The May SiderealSidereal TimesTimes 1997

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ALBUQUERQUE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY P.O. BOX 54072, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87153-4072

13,500 Attend Be-Bop! April Meeting Preview The Albuquerque Astronomi- handled by Bill Eisenhood, Mike Because of this ’s schedule, cal Society can pat itself on the and Ruth Pendley, Elinor Gates, the Regular TAAS meeting for back for presenting the largest and myself. We had good cov- April will be incorporated into party in the United States erage by all three TV stations Astronomy Day, at Coronado (World?) The “official” atten- and two radio talk shows, not Mall, on Saturday, April 19th, dance for Be-Bopp was put at to mention great write-ups in the 6:30 pm in an empty store (#59, 13,500 by The Rio Rancho Police Albuquerque Journal and Rio see page 11). We are very fortu- Dept. and nate to have, once again, TAAS the Parks member Great Bear (“G. B.”) and recre- Cornucopia as the guest ation staff. speaker! G. B. is a Park Ranger The Explorer at Chaco Canyon, and he will scouts talk about Chaco, its archeology parked over and archeoastronomy. The talk

5,200 cars for

us. (By the 6:30. way, the at Mall Coronado at

troop leader

estimated held be will Meeting 16,000 folks) General 19 April The Any follow up newslet- The famous “Robinians”. ter article All Be-Bop photos by Bill Tondreau must sound will be for both the Public, and like a long thank you note to the Rancho Observer. the Society. I personally get to- Society members for a job well The next order of business is tally riveted to G. B.’s lectures, done. It would probably be ap- getting people in and out of the they are so fascinating! We will propriate here to print the Soci- balloon field. The Rio Rancho probably tend to club business ety roster and say well done to Department of Safety and the just after G. B.’s talk, and the all. There are however, several Park and Recreation crew did a usual social hour might be best groups of people that stand out. great job, considering the re- left to the UNM Campus star For any public event to be suc- stricted road net that leads to the party afterwards (if we need cessful, the public must be made one!). aware of the event. This task was Continued on page 12 - Kevin McKeown ○○○○○○○○○ ○ ○ ○ Departments Features

Presidents Update page 2 School Star Parties page 8 March Recap page 2 Board Meeting page 3 Kids Corner page 9 Starfire Tour page 9 Calendars page 4 Observatory Report page 10 El Malpais page 9 Observers Page page 6 Internet Info page 13 Messier Marathon Recap page 10 Deep Sky Waldo page 8 Classified Ads page 13 Open Space Star Party page 10 Campus Observatory page 8 Board Member Info page 13 Astronomy Day page 11 The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997

PRESIDENT’S UPDATE March Meeting Recap Newsletter Glitches: The first but the preliminary results indicate topic for this month is the status of that 13,500 visitors (in 5200 cars) The March meeting featured newsletter. You have already no- looked through 77 telescopes and Dr. John McGraw from the UNM ticed that the format has changed 16 tripod mounted binoculars. All Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. from a tri-fold to a half-fold. This I can say is WOW! Everyone asso- He is also the Director of the UNM was done to reduce folding costs ciated with the event should feel Institute for Astrophysics and at the printer. I was very pleased very very proud. This was truly a LodeStar. Dr. McGraw presented with the quality of the newsletter historic event. a summary of LodeStar and a cur- last month but very disappointed In addition to local coverage, rent update of the project’s status. in the mailing process. The news- TAAS was mentioned in the New LodeStar is a multifaceted letter was delivered to the printer York Times (although they called project focusing on astronomy re- in electronic format on March 11. us the Albuquerque Observers So- search and education in New The following Saturday I was ciety) and Astronomy magazine is Mexico. There are three major sites called by an embarrassed printer interested in running a piece on the associated with the project: stating that our newsletters had event. The Rio Rancho City Coun- Edscorn Observatory on the New been sent to a local marshal arts or- cil has also invited representatives Mexico Tech campus, a museum ganization by mistake. Ellie and I from TAAS to attend the April 9 addition and theater at the New redelivered the newsletter and council meeting to receive an Mexico Museum of Natural His- member database to the printer award (that is after we go to press tory, and Enchanted Skies Park on and he got the next batch out in so more next month). Horace Mesa near Grants, NM. All short order. Things were very busy on the of these sites will feature as- The printer was very apologetic, 29th so we don’t have a good list tronomy and use astronomy as a ate the cost of the misdirected of all those that helped. However, means to educate the public about newsletters and gave us a substan- radio station KRZN, the sister sta- all fields of science. LodeStar also tial discount on the newsletters ac- tion of KOOL-102 , has provided includes teacher training programs tually sent to TAAS members. This me with gifts for the TAAS mem- to help them teach science to New is not the end of the story though. bers that helped on Saturday night. Mexico children. After a week I still not received Call the hotline and leave your The Enchanted Skies Park is my newsletter. I obtained a copy name and I will see that you get planned to have both research tele- of the address list used to mail the your gift and be recognized in next scopes and telescopes for use by the newsletter and compared it to the month’s newsletter. public and by school children via master TAAS list. Out of the 300+ We were able to run some of the the Internet. Possibilities for TAAS names on the list, I discovered 24 wonderful photos Bill Tondreau members to be docents for public (including mine) that had no ZIP took at the event but black and star parties at the Park were also codes. I provided a corrected list white does not do them justice. The mentioned. A visitors center, res- to the printer and they made an ad- WEB version of the newsletter will taurant, and tram for access to the ditional run and mailing (at their have color photos and we hope to top of Horace Mesa and the re- expense) to those on the list. As of show them off at Astronomy Day search facilities are also in the the first of April, I believe every- (April 19). plans. one but about three people had re- Astronomy Day: Speaking of After fielding many questions ceived their newsletter. If you did Astronomy Day - The only day the about LodeStar and TAAS involve- not received your’s, please give the mall was available in April was also ment in the future of the project, Dr. hotline a call and I will see that you the same day as our general meet- McGraw explained the current do. By the way, we discovered ing. Therefore, our April meet- funding crisis for LodeStar. Be- why the list of 24 lost their ZIP ing will be at Coronado Mall cause the Capital Appropriations codes and have corrected the prob- at 6:30. Please see the April Meet- Bill in the legislature was not voted lem. ing Preview for more information. on, LodeStar stands to lose not Be-Bop: We will not have the fi- only money promised the project nal numbers on Be-Bop for a while —Mike Pendley Page 2 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times

