★ June ★The SiderealSidereal TimesTimes 1999

★THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ALBUQUERQUE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY P.O. BOX 50581, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87181-0581 Astronomy Day 1999 by Michael Pendley

Astronomy Day 1999 was as great as ever—with a two exceptions. The late date for Astronomy Day this year made it impossible for several traditional exhibitors to attend (The National Atomic Museum, Apache Point Observatory, and Chaco Canyon) and clouds spoiled the afternoon solar observing. How- ever, the wonderful help provided by 38 TAAS vol- unteers made for an easy and low stress setup, op- eration, and tear down. To those 38 (and two Coronado Mall people) I send a great big thank you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I think I will let pictures captured by Allan Green and me tell the rest of the Astronomy Day 1999 story.

Astronomy Day Exhibitors

Alamogordo Space Center Air Force Research laboratory DaVinci Society Explora Science Center Institute for Astrophysics / Lode Star Institute of Meteoritics (UNM) Nat. Radio Astronomy Observatory (VLA) National Solar Observatory NM Museum of Nat. History and Science New Mexico Space Society The Planetarium at SF Community College Rio Rancho Astronomical Society Young Astronaut Clubs and TAAS

Departments Features ○○○○○○○○○ ○ ○ ○ President’s Update page 2 Ask the Experts ------June Meeting Preview page 2 Board Meeting page 3 Campus Observatory page 10 What’s Up for July page 4 Calendars page 4 The Kids’ Corner page 11 1999/Y2K Events page 5 Trivia Contest ------Chaco Canyon ------ATM Workshop page 8 Observer’s Page page 6 Docent News page 11 A Big Hug page 8 Constellation TAAS ------Classified Ads page 15 TAAS Picnic page 10 Star Myths ------Board Member Info page 15 May 29 Meeting Recap page 14 The Sidereal Times June 1999 The June Meeting PRESIDENTPRESIDENT’SS U UPDATEPDATE by David Nelson Blair Stars TAAS Members Early this month from the footpath Beyond that, I’m very anxious to by George Pellegrino along Tramway, I could see smoke find the people and enthusiasm to from wildfires in the vicinity of Mount maintain the many things that TAAS The regular meeting on Saturday, th Taylor more than sixty miles away. has been doing so well for so long. June 26 at 7:00 PM will be held in One large cloud rising from the east- I hope mine will not be the only Regener Hall on the campus of UNM ern slope almost obscured the peak. vision discussed. In calling this meet- (See back page for map). This meet- Other blazes to the northwest sent ing, I’ll be inviting other board mem- ing will be a presentation by TAAS more plumes into the air. From the bers to do the same. members for the TAAS members. south, a strong wind seized the col- And I invite input from all mem- Since this presentation is by and umns of smoke and stretched them bers of TAAS. The next few weeks will for members, you too can be a star. You into a band of haze stretching scores be a time to think about goals and val- are invited to present anything of in- of miles. Was it filling the sky above ues for the society. It’s the time to talk terest you may have that you wish to Chaco Canyon, I wondered? and petition. share regarding astronomy. It’s been an odd-weather spring, What do you want TAAS to be? Whether it’s a product review or one that reminds me of the opening something you invented or just put to- lines to an old song: “A-way out West, gether, we would be happy to include they’ve got a name / for wind and rain Random Acts of Kindness you in our agenda. If you want to be and fire . . .” The local universe has sto- included in this program, contact me len attention away from the greater Thanks to Byron Matthews at my home at 821-8516 and leave a message including your name, phone one. for donating a couple hundred Even an astronomer realizes that number and subject on which you will the cosmos isn’t the only thing in the floppies, which we’ll use to store be speaking. The time allotted will be world. CCD images at GNTO. five to ten minutes and will be given on a first come, first served basis. Because 1999 is a good time to re- We’ll also have the usual social flect (and because summer is always a Meanwhile, hour that included cookies and other good time for relaxed contemplation), goodies. See you there. TAAS’s Board of Directors will be do- down at GNTO... ing just that during a special board by Carl Frisch meeting in mid July. In a forum that —Next Month— isn’t bogged down with the pressing New Scope! Well, not really new, but TAAS Logo History details of the moment, I’ll be present- it is to us. A beautiful 6" f/8 Astrophys- ing my vision for TAAS in the years to ics refractor is now available to use at come. GNTO. If you haven’t been down I’d like to see TAAS develop its lately you should check it out; fresh research infrastructure. Good research paint and a little TLC can go a long is full of practical problems—from cen- way. tering that special spot up there into the narrow field of a CCD chip to in- The PV (electrical) system has been terpreting images to reporting find- performing perfectly and operating ings. Can we develop and support almost continuously for many months each other in these tasks? now. Total usage from the system is now around 110 KWh, a lot of juice. I think so, because we already do I’m at the observatory just about ev- in other a range of other activities from ery night, so come on out for viewing selecting eyepieces to organizing suc- or to get familiar with the systems we cessful Astronomy Days. have there. A guest trailer is available I’d also like to see improved chan- on a first come basis. As always call nels of communications both within Robert Ortega for updates, as I keep and beyond the society—a huge topic him abreast of my schedule. we need to address this year.

