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Contact information: Inside this issue: Info Officer (General Info) – [email protected] Website Administrator – [email protected] Page Julyl Club Calendar 3 Postal Address: Fort Worth Astronomical Society Young Astronomer News 4 c/o Matt McCullar Tandy Hills Party Info 4 5801 Trail Lake Drive Fort Worth, TX 76133 Celestial Events 5 Web Site: http://www.fortworthastro.org (or .com) Interesting Objects 6 Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3eutb22 Twitter: http://twitter.com/ftwastro Abbreviations/Classifications 6 Yahoo! eGroup (members only): http://tinyurl.com/7qu5vkn Cloudy Night Library 7 Officers (2015-2016): of the Month 9 President – Si Simonson, [email protected] 10 Vice President – Tom Roth, [email protected] Monthly AL Observing Club Sec/Tres – Michelle Theisen, [email protected] ISS Visible Passes for DFW 11 Board Members: Monthly Planet Visibility 12 2016-2018 Monthly Sky Chart 12  Bill Nichols  Fed Klich Moon Phase Calendar 13 2015-2017 1st/Last Crescent/Ephem 14  Matt Reed  Phil Stage Conjunctions:Lunar/Planet 15 / Data 16 Cover Photo: NGC 6543 - Cats Eye in June Meeting Minutes 17 , RCOS 16” RC F9, SBIG Fundraising/Donation Info 18-19 STXL-11002 20 That’s A Fact Photo by Eric Coles Full Moon Name 21

Observing Site Reminders: FWAS Fotos 21 Be careful with fire, mind all local burn bans! Dark Site Usage Requirements (ALL MEMBERS): • Maintain Dark-Sky Etiquette (http://tinyurl.com/75hjajy) • Turn out your headlights at the gate! Edi to r : • Sign the logbook (in camo-painted storage shed. Inside the door on the left- hand side) George C. Lutch • Log club equipment problems (please contact a FWAS board member to inform them of any problems) • Put equipment back neatly when finished Issue Contribu- • Last person out:  Check all doors – secured, but NOT locked to rs :  Make sure nothing is left out E r i c Co l e s The Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) was founded in 1949 and is a non-profit 501(c)3 scientific educational organization, and incorporated in the state of Texas. This publication may Pa m K l i ch be copied and distributed for free only. This publication cannot be uploaded or distributed into any media unless it is in its original, full, unaltered, published form. All rights reserved by FWAS. PAGE 2 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

J u ly 2 0 1 7

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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FQ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 FQ FWAS Monthly Tandy APSIG Meeting Hills Starts @ 7pm Prairie Sky Star Party Moon Apogee Ferdinand von Zeppe- lin Birthday (1838) 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Young Astronomers Meeting Starts @ 7pm-9pm George Eastwood Erno Rubik Birth- FM Birthday (1854) (1944) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 FWAS Monthly Meeting Starts @ 7pm LQ  Moon Perigee Roald Amundsen Sir Edmund Hillary Birthday (1872) Birthday (1919) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Amelia Earhart NM Birthday (1897) 30 31 See our full FWAS Event Calendar at: http://www.fortworthastro.com/meetings.html for the latest updates on what our club has scheduled

Click calendar icons above to see details of bright ISS passes this month.

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 3

Young Astronomers Light pollution is so important I wanted to publish more on it. Light pollution is excessive and inappropriate artificial light. The four components of light pollution are often combined and may overlap:

• Urban Sky Glow—the brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas. • Light Trespass—light falling where it is not in- tended, wanted, or needed. • Glare—excessive brightness which causes visual discomfort. High levels of glare can decrease visi- bility. • Clutter—bright, confusing, and excessive group- ings of light sources, commonly found in over-lit e urban areas. The proliferation of clutter contrib- utes to urban sky glow, trespass, and glare. We need to educate our neighbors on it. Check out the Young Astronomers Web Page at: http:// www.fortworthastro.com/young_astronomers.html

Tandy Hills Prairie Sky/Star Party: Astronomy—Community Engagement

After many at the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History, the well-attended, monthly public star parties presented by the Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) have moved to Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Established in 1949, FWAS is one of the first adult amateur astronomy clubs formed in the country and one of the largest with more than 200 active mem- bers.

Members will have several telescopes set up at Tandy Hills for viewing the night sky.

