This Months KAS Events
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Highlights of the February Sky . 2nd. Last Quarter Moon . 5th. February 2005 Aurigid Meteor Shower (5th-10th) This Months KAS Events . 7th. Mars 0.7° N of Lagoon Nebula, M20 and M21 also nearby First Light A Beginners Guide to Telescopes th . 8 . By Richard Bell New Moon 7:00 pm Friday, February 4 .. 15th. Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center First Quarter Moon Space Robotics .. 16th. Young Astronomers Moon 1.5° S of the Pleiades, 6:30 pm Tuesday, February 15 best in western states Trinity Reformed church .. 23rd. Full Moon Inside this Newsletter. .. 26th. Zodiacal Light visible in W January Meeting Minutes..................................... p. 2 after evening twilight for next 2 weeks Board Meeting Minutes....................................... p. 2 Observations…………………………........... p. 3 .. 27th. NASA Space Place............................................... p. 4 Jupiter 1.9° S of Moon, best in Young Astronomers…………….…................ p. 5 western states The Book Corner……......................................... p. 6 KAS Officers & Announcements...................... p. 7 Membership Form (Renew NOW).................... p. 8 February Sky Calendar…………....................... p. 9 www.kasonline.org February 2005 Page 2 January Meeting Board Meeting Minutes Minutes As appropriate for a frigid January meeting day, Molly and The KAS board met at 4 pm on 1/9/05 at Trinity Reformed Roger Williams gave a presentation on their trip to Ice- Church (326 W. Cork St.). Present were Richard Bell, land in September, 2004. Beverly Byle, Rich Mather, Robert Havira, Frank Sever- ance, Carol Van Dien, Robert Wade, and Roger Williams. Molly started off the presentation by describing the geol- ogy of the region, which is dominated by black lava, gla- After approval of the agenda, the treasurer’s report was ciers, numerous scenic waterfalls (often with associated examined. Cash inflow has been aided by donations to the hydroelectric plants), and geothermal areas which provide Owl Observatory Fund, some of which are still pending. most of Iceland’s electricity Richard reported that and hot water, not to men- about half of the previous tion geysers, mudpots, and year’s memberships have other Yellowstone-like been renewed, and he sights. Parts of the tour re- plans to begin contacting lated to the history and cul- those who have not been ture of Iceland were also heard from as yet. Meth- summarized, including a ods of emphasizing the parliament dating back more advantages of member- than 1000 years and 13th cen- ship were briefly dis- tury manuscripts of ancient cussed. The year 2005 sagas in an old Norse lan- programs are set except guage that can still be read for the months of June by contemporary Icelanders. and July, and Richard is working on those. Dis- Roger focused on the Aurora cussion was held on Borealis, beginning with a ways to welcome visitors brief explanation of its at our meetings more cause. Pictures were then shown from the nightly viewing effectively, and specific plans were made for the February sessions, which after an inauspicious clouded-out begin- meeting. Bob Havira also contributed some ideas on im- ning became more spectacular with each successive night. proving the officer selection process. The trip was enthusiastically recommended to all astron- omy-minded travelers. A brief discussion was held on possible topics for Astron- omy Day, with comets a leading contender in light of the Links: current Deep Impact mission. A very quick review was made of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and Robert Wade listed a number of items for consideration http://www.tq-international.com (TravelQuest Interna- when more time is available. Richard reported that he and tional, the travel organizer) Jack Price had inspected the Owl Observatory with an eye to construction of storage space under the roll-off roof, and http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html the idea now appears less practical. Other options are be- (Map of Iceland, showing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) ing considered. The meeting was adjourned at 6 pm, with the next meeting set for http://msslhx.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/~npm/Web_Pages/ Feb. 20, 4 pm, at Trinity Visitor_Pages/aurora/sun_earth.gif (Schematic of aurora Reformed Church. formation) http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/ Respectfully Submitted by fromspace.html (Movie of northern auroral oval in UV Roger Williams light) http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011025aurora.html (Movie of double oval in visible light) February 2005 Page 3 Observations By Richard S. Bell Generally, we try to keep the feature presentations of our part. I have a PowerPoint presentation that I made for the general meetings...well...general. You know what I mean; five part Amateur Astronomy course I taught a couple of something that appeals