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The Sidereal Times Observe—Educate—Have Fun October 2019 The Sidereal Times The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-0581 www.TAAS.org Our 60th AnniverSAry Since 1959 General Meeting News Lynne Olson TAAS Astronomy 101 “Great Observing Sites in New Mexico” Saturday, October 19 - 6:00pm Regener Hall, UNM Campus Free and open to the public white dwArf rAdiAl TAAS General Meeting “White Dwarfs: The Most Wonderful of All Stars!” Saturday, October 19 - 7:00pm Regener Hall, UNM Campus Free and open to the public Alan Scott’s Telescope Our featured speaker at the TAAS General Meet- ing Oct. 19 will be Dr. John McGraw. His topic: “White Before the tAAS GenerAl MeetinG on Oct. 19, Dwarfs: The Most Wonderful of All Stars!” TAAS member Alan Scott will present Astronomy 101. His topic: “Great Observing Sites in New Mexico The text that follows is by Dr. McGraw: and Where to Find Them.” In about 5 billion years, our Sun will end its normal This is a must for those wanting to use their tele- lifetime of fusing hydrogen and helium to heavier at- scopes somewhere other than their backyard and oms, such as carbon and oxygen, and finally end its 10 to locate the best dark-sky areas in our state! billion-year life as a white dwarf star. continued on page 4 . continued on page 6 . Placitas Star Party TAAS Fabulous 50 TAAS/NWR Public Placitas Elementary Fall Session Star Party Sat., October 12 All Saints of North America Valle de Oro N.W.R. Orthodox Church 6:30–10:00 p.M. Fri., October 25, 6:00 p.M. Fri., October 18, 7:00 p.m. INSIDE 2....... President’s Message 6........Astrophoto: Luna in July 9........Valle de Oro Public Star Party Oct. 25 3....... Placitas Star Party Oct. 12 7.........Fabulous 50, Cosmic Carnival and Star Party 10....... Astrophoto: Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae 4....... Photos from Okie-Tex 2019 8........Chaco Canyon Star Party Report 11.........TAAS Reports & Notices 5........Under the Dome, Telescope Loan Update 12........ TAAS Directors & Staff continued on page 3 . The Sidereal Times October 2019 President’s Message Jim Fordice Assistance Needed quite pleased this year to stand ing to accept nametag requests, under the dark skies of Oklahoma make the nametags, and deliver As we ApproAch the end of the year there are some areas where and enjoy all of its treats. If you them to the requesting members. we need your assistance: have never been to Okie-Tex, I have a sample file that I have consider joining us next year – it’s used to create a nametag for my- • Nominating Committee: The scheduled for Sept. 11-19. It is an self. If you are willing to take on Nominating Committee con- unparalleled treat. Okie-Tex web- this responsibility, please contact sists of three members who are site: http://www.okie-tex.com/ (See me. appointed by the Board of Di- photos on page 4.) rectors at least 90 days before Support the Perihelion Banquet the Annual Meeting. The Nomi- The next Perihelion Banquet and nating committee produces a Annual Meeting is scheduled for list of candidates to be present- January 11, 2020. Our Guest ed at the Annual Meeting. At Speaker will be Greg Crinklaw, the Annual Meeting, a member who will talk about Imaging Tools of the committee shall conduct and Software. The banquet will be the election. The committee’s held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. nominees and the offices they Nametags Please save the date and plan to will hold are presented. In attend. addition, nominations will be There was some discussion re- called for from the floor. cently about having a distinctive At the banquet we will need some of you to operate the check-in • Awards Committee: A com- TAAS T-shirt that would identify us table, greet attendees, and assist mittee will be established, of as TAAS Members at public star with other support functions. I will at least two TAAS members, parties. I agree that TAAS Mem- be sending an email soon to solicit to select the recipients of the bers should be readily identifiable awards that will be presented at the star parties. The downside volunteers for these functions. at the Annual Meeting. of using a T-shirt for identification Amazon Smile is that it will only work in warm Please contact me if you are inter- If you are at all like me, you pur- weather. As soon as it cools off ested in supporting one of these chase a lot of items from Amazon. and a jacket or a coat is required efforts. You may also be aware that if you it is no longer visible. For a time, make your purchases on Amazon Successful Okie-Tex a member made nametags for Smile a percentage of your pay- TAAS Members that included a TAAS had an excellent turnout ment is contributed to a charity of picture and their name. It