The Sidereal Times May 2004

The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-0581 www.taas.org 505/256-TAAS(8227) matters in the conference room with my boss. Ten minutes later On the NEWS ourour rreceptionisteceptionist knockedknocked aatt tthehe door.door. David Blair “Channel“Channel 7 fforor DDavid.”avid.” A mmomentoment ttoo ttreasure.reasure. KOAT’s Ellen Goldberg tried some similar shots outside, but I went on a roll as an amateur scientist the week of March 14 wantedwanted mmore.ore. Alas,Alas, mymy belovedbeloved UranopanUranopan waswas 9 milesmiles away,away, butbut through 20, beveling a mirror blank in TAAS’s ATM workshop, wewe ddidid ssurprisinglyurprisingly wellwell ppullingulling uupp ssomeome aastronomystronomy wwebeb ssitesites baggingbagging 6 ccelestialelestial ttrophies,rophies, aandnd wwinninginning 1155 mminutesinutes ooff ffame.ame. fromfrom mmyy ooffiffi c ece c ocomputer.mputer. T hThusus t hthee p hphraserase M iMinornor P lPlanetanet & &C oCometmet AllAll ofof whichwhich tiedtied directlydirectly toto a littlelittle obsessionobsession ofof mine:mine: thethe EphemerisEphemeris S Serviceervice waswas destineddestined t too fl aashsh o ontonto A Albuquerquelbuquerque pursuitpursuit ooff aasteroids.steroids. televisiontelevision forfor thethe fi rrstst ttime.ime. TheThe hunthunt inin progressprogress latelate onon thethe eveningevening ofof MondayMonday thethe “In terms of excitement, is this a 10 for you?” asked 15th15th waswas f fairlyairly typical.typical. InIn mymy backyardbackyard SkySky Kiva,Kiva, mymy trustytrusty Goldberg.Goldberg. UranopanUranopan stoodstood rrockock ssteadyteady iinn a llightight bbreezereeze aass I rretracedetraced mmyy “It“It wouldwould bebe ifif I couldcould seesee it,”it,” I replied.replied. stepssteps throughthrough a ffaintaint starstar fi e leldd nnearear 6611 LLeonis.eonis. NotNot tthehe answeranswer sshehe wwasas llookingooking for,for, andand ontoonto thethe cuttingcutting roomroom ThereThere I rreexaminedeexamined tthreehree ppointsoints ooff llightight fl oooorr i t it we went,nt, a alonglong w withith i inspirednspired c commentsomments o onn t thehe r resourceesource TwoTwo h hoursours earlier,earlier, theythey h hadad formedformed a faintfaint triangletriangle withwith twotwo potentialpotential ofof asteroidsasteroids andand anyany mentionmention ofof mymy credentials.credentials. acuteacute anglesangles andand thethe thirdthird distinctlydistinctly obtuse.obtuse. I hadhad suspectedsuspected OnOn C Channelhannel 7 t thathat e evening,vening, I w wasas fl agaggedged on onlyly a s as a amateurmateur thethe faintestfaintest o off t thehe t three—lesshree—less t thanhan f fourour t timesimes a ass b brightright a ass astronomer;astronomer; oonn CChannelshannels 2 aandnd 44,, iitt wwasas TThehe AAbqbq AAstronomersstronomers Pluto—wasPluto—was 204204 Kallisto,Kallisto, a 32-mile-wide32-mile-wide rockrock aboutabout 150150 millionmillion Society..SoSociety..So wwee havehave somesome wworkork ttoo ddo.o. miles out, well beyond the orbit of Mars. I was confi dent of that OnOn thethe otherother hand,hand, KartalijaKartalija diddid useuse thethe phrasephrase lightlight pollutionpollution onon conclusion,conclusion, butbut nonethelessnonetheless I s strictlytrictly f followollow t thehe fi r srstt r u rulele o f of thethe air,air, andand GoldbergGoldberg usedused somesome fi l ele f footageootage ooff aa TTAASAAS eevent.vent. asteroiding:asteroiding: yyouou hhaven’taven’t sseeneen oonene uuntilntil yyou’veou’ve seenseen itit move.move. SmallSmall victories—butvictories—but mostlymostly a lotlot ofof fun.fun. OnOn t thehe f follow-upollow-up observation,observation, mymy t threehree s specspecs nownow formedformed a AfterAfter ttapingaping tthehe nnews,ews, I rreturnedeturned ttoo tthehe ssolitudeolitude ooff tthehe SSkyky KKivaiva triangletriangle withwith twotwo acuteacute anglesangles andand a virtuallyvirtually perfectperfect rightright angle.angle. toto w wraprap upup thethe week’sweek’s w work.ork. B Byy 1 1:15:15 a a.m..m. t thathat S Saturday,aturday, m myy KallistoKallisto waswas mine.mine. ItIt waswas oneone ofof threethree asteroidsasteroids I cconfionfi r mrmeded t hthatat conficonfi r rmedmed aasteroidsteroid c ocountunt hhadad rrisenisen ttoo 1156,56, bbutut mmostlyostly II wwasas sstilltill night, numbers 151, 152, and 153 in the personal collection I’ve thoroughlythoroughly eenjoyingnjoying thethe afterglowafterglow ofof thethe oneone I nevernever ssaw.aw. gatheredgathered inin thethe pastpast 1010 .years. I waswas pumped!pumped! AsAs iitt tturnedurned oout,ut, I wwasn’tasn’t tthehe oonlynly oneone oonn a rrolloll tthathat nnight.ight. A hundredhundred milesmiles ttoo tthehe ssouth,outh, thethe LINEARLINEAR projectproject spottedspotted 20042004 FH,FH, a 30-meter30-meter asteroidasteroid oonn a brushbrush wwithith thethe Earth.Earth. Three days later it would pass just 4,000 miles above the level of synchronoussynchronous ssatellites.atellites. LLocalocal ttelevisionelevision ppickedicked upup onon thethe storystory andand ffocusedocused oonn tthehe ffactact tthathat FFHH hadhad beenbeen discovereddiscovered fromfrom NNewew Mexico. The Lodestar Astronomy Center got calls wondering if therethere mightmight bbee ssomeoneomeone aavailablevailable ttoo ccomment.omment. “Hmmmmm....“Hmmmmm.... w wonderedondered K Karenaren K Keese,eese, L Lodestar’sodestar’s o operationsperations directordirector andand a formerformer vicevice presidentpresident ofof TAAS.TAAS. CanCan I thinkthink ofof a talkingtalking headhead wellwell versedversed onon thethe subjectsubject ofof ?”asteroids?” SheShe ddid,id, aandnd bblessless hher,er, sshehe bbriefedriefed mmee wwellell aandnd ssentent mmee aann ee-mail-mail link on the subject of FH, which was news to me when she fi rst called.called. Four later, literally as FH passed 26,500 miles above us, JessicaJessica KartalijaKartalija andand crewcrew arrivedarrived atat UniRac,UniRac, Inc.,Inc., lookinglooking forfor expertexpert ccommentaryommentary fromfrom DavidDavid Blair.Blair. WeWe werewere justjust westwest ooff tthehe SunportSunport andand decideddecided toto shootshoot outside,outside, wherewhere v volcanoesolcanoes andand l low-flow-fl y iyingng p planeslanes c couldould b bee c comparedompared i inn sizesize toto thethe asteroid.asteroid. David Blair, a member and past president of TAAS, poses in his Soon Kartalija, who reports for both KOB Channel 4 and KASA backyard Sky Kiva with the Uranopan, a wide-field 6-inch Newtonian ChannelChannel 2 2,, w wasas o onn h herer w way,ay, andand I wentwent onon toto somesome UniRacUniRac he made during ATM workshops in 1998. I N S I D E 1....On the News 4....Calendars 9.... Parties ✩ 2....President’s Message 6....Educational Outreach 10...Observer’s Page 2....General Meeting News 7....TAAS Reports & Notices 12...Minutes of the Board 3....GNTO News & Views 8....NASA Space Place 13...Classifi ed Ads 3....Color The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Dale Murray President’s Message I am by training an electrical engineer so I guess it the night but also and planets in the daylight. justjust followsfollows thatthat oneone ofof thethe aspectsaspects ofof astronomyastronomy thatthat SammySammy LockwoodLockwood usedused SpletzerSpletzer rulingsrulings toto showshow attractsattracts meme isis thethe equipment.equipment. TodayToday therethere seemsseems nono peoplepeople J ,upiter, VenusVenus andand SiriusSirius inin brightbright sunlightsunlight endend toto t thehe v variationariation o onn t typesypes ofof telescopes,telescopes, mountsmounts atat lastlast ’syear’s AstronomyAstronomy .Day. EveryoneEveryone waswas amazedamazed andand relatedrelated equipment,equipment, butbut whatwhat toto meme isis eveneven (except(except forfor thethe radioradio astronomersastronomers fromfrom thethe VLA,VLA, oneone moremore interestinginteresting isis thethe inventivenessinventiveness ofof amateuramateur ofof themthem said,said, “We“We dodo thatthat allall thethe time!”).time!”). SammySammy hashas astronomers.astronomers. ForFor everyevery modelmodel mademade byby TeleVue,TeleVue, eveneven advancedadvanced thethe statestate ofof thethe artart inin Alt-AzAlt-Az protractorprotractor Meade,Meade, C Celestronelestron andand thethe manymany otherother commercialcommercial technologytechnology byby aaddingdding a bbuilt-inuilt-in rreded LLEDED illuminatedilluminated telescopetelescope makersmakers therethere areare countlesscountless innovationsinnovations viewingviewing portport soso thethe rulingsrulings cancan bebe readread inin thethe dark.dark. concoctedconcocted inin thethe fertilefertile mindsminds ofof ourour intrepidintrepid familyfamily OfOf coursecourse oneone wouldwould expectexpect thethe amateuramateur telescopetelescope ofof stargazers.stargazers. makersmakers (ATM)(ATM) groupgroup toto comecome upup withwith somesome greatgreat InnovationsInnovations areare commonplacecommonplace inin amateuramateur astronomy.astronomy. innovations.innovations. RayRay Collins’Collins’ grindinggrinding standsstands areare thingsthings TheThe m majorajor innovationinnovation ofof thethe lastlast couplecouple ofof decadesdecades ofof beauty.beauty. TTubesubes aandnd mountsmounts aarere bbeingeing mademade fromfrom allall thatthat revivedrevived amateuramateur astronomyastronomy isis thethe DobsonianDobsonian sortssorts ofof materials.materials. DoDo notnot thinkthink thatthat thesethese telescopestelescopes telescopetelescope mount.mount. HowHow amazingamazing isis itit thatthat JohnJohn DobsonDobson areare anyany lessless functionalfunctional becausebecause ofof theirtheir humblehumble builtbuilt a w workingorking telescopetelescope outout ofof miscellaneousmiscellaneous junkjunk beginnings.beginnings. ManyMany ofof thethe telescopestelescopes I havehave seenseen andand startedstarted thethe sidewalksidewalk astronomyastronomy movementmovement thatthat producedproduced b byy t thehe A ATMersTMers rivalrival andand eveneven exceedexceed thethe hashas sweptswept thethe countrycountry andand fueledfueled amateuramateur astronomyastronomy performanceperformance ooff allall butbut thethe mostmost expensiveexpensive commercialcommercial everever since.since. I havehave beenbeen witnesswitness toto manymany impressiveimpressive telescopes.telescopes. TheseThese thingsthings areare sturdy,sturdy, functionalfunctional innovationsinnovations withinwithin thethe membershipmembership ofof TAAS.TAAS. JustJust instrumentsinstruments thatthat areare a joyjoy toto use.use. WhileWhile necessitynecessity isis a c coupleouple o off weeksweeks a agogo I l listenedistened toto thethe r rhythmichythmic thethe m motherother ofof inventioninvention andand nono doubtdoubt muchmuch ofof thethe mutteringsmutterings ofof thethe distantdistant left-overleft-over remainsremains ofof a starstar inin innovation developed by amateur astronomers is CassiopeiaCassiopeia onon a radioradio telescopetelescope JohnJohn SefiSefi cckk bbuiltuilt ffromrom drivendriven byby necessitynecessity I aalsolso tthinkhink muchmuch ofof thisthis creativitycreativity anan oldold largelarge TVTV satellitesatellite dish.dish. isis duedue toto pridepride inin craftsmanship.craftsmanship. I cancan speakspeak fromfrom BarryBarry S Spletzer’spletzer’s veryvery lightlight 17.517.5 inchinch featuresfeatures severalseveral experienceexperience t thathat itit b bringsrings muchmuch satisfactionsatisfaction toto splitsplit innovationsinnovations includingincluding curvedcurved woodwood andand trussestrusses thatthat thethe “ “doubledouble double”double” (epsilon(epsilon Lyra)Lyra) withwith a telescopetelescope areare heldheld inin placeplace byby thethe tensiontension ofof thethe SpandexSpandex lightlight mirrormirror thatthat waswas mademade byby one’sone’s ownown handshands usingusing shroud.shroud. AnotherAnother coolcool featurefeature isis thethe protractorprotractor rulingsrulings nothingnothing moremore thanthan twotwo platesplates ofof glassglass andand somesome looseloose hehe a attachedttached toto t thehe s scopecope t too a allowllow i itt t too b bee a aimedimed b byy abrasives.abrasives. SoSo nextnext timetime youyou seesee a coolcool customcustom scopescope altitudealtitude andand azimuthazimuth angles.angles. NotNot onlyonly doesdoes thisthis allowallow askask thethe ownerowner aboutabout itit andand youyou justjust mightmight bebe amazedamazed thethe s scopecope t too b bee a accuratelyccurately aimedaimed atat starsstars duringduring atat howhow muchmuch ofof thethe scopescope isis comprisedcomprised ofof advancesadvances mademade bbyy aann aamateurmateur aastronomer.stronomer.