by the state, but also the matching funds from the Air Force Office of OARD EETING Scientific Research. He hopes that B M a special session of the legislature will be called so that this issue will be voted on. Otherwise this ambi- The March Board of Directors vatory Fund to cover costs associ- tious and unique education and meeting was called to order at 7:00 ated with the site work. research project and facilities will by President Mike Pendley. Board Mike presented a request by a cease to exist and it is the children members present were Kevin non-TAAS organization that of this state who stand to lose the McKeown, Alan Green, Ellie Gates, wanted to use GNTO for a non as- most in terms of science and tech- Brock Parker, Bruce Levin, Carl tronomical purpose. The general nology education. Frish, Gordon Pegue, Jay Harden, feeling was that this was not in the After Dr. McGraw’s presenta- Karina Running Horse, and Ruth best interest of the society. tion slides of the comet taken by Pendley. Observers included Brad Membership Committee: No TAAS members were shown. All Hamlin, Barry Gordon, and Dee formal report. Current member- were impressive and I’m sure in- Friesen. ship stands at 301. 204 regular, 84 spired others to attempt taking Past Minutes: Steve Snider was Family, 10 Educational, 3 Honorary. photos of their own. The meeting not present so reading the Febru- Calendar: Carl went over the cal- concluded with a lively social hour. ary Minutes was waved until April. endar. Some minor corrections - Ellie Gates Treasurer’s Report: The were made. Treasurer’s Report was presented Event Reports: Discussions on by Ellie Gates. Total funds on de- the good and bad of the Messier, posit was $11,183.01. Education Griegos, Collet Park, Hawthorn, TAAS Database Fund = $2773.02, Observatory and Meadowlark events were held. Fund = $5826.93, General Funds = Planetarium Committee: About Have you ever wondered what $2583.05. 200 people went through this we do with all those questions you Special Presentation: Dee month. are asked to answer on your mem- Friesen, TAAS member and mem- Future General Meetings: Kevin bership application? Well, every ber of the Board of Directors of discussed the March meeting and one of your answers is entered into New Vision made a presentation. early plans for the April meeting to the database. Recently I’ve discov- New Vision is a nonprofit (501c) be held at Coronado Mall. ered that many entries on what organization integrating programs Be-Bop / Astro-Day: Brock pro- telescopes are owned by members and exhibits of the Albuquerque vided information on how plans are inaccurate or incomplete. Also, Children’s Museum and Explora for Be-Bop and Astro Day were we have a new question asking if Science Center. Dee briefed the progressing. you are willing to have your name, board on New Vision plans - espe- Starfire: Alan reported that he e-mail address and phone listed in cially those related to astronomy. had made arrangements for a Star- a list made available to members Observatory Committee: The fire tour on May 30. Alan said that so you can contact each other out- Observatory Committee met on because of the nature of this tour side of meetings, etc.. If you want March 3 at 7:20. The main topic we cannot have unexpected people to find out what information is in was erosion control around the show up on the night of the tour. the database and if it is accurate, building and making the site more Old Business: Mike discussed please contact me. I’ll also be user friendly (smoothing out the the upcoming Science Fair judging happy to add or update any infor- lumps and bumps, a maintained and the new newsletter printer. mation in the database. Also, path to the out house (the potty- New Business: Brad announced Please let me know if you want to path), etc. Carl Frisch’s donation that he would like to retire as Cam- be on our public membership list. of $1000 to cover some costs asso- pus Observatory Coordinator in Feel free to contact me at 277-1529 ciated with this work were ac- August. (work) or 880-0239 (home) or by e- knowledged. Newsletter assignments were mail, [email protected]. A motion was made, seconded made and the meeting adjourned and passed to match Carl’s dona- at 8:45. -Elinor Gates tion with money from the Obser- - Mike Pendley Page 3 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997 April 97 MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1234 5 Carlsbad Caverns • Waldo reports due • SFCC •UNM Obs. • Deadline to (call hotline) Observing (call hotline submit News- to confirm) letter Articles 6789101112 McDonald Observatory Big Bend National Park

• Daylight • Collinas • GNTO •UNM Obs • GNTO • New Committee Savings Elementary • Chamiza Time Begins School Mtg. Elem. School •Nat. Astro. Day 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 • UNM (call • TAAS Astro. • Board hotline to Day (see story) • First • • GNTO Meeting, confirm) Stationary Committee 7PM quarter Mtg. • TAAS General Moon PANDA • Valencia Meeting - Building Campus Coronado Mall CanceledCanceled 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 • Lowell • Pueblo • UNM • Full Moon • David Levy at • Lyrid Meteor Elementary Cultural Ctr. Observing SFCC Shower • Arroyo Del School Oso Elem. (see March ST) School 27 28 29 30 • Marie • Last quarter Hughes Moon Elementary • Mars School Stationary

Arroyo del Oso Lowell Elementary Marie Hughes Ele 6504 Harper Dr. 1700 Sunshine Terrace 5701 Mojave NW Stadium N

MojaveN McKinney Dr. Sunshine Terrace

N Unser Academy Rd. NE San Ildefonso Yale Coors University

Harper Montano Rd.

