The Observer of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers
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THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS Volume 40, Number 3 March 2015 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month……..……………….1 A Note from President Weiland..…………………..……….2 2015 Annual Meeting Now History……………...…..…...2 Calendar of Celestial Events – March 2015..…….…....3 New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues…………..…….3 Subscribing to Our E-Mail Lists………………………….……3 This Month’s Phases of the Moon……..……………...…..4 AstroBits…………………………………………………….…………..4 Visual Montage from Our 55th Annual Meeting…..….5 Sky Interpretation: Part V……………………………………….6 Image of the Month (cont’d)…………….…………..……….8 2015 Annual Meeting Now History (cont’d)……........8 Winter Fireworks……………………………………………………9 Adventures in Astrophotography (Part 1)………….…10 Astrophotography on the Cheap (Part 3)…………..…12 Auriga, A Chariot of Fire…………………………….………..16 Marking Time – Time and Again…………………..……….17 AstroBits (cont’d)……………………………………….…………18 Education & Public Outreach February 2015………..18 Public Observing Sessions in 2015……………………..…19 How Time Flies…….……….…….........................….…....20 TCAA Treasurer’s Report: February 2015…………..….21 EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH Editor’s note: This month’s Image of the Month is an “Astronomical Medley” created by Craig Prost. It is a composite of some of his best work from last year. In his commentary (see page 8), Craig describes briefly how each of these images was made. This month Craig also makes his debut not only to describe his image of the month medley, but to describe the basics of astronomical imaging for those who wish to acquire basic, medium, or advanced The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. systems. Having access to a variety of such systems, he images from his For more information about the TCAA, be certain to home, from Prairie Sky Observatory, and even remotely from New visit our club website. Mexico Skies. See Craig’s feature article starting on page 10. Vol. 40, No. 3 The OBSERVER March 2015 The OBSERVER is the monthly A NOTE FROM PRESIDENT WEILAND electronic publication of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a There are many opportunities within TCAA for participation; here are just a few. If registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit you are the owner of a telescope or binoculars, come out to one of our Public educational organization of amateur Observation Sessions and share your equipment and knowledge with our guests. No astronomers interested in studying matter your level of expertise, sharing with others what you know, and where you are astronomy and sharing their hobby at in our hobby, can result in a learning experience for both you and the visitors to our with the public. observing sessions. TCAA OFFICERS There are other public outreach opportunities as well. A wide variety of groups contact TCAA asking for viewing opportunities and occasional presentations. Some of President these opportunities are small and involve organizations such as church or scouting Tom Weiland 309-830-0167 groups. Others are large like Family Science Day at ISU, and the Autumn Celebration [email protected] and Great American Campout at Sugar Grove Nature Center. Again, no matter your level of expertise, your assistance adds value to our participation in these events. Vice-President Recently our newsletter editor suggested another avenue – submitting articles or Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 content for The OBSERVER. If you have a topic of interest that you would like to write [email protected] about, a location you have visited that is related to astronomy, or a personal Secretary/Webmaster experience that would be appropriate for the newsletter, please contact newsletter Lee Green 309-454-7349 editor Carl Wenning at [email protected]. [email protected] Although we only have one general meeting each year (our Annual Meeting held in February), we do have Board of Directors meetings scheduled every other month Treasurer/ALCor/Registered Agent (January, March, May, July, September, and November) that are open to any interested Duane Yockey 309-452-3936 TCAA member. If you would like to become more deeply involved in TCAA, attending [email protected] one of these meetings provides just such an opportunity. The wonder of the night sky has been a faithful companion since the dawn of 3rd Director/Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 civilization. Today this natural wonder is threatened by the careless use of artificial [email protected] light. As individuals we can speak out against this intrusion. It is imperative that we take up the cause to protect and preserve the night sky for future generations. You can learn 4th Director/Historian/Editor more about maintaining dark skies and reducing unnecessary or mis-directed artificial Carl Wenning 309-830-4085 lighting from the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) at http://www.darksky.org. [email protected] IDA is actively engaged with government, volunteers and other organizations to raise awareness of the value of the night sky and to gain allies in an effort to protect our th 5 Director heritage of a natural night sky. You can be part of the solution at a local level by sharing Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 what you learn. [email protected] Finally, just a reminder that our first Public Observation Session (POS) of 2015 is The OBSERVER scheduled in less than three weeks (March 21) from when you receive this issue. Please Carl J. Wenning, Editor bring your family and invite a guest. 