Heather Mann TAAS General Meeting News

During the TAAS general meeting held on March maximum uncertainty of measurement – then it could 6th,6th, visitingvisiting researcherresearcher Dr.Dr. DavidDavid TeertstraTeertstra (Ph.D.(Ph.D. nevernever returnreturn toto itsits originaloriginal position.position. TheThe HeisenbergHeisenberg UniversityUniversity ofof Manitoba)Manitoba) presentedpresented hishis unifiunifi eedd mmodelodel UncertaintyUncertainty PrinciplePrinciple isis thusthus a statementstatement ofof thethe secondsecond ofof lightlight asas bothboth particleparticle andand wave.wave. ApartApart fromfrom itsits LawLaw ofof Thermodynamics:Thermodynamics: thethe atomatom isis anan eternaleternal manymany theoreticaltheoretical implications,implications, thisthis newnew unifyingunifying wanderer,wanderer, defidefi nninging aa ddirectionirection ooff ttime.”ime.” theorytheory couldcould allowallow forfor thethe determinationdetermination ofof chemicalchemical andand structuralstructural characteristicscharacteristics ofof materialsmaterials wellwell belowbelow There was of course much theory and physics the optical scales currently allowed (limited to about backgroundbackground referencedreferenced throughoutthroughout thethe lecturelecture 1 wavelengthwavelength ofof visiblevisible light).light). Dr.Dr. TeertstraTeertstra explainedexplained andand muchmuch ofof thisthis waswas beyondbeyond mymy understanding.understanding. howhow refractionrefraction ofof lightlight aroundaround individualindividual chemicalchemical However,However, thethe factfact thatthat Dr.Dr. TeertstraTeertstra waswas alsoalso suchsuch anan ionsions ccanan bebe mmeasured,easured, ttherebyhereby eenablingnabling a muchmuch higherhigher accomplished artist, designer and telescope maker opticaloptical resolutionresolution thanthan thatthat allowedallowed byby reflrefl eection.ction. gavegave meme newnew appreciationappreciation forfor justjust howhow universaluniversal lightlight InIn Dr.Dr. Teertstra’sTeertstra’s ownown wordswords “Suppose“Suppose thatthat anan atomatom theorytheory reallyreally cancan be.be. actuallyactually hhasas a fuzzinessfuzziness ofof positionposition – asas opposedopposed toto a Page 2 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 3 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Peter Eschman GNTO News & Views session on March 13 was a little smaller than usual, but Our most recent GNTO committee meeting was held those who made the trip had a great time. I would like to onon FebruaryFebruary 21,21, andand waswas attendedattended byby LarryLarry Cash,Cash, RayRay thankthank LarryLarry CashCash andand NancyNancy DavisDavis forfor makingmaking twotwo passespasses Collins,Collins, KarenKaren Keese,Keese, DaleDale Murray,Murray, GordonGordon PeguePegue andand withwith thethe roadroad draggerdragger onon TwiningTwining lanelane toto smoothsmooth outout thethe PetePete Eschman.Eschman. WeWe reviewedreviewed somesome ofof thethe previousprevious GNTOGNTO bumps.bumps. DaleDale diddid a greatgreat jobjob ofof cookingcooking hamburgershamburgers andand eventsevents andand plannedplanned forfor ourour MarchMarch andand AprilApril events.events. hotdogshotdogs onon thethe charcoalcharcoal grillgrill andand KarenKaren conductedconducted a well-well- OurOur batterybattery bankbank isis workingworking well,well, althoughalthough ourour storagestorage attendedattended cconstellationonstellation tourtour llaterater inin thethe eevening.vening. LLarryarry aandnd capacitycapacity isis somewhatsomewhat reducedreduced withwith fewerfewer batteriesbatteries inin thethe NancyNancy alsoalso ranran a greatgreat presentationpresentation highlightinghighlighting objectsobjects bank.bank. RRoofoof wworkork oonn tthehe mmainain ddomeome isis pprogressing,rogressing, andand wewe inin thethe constellationconstellation ,Leo, andand demonstrateddemonstrated observingobserving hopehope toto havehave itit completedcompleted withinwithin thethe nextnext monthmonth oror so.so. WeWe techniquestechniques usingusing thethe 6”6” GNTOGNTO loanerloaner scope.scope. A Allll told,told, areare waitingwaiting toto hearhear onon thethe statusstatus ofof grantgrant requestsrequests toto HomeHome therethere werewere 9 oror soso G GNTONTO regularsregulars plusplus aroundaround twelvetwelve DepotDepot aandnd ttoo tthehe PPNMNM FFoundation,oundation, aandnd wewe areare planingplaning toto moremore peoplepeople t thathat e enjoyednjoyed thethe picnic,picnic, constellationconstellation tours,tours, initiateinitiate a nnewew grantgrant requestrequest toto IntelIntel forfor equipmentequipment relatedrelated andand GNTOGNTO levellevel 1 trainingtraining sessionsession c conductedonducted byby Dale.Dale. toto ourour videovideo imagingimaging program.program. WeWe havehave scheduledscheduled a ViewingViewing conditionsconditions werewere fairlyfairly goodgood untiluntil aroundaround 12:3012:30 workwork sessionsession forfor GNTOGNTO onon SundaySunday MarchMarch 2828 toto dodo somesome whenwhen mmostost ofof usus startedstarted packingpacking up.up. TheThe newcomersnewcomers toto maintenancemaintenance thatthat isis neededneeded beforebefore ourour springspring events.events. TheThe GNTOGNTO allall ssaidaid theythey hadhad a goodgood ttime,ime, soso I’mI’m suresure theythey willwill workwork sessionsession isis scheduledscheduled toto startstart atat 11:0011:00 A.M.,A.M., soso pleaseplease bebe backback ssoon.oon. comecome andand help.help. Our next scheduled observing events at GNTO include Recent events at GNTO included an observing session on AprilApril 1 100 andand AprilApril 17,17, withwith thethe secondsecond eventevent beingbeing ourour FebruaryFebruary 2121 andand ourour GNTOGNTO OpenOpen House/EquinoxHouse/Equinox PPicnic/icnic/ “new moon” viewing opportunity. Our next Training TrainingTraining sessionsession onon MarchMarch 13.13. TheThe fi rrstst e eventvent w wasas v veryery SessionSession isis scheduledscheduled forfor MayMay 15.15. sparselysparsely attended,attended, probablyprobably duedue toto dismaldismal cloudcloud covercover overover Albuquerque.Albuquerque. DaleDale MurrayMurray andand I drovedrove downdown toto fi nndd JJohnohn If you are thinking about coming down to GNTO, please SefiSefi cckk w a waitingiting a att t thehe o observatory.bservatory. J John’sohn’s rradioadio t telescopeelescope rememberremember thatthat ourour twotwo loanerloaner scopesscopes areare onon easyeasy toto useuse hadhad f fallenallen o overver inin thethe strongstrong windswinds overover thethe previousprevious dobsoniandobsonian m mounts,ounts, a andnd o ourur I Isengardsengard 1 16”6” i iss p providingroviding days,days, soso wwee allall workedworked toto setset thethe radioradio diskdisk backback up.up. JohnJohn somesome reallyreally greatgreat viewsviews thesethese days.days. SinceSince wewe havehave allall thisthis mendedmended a minorminor bendbend inin thethe sideside ofof thethe dish,dish, thenthen treatedtreated greatgreat eequipmentquipment aatt oourur ffacility,acility, yyouou ddoo nnotot nneedeed hhaveave yyourour Dale and I to some very interesting celestial sounds. As ownown equipmentequipment toto enjoyenjoy GNTO.GNTO. TheThe comfortablecomfortable heatedheated sunsetsunset approached,approached, wewe marveledmarveled atat thethe lacklack ofof cloudsclouds OrtegaOrtega BuildingBuilding isis availableavailable forfor socializingsocializing andand ourour GuestGuest overhead,overhead, soso itit waswas timetime toto wanderwander upstairsupstairs andand prepareprepare TrailerTrailer isis availableavailable forfor coffee,coffee, hothot chocolatechocolate aandnd anyany ssnacksnacks thethe IIsengardsengard forfor viewing.viewing. Dale,Dale, JohnJohn andand I hadhad somesome reallyreally youyou wwantant ttoo sshare.hare. greatgreat viewsviews ofof SaturnSaturn usingusing Dale’sDale’s DenkmeierDenkmeier binoviewer,binoviewer, beforebefore thethe cloudsclouds rolledrolled inin aroundaround 9:30.9:30. AtAt thatthat pointpoint wewe GNTO committee meetings are open to all interested TAAS packedpacked upup aandnd hheadedeaded hhome.ome. I ccanan eeasilyasily ssayay tthathat I hhadad tthehe membersmembers andand oourur nnextext scheduledscheduled mmeetingseetings aarere onon MarchMarch bestbest viewsviews ofof SaturnSaturn I havehave everever seen,seen, soso thethe triptrip waswas wellwell 2525 aandnd AAprilpril 222.2. WWee mmeeteet aatt 66:30:30 PP.M..M. aatt tthehe VVillageillage IInnnn worthworth it.it. TheThe moral,moral, ifif therethere isis one,one, isis youyou shouldshould nevernever restaurantrestaurant onon SanSan MateoMateo justjust northnorth ofof Academy.Academy. IfIf youyou havehave underestimateunderestimate thethe possibilitypossibility ofof a clearclear spotspot atat GNTO,GNTO, eveneven questionsquestions aboutabout accessaccess andand availabilityavailability ofof GNTO,GNTO, pleaseplease whenwhen AAlbuquerquelbuquerque isis lookinglooking bleak.bleak. contactcontact m mee (Peter(Peter Eschman,Eschman, [email protected],[email protected], homehome phone:phone: 873-1517).873-1517). I hopehope toto seesee youyou soonsoon atat oourur oobservatory.bservatory. Our turnout for the Open House/Equinox Picnic/Training

