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The Skyscraper Vol. 34 no. 2 The monthly publication of The Skyscraper February 2007 February Meeting with Dr. Steve Schneider FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND AT NORTH SCITUATE COMMUNITY CENTER DARK MATTER AND FIVE COLLEGE OBSERVATORY Dr. Schneider headed a project to present a new view of “nearby“ galaxies, probing the way that Amateur Astronomical Society of Rhode Island galaxies cluster together over distances of hundreds of millions of light years. The map for the first time 47 Peeptoad Road North Scituate, RI 02857 covers the whole sky including the part ordinarily hidden by our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and reveals www.theskyscrapers.org a complicated network of galaxies surrounding us. President Dave Huestis DIRECTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER: From 1st Vice President Seagrave Observatory: North Scituate Community Glenn Jackson Center is the first building on the right side going south on Rt. 116, after the 2nd Vice President intersection of Rt. 6 Bypass (also Rt. 101) and Rt. 116, in N. Scituate. Famous Ted Ferneza Pizza is on the corner of that intersection. Parking is across the street from Secretary the Community Center. Mercedes Rivero-Hudec Treasurer Allen Schenck Members at Large Jerry Jeffrey Jim Brenek IN THIS ISSUE Trustees FEBRUARY 2007 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 2 Richard Arnold 7:30PM February Meeting Dave Huestis Tracey Haley North Scituate Community Bob Horton F2RIDAY Center BOOK & VIDEO REVIEWS 2 Jerry Jeffrey Librarian 7:00PM Public Observing Night SOUTHERN ARIZONA TRIP 3 Tracey Haley Seagrave Observatory, SATURDAY3 weather permitting Editor YERKES OBSERVATORY 4 Jim Hendrickson PHOTO ESSAY 7:00PM Public Observing Night Glenn Jackson Seagrave Observatory, See back page for directions to S10ATURDAY weather permitting A GREAT BIG WRECK 7 Seagrave Observatory. Dr. Tony Phillips 7:00PM Public Observing Night Submissions COMET MCNAUGHT 8 Please submit items for the newsletter Seagrave Observatory, PHOTO GALLERY S17ATURDAY by February 15 to Jim Hendrickson, 1 weather permitting Tracey Haley, Bill Gucfa, John Sunflower Circle, North Providence, RI Briggs 02911 or email to [email protected] 7:00PM Public Observing Night JANUARY MEETING NOTES Seagrave Observatory, 9 Email subscriptions: Dave Hurdis S24ATURDAY To receive The Skyscraper by email, send weather permitting email with your name and address to TREASURER’S REPORT 9 [email protected]. Note that you Al Schenck will no longer receive the newsletter by postal mail. © 2007 Skyscrapers, Inc. THE SKYSCRAPER • FEBRUARY 2007 President’s Message Dave Huestis, President Well, Winter has finally arrived. And with the March meeting, so don’t delay in your decision. somewhat of a vengeance. Most of us knew we Dr. Steve Schneider from the University of couldn’t get away with the mild weather for too Massachusetts Department of Astronomy will talk long. about mapping the distribution of galaxies. So I feel I must repeat my Weather/Snow As many of you may be now aware, Skyscrapers Cancellation Update!!! will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on May 5, 2007. Rhode Island broadcasters have teamed up to We are currently in the planning stages to properly provide more comprehensive notification of weather/ commemorate this milestone achievement. There’ll snow cancellations or delays. be a banquet, special lectures and 75th anniversary Once I provide the cancellation notice to a central “collectibles”. system, participating broadcasters will provide the As Skyscrapers’ historian, more than a year and notice. a half ago I began researching and writing a 75 year Generally, the television stations will only history summary of the Skyscrapers organization that provide cancellations for a group like Skyscrapers on we plan on publishing in book form (similar to that of their web sites. The radio stations will broadcast the our 25 year book published back in 1957). cancellation notice over the air. We are reserving some space in this work Here is the list of participating broadcasters. for contributions from our members. We do plan I have not verified where the cancellation notice on reprinting the “How I Became an Amateur will appear on any of the television web sites. They Astronomer” articles that some of you contributed to obviously all have different formats. Check out your the newsletter. favorite station in advance to see where the closings, I would further like to ask for some contributions etc are posted. of some short stories of your observing experiences, In addition, for those of you who have email, etc while a member of Skyscrapers. I’m sure some of should I have to cancel a meeting, I will send an email you long-time