San Mateo Blvd Gibson

Friday April 22 Wed. April 23 Wed. April 30 821-9393 764-2013 897-3080

Page 4 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times May 97 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

12 3 • SFCC • UNM (call • El Malpais Observing hotline to • GNTO • Waldo reports confirm) due • Eta Aquarid • Neptune • Onate Meteor Shower Stationary Elementary 45678910 • New • Placitas Event Moon • Mercury • UNM (call (see story) Stationary hotline to • Deadline to • Alvarado confirm) submit News- Elementary letter Articles 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 • GNTO • UNM (call • Uranus • First Committee hotline to Stationary quarter Mtg. confirm) • Mitchell Moon • Asteroid Elementary • Emerson Pallas Elem. Stationary 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 • UNM (call • Full Moon hotline to • TAAS General • Board Meeting confirm) Meeting 7PM PANDA • Sandia Base (Regener Hall) Building Elementary 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 • UNM (call • Chaco Canyon • Pluto at • Lincoln hotline to Opposition Middle confirm) • GNTO School • Last quarter Moon • Starfire

Alvarado Elementary Mitchell Elementary 1100 Solar Rd. NW 10121 Comanche Rd. NE NOTES: TAAS=The Albuquerque Chavez Astronomical Society Osuna N GNTO=General Nathan Twining Observatory. Call Solar Robbin Pimbley @ 873-4904 to Nabor confirm. SFCC=Santa Fe Community Eubank

Morris College. Call Brock Parker @ N 298-2792 to confirm. UNM=UNM Observatory Juan Tabo observing nights. Call Brad Rio Grand 4th Street Comanche Rd. Hamlin @ 792-1509 to confirm or call the UNM hotline @ 277- 1446 ATM=Amateur Telescope Montano Making. Call Michael Pendley for information @ 296-0549. Tues May 6 Tues May 13 344-4412 344-4412

Page 5 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997

starclouds are the manifestations, THE OBSERVER’S PAGE as seen from Earth, of a continuous band of that form an inner May Musings smaller overall, and is a somewhat arm of our Milky Way! {A similar May is a good time to check out better arrangement! First, the “old” arrangement exists for the Cygnus- a couple of items of interest. First, is out of balance! Since the Carina starclouds, the galactic arm you can now easily evaluate the star sigma is of about magnitude we reside in. They lie on opposite Libra the Balance, as 3.3, or about one half as bright- or sides of the celestial sphere.) it can be seen high up in the south- “heavy”- as beta, such scales would UNM Campus Star Parties east in mid evening. In the April swing out of balance counterclock- Some very fine observing was Sid Times, I wrote about the sym- wise. A scale that has had at the UNM Campus Observa- and - stars of nearly bolism of this constellation. While tory on the nights of March 21, and Libra held the autumnal equinox equal magnitude- marking its tips March 28. On Friday, the 21st, within its boundaries around 1100 would be in balance. Secondly, dur- Comet Hale Bopp was observed for BC, it seems to have been formed ing springtime when Libra rises a time, before clouds moved into centuries later by the Greeks (400 along the southeastern horizon, the the western sky. Later that evening, stars beta and alpha Libra are es- BC?), although they still considered superb seeing presented excellent the stars of Libra to be the claws of sentially parallel to the horizon, views of Mars- some of the best a larger, archaic . (Alpha and this arm is on an even keel. The detail I have ever seen. On Friday, and beta Librae marked the claw balance arm of the “old” Librae the 28th, about 1000 persons tips.) In other words, Libra, as the (beta - sigma), upon rising, is quite showed, despite spring break at angled to the horizon for those at claws, plus the stars of our famil- UNM! Some media hype, along iar Scorpius, formed the Scorpius about 35 degrees north latitude, with a bright Comet Hale Bopp in the Greeks knew! I would not be and looks flopped out of balance! the west, apparently brought out surprised that astronomers- living On the other hand, the fulcrum of the crowd. The comet was great, perhaps around 2000 BC- began to the “old” Librae does lie almost despite the light pollution. Luck- recognize the significance of the exactly on the . Note, the ily, we had sufficient help, (see “Libra” part of the scorpion. It Libra form that I see allows sigma UNM Campus Observatory Report on seems though, it took the Romans Librae to be placed back with Scor- page 8 for a list- ed.) and many tele- to make the complete distinction pius, to form the lower claw tip! I scopes. Once again, some nice between Libra and Scorpius, but by suspect some ancient astronomers views of Mars were obtained, with then, Libra was moving off the au- viewed Libra as the “new” form I Syrtis Major prominently seen. tumnal equinox. see: it is so natural. Anyway, check Anyway, how do you see the out Libra. If you don’t like either The Comet! Balance? Dig out the old Norton’s of the two forms described above, As of early April, Comet Hale- for this. Old (1700’s) star maps you can give Libra back to the Scor- Bopp is a very bright evening ob- depicting the constellation figures pion! ject, although somewhat small will show that beta and sigma Also, around midnight, May tailwise, overall. In Albuquerque Librae mark the tips of the balance offers the chance to detect the proper, the inner coma is seen as a arm, with alpha as the fulcrum. Norma-Ara star cloud in the Milky star of nearly +0.5 magnitude (na- The pans would be made up of Way. Look very low along the ho- ked eye). A stubby dust tail points faint stars around rizon below and just in front of north (to the right). This gives the (northerly pan), and nu Librae Scorpius, to the due south. Scan impression of some sort of airplane, (southerly pan). These pans quite with binoculars. I’ve seen the with a contrail, frozen in place! On encroach on Scorpius. Let’s call this Norma cloud from central New the night of the Be Bopp, the comet the “old” Libra. Another form of Mexico on clean black nights. This was a beautiful, conspicuous ob- Libra, the form I consistently see, rich cloud is the southern equiva- ject! It really dominated the excel- places beta and alpha at the tips of lent of the Scutum star cloud, and lent dark skies to the west of Rio the balance arm, and psi Libra it lies an equal angular distance Rancho, and those from the public marks the fulcrum. The pans from the point that marks the di- who attended were not disap- would be marked by gamma and rection to the center of the . pointed. That night, the dust en- iota Librae. This “new” Libra is In fact, the Norma and Scutum velopes, or hoods were well seen Page 6 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times