COLOR Rebecca Purvis good part of the night. His father thanked me when they From a rock looking out into space.... leftleft andand toldtold meme theythey hadhad a bblast.last. I ttoldold tthemhem tthathat wwasas hhowow itit alwaysalways started.started. TheThe cheapcheap littlelittle scopescope hadhad hookedhooked them.them. Inquiring minds want to know? The scope lives. It was fi x exedd a nandd ppolishedolished upup.. (A( A whilewhile backback Becky’sBecky’s telescopetelescope sufferedsuffered I am thankful now. I have my own equipment and friends somesome damagedamage atat a publicpublic event.event. - Ed.)Ed.) LastLast nightnight itit wentwent toto a I cancan hanghang withwith andand looklook throughthrough theirtheir scopes.scopes. WarmWarm schoolschool starstar partyparty andand showedshowed a lotlot ofof peoplepeople thethe universe.universe. clothesclothes - $200$200 dollars.dollars. GoodGood scopescope - $1000$1000 dollars.dollars. LookingLooking PolitePolite onesones - ifif notnot a littlelittle loud,loud, I mightmight add.add. A smallsmall boyboy throughthrough a binoviewerbinoviewer (that(that I don’tdon’t havehave thethe moneymoney forfor atat andand hishis fatherfather camecame upup beforebefore thethe partyparty andand askedasked ifif I thisthis time)time) withwith mymy friendsfriends -priceless.-priceless. SeeingSeeing DaleDale andand couldcould hhelpelp tthemhem setset upup a scope.scope. “But“But ofof course.”course.” saidsaid I.I. I GordonGordon llookook aatt tthehe mmoonoon wwithith bbinosinos aandnd themthem tellingtelling eacheach putput ddownown mymy boyboy scoutscout mmadeade hhotdogotdog aandnd lookedlooked aatt tthehe otherother thatthat theythey couldcould seesee thethe moonmoon lightlight onon thethe backback ofof thethe telescope.telescope. ItIt waswas a cheapcheap littlelittle refractor.refractor. ItIt lookedlooked a lotlot likelike otherother one’sone’s headhead (implying(implying emptyempty heads),heads), andand thethe lightlight thethe oneone I startedstarted withwith inin mymy earlyearly teens.teens. I spentspent awhileawhile comingcoming outout ooff ears,ears, etc.etc. - totallytotally priceless.priceless. TheThe binosbinos givegive gettinggetting tthehe fi n dnderer sscopecope aalignedligned aandnd sshowinghowing tthemhem hhowow ttoo a feelingfeeling ofof fl ooatingating iinn sspace.pace. WWhathat aa wwonderfulonderful ttoy…..oy….. aandnd workwork everything.everything. I hadhad themthem setset upup nextnext toto me.me. TheyThey foundfound theythey letlet meme look.look. JupiterJupiter onon theirtheir ownown andand hadhad a lineline likelike thethe restrest ofof usus forfor a Page 2 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 3 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 M a y 2 0 0 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday News Flash, Stop the Presses SunRise & SunSet Planet Rise & Set for May 15, 2004 1 Breaking News: May 1, 2004 05:14/18:53 Mercury 03:57/16:44 Saturn 08:02/22:26 General Meeting Messier Marathon Dress Rehearsal May 15, 2004 05:02/19:04 Venus 06:43/21:41 Uranus 01:33/12:41 a huge success! OverOver fortyforty peoplepeople attendedattended lastlast night’snight’s (March(March May 31, 2004 04:53/19:16 Mars 07:32/22:10 Neptune 00:25/10:52 20th)20th) gear-upgear-up forfor thethe MessierMessier Marathon.Marathon. Jupiter 12:43/01:45 Pluto 20:35/07:16 EquipmentEquipment wwasas dusteddusted off,off, vehiclesvehicles werewere loaded,loaded, andand checklistschecklists werewere completedcompleted . . . unfortunatelyunfortunately thet2he windwind diddid n notot cooperate!co3operate! C Complementaryompleme4ntary 5 6 7 8 windwind checkschecks w wereere i issuedssued forfor A Aprilpril 1717 (a(a windwind ATM Workshop 7P.M. UNM Oak Flat checkcheck iiss likelike a rainrain ccheck,heck, oonlynly mmuchuch ddrier).rier). SSoo hanghang oonn ttoo tthosehose cchartsharts andand cchecklists,hecklists, becausebecause Valley High School thethe eventevent h hasas b beeneen r rescheduledescheduled f foror o ourur “ “newnew Full moon” observing session on April 17-18. TheThe ManagementManagement 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Mother’s Day Desert Sunset UNM GNTO Training Star Party (see page 9) Last Qtr

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Prude Ranch TX StarParty ATM Workshop 7P.M. UNM Chaco (see page 9) Valley High School July Sidereal Times New Deadline

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 GNTO Committee Meeting UNM Memorial 30 Day 31 First Qtr

Event #2: NIGHT OF THE TRANSITS ASTRONOMY EXTRAVAGANZA WHAT: A star party featuring telescope viewing of the shadow-transits of threethree ooff JJupiter’supiter’s mmajorajor mmoons.oons. EEachach mmoon’soon’s sshadowhadow mmayay bbee oobservedbserved aass iitt ALBUQUERQUE - The LodeStar Astronomy Center and The movesmoves aacrosscross Jupiter’sJupiter’s surface.surface. TheThe eventevent endsends withwith a triple-shadow-transit,triple-shadow-transit, AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque A Astronomicalstronomical S Societyociety ( (TAAS)TAAS) willwill presentpresent back-back- wherewhere a allll t threehree moonmoon s shadowshadows m mayay b bee s seeneen s simultaneously,imultaneously, w weather-eather- to-backto-back astronomyastronomy specialspecial eventsevents onon thethe eveningevening ofof Saturday,Saturday, permitting. MarchMarch 227.7. LodeStarLodeStar willwill offeroffer “Five“Five EasyEasy Planets”,Planets”, a celebrationcelebration WHERE: UNMUNM CCampusampus OObservatory,bservatory, YYaleale jjustust nnorthorth ooff LLomasomas ofof tthehe aalignmentlignment ooff aallll fi v eve n anaked-eyeked-eye p lplanets.anets. T ATAASAS w iwillll p rpresentesent WHEN: SSaturday,aturday, MMarcharch 227.7. TThehe sshadow-transithadow-transit ooff tthehe mmoonoon CCallistoallisto bbeginsegins a “Night“Night ooff tthehe TTransits”ransits” starstar party,party, a rarerare opportunityopportunity toto viewview a atat 1010 P.M.;P.M.; thethe shadow-transitshadow-transit ooff tthehe mmoonoon IIoo bbeginsegins atat 12:3012:30 AA.M.;.M.; aandnd triple-shadow-transittriple-shadow-transit ofof Jupiter’sJupiter’s moons.moons. thethe t triple-shadow-transitriple-shadow-transit beginsbegins atat 1 A.M.A.M. whenwhen Ganymede’sGanymede’s shadow-shadow- transittransit begins.begins. Event #1: FIVE EASY PLANETS COST: Free WHAT: Telescope viewing of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,Jupiter, a andnd S Saturn;aturn; n newew p planetariumlanetarium s showshows f featuringeaturing t thehe For information on either event, call 841-5972 or 261-0040. planets;planets; entertainingentertaining activitiesactivities forfor kids;kids; a andnd p planetarylanetary funfun facts.facts. TelescopeTelescope viewing,viewing, alongalong MountainMountain RoadRoad andand inin thethe The LodeStar Astronomy Center, located in Old Town Albuquerque, is a observatory,observatory, isis weather-permitting;weather-permitting; allall otherother programsprograms areare UniversityUniversity ofof N Newew M Mexicoexico p projectroject i inn p partnershipartnership w withith t thehe N Newew M Mexicoexico rain-or-shine.rain-or-shine. TheThe C Caféafé SensationsSensations restaurantrestaurant andand thethe MuseumMuseum ofof NaturalNatural HHistoryistory & SScience.cience. TheThe CenterCenter includesincludes a planetarium,planetarium, StarWorks astronomy gift shop will both be open. motion-simulationmotion-simulation t theater,heater, o observatory,bservatory, e exhibitxhibit g gallery,allery, a andnd a astronomystronomy WHERE: LodeStarLodeStar AstronomyAstronomy C Center,enter, a att thethe MuseumMuseum ofof store.store. ForFor iinformation,nformation, ccallall 5505-841-5955.05-841-5955. NaturalNatural HHistory,istory, 11801801 MMountainountain RoadRoad NW,NW, OldOld Town.Town. WHEN: Saturday,Saturday, M Marcharch 2 27,7, 6:306:30 toto 9 P.M.P.M. MercuryMercury isis onlyonly The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TAAS) is a non-profi t organization visiblevisible untiluntil 7 P.M.P.M. PlanetariumPlanetarium showsshows beginbegin atat 7,7, 7:30,7:30, andand 8 andand oneone ofof thethe largestlargest amateuramateur astronomyastronomy ggroupsroups iinn tthehe ccountry.ountry. ItsIts historyhistory P.M. datesdates bbackack toto thethe 1950’s.1950’s. TheThe missionmission ofof TAASTAAS isis publicpublic astronomyastronomy outreachoutreach COST: $5 for adults, $2.50 for kids ages 3 to 12. andand eeducation.ducation. ForFor information,information, callcall 505-254-TAAS.505-254-TAAS. Page 4 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 5 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 J u n e 2 0 0 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday SunRise & SunSet 1 2 3 4 5 June 1, 2004 04:51/19:13 Board Meeting 7 P.M. General Meeting June 15, 2004 04:50/19:19 ( P & A Bldg.) June 30, 2004 04:53/19:22 Full

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Oak Flat Last Qtr

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Lowell Obsevatory August Sidereal Times GNTO Star Party Deadline (see page 9) New

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Summer Solstice GNTO Committee Meeting First Qtr

27 28 29 30 Planet Rise & Set for June 15, 2004 Mercury 04:32/19:04 Saturn 06:17/20:35 Venus 04:16/18:16 Uranus 23:32/10:41 Mars 07:05/21:24 Neptune 22:23/08:49 Jupiter 10:53/23:45 Pluto 06:26/05:07 ATM Workshop TAAS General Meeting N o t e s TAAS = The Albuquerque Astronomical Ray Collins/Mike Pendley Society. Hotline 254-TAAS (8227). [email protected] Saturday,April 3, 2004 GNTO = General Nathan Twining. TheThe AmateurAmateur TelescopeTelescope MakingMaking 7 : 0 0 P . M . GNTO Training = GNTO Observing and WorkshopWorkshop meetsmeets thethe fi rrstst a andnd t thirdhird Training . WednesdaysWednesdays ofof eacheach monthmonth atat ValleyValley Regener Hall - UNM Campus UNM = University of New Mexico HighHigh S School,chool, 1 1505505 C Candelaria—theandelaria—the Observatory. Call the TAAS hotline @254- northnorth sideside ofof Candelaria,Candelaria, justjust westwest ofof 8227, or the UNM hotline @ 277-1446 to 12thth s street.treet. T Thehe m meetingseetings b beginegin a att 7 confi rm, or [email protected]. P.M.P.M. andand areare inin BuildingBuilding E,E, RoomRoom #3.#3. Subject & Speaker ACSA = Albuquerque Coffee Shop Astronomers. Contact Sammy Lockwood for to be announced information or visit www.taas.org and select sidewalk astronomy. ATM = Amateur Telescope Making. Call Michael Pendley for information @ 296-0549, or [email protected]. P & A = UNM Physics and Astronomy. Corner of Lomas and Yale. = School Star Party.