Free & open to the public. All ages wel- come. Family/kid-friendly - No dogs - Cool- ers welcome - Steel City Pops will be on hand More details at the NASA website: https:// nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/event-view.cfm? Event_ID=76024

Star party Etiquette: h t t p : / / www.fortworthastro.com/etiquette.html

WHEN: Second Saturday of every month http://www.tandyhills.org/events/prairie- sky-star-party

PAGE 4 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

CELESTIAL EVENTS THIS MONTH

Jul 01 Sa 02:28 Moon-: 2.9° S

Jul 01 Sa Venus: 43.7° W

Jul 03 Mo 19:59 Aphelion: 1 . 0 16 7 AU

Jul 04 Tu 19:21 Venus-: 6.7° S

Jul 05 We 23:27 Moon Apogee: 4 0 5 90 0 km

Jul 06 Th 22:34 Moon-Saturn: 3.6° S

Jul 08 Sa 05:49 Moon S outh Dec. : 19 . 4 ° S

Jul 08 Sa 23:07 Full M oon

Jul 09 Su 20:33 Mercury-Beehive: 0 .1 ° N

Jul 12 We 00:17 Moon Des cending Node

Jul 13 Th 13:06 Venus-Aldebaran: 3 .1 ° N

Jul 16 Su 14:26 Last Quarter

Jul 19 We 18:37 Moon-Aldebaran: 0.4° S

Jul 20 Th 06:13 Moon-Venus: 2.7° N

Jul 21 Fr 12:09 Moon Perigee: 3 6 1 20 0 km

Jul 21 Fr 17:11 Moon N orth Dec. : 19 . 4 ° N

Jul 23 Su 04:46 New M oon

Jul 24 Mo 19:47 Moon As cending N o de

Jul 25 Tu 03:49 Moon-Mercury: 0.9° S

Jul 25 Tu 05:14 Moon-Regulus: 0 °

Jul 25 Tu 12:07 Mercury-Regulus: 0.9° S

Jul 26 We 18:59 Mars Conjunction

Jul 27 Th 21:41 Delta Aquarid S how er: ZHR = 20

Jul 28 Fr 15:15 Moon-Jupiter: 3.4° S

Jul 29 Sa 22:59 Mercury Elongation: 27.2° E

Jul 30 Su 10:23 First Quarter

Data Source: NASA SKYCAL - SKY EVENTS CALENDAR (* Times are Local) July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 5

INTERESTING OBJECTS Deep Sky* - (NGC 6943) Cat’s Eye Nebula –DSO, (NGC 5866) - GLX, (NGC5879) Galaxy—GLX, (NGC5907) Galaxy-GLX, (Abel 2218) -GLX, Double/Multiple ** - η Draconis , , , Omicron Draconis, Psi Draconis , 16 Draconis , 20 Draconis, , 40 Draconis * - Draco, Boötes, , , , , Asterisms*** - Engagement Ring, Kemble’s Kite, Broken Engagement Ring, Jaws, Do Dz 6, Backwards 5 Lunar Features**** - Archimedes (12,22), Hipparchus (44, 45), Ariadaeus Rille (34)

PAGE 6 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

Media Reviews their nighttime hemispheres. Media reviews by Matt J. McCullar, FWAS

Lights of Mankind: The at It may seem strange to point an astrophotography camera down instead of up, but that's what astro- Night as Seen from Space nauts on board the ISS do. Particularly interesting by L. Douglas Keeney is what we learn about the “Cupola,” a special 360- degree observation platform on the ISS. It was de- “Every book surprises me in some way, but _Lights signed to allow astronauts to look at the Earth, of Mankind_ really threw me for a loop: As long as with seven perfectly flat, ultra-clear borosilicate people have been going into space, we never had windows of 95% transmittance. (Why have a cam- any good photographs of era lens worth thousands the ground taken by as- of dollars if you can only tronauts at night. Any point it through a rotten manned spacecraft in low window?) The windows Earth is traveling so are protected by external fast that it's impossible to shutters when not in use. get a good, steady picture The main window is 31 of nighttime objects; all inches in diameter, mak- you see is a smeared im- ing it the largest window age. All that changed, in space. fortunately, when the In- ternational Space Station (ISS) finally got the tech- Astronauts provide de- nology advanced enough tailed captions for each to solve the problem: ultra-sensitive digital camer- photo. Their work schedules and ground-based as, a capable camera tracking system (similar to weather sometimes conspire against good photos those used on telescopes), and large, crystal-clear of certain regions. Some cities appear here from windows. Now we finally an overhead oblique angle; satellites can't do that, get to see what the astro- Published by Lyons Press – because their cameras point nauts see. only straight down. The ISS's 2012 orbit can't take it everywhere, ISBN 978-0-7627-7755-6 so in some cases the astro- _Lights of Mankind_ shows 282 pages nauts must point and shoot not only cities and metropol- “sideways.” Some captions itan areas all over the world, but also grids of high- provide brief histories of certain regions, explain- ways lit by streetlights, fishing boats at sea, oil ing how the local geography affected human wells, etc. It's difficult to tell if intelligent life exists settlement over time and what created the illumi- on a particular planet by looking at the daytime nated shapes we see. side... but one look at Earth's nighttime side, and no doubt remains. It makes me wonder if our first verifiable evidence of life on will come More than one million astronaut photographs of