by everyone using telescopes of Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp have the initial penumbral phase, gen- about 3 inches or larger. The inner presented problems for visual ob- erally great skies allowed us a fine coma was like a brilliant pearl. On servers. During the flyby, look at this March 23 evening the evening of March 31st, from Hyakutake’s tail nearly merged event. I observed from dark very dark Clines Corners, I had with the gegenschein, and if it did LaJoya, 50 miles south of Albuquer- Hale-Bopp at a total magnitude of pass through the gegenschein que. Carl Frisch reported to me -0.8, with a maximum tail (gas) of (physically impossible if perfectly that a very good crowd attended about 18 degrees long. The dust tail straight) as implied by the claim of the UNM Campus Observatory was filmy, fanned, and about 12 a 100 degree long tail during the special. While technically still a degrees long. Comet Hale-Bopp is flyby period, it would have gotten partial lunar eclipse (at 92.5%), it putting on a remarkable show- the lost in the thicker airmass, and pos- had all the heart and soul of total gas and dust tails are very well re- sible airglow, towards the southern lunar eclipse. Only a narrow sliver solved. Hence, there is a large an- horizon. At best, I could only see, of moon, lit by direct sunlight, re- gular gap between the gas and dust and photograph about a 70 degree mained at mid eclipse, and this did tails. Because of this, Hale Bopp is long tail on Hyakutake- March not dampen some lovely colors an exquisite photographic object! 27th, 1996- under the finest skies within the umbra! Mike Pendley Tall Tails (zenith star better than 6.8). Pho- described a greenish gray band Comets Hyakutake and Hale tographs- if they exist- of the 100 (green cheese?) on the moon, just Bopp have presented fine tails to degree tail length- have yet to be inside the bright sliver. This frosty the visual observer. Many of you published in the common litera- zone, of the outermost umbra, sur- have seen some extreme estimates- ture. Somewhere along the line rounded, or sharply graded to a particularly from the Internet- of somebody with advanced skills coppery orange zone seen on the the angular lengths, in degrees, of would have recorded such a length moon deepest within the umbra. these tails (e. g. 100+ degrees on on film (you would think). On the At mid eclipse, the coppery orange Hyakutake for the flyby). Fre- other hand, Hale Bopp’s tail has color was easily seen with the un- quently, I’ve found that my own tail been flirting with the Cygnus- aided eye, according to Elinor length estimates- made at the same Lacerta-Cepheus-Cassiopeia Milky Gates. I thought the moon was time, and under the cleanest, Way. In the face of reports citing reminiscent of the Mars- blackest desert skies at one mile 20 to 25 degree long tails in early with a large, bright north polar cap! high- are considerably shorter than March, my Ektachrome shots show At mid eclipse, the moon shone these reports. In fact, some of these an 11 degree (for the gas) tail- at about as bright as (magni- extreme reports are really hard to best- on Hale-Bopp, at the same tude -5), and I could only barely believe, especially those out of the time, under supreme skies. I sus- detect shadows cast by the bright northeast USA (I used to live in pect that Milky Way enrichments sliver of moon outside the umbra. New York). While I’m not going to were confused for faint tail exten- The winter Milky Way presented say these reports are certainly sions by uncritical observers. itself nicely at this time, also. Un- wrong, I should make some com- Thirdly, it is best to estimate the like the dark lunar eclipses of 1992, ments. First, I cannot corroborate length of a comet tail using a math- this was another bright umbral these extreme lengths photographi- ematical method. Plot the end of eclipse, much like last September’s. cally, using wide angle cameras the tail, determine its coordinates. This umbral brightness helped to and Tri-X 400, or Ektachrome P1600 Then, knowing the coordinates of make the event more effective, films. Both of these films are very the head of the comet, use a math given that this was not a totality. sensitive to the bluish light emit- formula to find the angular length. By the way, the green color was ted by a gas tail. I have also made The use of star maps to estimate well recorded on my Kodachrome the effort to photograph the visual angles can lead to errors, through 64 shots. It was real! end of the tail (so reduced edge il- distortion. In short, report exactly As I watched this eclipse, I re- lumination was not responsible for what you really see, not what you membered the reports I read (in a shortened photographic tail). My want to see, or what you think you Sky & Telescope) of the saros pre- astrophotos, especially on Tri-X, see: don’t stretch those tails! decessor of this March 23rd event. agree quite well with my visual The Green Cheese Lunar Eclipse estimates. Secondly, both comets Except for some clouds during Continued on page 12

