - 5th Anniversary (2005), Cassini, Hyperion Flyby
• Sep 27 - Asteroid 7853 Confucius Closest Approach To Earth (2.735 AU)
• Sep 27-Oct 01 - Workshop: Challenges in Infrared Extragalactic Astrophysics II, Crete, Greece
• Sep 28 - Ismael Bullialdus' 405th Birthday (1605)
• Sep 29 - Comet 31P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 2 Perihelion (3.424 AU)
• Sep 30 - 35th Anniversary (1975), Charles Kowal's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Themisto

FBAC members and friends gather informally each Tuesday evening between 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM at a southwest Houston restaurant just to socialize. FBAC members have been doing this for nearly 20 years. Come join us for dinner and conversation about most anything!

The current location is the Avalon Diner, 12810 SW Freeway (59 near Kirkwood). The Avalon Diner is at the far west end of the Fountains Shopping Center. Off highway 59, take the Kirkwood exit either way.

From 59 north, cross Kirkwood on the service road and enter the Fountains. From 59 south, go up to Kirkwood and loop under the freeway to come back south on the service road and enter the Fountains.
There are a couple of entrances. Go to the far west end near Borders and Sterling Bank. Click here for a map to the location.

Several observing programs are in the works at FBAC. Leonard Ferguson has developed a double star list and Keith Rivich a planetary nebula list.

 The double star list along with rules is available here.

Stay tuned for the planetary nebula list to be published soon.

The double star list by right ascension can be found here.  The original list is still available above.

The globular and planetary files are now available.  Click here for globulars and here for planetaries. Leonard Pattillo's Globular Cluster list is available in .xls format here. Leonard's planetary list in .xls format is here.

The galaxy observing list is now on line.  Click here to download a PDF file.

The Open Cluster Observing List can be obtained in PDF form by clicking here.

Observing forms are available for download here.

HD 10180: Richest Yet Planetary System Discovered