from a super-sensitive telescope taking pictures of (Continued on page 8)

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 7

(Book Review—Continued from page 7) nize.

Earth reside on the NASA servers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Only 400 of those made The most stunning image in the book, in my opin- it into this book. Therefore, we get excellent pho- ion, is a time exposure taken from the ISS show- tos on every page. Astronauts download ing the re-entry of STS-135, the final Space Shuttle (literally) up to 300 Earth photographs every day. flight, through the atmosphere below. Because a particular target can pass underneath the ISS in less than 10 seconds, some photos must be carefully planned ahead of time. As much as I enjoy looking at the stars, the Earth is a joy to look at, too. The brightest area on Earth is Las Vegas. The _Lights of darkest areas: oceans, North Korea, the central Mankind_ is outstanding: stunning visuals, and portions of continents (humanity tends to congre- beautifully written. Five sodium-vapor lights out gate near water), and, curiously, runways. Airport of five! runways are kept dark at night to prevent light from blinding pilots. Conspicuous dark shapes within oceans of light are usually parks, runways or lakes. (The semicircular terminals of DFW In- The End ternational Airport are easy to spot, as are bridges over the Trinity River in Dallas.)

Astronauts never tire of looking at the Earth. A child once asked an astronaut if they watch televi- sion in space, and he thought, “Why would I watch TV when I can watch the Earth?” Astro- naut Clayton Anderson writes: “One of the neat- est things for me was to fly over the United States and see the tremendous amount of lights along the eastern seaboard from Maine all the way down to Florida – it was almost like looking at a map of the United States that had been painted neon orange.”

Most astronomers abhor light pollution, but in this case astronauts enjoy these ground-based constellations so much they coined a new phrase: “the unintentional artwork of mankind.” With practice they can readily identify their location over the Earth just by patterns of light they recog- e

If you have an idea for an article, have astronomical related photos or an astronomy pro- ject you’ve done, and you’d like to share or want to contribute to the newsletter in any oth- er way, please contact the editor at [email protected] or through the club’s Yahoo! eGroup forum.

PAGE 8 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017 Constellation of The Month Draco Draco constellation lies in the northern sky. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky. The constellation’s name means “the ” in Latin. Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the gardens of the Hesperides in Greek mythology. Draco is one of the Greek constellations. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer in the 2nd century. It is a circumpolar constellation; it never sets below the horizon for many observers in the northern hemisphere. Draco is the eighth largest constellation in the night sky, occupying an area of 1083 square de- grees. It lies in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -15°. The neighboring constellations are Boötes, , , , , , Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.

Draco belongs to the Ursa Major family of con- stellations, along with Coma Bereni- ces, Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venati- ci, , , , Ursa Ma- jor and Ursa Minor.

Draco has nine stars with known planets and contains one , M102 (NGC 5866). The brightest star in the constellation is . There is one meteor shower associat- ed with the constellation; the .