Page 7 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997

proximately 2600 people cycled Shortly after Kevin McKeown be- through. Combine this with Be-Bop gan the planetarium show indus- with Hale-Bopp and TAAS brought trial strength sprinklers in the tele- Deep astronomy to over 16,500 people scope viewing area came on. Need- over the last 30 days. Way To Go! less to say, viewing was cut short. Sky UNM volunteers include: Connie Fortunately, there was no damage Acosta, Roger Flegel, Carl Frisch, to equipment. Alexander Waldo Ellie Gates, Dr. Steve Gregory, Brad Comportie got some water on his Hamlin, Jay Harden, Dr. John mirror but it cleaned up OK. About By Lisa Wood McGraw, Kevin McKeown, Tom 150 people attended and 99 chil- Pannuti, Brock Parker, Gordon dren and adults listened to Kevin’s Pegue, Jon Pendley, Mike Pendley, great planetarium show. Ruth Pendley, Robbin Pimbley, A few days we received the fol- Andy Rivers, Karina Running lowing hand written letter: Dear Naked Eye Waldo Challenge Horse, Bruce Levin, and Bill Astronomy Club, Thanks you for com- Mercury, visible from 4/5 to 4/ Tondreau. (Let us know if we left ing to Hawthorne Elementary. Your 21. See April ASTRONOMY p. 68 you out). telescopes were great and the plan- for details. 3/14 Clouded Out. etarium was also great!! We liked the Deep Sky Waldo Challenge 3/21 ~300 Visitors. VG seeing. Ch. telescope with the blue moon. We hope you come again. Sincerely, Youth “Frosty Leo”- a challenging re- 4 videotaped action. 3/23 ~1,300 Visitors for the Lunar Leadership, Regina Zamora, Ashley flection nebula 2 degrees north Volpert, Mike Winterink and slightly west of Omicron Leo- Eclipse. Seeing very good. 3/19 Meadowlark Senior Center nis. A large scope is needed for this Ch. 13 did live report. 3/28 ~1000 visitors. Seeing good, object. See April ASTRONOMY In addition to the elementary p. 68 for details. temperatures cool but com- schools listed above, TAAS also fortable. Waldo Jr. April Challenge paid a visit to the Meadowlark Se- 4/4 Clouded Out. nior Center located near 528 and Can you “arc” to Arcturus? Southern. Barry Gordon gave his School Star usual excellent slide show and Please leave your name and obser- TAAS docents gave about 30 se- vations on the recording on the hot- Party Update niors a look at the comet, Mars, the line (296-0549) by May 1 to qualify Orion Nebula and other objects. for our monthly drawing and prize. 3/11 Collet Park Elementary Docents this month include The winner of the free tickets to Connie Acosta, Alexander Approximately 300 parents and the SFCC Planetarium was Carl children attended. Early birds were Comportie, Carl Frisch, Barry Gor- Frisch. Congratulations Carl. treated to a brief glimpse of Hale- don, Jay Harden, Tamara Hennig, Note: Due to the difference in Waldo Bopp low in the north-west sky. Kevin McKeown, Brock Parker, deadlines and the Sidereal Times pub- Barry Gordon gave a great slide Gordon Pegue, Jon Pendley, Mike lication schedule, names of success- show, Lisa Wood provided a plan- Pendley, Ruth Pendley, Robbin ful observers will now run one month etarium show to 103 kids, Lindsay Pimbley, Bruce Levin, Bill Ton- behind. - ed. Wood and Tamara Hennig gave dreau, Lindsay Wood, and Lisa their now famous comet making Wood. demonstration, and telescope driv- UNM Campus ers showed off the usual winter ob- Starlab Observatory jects. Docents Needed 3/14 Hawthorn Elementary. If you are interested in giving short Report This party started off normal astronomy presentations in our Comet mania and a lunar eclipse enough. Telescopes were set up on Starlab once a month, please call made for good for business at the a grass field and the planetarium me at 344-8308. No experience nec- UNM Campus Observatory. Ap- was set up in a multi-purpose room. essary. It’s really fun! - Lisa Wood Page 8 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times El Malpais Reminder The The El Malpais Star party is set Kids’ for Saturday, May 3rd, at the El Malpais Nat’l Mon’t Ranger Station parking lot (see article in April Si- Corner dereal Times). To get there, take I-40 west to Exit 89, and head south on by Lindsay Wood Rte. 117 for 9.5 miles. The station is on the left (east side of 117), and you can’t miss it. Plan on arriving just before sunset, or earlier. The A Letter to Alan Hale event is open to all members, and the Public (most will be from the On March 8th I heard that Alan Hale would be at Barnes and Noble Grants area). This is a nice dark sky Bookstore for a book signing. Since I couldn’t make it to the book- site, well worth the drive, and we store that night, I bought his book for him to sign and put some have had some successful outings questions inside the book hoping he would have the time to answer here! Also, the view in the west to them. Then a couple of days later I bopped on over to the store and southwest is perfect for comet picked up the book. Here is what we wrote: Hale-Bopp’s swan song! In the past, the Rangers have provided Dear Mr. Hale, coffee and brownies. The Station My name is Lindsay Wood. ... I saw your comet and I like it very much. I (with bathrooms), will be open all write a column for a newsletter about astronomy. ... If you have time I was night. Contact Kevin McKeown at wondering if you would answer some questions so I could put them in 254-9117, or Mike Pendley at 296- my column. 0549 if you have questions. - Kevin McKeown Q. How old were you when you started astronomy? A. Six old when I read my first astronomy book; 11 when I got my first telescope. Starfire Tour Q. Did anyone help you in your astronomy? A. When I was six my father checked out some astronomy books from Set For May the local library and let me look at them. After I had pestered him enough, he bought me my first telescope. Most of my work was on On Friday May 30th We’ve been my own, though. invited to join with Dr. Bob Fugate of The Starfire Optical Range in an Q. What was the most exciting part about discovering this comet? in depth tour of the 3.5 and 1.5 A: 1. The irony - many years looking for comets, and not finding any, then giving up, and then stumbling across this one when I wasn’t Meter adaptive optics telescopes . thinking about it. If weather permits we’ll take part 2. Knowing this comet will be back in 2400 years and the people in the operation of the LASER then will know this is Hale-Bopp. equipment which enables the tele- Q. What do you think is the most interesting thing about your comet? scope to literally “see through” our A: 1. It’s got my name on it! atmosphere and record detail 2. It will probably be the most studied and observed comet in which is unobtainable with con- history- almost everyone in the world should see it- and maybe ventional instruments. some of them will start to appreciate the universe more. The tour can only accommodate 3. Its return 2400 years from now. a limited number of visitors and I am thankful that Dr. Hale was nice enough to take the time to reservations must be on a first come answer my questions. first serve basis,... Please RSVP to Allan Green at 281-6651 if you would like to join the group. Page 9 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997 OBSERVATORY maintain its smooth qualities for niors Center, with a brief welcome years to come as well as prevent the and orientation. The star party REPORT native soils from eroding any fur- proper will then take place in the ther. Modest vehicular traffic (un- Center’s parking lot — starting What do a bunch of camels and loading and loading telescopes) with a look at the 4-day-old cres- GNTO have in common? Humps will not degrade the over-all quali- cent moon and (with luck) Comet and bumps, that’s what! At the ties of the surface. The approxi- Hale-Bopp, followed by an intro- most recent meeting of the Obser- mate area we are dealing with duction to the night sky and a few vatory Committee, this lumpy is- amounts to about 10,000 square of the more prominent constella- sue was the focus of our attention. feet. Also included in our planning tions, and then moving on to tele- I’ve heard from more than just a is some low railroad