Page 4 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 5 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Sammy Lockwood Educational Outreach TAAS Owns an Please Join us on Thursday, April Sammy Lockwood. 8th,8th, atat KitKit CarsonCarson Elementary,Elementary, 19211921 3/11/043/11/04 - S.Y.S.Y. JacksonJackson ElementaryElementary H-Alpha Scope ByronByron AvenueAvenue SW,SW, andand againagain onon - A cloudy,cloudy, windywindy day,day, turnedturned intointo Thursday,Thursday, AprilApril 15,15, atat AlamedaAlameda high-thinhigh-thin clouds,clouds, andand a busybusy nightnight Elementary,Elementary, 412412 AlamedaAlameda NW,NW, forfor ofof starstar gazing,gazing, asas 250+250+ studentsstudents andand After waiting over 2 months while ourour lastlast eventsevents ofof thethe year.year. BecauseBecause parentsparents peeredpeered throughthrough 5 scopes.scopes. onon backorder,backorder, TAASTAAS EducationalEducational ofof t thehe l lateate sunset,sunset, a solarsolar fi llterter TelescopeTelescope docentsdocents includedincluded JohnJohn OutreachOutreach n nowow ownsowns a CoronadoCoronado wouldwould bebe h handyandy atat thesethese e events.vents. Laning,Laning, JayJay Harden,Harden, LarryLarry Cash,Cash, MaxScope 40, H-alpha telescope. MapsMaps andand directionsdirections areare postedposted atat DaleDale MurrayMurray andand S Samam L Lockwood.ockwood. ThisThis twotwo pound,pound, unpoweredunpowered scope,scope, www.taas.org. DemosDemos werewere handledhandled byby RebeccaRebecca setssets upup inin minutes,minutes, andand providesprovides Purvis,Purvis, BarryBarry Spletzer,Spletzer, BrockBrock fantastic,fantastic, highhigh contrastcontrast viewsviews ofof In addition, we have tentatively ParkerParker andand SammySammy Lockwood.Lockwood. solarsolar details.details. scheduledscheduled anan eventevent a HopeHope ChristianChristian SchoolSchool forfor Thursday,Thursday, 3/18/04 - Eastern Hills Christian The scope was purchased with AprilApril 2 22,2, atat thethe requestrequest ofof JayJay Academy - An absolutely perfect fundsfunds p providedrovided inin a grantgrant fromfrom Harden.Harden. TheThe websitewebsite willwill havehave nightnight forfor a starstar partyparty drewdrew SandiaSandia Labs,Labs, andand willwill primarilyprimarily updates on the Hope Christian hugehuge c crowdsrowds a andnd lotslots o off TAASTAAS bebe ususeded forfor EducationalEducational Outreach.Outreach. event. volunteersvolunteers forfor thisthis successfulsuccessful event,event, Solar shows are already planned thatthat includedincluded TAAS,TAAS, Lodestar,Lodestar, andand forfor MadisonMadison MiddleMiddle SchoolSchool andand Starfi re. Over 350 kids and parents Griegos Elementary. enjoyedenjoyed viewsviews throughthrough 9 scopes.scopes. TAASTAAS docentsdocents includedincluded JohnJohn Wrap-Up Reports Laning,Laning, JayJay Harden,Harden, LarryLarry Cash,Cash, DaleDale Murray,Murray, SammySammy Lockwood,Lockwood, TAAS Outreach Wrap-Ups 2/26/04 - Inez Elementary - RebeccaRebecca P Purvis,urvis, BarryBarry Spletzer,Spletzer, AnAn impromptuimpromptu starstar partyparty waswas BrockBrock ParkerParker andand BobBob Hufnagel.Hufnagel. Our Educational Outreach arrangedarranged byby anan InezInez parentparent andand program concludes this month, TAASTAAS membermember GaryGary Harms.Harms. AboutAbout Additional photos of these events 7575 k kidsids andand parentsparents attendedattended thisthis areare atat www.taas.org/education/www.taas.org/education/ withwith twotwo eventsevents planned,planned, andand a 3rd3rd beautiful,beautiful, warmwarm night.night. DocentsDocents pending.pending. includedincluded Gary,Gary, BarryBarry Spletzer,Spletzer, andand

Dale Murray (left) handles the long line at SY Jackson

Jay Harden (left) works the crowd

Page 6 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 7 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Shannon Mann T A A S R e p o r t s & N o t i c e s Membership ServicesM e m b e r s h i p S e r v i c e s F u l l C o l o r Sidereal Times Location, Location, Location N o w A v a i l a b l e • Chaco Canyon• 6185’6185’ elevationelevation Barry Spletzer Latitude Longitude 36˚36˚ 01’01’ 50”N50”N 107˚107˚ 54’54’ 36”W36”W In a sweeping move to provide top quality communiquescommuniques t too o ourur m membersembers w whilehile conserving our precious resources, TAAS 36.03˚ -107.91˚ isis pleasedpleased toto re-announcere-announce thethe availabilityavailability 36˚ 1.83’ -107˚ 54.60’ ofof tthishis newsletternewsletter thethe SiderealSidereal TTimesimes inin fullfull color. That’s right, catch the blush of the • Oak Flat• monthlymonthly s speaker,peaker, t thehe b bluelue e eyesyes a andnd r reded 7680’ elevation hairhair ofof thatthat cutecute 6-year-old6-year-old atat thethe SchoolSchool Latitude Longitude StarStar Party,Party, thethe depthdepth andand vibrancevibrance ofof allall 34˚ 59’ 48”N 106˚106˚ 19’19’ 17”W17”W thethe full-colorfull-color illustrations.illustrations.

The catch is that the full-color version 34.99˚ -106.32˚ is only available at our website: 34˚ 59.80’ -106˚ 19.28’ www.taas.org.www.taas.org. IfIf youyou preferprefer toto downloaddownload P.O. Box 50581 Albuquerque, NM andand readread youryour newsletternewsletter onon youryour • UNM Campus Observatory• computercomputer rratherather thanthan receivereceive a paperpaper copycopy 5180’5180’ elevatonelevaton byby mail,mail, ppleaselease notifynotify thethe TAASTAAS treasurer,treasurer, Latitude Longitude ShannonShannon M Mannann a att t [email protected]@taas.org Dial 254-TAAS for Updates toto havehave youryour namename removedremoved fromfrom thethe 35˚ 5’ 29”N 106˚106˚ 37’37’ 17”W17”W The TAAS hotline is now bigger and SiderealSidereal T Timesimes m mailingailing list.list. ThisThis willwill better!better! TheThe hotlinehotline nownow offersoffers updatesupdates provideprovide youyou withwith thethe newsletternewsletter ofof youryour 35.09˚ -106.62˚ onon T TAASAAS monthlymonthly meetingsmeetings (press(press 1),1), choice,choice, savesave TAASTAAS money,money, andand earnearn youyou 35˚ 5.48’ -106˚ 37.29’ TAASTAAS specialspecial eventsevents (press(press 2),2), aandnd TTAASAAS thethe uundyingndying (okay,(okay, maybemaybe slowlyslowly dying)dying) schoolschool starstar partiesparties (press(press 3).3). IfIf youyou havehave gratitudegratitude ooff oourur SSidid TTimesimes pprinterrinter – mme.e. To convert from Degrees, Minutes, a specialspecial TAASTAAS eventevent thatthat youyou wouldwould likelike Seconds:Seconds: toto a announcennounce o onn t thehe h hotline,otline, e e-mail-mail y yourour Loss in Longtime Divide seconds by 60, then add announcement to [email protected] Member’s Family minutes,minutes, thenthen dividedivide byby 6060 again.again. I regretregret toto informinform everyoneeveryone thatthat MarkMark ForFor securitysecurity reasons,reasons, GNTOGNTO locationlocation Our Next Academy Nagrodsky’sNagrodsky’s wifewife ofof 2727 years,years, Martha,Martha, isis availableavailable byby rrequestequest only,only, soso pleaseplease lostlost herher battlebattle w withith cancercancer t thishis lastlast contactcontact P Peteete EschmanEschman forfor GNTOGNTO Award Winner? information. weekend. As you can imagine, Mark Courtesy Pete Eschman isis devastated.devastated. HeHe askedasked meme toto passpass While I was out at GNTO I did a short alongalong tthehe nnewsews toto TAASTAAS membersmembers onon digital movie entitled “Searching hishis behalf.behalf. U NM Re p o r t forfor ET”.ET”. ThisThis isis kindkind ofof a hobbyhobby ofof Jay Harden, UNM Campus Observatory mine.mine. Well,Well, itit waswas acceptedaccepted atat NewNew Services were held at the Jehovah’s YorkYork InternationalInternational FilmFilm FestivalFestival forfor Witness Kingdom Hall on Los Lentes Coordinator screening in April. I do not have the RoadRoad inin LosLos Lunas.Lunas. YouYou areare welcomewelcome [email protected] exactexact ddates.ates. IfIf anyany ofof thethe membershipmembership to make a donation to support the 20 Feb: Becky and I arrived around happenhappen toto bebe inin NewNew YorkYork aroundaround buildingbuilding ofof a KingdomKingdom HallHall inin BBelen.elen. 6:00P.M.6:00P.M. underunder 100%100% clouds.clouds. AroundAround thatthat ttimeime I sshouldhould hhaveave pplentylenty ooff ffreeree SendSend to:to: 7:15 P.M. we gave up and left. tickets.tickets. I wwillill lletet yyouou kknownow tthehe eexactxact Belen Congregation of Jehovah’s datedate andand time.time. WitnessesWitnesses BuildingBuilding FundFund 27 Feb: Same results as the 20th. c/oc/o TimTim BlackBlack John Sefick 505 South 12th Street 5 Mar: A clear but a cool night. We Belen NM 87002 hadhad 1122 viewers.viewers. Docents:Docents: Becky,Becky, DaleDale Editor’s Note & Jay. Our thoughts are with Mark at this Please note that the deadline for the June 2004 veryvery diffidiffi ccultult t time.ime. A sAs m a manyny o f ofyo u you 12 Mar: Mostly cloudy all day but issue of the Sidereal Times will be Friday, April 16th,16th, asas thethe fi ninishedshed m manuscriptanuscript m mustust b bee a att know,know, hehe p putut hishis telescopetelescope b business,usiness, startedstarted toto clearclear aroundaround 6.006.00 P.M.P.M. ByBy thethe printersprinters beforebefore Monday,Monday, A Aprilpril 19th,19th, soso NMNM AAstronomical,stronomical, onon holdhold forfor thethe pastpast 7:307:30 iitt waswas mostlymostly clearclear withwith a breeze.breeze. thatthat yyouou willwill rreceiveeceive iitt bbyy ee-mail-mail thatthat dayday oror 3 mmonthsonths toto carecare forfor hishis wifewife aroundaround WeWe hadhad 1 111 v viewers.iewers. ByBy 8:308:30 i itt waswas byby s-nails-nail mmailail tthehe ffollowingollowing SSaturday.aturday. MMyy ee-- the clock. He is hoping to resurrect it 100%100% cloudycloudy againagain soso wewe departed.departed. mailmail addressaddress iiss [email protected]@taas.org. whenwhen hhee iiss eemotionallymotionally aableble ttoo dodo so.so. Docents.Docents. DDale,ale, BBeckyecky & JJay.ay. Page 6 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 7 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 NASA’s Space Place Second, the great distance also meansthat data beamed back by the probeprobe trickles to Earth at a lower bandwidth-often much less than an old 28.8 kbps modem. Waiting for hundr hundredseds or thousands of multi-megabyte scientifi c images to download could take weeks. And often many of those images will be “boring,” that is, they won’t contain anything new or important for scientists to puzzle over.over. That’s certainly not the most effi cientcient wayway ofof using a multi-million dollar probe.probe.