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July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 9

Draco

ragons in Greek mythol- D ogy that may have in- spired the constellation's name in- clude Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. [6] Hercules killed Ladon during his 12 la- bors; he was tasked with stealing the gold- en apples. The constellation of Hercules is depicted near Draco.[1] In Greco- Roman legend, Draco was a drag- on killed by the goddess Minerva and tossed into the sky upon his defeat. The dragon was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympic gods for ten years. As Minerva threw the dragon, it became twist- ed on itself and froze at the cold North Ce- lestial Pole before it could right itself.[6] Sometimes, Draco is represented as the de- mon son of , Typhon.[6] Traditional Arabic astronomy does not de- pict a dragon in modern-day Draco, which is called the Mother Camels. Instead, two hyenas, represented by Eta Draco- nis and are seen attacking a baby camel (a dim star near ), which is protected by four female camels, represented by Beta Draconis, Gamma Draconis, Nu Draconis, and Xi Draconis. The nomads who own the camels are camped nearby, represented by a cooking tripod composed of Upsilon, Tau, and .[7] In some mythology, Draco had one hundred magnifi- cent heads, guarded the golden apple tree, and was put in the sky as a constellation for protecting the ap- ples with valor. The constellation has been subject to many more myths, but ones that are obscure.

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Text Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/ Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urania%27s_Mirrore

PAGE 10 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

Al Observing Club Highlight Of The Month Caldwell Observing Program Observing Experience LEVEL Intermediate

ntroduction:

I Welcome to the Astronomical Leagues's new Caldwell Observing Program. While made a catalogue of faint fuzzy objects to be avoided when searching for , Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore has made a catalogue of beautiful and interesting objects you should, literal- ly, go out of your way to observe. Two of the obvious objects were never even given NGC designations. A letter from Sir Patrick (below) explains why and how he created the list at his home in Selsey, England, surrounded by his personal observatories.

Rules and Regulations:

To qualify for a Caldwell Award, you need to be a member of the Astronomical League, either through an affiliated club or as a Member-at-Large, and observe and record your observations on The Observers Guide - Deep-Sky Observation Form or a similar form. This form has a place for description and drawing. Only one is required but the detail should be sufficient to convince your society's awards coordinator that you did in fact expend the time and effort to find and, hopefully, appreciate the reason that Sir Patrick selected the object for a place of honor on his list. An image may be added but does not replace the visual ob- servation. Any telescope or binoculars are acceptable, however, computer assisted and Go-To capabilities are not to be used.

Caldwell Observing Program Coordinator:

Susan Rose

655 Bellmore Ave.

East Meadow NY 11554-4708 e (516)640-4433

Email: [email protected]

To receive this certification, you must be a member of the Astronomical League in good standing either through an affiliated astronomy club or as a Member-at-Large.

To receive your certificate and pin, submit your observations to your society's awards coordinator for review and approval, who will then contact the Caldwell Observing Program Coordinator. Members-at-Large should send copies of their records directly to the League Coordinator. Upon verification, your award will be forwarded to your society's representative for presentation, or directly to Members-at-Large.

Be sure to include your name, mailing address, email, phone number, society affiliation or Member-at-Large, and to whom the certification should be sent.

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July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 11