tie planters scopic observing of various deep- few folks that walking around the with local varieties of cacti and sky objects. GNTO site in the dark can be a haz- grasses around the building as well The Center is very easy to reach ardous adventure. In particular, as a decent path to the outhouse. (completely via paved roads) by there have been numerous occa- Gravel suppliers in Belen, Los leaving I-25 at the Placitas exit (i.e., sions where yours truly almost Lunas and Albuquerque have been exit 242), driving about 6.9 miles wound up on his face due to the contacted and it appears that we east on NM-165 (into Placitas) and ruts and bumps present around the can accomplish the planned work turning left on to Camino de las observatory. So, the members of for less than $2000. A very gener- Huertas; after driving north and the committee decided to attack ous contribution to the Society by west for about 4/10 mile, the en- this problem. Carl Frisch and matching funds al- trance will be on your left. What we came up with is a plan located to the project by the Board Weather permitting, the observ- for smoothing the area to the west, of Directors means that by some- ing should be rather good, as southwest and south of the dome. time in the next couple of months Placitas enjoys reasonably dark One reason we decided on the area we will have a more user-friendly skies - except for Albuquerque’s south of the dome is that this par- site with which to enjoy our hobby! light pollution low in the south. If ticular area also happens to lie in If you have any ideas about this the weather doesn’t cooper ate, the the shadow of the building. “What project (or ANY aspect of GNTO fall-back plan will be a slide show: shadow?” you might ask. Next usage) that you would like to share Introducing the Universe. time your out at GNTO at night, or if you feel like helping out, Las Placitas Association is a non- carefully walk over to the area PLEASE don’t hesitate to call me, profit volunteer group dedicated to south of the dome and you’ll no- Robbin Pimbley or El Presidente the preservation of open space in tice that the building provides par- Mike Pendley. Remember, it’s the Placitas area and to public edu- tial blockage of the sky-glow from YOUR observatory! cation on the value and varied uses Albuquerque. What better place to of this space. TAAS members who set-up your ‘scope than a place that - Gordon Pegue might be interested in helping are provides a little more darkness and Observatory Director asked to call Barry Gordon at 867- allows one to observe without con- 6424 or else e-mail to tinually ruining your dark-adapta- [email protected]. tion every time you look to the north? Star Party to Anyway, what we are going to do Support Open Messier is smooth the area (NOT level it because of erosion concerns), wa- Space Marathon Update ter and roll the resulting ground in The Albuquerque Astronomical preparation for laying down a 2" TAAS, in cooperation with Las Society’s Messier Marathon, which layer of base course aggregate, fol- Placitas Association, will be hold- took place on March 8, 1997 at lowed by a 2" layer of crusher fines ing a public star party the evening Twining Observatory was a great (otherwise known as driveway of Saturday, May 10 in the village success. Some estimates put atten- gravel). The combination of base of Placitas. dance at near 120. The winner was course aggregate and crusher fines The event will begin at 8 PM in Dr. Linda Hixon who was able to will result in a surface which will the Placitas Community and Se- see 109 objects unaided by a com- Page 10 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times puter. When interviewed about her Still Another success, Linda said that she “was More Be-Bop better prepared this year and had Be-Bop Thank You really done her homework.” The Thank Yous following are those that also de- To have an event the size of the The Institute for Astrophysics serve a hearty WELL DONE!! Hale-Bopp star party, a great num- would like to thank TAAS and their ber of people work very hard and members for organizing and put- Telescope Only: devote a great deal of their free time ting on the Be-Bop with Hale-Bopp Van Sutherland 108 to making it work. First I would event. It was a huge success and Kevin McKeown 70 like to express gratitude to all of the we were honored to be included in Computer Aided: people who were at our Luminaria such a sucessful venture. We'd also Gordon Pegue 107 assembly party where we as- like to thank the following mem- Karina Running Horse 107 sembled about 816 Luminarias: bers of IfA who participated: Dr. John McGraw, Dr. Patricia Two of our newer members, Donna & Rick Tuttle, Shane Hall, Henning, Dr. Steve Gregory, Dr. Katherine Blankenburg and Anna Steve Beckwith, John & Marge Rich Rand, Christina Lacey, Christy Whitlow each saw well over 60 Hockemeir, Jaclyn Lane, Carol Glaser, Savvas Khoushiappas, An- objects. A note about Kevin. He Baker, Bill Terborg, and Gregory drew Rivers, Thomas Pannuti, Pete had a severe attack of hay fever and Nelson all helped fold, fill and/or Zimmer, Elinor Gates, Jim Kunkle, had to leave the Marathon early, load the mountain of luminarias; and Aileen O'Catherine. Please let however, the next night he was able Jaclyn Lane provided our group me know if I have forgotten any- to observe 106 objects. with some very yummy cookies one else from IfA who helped. Many people worked very hard and Carol Baker gave us great con- to make this years Messier Mara- versation to help make the time - Ellie Gates thon the success it was. A great big pass; A big thanks to Rob Williams thank you goes out to everyone who provided a truck, helped set that helped. Special thanks goes to up the luminarias, and made a Kevin McKeown for developing quick trip to purchase matches; and Astronomy Day the new Messier Marathon List; to John Mlcoch & Dave Haugh for 1997 Carl Frisch for providing his trailer helping to light the luminarias. as a warm up room, keeping the I would also like to express ap- Astronomy day continues to coffee and hot chocolate flowing preciation to Bill Terberg for his progress nicely. We will have fifteen freely and sound advice on locat- preparation of 100 TAAS Hale- or so exhibitors from all over the ing some of the more difficult ob- Bopp fact sheets for use by those state at Coronado Mall on Saturday, th jects; Gordon Pegue for lighting the that ran telescopes and binoculars the 19 of April, from 9:00 AM Luminarias and clean-up after the and to Ruthann Soley who stood until 9:00 PM. Some of the new dis- event; Robin Pimbley for running out in the wind for several hours plays will include a “make and the Isengard Telescope; and last but passing out fact sheets and park- take” table and several student dis- not least, Jay & Ruth Harden, who ing passes to those that needed plays from Saint Pius X high school brought their RV down to Twin- them and then assisted Debbie and Thomisita elementary school. ing over that rough road to provide Pendley at the TAAS table provid- There is also the possibility of the the Marathoner’s with the best ing the public with TAAS applica- public unveiling of some Space Art posolie in the State. tions and information. I would like (M-100) that has been commis- Every year I learn something new to thank Debbie Pendley for step- sioned by Phillips Labs. Alan about the Messier Marathon and ping in and doing a heroic job of Green plans a series of short lec- this year I learned that you need to running the TAAS information tures during the day and our gen- place your telescope far enough table, fielding questions, and deal- eral meeting will be held in an away from the dome so that when ing with all of the glitches that pop empty store ( # 59) on the lower M72 and M75 rise in the wee hours up at any event of this size. level, between Jeans West and your view will not be blocked. Ah Once again to all that helped Waldenbooks. The star party at the well, live and learn. make the Hale-Bopp Star Party the UNM campus observatory is likely event of the season. - Karina Running Horse - Karina Running Horse Continued on page 13