to every kind of astronomer. Not times at the Nature Center. I also plan to bring my small everyone in the KAS is a novice, observer, astrophotogra- Tele Vue refractor and a German equatorial mount. I’ll also pher, computer guru, or research astronomer. A handful of bring some of my accessories and books. After the talk us may enjoy a presentation on the latest, greatest innova- we’ll hold a telescope clinic. So, we need our experienced tion in CCD imaging, but the majority of the membership members to attend so they can help folks set up their new could probably care less. So, our meetings usually feature telescope. Maybe it’s one they got for Christmas our one some sort of presentation about an astronomical trip some- they’ve just needed help with for a while. We also need one may have taken, some big astronomical event like the members to bring different types of telescopes, accessories, Transit of Venus, or a NASA robotic mission to Mars or books, and even computer programs. Saturn. We’ll also have plenty of KAS literature on hand – espe- We’re going to try something a little different for the Feb- cially Public Observing Session fliers. That’s where we can ruary 2005 General Meeting. The topic will be choosing really show people what a telescope can do. So please lend and using telescopes. This may seem like something that is a helping hand; it won’t just help beginners or the KAS, geared toward the novices, but in a round-about way it but it’ll help astronomers everywhere. helps all astronomers. Normally, most folks buy a tele- scope without knowing what to look for and once they get Editor’s Note: Refer your friends to these helpful astronomi- one they haven’t got a clue what to look at beyond the cal resources: Moon and bright planets. Eventually, they give up and the telescope spends the rest of its existence in the closet. Using A Telescope courtesy of Astronomy Magazine. What if they get the proper advice and guidance? Maybe (http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ss&id=10) they’ll spend many years enjoying the pursuits of amateur astronomy. Many wonderful things could happen. Telescopes and Binoculars courtesy of Sky and Telescope. First, we’d have more amateur astronomers out there. That means more potential KAS members. More Full Moon amateur astronomers also mean a larger Theatre demand for books software, and equip- January 21, 2005 ment. That means the astronomical market- place grows larger and (hopefully) the products get better and, with more com- petition, cheaper. Plus, the longer these folks pursue amateur astronomy the more they’ll realize how big of a problem light pollution is and that benefits everyone. It all starts with getting them on the right path. The plan for the February meeting is to start out with a formal presentation on telescopes. I’m taking care of that February 2005 Page 4 The Space Place by Patrick L. Barry and Dr. Tony Phillips Like discarded lumber and broken bricks around a con- ing and definitely precious dust from the construction struction site, comets scattered at the edge of our solar zone. system are left-over bits from the "construction" of our so- lar system. Find out more about the Stardust mission at star- dust.jpl.nasa.gov. Kids can read about comets, play the Studying comets, then, can help scientists understand how “Tails of Wonder” game about comets, and hear a rhyming our solar system formed, and how it gave rise to a life- story about aerogel at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/ bearing planet like Earth. stardust/. But comets have long been frustratingly out of reach -- This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Califor- until recently. In January 2004 NASA's Stardust probe nia Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aero- made a fly-by of the comet Wild 2 (pronounced "vilt"). nautics and Space Administration. This fly-by captured some of the best images and data on comets yet ... and the most surprising. Scientists had thought that comets were basically "rubble piles" of ice and dust -- leftover "construction materials" held together by the comet's feeble gravity. But that's not what Stardust found. Photos of Wild 2 reveal a bizarre landscape of odd-shaped craters, tall cliffs, and overhangs. The comet looks like an alien world in miniature, not con- struction debris. To support these shapes against the pull of gravity, the comet must have a different consistency than scientists thought: "Now we think the comet's surface might have a texture like freeze-dried ice cream, so-called 'astronaut ice cream': It's solid and can assume odd, gravity-defying shapes, but it's basically soft and crumbles easily," says Donald Brown- lee of the University of Washington, principal investigator for Stardust. Scientists are currently assembling a 3-D computer model of this surface from the photos that Stardust took. Those photos show the sunlit side of the comet from many angles, so its 3-dimensional shape can be inferred by analyzing the images.