Times and Data are for Fort Worth, Texas Locations Only Data Source: Heavens Above Date Bright- Start Highest point End Pass ness type (mag) Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. 01 Jul -1.4 05:39:38 10° S 05:41:48 17° SE 05:43:58 10° E visible 03 Jul -3.2 05:30:45 14° SSW 05:33:22 49° SE 05:36:32 10° ENE visible 04 Jul -2.0 04:40:38 21° SE 04:41:08 21° SE 04:43:43 10° ENE visible 05 Jul -3.4 05:23:05 20° WSW 05:25:03 52° NW 05:28:15 10° NE visible 06 Jul -3.7 04:32:48 65° ESE 04:32:48 65° ESE 04:35:55 10° NE visible 07 Jul -1.0 03:42:27 15° ENE 03:42:27 15° ENE 03:43:13 10° ENE visible 07 Jul -1.9 05:15:06 14° WNW 05:16:50 21° NW 05:19:24 10° NNE visible 08 Jul -2.7 04:24:40 38° NNW 04:24:40 38° NNW 04:27:24 10° NNE visible 09 Jul -1.0 03:34:11 18° NE 03:34:11 18° NE 03:35:08 10° NE visible 09 Jul -1.0 05:08:01 10° NW 05:08:45 11° NNW 05:09:29 10° NNW visible 10 Jul -1.5 04:16:17 17° NNW 04:16:17 17° NNW 04:18:21 10° N visible 11 Jul -0.7 03:25:41 15° NNE 03:25:41 15° NNE 03:26:27 10° NNE visible 13 Jul -0.4 03:16:58 11° N 03:16:58 11° N 03:17:08 10° N visible 19 Jul -0.6 06:05:15 10° N 06:07:07 14° NNE 06:09:00 10° ENE visible 21 Jul -1.6 05:55:43 10° NNW 05:58:38 30° NE 06:01:33 10° ESE visible 21 Jul -1.8 22:31:47 10° SW 22:32:57 20° SW 22:32:57 20° SW visible 22 Jul -0.6 05:03:41 10° N 05:05:54 17° NNE 05:08:07 10° ENE visible 22 Jul -3.7 21:39:20 10° SSW 21:42:28 47° SE 21:45:36 10° ENE visible 22 Jul -0.6 23:17:07 10° WNW 23:19:06 15° NNW 23:21:04 10° N visible 23 Jul -0.1 04:12:41 10° NNE 04:13:03 10° NNE 04:13:24 10° NE visible 23 Jul -3.8 05:46:40 10° NW 05:49:56 85° NE 05:53:11 10° SE visible 23 Jul -1.5 22:23:31 10° W 22:26:19 26° NW 22:29:07 10° NNE visible 24 Jul -2.3 04:54:14 10° NNW 04:57:18 37° NE 05:00:21 10° ESE visible 24 Jul -3.0 21:30:26 10° WSW 21:33:37 53° NW 21:36:49 10° NE visible 25 Jul -1.1 04:02:04 10° NNW 04:04:33 20° NE 04:07:02 10° E visible 25 Jul -3.1 05:38:07 10° WNW 05:41:01 30° SW 05:43:55 10° SSE visible 25 Jul -0.5 22:16:11 10° WNW 22:17:44 13° NNW 22:19:17 10° N visible 26 Jul -1.0 21:22:17 10° W 21:24:53 22° NW 21:27:29 10° NNE visible 28 Jul -0.4 21:15:19 10° NW 21:16:16 11° NNW 21:17:13 10° NNW visible NOTE: NO bright ISS passes visible in the DFW area, for dates not listed.

PAGE 12 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017 July Sky Chart Fort Worth, TX (32.7555°N, 97.3308°W)

Chart displayed is for July 15, 2017 @ 21:00 Local Time

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 13

PAGE 14 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

First and Last Lunar Crescent Visibility Saturday 22 July 2017 6.2h Moon Lunar Crescent visible, only 22.2 hours before new moon Elongation: 12.6°, 1.4% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 137.9° - crescent points to the lower left, Width of the crescent: 0.40', Length of the crescent: 99°, Moon lower limb relative to sunrise point at sunrise: dalt=8.5° daz=8.1° (i.e. westward), Altitude of moon center at listed time: 4.5°, : 70.6°/ENE, Altitude of : -5.0°, Moon rises at 5h47m, 50 minutes before the Sun (Azimuth: 67°/ENE) The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=+0.125: Crescent visible only under perfect conditions Monday 24 July 2017 21.1h Moon Lunar Crescent visible, 40.3 hours after new moon Elongation: 22.1°, 3.9% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 233.1° - crescent points to the lower right, Width of the crescent: 1.19', Length of the crescent: 145°, Moon sets at 21h42m, 69 minutes after the Sun (Azimuth: 286°/WNW) The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=+0.961 159°, Moon sets at 22h16m, 96 minutes after the Sun (Azimuth: 291°/WNW) The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=+1.758

Data source: https://www.calsky.com

Data source: http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moon2017.html July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 15

Lunar Occultations & Conjunctions of Planets Saturday 01 July 2017

1.1h Moon Close to Jupiter, -2.1mag, with Sun below horizon, Separation=2.84°, Limb separa- tion=2.5951° =5.12 lunar dia., Position angle=149.2° SE, Azimuth az=261.0°, Altitude h=6.1°, RA=12h53.2m Dec= -4°16.8', Moon phase=52.3%, Sun altitude hsun=-33.7°

Thursday 06 July 2017

22.9h Moon Close to Saturn, 0.1mag, Separation=2.57°, Limb separation=2.3207° =4.68 lunar dia., Posi- tion angle=192.5° S, Azimuth az=162.7°, Altitude h=33.3°, RA=17h29.7m Dec=-21°56.1', Moon phase=96.2%, Sun altitude hsun=-22.9°

Thursday 20 July 2017

6.6h Moon Close to Venus, -4.0mag, Separation=3.24°, Limb separation=2.9659° =5.35 lunar dia., Posi- tion angle=342.7° N, Azimuth az=86.0°, Altitude h=34.4°, RA= 5h05.5m Dec=+20°43.6', Moon phase=12.3%, Sun altitude hsun=-0.4°, in daylight, elongation from sun: 41.0°