Page 11 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times May Issue 1997 Observers Be-Bop people take a real toll of both people and equipment at public Continued from page 7 Continued from page 1 functions. Heroic phrases should Fifty four years ago, and about one field. Once the public was at the abound concerning these brave in- month (three saros cycles), on the field, parking was seen to by the dividuals. Be-Bop with Hale-Bopp evening of February 19th, 1943, this Civitans of Rio Rancho, Explorer would not have happened without saros previously visited the USA. Troop 31, and troop 9 of The Great this great support. There were (at That night saw only 77% of the Southwest Council, BSA. These 8:00 PM) seventy-seven telescopes moon’s diameter within the umbra, guys did a heck of a job, preserv- and about twenty pairs of tripod at maximum, and the star ing some sense of order in what mounted binoculars at the event. lay very close to the moon! Clear could have been chaos. Special thanks to Lindsay Wood skies across America, then at War, One of the trademarks of TAAS and Katy Noble for running Bill allowed many observers to see the is the use of luminarios at our Tondreau’s 30 inch, and to Bill for event! Do any TAAS elders recall events. These are dim, low to the letting them do so, and to Sgt. Bart this eclipse? By the way, the next ground, and don’t use much Griffey of Phillips Lab for The low lunar eclipse in this series- in April power. The problem is that large light surveillance “Hummer.” 2015- will be essentially total- a 99% events require lots of them. Karina Finally, I would like to say a few partial, best seen from the Pacific Runninghorse took on the task of words about the Rio Rancho Parks coast and Hawaii. setting up a folding / assembly and Recreation Department. This Mars party. (see the article Lest we forget, Mars has been by Karina, on page 11) putting on its own show! Since The luminarios were about mid March, I’ve noted excel- set and lit by Cadet lent clarity of the Martian atmo- troop 5091, of The sphere. When the seeing is excel- Chaparral Council lent, much wonderful detail can be GSA and Troop 9, BSA. made out! The evening of March Thanks also to Deb- 25-26 presented the best view of bie Pendley and Mars I’ve ever had in my 10 inch Ruthan Soley for reflector. I was able to use a 5 mm standing at the entrance, handing department, under the direction of Orthoscopic eyepiece this night. out literature, and acting as info Ed Chismar were a wonderful The seeing was reaching 8 to 9 out central. “Dr. Q” provided music group to work with. Everything of 10 (best), right here in Albuquer- and did public announcements for that we wanted (porta-potties, etc.) que! Features such as Mare us. The music was great and the were cheerfully granted. It is re- Acidalium, Sabeus Sinus, announcements must have been freshing indeed when Ed calls to Meridiani Sinus, Margaritifer Si- successful, as there were no left ask if there is anything else that we nus, and Nilokeras were well seen. over kids (or parents) wandering would like to have done. With this, The north polar cap, in the midst around after the event. We hope the cooperation afforded by DPS of Martian summer, was seen as a that he will join us again in the fu- (Police) and Sgt. Shaw was also small, yellowish white, oval bead. ture. outstanding. This collaboration, A very dark area bordered the cap The UNM Institute for Astro- between the city of Rio Rancho and to the (Mars’) east. The detail and physics also lent their support and TAAS, very much an experiment, mottling in Mare Acidalium was had at least a dozen people on went so smoothly that we are cer- amazingly beautiful. I recorded 4 hand, both running telescopes and tain to have another large event at canals (whatever they were). These to answer the many astronomical the Rio Rancho Balloon Park. canals were recorded by many pre- questions by the public. (see Ellie’s Again, thank you all. vious observers. Let us know if you article on page 11). - Brock Parker have made observations of Mars. Most of all, the society members who brought ‘glass to the event - Kevin McKeown must receive the lions share of the credit for our successful comet party. Dust and thousands of Page 12 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— May Issue 1997 The Sidereal Times Astronomy Day CLASSIFIED ADS Continued from page 11 For Sale: Reflector Telescope, to be quite large because of the in- tense public interest in Hale-Bopp. Celestron International Anyone having a static telescope Cometron CO114. 4.5 inch display at the mall will be allowed aperature, f/8.8. Call Lois to remove it around 6:00 PM. Brown, 891-0081 (Rio Rancho) We have about 100 chairs and 20 tables to set up Friday night start- Non commercial ads for astronomy ing at 9:00 PM. We will continue to related products listed at no charge setup on Saturday morning begin- for members. To place an ad, send ning at 7:00 AM, with everything a message to the editor at the soci- up and operating by 9:00 AM. Any- ety PO box or send a message to one wishing to help should give me [email protected]. a call or just show up. - Brock Parker NEW MEXICO ASTRONOMICAL CELESTRON • MEADE • TELEVUE PARKS OPTICAL • UNITRON • HOME DOME Telescopes • Eyepieces • Mounts • Accessories Internet Info Observatory Fabrication Once again, space is tight. My rec- On-Site Observatory • Regular Star Parties ommendation for surfing this Come to the Country Telescope Store and Test month is to visit the TAAS Web site Equipment Under Dark Skies! to see the really great Be-Bop pho- 834 N. Gabaldon Rd. MARK A. NAGRODSKY tos by Bill Tondreau. The TAAS Belen, NM 87002 (505) 864-2953 OWNER URL is http:// www.phys.unm.edu/~egates/ Hours— by Appointment TAAS/taas.html. We will also get the images uploaded to the BBS. TAAS Hot Line Phone Number is 296-0549