hung at the Okie-Tex Star Party this your choice. You can now select from a lanyard. The nametag can year, and we enjoyed some great TAAS as your charity! observing weather. For me it had be worn in any weather and has been three years, since 2016, that the advantage of being something Under the “Account & Lists” menu I had accomplished any observing you can keep in your car so that it find “Your AmazonSmile”. Then at Okie-Tex. In 2017 I was hit by a is always available when you need select “The Albuquerque Astro- pickup truck while riding my bike it. nomical Society” as your charity. on the first day of the star party The Board of Directors will be What a great way to contribute to and missed the whole thing except happy to fund the expenses for your favorite society! setting up my telescope. In 2018 it making member nametags. I am rained every day without fail. I was looking for a volunteer that is will- Page 2 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times October 2019 Photo by Bruce Meyer PLACITAS PUBLIC STAR PARTY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12TH - 6:30-10:00PM Placitas Elementary School Grounds Our popular fall Placitas Public Star Party will Bring a jacket for any chill in the night air and only use once again be held on the grounds of the Placitas red lights in your headlamps or flashlights to save the Elementary School – a location with excellent dark night vision of all. We look forward to seeing you, no skies. The generous volunteers and school staff will matter what age, and to showing off the fall night skies manage parking and offer the use of their fine facil- ofDirections: New Mexico! ity with restrooms and water. Take I-25 to exit 242, Highway 165, and TAAS telescopes will begin setting up well before proceed east for 6.5 miles to the Placitas Elementary dusk, so please come early to park and talk with School on the left and turn left there onto the school’s our members before night observing begins just one-way driveway loop -- 5 Cam de Carbon. after sunset at 6:31pm, and the Moon, Jupiter and On your way to the school along highway 165, you will Saturn will be out, along with deep-sky targets. pass the Placitas Library and Placitas Fire Department TAAS Event Owners are Jim Roucis and Larry on the left and further down the road, the Placitas Post O’Hanlon, who will coordinate the activities. —Lynne Olson Office on the right...look for the school sign just after you pass the post office. Page 3 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times October 2019 Here are some images taken at the annual Okie-Tex Star Party, Sept. 21–28. Above, TAAS’s location at the sprawling Okie-Tex site. Photo by Jim K. Entrance to the Okie-Tex site, near the NM state line at Telescopes at TAAS’s crowded spot. Kenton, OK. Photo by Bruce Meyer Photo by Bruce Meyer ...General Meeting News continued from page 1 John McGraw did his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. McGraw will describe the stellar these white dwarf stars are being with lots of observations made at evolution to the white dwarf stage carried out at Sandia National Lab- McDonald Observatory. He was at of stars like our Sun. This structure oratories, right here in River City! the University of Arizona Steward is uniquely interesting because, as But wait! There’s more! Just as Observatory in Tucson for about heavier atoms are created by nu- evolving giant stars pulsate at cer- 13 years, and has been Professor clear fusion - the energy source of tain times during their lifetime, so of Physics and Astronomy at the our Sun -- the inner core becomes too do white dwarf stars … but their University of New Mexico for 25 stratified, with heavier nuclei gravi- pulsations are very different from years. tationally “falling” to the center of “normal” stars. They are “nonradial the star. He became Professor Emeritus in pulsations.” (This discovery was UNM last July and, in addition to This infall halts (at a most interest-. the topic of McGraw’s PhD disserta- astronomical research, is operat- ing place!) when the core of the Sun tion at the University of Texas many ing a small company, J. T. McGraw is about the size of the Earth When years ago.) and Associates (JTMA) which it halts, at that point, the core of our As preparatory homework, consid- uses optimized optical tech- Sun becomes a white dwarf, and er what the Milky Way galaxy will niques to detect Earth-orbiting will remain a white dwarf essential- look like in, say, 100 billion years, satellites and debris and provide ly for the lifetime of the universe! when most of the stars we see at robust, continuous surveillance Exciting (!) laboratory experiments night have evolved to become white of Earth orbital space.
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