Monday 24 July 2017

21.4h Moon Close to Mercury, 0.2mag, with Sun below horizon, Separation=4.37°, Limb separa- tion=4.1226° =7.66 lunar dia., Position angle=105.6° E, Azimuth az=279.8°, Altitude h=6.2°, RA=10h03.9m Dec=+11°31.2', Moon phase=3.9%, Sun altitude hsun=-9.9°

Friday 28 July 2017

20.7h Moon Close to Jupiter, -1.9mag, with Sun below horizon, Separation=2.75°, Limb separa- tion=2.4932° =4.86 lunar dia., Position angle=232.7° SW, Azimuth az=231.7°, Altitude h=36.6°, RA=13h03.1m Dec= -5°25.4', Moon phase=34.8%, Sun altitude hsun=-3.0°

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/ PAGE 16 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

July 01

July 15

LOCAL SUNSET July 30

July 01

July 15

July 30 LOCAL SUNSET Data and Image Sources: www.calsky.com

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 17

Club Meeting Minutes— June 2017 Not available at publishing Pam Klich, Secretary-Treasurer

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PAGE 18 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

FWAS Club Fundraiser FWAS is still asking for donations to raise the $3000 to cover the costs of purchasing our new Lunt LS60THa solar telescope and an iOptron ZEQ25 GT mount. We have al- ready used this at some outreach and edu- cational events, and it was a hit! Donations are tax deductible. We are a AmazonSmile is a website operated by Ama- 501(c)3 non-profit zon that lets customers enjoy the same wide organization dedicat- selection of products, low prices, and con- ed to educating and venient shopping features as on Ama- sparking the interest zon.com. The difference is that when custom- in Astronomy and ers shop on AmazonSmile at Space in the public. smile.amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foun- If you would like to dation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligi- help us recoup this ble purchases to the charitable organizations expense, it’s still not selected by customers. too late. You can still To participate, visit AmazonSmile and select donate. Please click Fort Worth Astronomical Society as your the button below or go to the URL shown charity upon log-in. For more information vis- at the bottom. Any it org.amazon.com. The site will remember amount is welcome your charity automatically when you visit and greatly appreci- AmazonSmile to shop. If you are already an ated. Amazon.com user, you can use the same ac- count to log-in to AmazonSmile to shop. You must sign-in to AmazonSmile each time you shop in order for your purchases to count to- wards a donation to your charitable organiza- tion. If you do not have an Amazon account, signing up is free! http://www.fortworthastro.com/donate.html

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 19

Newsletter: The FWAS newsletter, Prime Focus, is published monthly. Letters That’s a Fact! to the editor, articles for publication, photos you’ve taken, per- sonal equipment reviews, or just about anything you would like to have included in the newsletter that is astronomy related should be sent to: [email protected] The Sun burns 600 Meetings: FWAS meets at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the UNT Health Science Center – Research & Education Building, million tons of Room 100; 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd; Ft. Worth. Guests and visitors are always welcome. every second. Outreach: Items regarding FWAS Outreach activities, or requests for FWAS to attend an event, should be sent to: out- Source [email protected] Young Astronomers: Seen a Fireball Lately? FWAS’ youth activities (known as YA!) meet on the 3rd Saturday Report it to the of every month between 7pm and 9pm (check our calendar for time changes throughout the - determined by seasonal sun- American Meteor Society (AMS) set times). This group meets for one hour at the Parkwood Hill Just go to their website at http://www.amsmeteors.org/ HOA Club House - 5573 Eastwedge Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76137. YA! Coordinators: [email protected] and hover your cursor on the Fireball menu item at the top of the page and you will see the link to report a fire- FWAS Annual Dues: $40 for adults / families & households ball. They will ask you several questions in a web ques- $20.00 for students (half-price Dec 1 thru May 31); Membership tionnaire and your observations will be added to the runs June 1st through May 31st. Please make checks payable to: other witnesses for the same event. These will be com- piled and analyzed to determine the location and direc- Fort Worth Astronomical Society tion from which the object entered the atmosphere.

