This group is the replacement for the Seattle_Astronomy_List group that has now closed. The NW Astronomers group is intended for anyone interested in Astronomy in the Pacific NW region of the United States.

The orignal purpose of Seattle_Astronomy_List group was to help improve communications between individuals interested in astronomy in the Seattle Area and the Pacific Northwest in general. That is still the purpose of this new group, only the name has been changed to reflect the more regional scope of this group.

By no means is this group a replacement for the official email lists of any astronomy group or club, includng the Seattle Astronomical Society (www.seattleastro.org) Those lists should still be considered the official source for information for those groups or clubs, though general announcements may be forwarded from those lists by members of this group.

All members of this group are encouraged to feel free to post astronomy related emails to the list and use the facilites available provided to us all via Yahoo.com, but list management will take a zero tolerance to spam or any other off-topic abuse.

Please enjoy the stars.

The picture of the The Pleiades was taken by group member Alan Tuttle. The Pleiades cluster, also commonly known as the Seven Sisters or Messier 45, is a very bright and beautiful star cluster in the constellation Taurus. The cluster is one of the most recognizable objects in the night sky and can be seen rising in our Fall evenings. The cluster is made up of hot, relatively young stars, and is roughly
440 light years from us. This image was taken early September 2009 from the Lake Chelan area. The picture was taken through an 80mm refractor on a guided equatorial, mount, and is an average of 12, 8 minute exposures.