21 Grandview Drive Clear Skies….Dark Skies! Normal, IL 61761-4071 Submission deadline is one day 2015 ANNUAL MEETING NOW HISTORY before the end of each month. th th The club’s 55 Annual Meeting was held on February 7 . Twenty-seven members MEMBERSHIP DUES and guests were present. The evening started with a welcome by President Tom Weiland. This was followed by a banquet meal provided by Keller Catering. Individual Adult/Family $40 Following a brief intermission, the annual business meeting commenced with the Full-time Student/Senior $25 presidential address, the treasurer’s annual report, and similar business as regularly (Senior status equals ages 60+) comes before the membership at such meetings. The Board of Directors for 2015-2016 To join, send your name, contact was elected, and consisted of the same individuals as last year’s Board: Tom Weiland, info and dues payment to Duane Dave Osenga, Bob Finnigan, Carl Wenning, and Tim Stone. Near the conclusion of the Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal meeting, awards were presented consisting of the following: Avenue, Normal, IL 61761. (Continued on page 8.) 2 Vol. 40, No. 3 The OBSERVER March 2015 CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL EVENTS – MARCH 2015 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS MORNING STARS (3/15): Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune The following individuals have paid dues for new EVENING STARS (3/15): Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus or renewed memberships as of February 28th, 2015. (Others who paid after that date will appear in the 4 Conjunction – Venus passes ~0.1 degrees above Uranus April 2015 issue of The OBSERVER.) around sunset. This is the closest planet-planet conjunction of 2015. Use binoculars to see Uranus as a 6th magnitude “star”. John Werner, William Carney, Lee Green, Dave Osenga, Tim Stone, Brian Barling, Robert Hoy 5 Full Moon – Early Native American tribes knew this full moon as the Full Worm Moon because this was the time of year UES LUES when the ground would begin to soften and the earthworms D B would reappear. This moon has also been known as the Sap If you have received a “your dues are due” Moon as sap is rising in trees. This will be the most distant full statement along with the email that brought you this moon of 2015, just 10 hours from apogee making it a issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. “minimoon” – the opposite of a “supermoon” so commonly Duane Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal Avenue, reported in the press. Normal, IL 61761. Current dues are $25 for senior (60 8 DST Begins – Daylight saving time begins on Sunday years of age and over) and $40 regular. morning at 2:00 AM. Be certain to set your clocks ahead by one hour before retiring. Remember, “spring forward; fall SUBSCRIBING TO OUR E-MAIL LISTS backward”. By subscribing to a group’s mailing list you will 13 Third Quarter Moon – Moon rises at midnight; sets at receive email messages from the group so you won’t midday. Mars passes 0.3 degrees north of Uranus at ~16:00 UT. have access to the group’s web features (like photos, 20 New Moon – The moon sets at sunset and rises at sunrise. files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members It is not visible. A total solar eclipse occurs over the Arctic. activate it later. The club now has two email listservs. The main email listserv is known as the TCAA listserv. 20 March Equinox – The season of spring begins at 5:45 CDT It will be used to share announcements and reminders when the Sun transits the equator moving from south to north. about astronomical and club events. To join this main There will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout listserv you must do the following: the world at this time (hence the term equinox – equal night). This is the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere. 1. Subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a 21 Lunar-Planetary Conjunction – Look for Mars tonight confirmation email from the group. Reply to the shortly after sunset. It will be located just to the moon’s upper confirmation email to activate your subscription. right. 2. Unsubscribe: [email protected] 24 Occultations – Look for the star Aldebaran near the moon.