See our Secretary/Treasurer for more info: [email protected]

Cash and checks should be paid in-person at the next indoor meeting, or checks can be mailed in the traditional way. Mem- bers should check the eGroup for the latest postal mailing ad- dress listed by the Secretary/Treasurer. July

Credit card payments (for existing membership renewals only) can be made through our PayPal link (private link is on the club’s “Full Buck Moon” Yahoo eGroup – no PayPal account required).

Discount Magazine Subscriptions: Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and StarDate (McDonald Observa- tory) magazines are available for discounted subscription rates through our association with the NASA Night Sky Network and Source: OId Farmer’s Almanac the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The link can be found on the club’s Yahoo eGroup. (Members Only) Astronomical League Membership: Your FWAS membership gives you associate membership in the At this time, a buck’s antlers are in full growth Astronomical League. This gives you access to earn various ob- mode. This full Moon was also known as the serving certificates through the AL observing clubs. You also re- Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so ceive their quarterly magazine, Reflector. AL Observing clubs: http://tinyurl.com/7pyr8qg frequent during this month.

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PAGE 20 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

(Left) DFW Night from ISS.

(Below Right) M106 . Photo taken by FWAS member Jerry Keith

Have an interesting photo you’ve taken of the sky? Discovered a technique and want to show the results to fellow FWAS mem- bers? Submit your photos to [email protected] or send them in the Yahoo! eGroup to the attention of the news- letter editor. Your participation in showing off your personal astrophotography is greatly appreciated by all FWAS members.

July 2017 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 21

Business Meeting Minutes— May 09, 2017 Pam Klich, Secretary-Treasurer

-2 Board members (replace Matt and Phil)

ttendees: Bill Nichols, Fred Klich, Laura Use of Solar Scope - The Board discussed the use of the solar Cowles, Matt Reed, Michelle Theisen, Pam scope and came up with the following priority for usage: A Klich, Patrick McMahon, Phil Stage, Si Simon- son, Tom Roth --FWAS

Si Simonson called the meeting to order. --The Outreach Coordinator

Discussion Topics --Other FWAS member

Jerry Gardner + Reflector Cover – The club had Jerry’s picture from the Reflector cover framed for presentation at the next Young Astronomers, YA! – Attendance is very low. Will review monthly club meeting on 5/16. in the next few months and determine whether to continue Meteor Evaluation by Rhiannon Mayne, TCU – Si will confirm the program. that the next date with Rhiannon to conduct meteor evalua- Starr Ranch – The access code has been changed. Find the tions for club members will be June 13, 2017 at the school lab. code on the eGroup site. The directions to the ranch need to Stars Over Euless – Si shared open dates in August and Sep- be updated. The shed needs to be cleaned out. Tom will tember but they have not responded yet. check on new vermin repellant.

Ft Worth Library –Si offered the use of the loaner telescope to 2017 Christmas Party – targeting the 1st Saturday of Decem- the library but has not yet heard back. ber which is 12/2/17. Group agreed to reserve the room earli- er this year. Inventory – The group likes the use of pictures in the invento- ry. We will combine the photos and text list. Starr Ranch is Insurance – was renewed. next to be inventoried. Presentations – May-Mike Jones, June-Building Solar Filters, Starr Ranch Toilet – The solar panels and batteries are not July-Si and Bruce Solar Eclipse Review, August-swap meet, providing adequate power. Si will reach out to the club for Sept-Parallel use of binoculars and telescope, Oct-Fred Stellar options. Consider using a wind turbine. Mike Ahner will coor- Spectra, Nov-Dr. Tuttle, Dec-Christmas Party dinate. Ft Davis Property – remains for sale at $19k. Nobel Planetarium Telescope – the transfer paperwork is in Treasurer Report – Michelle reviewed the club finances and progress. Mike Jones to head up the effort for moving the discussed new bank options. Board agreed to convert to Wells telescope to Thompson. Fargo upon election of new treasurer. Phil mentioned the lack Bob Wilbers – Si will invite Bob to attend a Club Meeting again of Wells Fargo locations in Arlington. Laura will re-check loca- and inquire about possible further donations from the charita- tions. Board is in favor depending on the outcome of the loca- ble organization Bob is a member of. tion research.

Business Cards – Si will order more cards, which are used at The meeting was adjourned. FWAS events.

Upcoming FWAS Elections – the board will recruit volunteers for the open positions. The target timeline is to finalize by the May meeting.

The open positions are:

-VP

-Treasurer

e

PAGE 22 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY July 2017

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