Even worse, what if one of those images showed something extremely “interesting”-a“interesting”-a rarerare event like a volcanic eruptioneruption or an unexpected featurefeature like glaciers of methane ice? By the time scientists see the images, hours or days would have passed, and it may be too late to tell the prprobeobe to take a closer look. The Autonomous Sciencecraft technology that will be tested as part of NASA’s Space Technology 6 mission will use artificial intelligence to But how can a probe’s computer brain possibly select and transmit only the scientifically significant images. decide what’s “interesting”“interesting” to scientists and what’s not? Sciencecraft “What you really want is a probe that can identify changes or unique featuresfeatures and focus on those Patrick L. Barry and Tony Phillips things on its own, rather than just taking images indiscriminately,”indiscriminately,” says Arthur Chmielewski, one Probes that can distinguish between “interesting” of Chien’s colleagues at JPL. things and “boring” things areare vital for deep space exploration, say JPL scientists. Indeed, that’s what Chien’s software does. It looks for things that change. A mission to Jupiter’s Along with his colleagues in NASA’s Space icy moon Eur Europa,opa, for instance, might zer zeroo in on TechnologyTechnology 6 ProjectProject (ST6), JPL’sJPL’s Steven Chien newly-formed cracks in the ice. Using artifi cialcial is working to develop an artifi cialcial intelligence intelligence intelligence to set priorities, the pr probeobe could technology that does just that. They call it the capturecapture a complete movie of growinggrowing fracturesfractures Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment, and it’s rather than a single haphazardhaphazard snapshot. one of many next-generation satellite technologies emergingemerging fromfrom NASA’sNASA’s New Millennium Until scientists can actually travel to deep space Program. and explorexploree distant worlds in person, they’ll need spacecraft “out there”there” that can do some of the As humanity expands its exploration of the outer thinking for them. Sciencecraft is leading the way.way. solar system-or even neighboring solar systems!- the probesprobes we send suffersuffer fromfrom two unavoidable Learn more about Sciencecraft at nmp..gov/ handicaps. First, commands radioed by mission st6.st6. KidsKids cancan makemake a “Star“Star Finder”Finder” forfor thisthis monthmonth scientists on Earth take a long time to reachreach the and learn about another of the ST6 technologies at probe:probe: six hours for the planned New Horizons spaceplace.nasa.govspaceplace.nasa.gov st6starfist6starfi nnder/st6starfider/st6starfi n dnder.htmer.htm mission to Pluto, for example. . Page 8 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 9 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 ✩ T A R Southern New Mexio Star Party S The fourth semi-annual Southern New Mexico Star Party is only

P fourfour w weekseeks a andnd o onene d dayay o off.ff. T Thishis d darkark s skyky e eventvent i iss h heldeld a att C Cityity

!

A ofof RocksRocks StateState ParkPark whichwhich wewe feelfeel isis thethe darkestdarkest statestate parkpark inin

S southwesternsouthwestern NNewew MMexico.exico.