—SOCIETY STAFF— Board of Directors Phone E-mail Address President, Newsletter Editor: Michael Pendley 296-0549 (H) [email protected] V. President, Program Coordinator: Kevin McKeown 254-9117 (H) [email protected] Secretary, Society BBS Sysop: Steve Snider 867-4199 (H) [email protected] Treasurer, Database Manager and Web Master: Elinor Gates 277-1529 (W) [email protected] Event Coordinator: Carl Frisch 891-8978 (H) Board Member: Allan Green 281-6651 (H) Membership Committee Chair: Jay Harden 296-0537 (H) Protocol Kevin Jarigese 281-9312 (H) [email protected] Board Member: Bruce Levin 299-0891 (H) Board Member: Robert Ortega 891-7847 (H) Logistics Director: Brock Parker 298-2792 (H) Board Member: Gordon Pegue 299-5944 (H) [email protected] Board Member: Ruth Pendley 293-2630 (H) [email protected] Education Coordinator: Karina Running Horse 275-4797 (H) [email protected]

Non-Board Members Campus Observatory Coordinator: Brad Hamlin 792-1509 (H) Campus Observatory Hotline 277-1446 Archivist: Jaclyn Fuller Lane 296-4980 (H) Telescope Curator: Robbin Pimbley 873-4904 (H) Librarian: Lisa Wood 344-8308 (H) [email protected]

Page 13 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— MEMBERSHIP: You may request a member- for 12 consecutive issues. The newsletter edi- ship application by calling the Hotline or by tor reserves the right to include and/or edit any TAAS LIBRARY: Please contact the Librarian sending e-mail to the Database Manager (see article or advertisement. ***ASCII files up- (Lisa Wood) to check out a book or make a con- page 13). Applications may also be down- loaded to the TAAS BBS newsletter file section tribution. loaded from the BBS and Web sites. Annual or e-mailed to the Editor are preferred. Con- dues to The Albuquerque Astronomical Society tact the Newsletter Editor (see page 13) for more TAAS BBS: Set your computer’s modem to 8N1 and are $20/year for a full membership and $12/ information. call 867-4295 any time of day or night. year for an educator membership. Additional family members may join for $3/each (educa- CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Note that the Si- TAAS on the World Wide Web: tor and family memberships are not eligible to dereal Times is mailed at a nonprofit orga- http://www.phys.unm.edu/~egates/TAAS/ vote on society matters). New member infor- nization bulk mail rate. As a result, the news- taas.html mation packets are available for $3.50 (free cop- letter will NOT be forwarded to your new ad- ies are available from the BBS and Web site). dress should you move!! Please provide the You may send your dues by mail to our news- Database Manager with your new mailing ad- Map to UNM Campus Observatory letter return address with your check written dress to ensure that you receive your newslet- out to The Albuquerque Astronomical Soci- ter. (not to scale) ety or give your check to the Treasurer (see page 13) at the next meeting. To Santa Fe MAGAZINES: Discount magazine subscrip- tions to Sky and Telescope ($27/12 issues) and As- Map to Regener Hall tronomy ($20/12 issues) as well as discounts on I-40 books from Sky Publishing Corporation are avail- (not to scale) able when purchased by TAAS members through our society. Include any of the above magazine renewal mailers and subscription payments as part of your renewal check (We rec- Observatory ommend you renew 1-2 months early to ensure MLK Dr. Regener I-25 uninterrupted magazine subscriptions.). Parking Parking Hall Popejoy NEWSLETTER ARTICLES/ADVERTISE- Hall MENTS: Articles, personal astronomical clas- sified advertisements and business card size ad- vertisements for businesses related to as- University Parking

tronomy must be submitted by the deadline Yale shown on the Society calendar (generally the Lomas

Saturday near the new Moon) Rates for busi- University ness card size ads are $10/ad/issue or $7/ad/ Physics & Astronomy issue for 6 consecutive issues or $5/ad/issue (PANDA) Building Central To Los

Yale Lunas

NONPROFIT ORG. The Albuquerque Astronomical Society U.S. POSTAGE PAID ALBUQUERQUE, NM PERMIT NO. 352 P. O. Box 54072 Albuquerque, NM 87153-4072 Address Correction Requested