members may also have funny story or as soon as I make the go/no go decision. two you can relate. Or even a brief anecdote. Don’t forget that our February and March Please email your contributions to me at the meetings will be held at the North Scituate Community address below, or if you prefer snail mail, send them Center. to my attention at our Seagrave address. The deadline Elections are coming up in April for seven for submissions is April 6, the date of our April Executive Committee Members and one Trustee. monthly meeting. If you are running for a second term or would like I look forward to hearing from you. to be considered for an office in the Skyscrapers Start getting excited as Skyscrapers celebrates 75 organization, please see Bobby Napier at the February years of stargazing. monthly meeting. Nominations will be presented at Book and Video Reviews CONCERNING COMET IMPACTS WITH THE EARTH JERRY JEFFREY . The following article and others in the future major earth changing catastrophes. concerning bodies impacting the Earth, and in the Its major premise was that a comet or comets SF literature other planets as well, are sequels to impacted the earth in prehistoric times but after the three articles about the science of impactors humans were here and caused the effects known as published in The Skyscraper in the fall of 2006. I will drift (we now call them tillites). Drift is a pile of rocks begin with a book that was published by the author or gravel that we now attribute to glaciers. Donnelly’s as true science. big point was that these drifts did not occur all over Ragnorok; The Age of Fire and Gravel; by the Earth but essentially in that quarter of the Earth Ignatius Donnelly copyright 1883. encompassed by a triangle from the North Pole Ragnorok was the first book to address in a south to about Colorado thence east to about France scientific (sic) fashion possible impact events as and then North back to the pole and were caused by 2 ejecta from a large impact. We now know this to be truly the effect of global RHODE ISLAND glaciation caused by ice sheets covering essentially BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION the entire Earth at some point in the remote past about 700 to 800 million years ago. These ice sheets INCLEMENT WEATHER laid down numerous piles of striated rock and gravel CANCELLATION PROGRAM over much of the Earth and left their effects even in RI. 2006-7 PARTICIPATING MEMBERS As a large part of his proof that the drift was caused by impacts Donnelly used myths from TELEVISION the dawn of man, which depicted several Earth destroying events from the sky that could be WLNE ABC6 CW28 interpreted as comets. He actually got most of the www.abc6.com www.cw28tv.com effects right for a large impact but his proof was from a different event(s). At the end of the book he even WJAR NBC10 RI PBS / Channel 36 www.turnto10.com www.ripbs.org went so far as to say that one or more of these events destroyed the mythical city state of Atlantis. WPRI CBS12 WNAC FOX64 The word Ragnorok has been used in the genre www.wpri.com www.fox64.com to mean the end of everything usually caused by a massive war as in Operation Ragnorok in the book RADIO Bolo by David Weber. Ragnorok is also the title of FM AM several war playing games. 92.3 WPRO 1590 WARV This is a good read, but is only available on www.92profm.com www.warv.net the internet since the book has been out of print for over a hundred years. The science is a little sketchy. 93.3 WSNE 630 WPRO If anyone wants to read it I have downloaded and www.wsne.com www.630wpro.com printed a complete copy and will loan it out. 94.1 WHJY 790 WSKO www.whjy.com www.scoreamfm.com 95.5 WBRU 920 WHJJ www.wbru.com www.whjjam.com 2007 98.1 WCTK 1110 WPMZ Trip to www.wctk.com www.poder1110.com Southern Arizona 99.7 WSKO 1180 WCNX www.scoreamfm.com www.wcnx1180.com There is a trip tentatively planned for the week of May 12-19, 2007 (Sat-Sat). We would fly into Phoenix 100.3 WKKB 1240 WOON and drive rental cars to a hotel in Tucson. www.latina1003.com www.onworldwide.com Possible options being researched include: Kitt Peak National Observatory • Meeting and observing 101.5 WWBB 1290 WRNI with David Levy • University of Arizona Observatory www.b101.com www.wrni.org • Tombstone • Kartchner Caverns • Bisbee Mining 102.7 WAKX 1450 WLKW & Historical Museum • Observing with Tucson www.festivaljazz1027.com www.wnbh.com Amateur Astronomy Association • Pima Air & Space Museum • And more 105.1 WWLI 1540 WADK Hotel rates, airfare and car rental rates are in the www.litrock105fm.com www.wadk.com beginning research stages at the moment. As has been done in the past, we are trying to get the best rates 106.3 WWKX 1590 WARV possible for our group (preferably around $1000.00 www.hot1063.com www.warv.net per person).