R E I ✩T Registration forms are available on line at www.Astronomy- National-Public-Observatory.orgorNational-Public-Observatory.orgor ee-mail-mail mmee aatt [email protected]@zianet.com andand I wwillill ssendend youyou a currentcurrent newsletternewsletter whichwhich hashas a registrationregistration formform includedincluded withwith it.it. LOWELL OBSERVATORY ANNOUNCES The SNMSP runs for three days from Thursday April 15th ending atat noonnoon onon SSundayunday AprilApril 18th.18th. WeWe holdhold thethe eventevent inin thethe reservationreservation 2ND ANNUAL STAR PARTY areaarea whichwhich hashas severalseveral ccampamp sites,sites, getsgets usus awayaway ootherther ccampers,ampers, andand hashas a clearclear southernsouthern horizon.horizon. WeWe alsoalso havehave a largelarge pravillionpravillion atat thethe When: June 17-20, 2004 sitesite whichwhich givesgives usus a areaarea wherewhere wewe storestore ourour geargear incaseincase itit rains.rains. Where: Lowell Observatory ElectricElectric sitessites areare a fewfew hundredhundred feetfeet downdown thethe roadroad ifif youyou wantwant 14001400 W.W. MMarsars HillHill Road,Road, Flagstaff,Flagstaff, ArizonaArizona RVRV it.it. WeWe collectcollect forfor campingcamping oror dayday useuse forfor thethe eventevent andand badgebadge FullFull ddetails:etails: http://kraken.lowell.eduhttp://kraken.lowell.edu vehiclesvehicles aandnd aattendeesttendees fforor tthehe eevent.vent. The Lowell Observatory Star Party II unfolds from June 17-20 at the Hope we see you there. Observatory’sObservatory’s MarsMars HillHill campuscampus withwith observingobserving atat nearbynearby ArizonaArizona Snowbowl.Snowbowl. HHighlightsighlights iincludenclude oobservingbserving oonn tthehe 224”4” CClarklark TTelescope,elescope, John Gilkison ✩ tourstours o off t thehe U U.S..S. N Navalaval O Observatorybservatory a andnd L Lowellowell O Observatory’sbservatory’s NPONPO PPresidentresident AndersonAnderson MMesaesa ddarkark sskyky rresearchesearch ssite,ite, sspecialpecial ttalksalks bbyy aastronomers,stronomers, aann astronomyastronomy mmarketplace,arketplace, andand Lowell’sLowell’s sspectacularpectacular multimediamultimedia sshow.how. Enchanted Skies Star Party Kenneth Herkenhoff from USGS will present “Mars Rovers,” with the Gets Bigger and Better latestlatest ffromrom SSpiritpirit aandnd Opportunity,Opportunity, bbyy a UU.S..S. GGeologicaleological SSurveyurvey sscientistcientist directlydirectly iinvolved.nvolved. TalksTalks byby LowellLowell astronomersastronomers willwill include:include: “Recent“Recent The Enchanted Skies Star Party, acclaimed for its excellent dark skies and outstanding ,”Comets,” hearhear a aboutbout t twowo 2 2004004 cometscomets byby expertexpert D Davidavid Schleicher;Schleicher; daytimedaytime programsprograms forfor thethe pastpast decade,decade, isis expandingexpanding toto a fi vve-daye-day sschedulechedule fforor 22004004 ttoo “Killer“Killer AAsteroids,”steroids,” bbyy BBrianrian Skiff,Skiff, anan updateupdate onon thethe productiveproductive LowellLowell makemake roomroom fforor nnew,ew, hhands-onands-on wworkshopsorkshops andand a fullfull nightnight ooff oobservingbserving aabovebove 110,0000,000 ObservatoryObservatory N Near-Earthear-Earth AsteroidAsteroid S Search;earch; “Our“Our VariableVariable Sun,”Sun,” anan feetfeet eelevation.levation. introductionintroduction ttoo tthehe sseethingeething wworldorld bbehindehind ourour SSun’sun’s steadysteady lightlight bbyy The Socorro, New Mexico, event scheduled for October 5-9, 2004, also offers special JeffreyJeffrey Hall;Hall; andand “Big“Big StarsStars inin SmallSmall Galaxies,”Galaxies,” byby DeidreDeidre Hunter,Hunter, clubclub andand schoolschool groupgroup rratesates aallowingllowing aattendeesttendees ttoo ssaveave 3333 ppercentercent oonn rregistration.egistration. withwith currentcurrent researchresearch onon effectseffects ofof massivemassive starsstars onon dwarfdwarf galaxies.galaxies. ProjectProject mmanageranager TThomashomas SSebringebring willwill presentpresent “The“The DDiscoveryiscovery ChannelChannel The new, Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule features a series of hands-on workshops TelescopeTelescope atat LowellLowell Observatory,”Observatory,” a behind-the-scenesbehind-the-scenes looklook atat buildingbuilding onon CCDCCD imaging;imaging; usingusing thethe powerfulpowerful TheThe SkySky packagepackage ofof astronomicalastronomical software;software; thethe newnew 44.3-meter,.3-meter, $30,000,000$30,000,000 vversatileersatile iinstrument.nstrument. andand bringingbringing a astronomystronomy toto youryour communitycommunity throughthrough educationaleducational outreach.outreach. TheThe Detailed information is available at http://kraken.lowell.edu. Mark educationaleducational ooutreachutreach wworkshoporkshop wwillill bbee ppresentedresented bbyy tthehe AAstronomicalstronomical SSocietyociety ofof thethe youryour calendar,calendar, andand pleaseplease considerconsider attendingattending thethe event.event. PacifiPacifi cc.. Contact: A highlight of the star party will be the night atop Socorro County’s South Baldy peak, Russell Tweed a 10,700-foot10,700-foot mmountainountain tthathat ssoonoon wwillill hhostost thethe MagdalenaMagdalena RidgeRidge Observatory,Observatory, a state-state- Lowell Observatory of-the-artof-the-art researchresearch ffacilityacility nownow underunder development.development. StarStar partyparty attendeesattendees willwill bebe ableable 928-774-3358 ✩ toto bringbring theirtheir telescopestelescopes toto thisthis outstandingoutstanding sitesite andand enjoyenjoy thethe high-qualityhigh-quality observingobserving [email protected] conditionsconditions tthathat aattractedttracted tthehe bbuildersuilders ooff a $$40-million40-million oopticalptical iinterferometer.nterferometer. www.lowell.edu Popular features from past years also will return, including the insider’s tour of Desert Sunset Star Party - May 13-16, 2004 thethe w world-famousorld-famous VeryVery LargeLarge A Arrayrray radioradio t telescope;elescope; a ann e excellentxcellent d daytimeaytime l lectureecture seriesseries featuringfeaturing pprofessionalrofessional aandnd aaccomplishedccomplished amateuramateur astronomers;astronomers; andand thethe now-now- The 2004 Desert Sunset Star Party will be held at the Caballo Loco Ranch, legendarylegendary nnightight aatt SSocorroocorro County’sCounty’s PoundPound RanchRanch withwith itsits SouthwesternSouthwestern ppit-cookedit-cooked about 11.5 miles south of Three Points, AZ, on Rt. 286, and then east for 8 chuck-wagonchuck-wagon dinner,dinner, ccowboyowboy eentertainmentntertainment aandnd ddark-skyark-sky oobserving.bserving. miles. This RV ranch is in a secluded area of Arizona with dark skies. The telescopes of Kitt Peak are in clear view to the west. The DSSP begins on Attendees are automatically eligible for numerous door prizes, including the Grand ThursdayThursday nnightight aandnd rrunsuns tthroughhrough SSaturdayaturday nnight.ight. WWee wwillill hhaveave a sspeakerpeaker PrizePrize ---- a nightnight ooff observingobserving atat KittKitt PeakPeak NNationalational OObservatory.bservatory. onon bbothoth FFridayriday aandnd SSaturdayaturday eeveningsvenings aalonglong wwithith ddooroor pprizerize ggiveaways.iveaways. For more information on the Eleventh Annual Enchanted Skies Star Party, see the Web RegistrationRegistration informationinformation willwill bebe postedposted onon thethe DSSPDSSP websitewebsite - http://http:// site, at: chartmarker.tripod.com/sunset.htmchartmarker.tripod.com/sunset.htm Sante Fe Astrophotographers http://www.socorro-nm.com/starparty ThereThere i iss n nowow a n newlyewly c createdreated Y Yahooahoo e emailmail d discussioniscussion g grouproup c calledalled The Enchanted Skies Star Party is sponsored by the New Mexico Tech Astronomy “Astrophotographers“Astrophotographers ofof SantaSanta Fe”Fe” freelyfreely availableavailable toto anyone.anyone. It’sIt’s primaryprimary Club,Club, thethe SocorroSocorro CountyCounty ChamberChamber ofof Commerce,Commerce, thethe NationalNational RadioRadio AstronomyAstronomy goalgoal w wasas t too g grouproup t togetherogether a astrostro i imagersmagers w withinithin S Santaanta F Fee c county,ounty, b butut Observatory,Observatory, thethe CityCity ofof Socorro,Socorro, andand thethe BureauBureau ofof LandLand Management.Management. anyoneanyone i iss w welcomeelcome t too j joinoin a andnd m mayay b benefienefi t tf r fromom a s astrophotography-trophotography- Contact: Dave Finley specifispecifi cc t topicsopics r ranginganging f fromrom i imagemage p processingrocessing t etechniqueschniques t o tosi m simplyply (505)(505) 835-7302835-7302 organizingorganizing iimagingmaging ssessionsessions wwithith iindividualsndividuals aaroundround yyouou aandnd eeverythingverything dfi [email protected] inin bbetween.etween. WeWe looklook forwardforward toto anyany newnew subscriberssubscribers lookinglooking toto participateparticipate ✩ suchsuch a fforum.orum. TThankhank yyou.ou. The Enchanted Skies Star Party P.O. Box 743 Socorro, New Mexico 87801 ✩ URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Astro_Santa_Fe/ Page 8 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 9 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Barry Spletzer Observer’s Page From the Ivory Basement Perhaps surprisingly, a little explanation is in order on 17.Mapping the Heavens whatwhat a astronomersstronomers meanmean byby anan equinox.equinox. AlmostAlmost anyoneanyone cancan telltell youyou thatthat thethe VernalVernal EquinoxEquinox isis a fi rrstst ddayay ooff sspringpring Barry Spletzer andand fallsfalls aroundaround MarchMarch 21st.21st. TheThe astronomicalastronomical defidefi nnitionition of an equinox is very different. It is the location in the sky To tthehe ccasualasual oobserver,bserver, thethe nightnight sskyky iiss a myriadmyriad ooff sstarstars wherewhere thethe pathpath ofof thethe SunSun crossescrosses thethe celestialcelestial equator.equator. withwith somesome notablenotable patternspatterns likelike thethe BigBig Dipper,Dipper, Orion,Orion, andand TheThe ccelestialelestial equatorequator isis defidefi nneded aass aa llineine iinn tthehe sskyky ddirectlyirectly Scorpius.Scorpius. ToTo thethe seasonedseasoned astronomer,astronomer, constellationsconstellations areare aboveabove tthehe eearth’sarth’s eequator.quator. ThroughoutThroughout thethe year,year, thethe tilttilt ofof preciseprecise geometricgeometric constructsconstructs inin thethe skysky andand coordinatescoordinates thethe earth’searth’s axisaxis causescauses thethe sunsun toto bebe southsouth ofof thethe equatorequator likelike rrightight ascension,ascension, ,declination, altitude,altitude, andand azimuthazimuth areare duringduring ourour f fallall a andnd winterwinter andand northnorth duringduring ourour springspring commoncommon lingolingo forfor locatinglocating starsstars andand galaxies.galaxies. DelvingDelving intointo andand summer.summer. TheThe VernalVernal equinoxequinox isis thethe pointpoint wherewhere thethe thethe subject,subject, I willwill explainexplain howhow allall thisthis camecame toto be,be, whatwhat itit sunsun ccrossesrosses thethe equatorequator travelingtraveling fromfrom southsouth toto north.north. allall means,means, andand hopefullyhopefully shedshed somesome lightlight onon whatwhat cancan bebe a confusingconfusing aaspectspect ooff astronomy.astronomy. In astrology, the Vernal Equinox is also called the fi rst pointpoint ofof Aires.Aires. ByBy astrologicalastrological tradition,tradition, thethe SunSun entersenters Many of the began simply as people of AiresAires atat thethe VernalVernal Equinox.Equinox. ThisThis waswas truetrue inin aboutabout 460460 ancientancient timestimes noticednoticed patternspatterns inin thethe stars.stars. ThisThis eventuallyeventually BCBC butbut duedue toto thethe precessionprecession ofof thethe equinoxesequinoxes (there’s(there’s somesome grewgrew intointo mythologymythology andand legend.legend. InIn fact,fact, ofof thethe 8888 astronomicalastronomical jargonjargon forfor you)you) thethe SunSun isis nownow inin Pisces,Pisces, 2323 currentcurrent constellations,constellations, 4747 werewere recognizedrecognized byby thethe GreeksGreeks degreesdegrees fromfrom thethe fi rrstst ppointoint iinn AAires,ires, aatt tthehe eequinox.quinox. OOff andand catalogedcataloged byby PtolemyPtolemy inin 127127 A.D.A.D. TheThe GreeksGreeks hadhad course,course, tthishis meansmeans thatthat folksfolks whowho tthinkhink ttheyhey aarere anan AiresAires oneone additionaladditional constellationconstellation thatthat waswas divideddivided intointo fourfour areare probablyprobably a P Pisces.isces. I Inn a addition,ddition, t thishis hashas c causedaused a ann constellations in modern times. The Greek constellations additionaladditional c constellationonstellation toto enterenter thethe zodiaczodiac thatthat wasn’twasn’t included almost all of the famous ones: Ursa Major, there a few thousand years ago. This is Ophiuchus. Andromeda,Andromeda, Orion,Orion, Hercules,Hercules, etc.,etc., etc.etc. TheseThese constellationsconstellations Astrology,Astrology, rrightlyightly sso,o, iiss sstilltill fi r mrmlyly a nanchoredchored i nin t hthee d idistant,stant, were the last word for centuries superstitious,superstitious, a andnd pre-scientifipre-scientifi cc p a pastst a andnd t h thereforeerefore d doesoes notnot recognizerecognize t thesehese n naturalatural a andnd c continuingontinuing c changeshanges i inn From the latitude of Greece (about the same as thethe heavens.heavens. IfIf phrasesphrases likelike precessionprecession ofof thethe equimoxesequimoxes Albuquerque) 20% of the sky is never visible. In the late interestinterest you,you, checkcheck backback herehere nextnext month.month. I’llI’ll explainexplain whatwhat 1500’s,1500’s, w whenhen E Europeanuropean e explorersxplorers s startedtarted navigatingnavigating thethe causescauses itit andand thethe ramifiramifi ccations,ations, llikeike tthehe NNorthorth SStartar bbeingeing southernsouthern oceans,oceans, tthishis partpart ofof thethe skysky becamebecame visiblevisible andand onlyonly a ttemporaryemporary fi x xture.ture. waswas riperipe forfor thethe pickingpicking fforor anyany aastronomystronomy mindedminded sailor.sailor. AboutAbout 2626 newnew constellationsconstellations werewere addedadded thisthis way.way. InIn One other obscure fact about the Vernal Equinox is how addition,addition, t thehe 4 48th8th G Greekreek ,constellation, ArgoArgo NavisNavis (the(the itit managedmanaged ttoo landland onon MarchMarch 21st.21st. UpUp untiluntil 1582,1582, mostmost ofof ship),ship), waswas divideddivided intointo 4 smallersmaller constellations.constellations. TheThe restrest ofof EuropeEurope usedused tthehe oldold RomanRoman calendarcalendar thatthat insertedinserted a leapleap them,them, likelike VVulpecula,ulpecula, LLynx,ynx, aandnd Sextans,Sextans, alongalong withwith otherother yearyear everyevery fourfour years.years. TThishis causescauses thethe averageaverage yearyear toto bebe dimdim ones,ones, resultedresulted fromfrom fi lllingling i inn t thehe g gapsaps t too c coverover t thehe slightlyslightly ttoooo llongong bbyy aaboutbout oonene ddayay eeveryvery 113030 years.years. UsingUsing entireentire skysky withwith recognizedrecognized constellations.constellations. ByBy 1843,1843, thethe listlist thisthis calendar,calendar, thethe VernalVernal EquinoxEquinox keptkept movingmoving earlierearlier andand ofof c constellationsonstellations waswas standardizedstandardized toto thethe onesones wewe knowknow earlierearlier intointo thethe year.year. ByBy 1582,1582, thethe equinoxequinox fellfell onon MarchMarch today but the precise boundaries were not yet drawn. 10.10. A Att t thishis t time,ime, PopePope G Gregoryregory convertedconverted EuropeEurope toto thethe GregorianGregorian calendar,calendar, thethe oneone wewe useuse todaytoday whichwhich isis correctcorrect The boundaries came about in 1930 when the International toto aboutabout oneone dayday everyevery 30003000 years.years. HeHe wantedwanted toto makemake Astronomical Union set out exact boundaries for each upup f foror thethe errorerror inin thethe calendarcalendar whichwhich atat thatthat timetime waswas constellation. The boundaries are made up entirely 1414 ddays.ays. HeHe onlyonly addedadded 1111 daysdays toto thethe calendar,calendar, causingcausing ofof north-southnorth-south andand e east-westast-west lineslines (no(no diagonals)diagonals) andand thethe eequinoxquinox ttoo ffallall oonn MMarcharch 21st.21st. HHee cchosehose MMarcharch 21st21st thethe intentintent waswas toto keepkeep allall thethe starsstars inin theirtheir traditionaltraditional becausebecause iitt coincidedcoincided withwith thethe datedate ofof thethe equinoxequinox inin 325325 ADAD constellations.constellations. ThisThis resultedresulted inin somesome prettypretty strangestrange whenwhen tthehe fi r srstt ececumenicalumenical ccouncilouncil ooff tthehe CChristianhristian cchurchhurch shapedshaped cconstellations.onstellations. ForFor example,example, thethe boundaryboundary ofof thethe in Nicaea was held. constellationconstellation DracoDraco hashas 5050 c cornersorners ( (seesee F Figureigure 1 1).). S Someome With the equinox snugly nestled in Pisces and the celestial classicclassic assignmentsassignments diddid havehave toto bebe undone.undone. ForFor example,example, equatorequator ridingriding highhigh aboveabove Earth’sEarth’s equator,equator, everythingeverything isis inin Alpheratz,Alpheratz, oonene ofof thethe starsstars inin thethe greatgreat squaresquare ofof Pegasus,Pegasus, placeplace ttoo paintpaint thethe mostmost commonlycommonly usedused coordinatecoordinate systemsystem isis nono longerlonger inin PegasusPegasus atat all.all. ForFor centuriescenturies itit hadhad beenbeen anan ontoonto thethe skysky - thatthat ofof rightright ascensionascension andand declination.declination. OnOn importantimportant starstar inin bothboth PegasusPegasus andand Andromeda,Andromeda, butbut thethe earth,earth, locationslocations a arere s specifipecifi e ded b y by l a latitudetitude a n andd l o longitudengitude modernmodern defidefi nnitionition o off a ac o constellationnstellation d o doeses n o nott a l allowlow t h thisis withwith latitudelatitude beingbeing thethe distancedistance northnorth andand southsouth ofof thethe and Andromeda won out. equatorequator andand longitudelongitude beingbeing thethe distancedistance easteast andand westwest ofof thethe primeprime meridianmeridian throughthrough Greenwich,Greenwich, England.England. InIn The next issue of importance today and with deep thethe sky,sky, thingsthings areare similar.similar. DeclinationDeclination isis likelike latitude,latitude, itit historicalhistorical rootsroots isis thethe locationlocation o off t thehe V Vernalernal E Equinox.quinox. isis thethe distancedistance northnorth andand southsouth ofof thethe equatorequator measuredmeasured Page 10 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 11 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Observer’s Page con’t in degrees. Positive declination is north and negeative is Here, M is the month (e.g., January=1, October=10), D is the south.south. dayday ofof thethe month,month, T isis thethe locallocal timetime onon a 2424 hourhour cclock,lock, Z Right ascension is somewhat trickier. It starts at the isis thethe timetime zonezone (e.g.,(e.g., MSTMST = 7,7, MDTMDT = 6,6, CSTCST = 6,6, CDTCDT = VernalVernal EquinoxEquinox aandnd isis defidefi nneded aass zzeroero aatt tthathat llocation.ocation. IItt iiss 5,5, PPSTST = 8,8, PDTPDT = 7),7), L isis youryour longitudelongitude inin degrees.degrees. ForFor measuredmeasured llikeike llongitude,ongitude, butbut insteadinstead ofof usingusing degrees,degrees, rightright AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque oror GNTO,GNTO, itit simplifisimplifi eess tto:o: ascensionascension isis measuredmeasured inin hourshours andand minutes.minutes. TheThe entireentire sky, all 360 degrees, is divided into 24 hours., amounting toto oneone hourhour forfor everyevery 1515 degrees.degrees. ItIt progressesprogresses fromfrom zerozero hourshours atat thethe VernalVernal EquinoxEquinox increasingincreasing eastward.eastward. ItIt wrapswraps Where DS is for daylight savings (Yes=1, No=0). For allall thethe wwayay aroundaround until,until, atat thethe 24-hour24- ppoint,oint, yyouou rreturneturn example,example, tthehe llocalocal ssiderealidereal ttimeime aatt 1100 PPMM onon FebruaryFebruary 1212 toto thethe VernalVernal Equinox.Equinox. is: OnOn earth,earth, it’sit’s prettypretty easyeasy toto keepkeep tracktrack ofof ourour longitudelongitude becausebecause itit staysstays thethe samesame whenwhen wewe standstand still.still. RightRight ascensionascension isis fi xxeded ttoo tthehe sstarstars bbutut tthehe rrotationotation ooff tthehe eeartharth TheThe iinitialnitial rresult,esult, 331.71.7 rrequiredequired thatthat 2244 hhoursours bebe subtractedsubtracted makes the stars, and consequently the right ascension toto fallfall intointo thethe requiredrequired 0-240-24 hourhour range.range. OnceOnce youyou knowknow ofof thethe partpart ofof thethe skysky wewe seesee changechange withwith time.time. A veryvery thethe LLST,ST, it’sit’s easyeasy toto keepkeep tracktrack ofof itit throughoutthroughout thethe night,night, iitt handyhandy c conceptoncept i iss l localocal s siderealidereal timetime (LST)(LST) whichwhich isis thethe advancesadvances oneone hourhour eeachach hhour.our. rightright aascensionscension ofof thethe meridianmeridian (the(the lineline passingpassing straightstraight What good is all this? By knowing the LST you can tell if overheadoverhead inin thethe skysky f fromrom southsouth toto north).north). IfIf youyou knowknow anan oobjectbject iiss vvisible.isible. FForor eexample,xample, OOrionrion iiss aatt rrightight aascensionscension LST,LST, youyou cancan telltell whetherwhether oror notnot a certaincertain objectobject isis visible.visible. 4:30,4:30, ssoo wwithith a LSTLST ofof 6:30,6:30, OrionOrion isis 2 hourshours ((3030 ddegrees)egrees) BecauseBecause tthehe ppatternattern ofof thethe starsstars changeschanges onceonce perper dayday andand pastpast (west)(west) ofof youryour meridian.meridian. OfOf course,course, thethe fartherfarther southsouth onceonce perper year,year, itit isis relativelyrelatively simplesimple toto derivederive a formulaformula toto youyou go,go, tthehe closercloser anan objectobject mustmust bebe toto thethe meridianmeridian toto bebe determinedetermine youyou locallocal siderealsidereal timetime anywhere,anywhere, anytime:anytime: visible.visible. OmegaOmega CentauriCentauri (the(the sspectacularpectacular gglobularlobular ccluster)luster) nevernever getsgets moremore thanthan a fewfew degreesdegrees aboveabove thethe horizon,horizon, soso withwith itsits RARA ofof 13:3013:30 youyou n needeed t too l lookook f foror i itt s somewhereomewhere nearnear a LSTLST ofof 13:30.13:30. FromFrom above,above, FebruaryFebruary 1212 atat 1010 PMPM givesgives a LSTLST ofof 6:30.6:30. EachEach m month,onth, t thehe L LSTST advances 2 hours so 3 1/2 months past FebruaryFebruary 1010 (around(around MayMay 25)25) OmegaOmega CentauriCentauri willwill bebe visible at 11 PM (I added an extra hour for daylight savings). HopefullyHopefully t thishis briefbrief forayforay intointo thethe coordinatescoordinates ofof thethe stars has given some feelfeel forfor howhow toto fi ndnd your way around the sky.sky. AAss I mentioned,mentioned, nextnext timetime I willwill getget intointo somesome detailsdetails about how this marvelous and fi xed system of coordinates maymay b bee marvelousmarvelous butbut itit isis certainlycertainly notnot fi x exed.d.

Figure 1. The constellaiton Draco with all its nooks and crannies. Page 10 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 11 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004 Elizabeth Burki Minutes of the Board Minutes: TAAS Board of Directors Meeting, March 4, 2004 distribution of the screen saver. There have been mixed results with attempts to post the screen saver Present: Dale Murray, Heather Mann, Shannon Mann, informationinformation onon webweb sites,sites, newsnews groupsgroups andand listlist serves.serves. PeterPeter Eschman,Eschman, ElizabethElizabeth Burki,Burki, RobertRobert Hufnagle,Hufnagle, iv. AnAn assetsassets inventoryinventory hashas begunbegun andand willwill bebe GordonGordon Pegue,Pegue, RebeccaRebecca PPurvis,urvis, LarryLarry Cash,Cash, RayRay Collins.Collins. completedcompleted byby thethe endend ofof MarchMarch Excused:Excused: JudyJudy StanleyStanley c. GrantsGrants andand Income:Income: FundFund raising:raising: NoNo wordword asas yetyet fromfrom HomeHome DepotDepot oror PNMPNM onon matching-fundsmatching-funds grants.grants. I. Correction to minutes: None PetePete w wouldould l likeike t too r re-starte-start a ann IntelIntel grantgrant applicationapplication andand willwill contactcontact BarryBarry SpletzerSpletzer forfor assistanceassistance withwith thethe II. Treasurer’s Report: Shannon submitted latest applicationapplication toto Intel.Intel. WillWill alsoalso askask BarryBarry forfor helphelp withwith accountaccount summaries.summaries. BarryBarry SpletzerSpletzer hashas beenbeen repaidrepaid contactingcontacting SandiaSandia LabsLabs forfor grantgrant support.support. forfor hishis “Sidereal“Sidereal Times”Times” expensesexpenses andand thethe bulkbulk mailmail d.d. Education:Education: BeckyBecky PurvisPurvis statedstated thatthat therethere willwill bebe accountaccount hhasas bbeeneen ppaidaid uupp fforor ssixix mmonths.onths. DDiscrepanciesiscrepancies a starstar partyparty atat JacksonJackson MiddleMiddle SchoolSchool onon 3/11/043/11/04 andand a inin subscriptionsubscription costscosts havehave beenbeen resolved.resolved. TheThe TAASTAAS “scopes“scopes only”only” outreachoutreach toto t thehe E Easternastern HillsHills ChristianChristian membershipmembership listlist willwill bebe reviewedreviewed toto fi nndd l lapsedapsed AcademyAcademy onon 3/18/04.3/18/04. TheThe educationeducation laptoplaptop computercomputer membersmembers whowho areare stillstill receivingreceiving thethe “Sidereal“Sidereal Times”Times” hashas arrived.arrived. TheThe projectorprojector isis back-ordered.back-ordered. newsletters.newsletters. SuggestionSuggestion waswas mademade toto mentionmention thethe namesnames ofof TAASTAAS donorsdonors atat thethe GeneralGeneral MeetingMeeting asas a wayway ooff ppubliclyublicly thankingthanking themthem andand toto encourageencourage otherother VII. Old Business: Astronomy Day. Three options membersmembers toto contributecontribute toto specialspecial fundsfunds withinwithin thethe werewere offered:offered: CoronadoCoronado MallMall (Sears(Sears Court)Court) onon 9/25/9/25/ organization. 04; Albuquerque Flea Market 4/24/04; joining with ExploraExplora MuseumMuseum onon 4/24/044/24/04 asas partpart ofof theirtheir fundfund raiser.raiser. III. Retrospect: Los Griegos school star party was DecisionDecision mademade t too g goo w withith t thehe C Coronadooronado M Mallall datedate ofof rainedrained out.out. ThereThere waswas a lowlow turnoutturnout forfor thethe MonteMonte VistaVista 9/25/049/25/04 withwith anotheranother smallersmaller exhibitexhibit atat thethe FleaFlea MarketMarket star party despite having clear skies. some time in the late spring. IV. Correspondence: Ray Collins received a VIII. New Business: phonephone callcall fromfrom thethe AstronomyAstronomy SocietySociety ofof thethe PacifiPacifi cc a. We will supplement the Lodestar production requestingrequesting informationinformation onon publicpublic educationaleducational material.material. onon 3/27/043/27/04 withwith planetplanet andand transittransit viewingviewing onon thethe YaleYale RayRay r referredeferred themthem toto JudyJudy Stanley.Stanley. AnAn astronomyastronomy ObservatoryObservatory groundsgrounds startingstarting atat approximatelyapproximately 9 P.M.P.M. groupgroup inin NepalNepal contactedcontacted DaleDale MurrayMurray alsoalso requestingrequesting Alas,Alas, MercuryMercury willwill havehave setset byby then.then. informationinformation onon educationaleducational outreach.outreach. DaleDale forwardedforwarded b.b. A rrequestequest waswas mademade toto forfor donationsdonations toto supportsupport their request to Jody Forster who has spent considerable a N Navajoavajo fi llmmakermmaker w whoho i iss c creatingreating a ad o documentarycumentary timetime inin Nepal.Nepal. discussingdiscussing thethe NavajoNavajo constellationsconstellations andand comparingcomparing themthem toto thethe WesternWestern constellations.constellations. DecisionDecision mademade toto V. Prospect: March 6th general meeting will ask the requestor to present a brief description of the featurefeature a guestguest speakerspeaker fromfrom CanadaCanada discussingdiscussing lightlight asas projectproject andand requestrequest donationsdonations toto thethe “special“special projectsprojects particles.particles. GordonGordon PeguePegue willwill bringbring hishis LCDLCD projector.projector. ItIt fund”fund” dduringuring thethe nextnext GeneralGeneral Meeting.Meeting. waswas suggestedsuggested thatthat TAASTAAS applyapply forfor a grantgrant toto purchasepurchase c. BrolineBroline ScienceScience andand EngineeringEngineering Fair:Fair: updatedupdated anan LCDLCD projectorprojector forfor meetingmeeting use.use. informationinformation stillstill hashas notnot beenbeen received.received. ThereThere havehave been no reviewers for the “Sky Tools 2” astronomy VI. Committee Reports: observingobserving software.software. WeWe willwill re-announcere-announce thethe requestrequest atat a. Membership:Membership: nono reportreport thethe GGeneraleneral Meeting.Meeting. b. GNTO:GNTO: TThehe committeecommittee metmet onon 2/26/04.2/26/04. d.d. DarkDark SkySky Conference:Conference: SuggestionSuggestion mademade thatthat wewe i. Upcoming events: GNTO equinox picnic and participateparticipate inin a programprogram butbut notnot bebe inin chargecharge ofof thethe trainingtraining scheduledscheduled forfor 3/13/03.3/13/03. TheThe picnicpicnic willwill startstart atat over-allover-all production.production. 4:30;4:30; trainingtraining atat 5:455:45 andand KarenKaren KeeseKeese willwill offeroffer a tourtour e. FleaFlea M Marketarket outreach:outreach: ManagerManager ofof thethe FleaFlea ofof thethe constellationsconstellations atat 7:30.7:30. TheThe MessierMessier MarathonMarathon isis MarketMarket isis moremore thanthan willingwilling toto accommodateaccommodate us atat anyany scheduled for 3/20/04 with 4/17/04 as a fallback date. timetime andand willwill waivewaive thethe usualusual “table”“table” fees.fees. ii. The dome improvements are going well as are thethe improvementsimprovements toto thethe IsengardIsengard drive-motordrive-motor system.system. IX. Meeting adjourned at 9:09 P.M. StillStill awaitingawaiting somesome partsparts fromfrom thethe distributor.distributor. iii. LarryLarry CashCash willwill fi nndd ooutut mmoreore aaboutbout ccommercialommercial Minutes submitted by Ray Collins. Page 12 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 13 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society The Sidereal Times May 2004 The Sidereal Times May 2004

• Stories Sought for TAAS.org. TAAS.org is seeking original stories,stories, writtenwritten byby locallocal astronomers,astronomers, toto includeinclude onon ourour website.website. AllAll Classified Ads storiesstories mustmust bebe astronomicallyastronomically relatedrelated andand locallylocally written.written. ExamplesExamples includeinclude observingobserving stories,stories, projectproject stories,stories, productproduct reviews,reviews, oror locallocal astronomicalastronomical newsnews items.items. VisitVisit oourur wwebsiteebsite aatt wwww.taas.orgww.taas.org fforor ddetails,etails, oror sendsend youryour sstoriestories toto [email protected]@taas.org • Free Meade 12” Dobsonian tube and base, including a free vinylvinyl ttubeube ccoverover ((nono optics),optics), ffreeree ttoo aanyny TTAASAAS mmember,ember, oorr ttoo TTAAS.AAS. FirstFirst come,come, fi rrstst s served.erved. I I’m’m i inn T Tayloraylor R Ranch,anch, A Albuquerque.lbuquerque. C Contact:ontact: [email protected]@yahoo.com oorr 8899-3706.99-3706. DaveDave SiegelSiegel (TAAS)(TAAS)

✭ Free Telescope Offer ✭ What’s that? Did you say Free? That’s right FREE! ✭ Any TAAS member can use this coupon to borrow a TAAS telescope. Contact Barry Spletzer at [email protected] or 294-4601 and receive a loaner telescope absolutely free. You can choose from scopes with apertures ranging from 6” to 13”. Some restrictions apply. Offer valid for current TAAS members. Offer is fi rst come fi rst served. Late comers will be put on a waiting list. Neither TAAS nor the telescope curators will be held liable for any lost sleep or other problems arising from the use of TAAS scopes. Borrowers are required to enjoy the telescopes. ✭ SOCIETY STAFF Board of Directors - [email protected] Telephone E-mail Address

•President Dale Murray 296-2479 (H)) [email protected] [email protected] •Vice President/Gen Mtg Coord Heather Mann 771-0126 (H) [email protected] [email protected] •Secretary Elizabeth Burki 254-0674 (H) [email protected] [email protected] •Treasurer/Membership Services Shannon Mann 771-0126 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Director/Observatory Director Pete Eschman 873-1517 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Director/Membership Director Judy Stanley 896-0040 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Director Bob Hufnagel 890-8122 (H) [email protected] Director Larry Cash 299-4686 (H) [email protected] Director Ray Collins 344-9686(H) [email protected] Director Rebecca Purvis 877-2517 (H) [email protected] Director Gordon Pegue 332-2591 (H) [email protected] TAAS Positions Telephone E-mail Address

Events Coordinator Neil Goldberg 798-1958 (H) [email protected] Public Relations Offi cer Karen Keese 261-0040 (C) [email protected] Education /TAAS Web Master Sammy Lockwood 275-0258 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Newsletter Editor Dan Richey 286-7993 (H) [email protected] Telescope Curator Barry Spletzer 294-4601 (H) [email protected] TAAS Archivist Pat Appel 292-0463 (H) [email protected] TAAS Librarian Dawn Gray 856-2054 (H) [email protected] ATM Coordinator Ray Collins 344-9686 (H) [email protected] ATM Coordinator Michael Pendley 2960549 (H) [email protected] UNM Observatory Coordinator Jay Harden 2960537 (H) [email protected] Explorer Post 110 Advisor Mark Kroska 884-9108 (H) [email protected] Page 12 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society Page 13 The Offi cial Newsletter of The Albuquerque As tro nom i cal Society MEMBERSHIP: You may request a ARTICLES/ADVERTISEMENTS: TAAS on the World Wide Web: membershipmembership a applicationpplication byby s sendingending Articles, personal astronomical http://www.taas.org e-maile-mail toto [email protected]@taas.org classificlassifi e ded a d advertisementsvertisements a andnd b businessusiness [email protected]@taas.org oror callingcalling (505) 254-TAAS(8227). card size advertisements for businesses Online Sidereal Times: ApplicationsApplications maymay alsoalso bebe d downloadedownloaded related to astronomy must be submitted www.taas.org/times/ fromfrom thethe WebWeb site.site. AnnualAnnual duesdues toto TheThe byby thethe deadlinedeadline shownshown o onn t thehe SocietySociety Educational Outreach: Albuquerque Astronomical Society are calendarcalendar (generally(generally thethe SaturdaySaturday n nearear www.taas.org/education/ $30/year$30/year forfor a fullfull membershipmembership andand $15/$15/ thethe n newew M Moon)oon) R Ratesates f foror c commercialommercial Donations to TAAS: yearyear forfor a fullfull timetime sstudenttudent ((highhigh sschoolchool ads (per issue) are $120 per page, $60 www.taas.org/donate/ oror lless)ess) mmembership.embership. AAdditionaldditional ffamilyamily perper hhalfalf ppage,age, $$3030 pperer qquarteruarter ppage,age, $$77 BuyBuy aandnd Sell:Sell: membersmembers mmayay jjoinoin fforor $$5/each5/each (student(student forfor b businessusiness c cardard s size.ize. TheThe n newsletterewsletter www.taas.org/eq/www.taas.org/eq/ andand ffamilyamily mmembershipsemberships areare notnot eligibleeligible editor reserves the right to include and/ TAASTAAS AstronomyAstronomy Links:Links: toto vvoteote onon ssocietyociety matters).matters). NewNew membermember oror eeditdit aanyny aarticlerticle oror advertisement.advertisement. E-E- www.taas.org/links/www.taas.org/links/ informationinformation packetspackets cancan bebe downloadeddownloaded mailmail a attachmentsttachments inin MicrosoftMicrosoft W Word,ord, TAAS 200: fromfrom tthehe wwebsiteebsite oorr rrequestedequested ffromrom tthehe 11 point Palatino, justifi ed, no indent www.taas.org/taas200/ TAASTAAS MembershipMembership ServicesServices DirectorDirector atat atat paragraphparagraph beginning,beginning, oneone spacespace [email protected]@taas.org YouYou maymay sendsend betweenbetween paragraphsparagraphs isis preferred.preferred. ASCIIASCII youryour duesdues byby m mailail toto ourour newsletternewsletter andand RRTFTF aarere acceptable.acceptable. OneOne columncolumn isis returnreturn aaddressddress wwithith yyourour checkcheck wwrittenritten approximatelyapproximately 3 35050 w words.ords. ContactContact thethe Map to Regener Hall out to TheThe AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque A Astronomicalstronomical NewsletterNewsletter EditorEditor aatt [email protected]@taas.org fforor Society oror givegive youryour checkcheck toto thethe moremore iinformation.nformation. (Not to scale) TreasurerTreasurer atat thethe nextnext meeting.meeting. MLK CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Note that the Ave Regener MAGAZINES: Discount magazine Sidereal Times is mailed at a nonprofi t HallHall subscriptionssubscriptions ttoo SSkyky andand TTelescopeelescope aandnd organizationorganization bulkbulk mmailail rate.rate. AsAs a result,result, Popejoy AstronomyAstronomy a ass w wellell a ass d discountsiscounts o onn thethe n newsletterewsletter w willill N NOTOT b bee f forwardedorwarded Hall booksbooks ffromrom SSkyky PublishingPublishing CorporationCorporation to your new address should you areare availableavailable whenwhen purchasedpurchased byby TAASTAAS move!!move!! PleasePlease provideprovide thethe TreasurerTreasurer membersmembers tthroughhrough oourur ssociety.ociety. IncludeInclude ([email protected])([email protected]) withwith youryour newnew Parking anyany o off t thehe a abovebove magazinemagazine r renewalenewal mailingmailing addressaddress oror e-maile-mail addressaddress toto mailersmailers a andnd s subscriptionubscription paymentspayments ensureensure thatthat youyou receivereceive youryour newsletter.newsletter. Ave University asas partpart ofof youryour renewalrenewal check.check. MakeMake Central Ave checkschecks outout toto TAASTAAS (we(we willwill combinecombine TAAS LIBRARY: Please contact the and send one check to the publisher). Librarian at [email protected] or 856- Warning:Warning: ppublishersublishers ttakeake sseveraleveral monthsmonths 20542054 toto checkcheck outout a bookbook oror makemake a toto pprocessrocess mmagazineagazine ssubscriptions.ubscriptions. contribution. Ave Yale

The Albuquerque Astronomical Society NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ALBUQUERQUE, NM P.O. Box 50581 PERMIT NO. 352 Albuquerque, NM 87181-0581