Page 2 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times

BOARD MEETING by Sam Lockwood

The May 27, 1999 TAAS Board landscaping. Robert Ortega will pur- Assign a separate TAAS member to Meeting was called to order at 7:05 by chase 2 Telrads for GNTO on his own work with each exhibitor. President David Blair. Attending were authority, and Carl asked for board David explained that there are 9 Sam Lockwood, Gordon Pegue, Allan authority to purchase star diagonal for Astronomy Day Posters left over Green, Kevin McKeown, Bruce Levin, the Astrophysics Scope, explaining which several members have ex- Nancy Dodge, and Carl Frisch. Ob- that the scope is difficult to use with- pressed interest in. The board dis- servers included Mike Pendley, Tom out one. The Board approved an cussed several options on what to do Pannuti, and Barry Gordon. amount not to exceed $120 from the with the posters, but eventually passed GNTO fund for the star diagonal. Carl (5-2) a motion allowing David (the Opening Remarks is working with the Astrophysics com- poster’s designer) to decide their fate. David opened the meeting by an- pany to get the motor on the Astro- School Star Parties nouncing that John Sefick has resigned physics Scope repaired. Carl an- David noted that we had a great from the TAAS Board due to other nounced that the old lit tower north of year of school events, and thanked the commitments. David also announced GNTO is gone, but he hears a bigger docents that he has extended the officers invi- one is coming. There are now power tation to Beth Fernandez to participate outlets for member’s use near the Future events in board discussions as a nonvoting GNTO door. Bill Tondreau has a new Special Board Meeting Associate member. motor for the Isengard scope on order. David announced his intention to April 29th Meeting Grants Committee have a special board meeting to dis- Sam read the minutes from the Alan announced that a request cuss the future of TAAS. What are we April 29th board meeting, which were package for a large Intel Grant is ready doing right and wrong? Where are we accepted with two amendments: Carl to be submitted. Alan explained that heading? All agreed that as much Frisch is working on modifications to the Grant would be for a Dell Com- member input as possible is necessary. the Oak Flat gate, and Gordon Pegue puter, an ST-8 CDD Camera, Color The open meeting is tentatively sched- made the motion for the Educator Do- Wheel, adaptive optics, and a projec- uled for Sunday, July 18, 1999 at cent recognition money. There was tor, totaling near $15,000 George Pellegrino’s house. General Meeting also discussion as to the wording used Calendar to describe certain previous board dis- David said that he and George Carl proposed the following dates cussions. have several good leads on speakers for next year’s TAAS Regular meet- for the coming meetings. The June ings: Jan 22, Feb 19, Mar. 18, Treasurer’s Report TAAS general meeting will be reserved Apr. 15, May 13, Jun 17, Jul. 15, There was no treasurer’s report as for TAAS speakers. Tom Pannuti ex- Aug 12, Sep 9, Oct 14, Nov 11, Dec the TAAS Treasurer was not present. plained that Marcus Price will 9, which the board approved. The not be Committees Board also approved April 8, 2000 for available after all for a speaker Asset Committee Astronomy Day, and April 1, 2000 for this year. Sam distributed the Assets Com- our Messier Marathon. Brantley State Park mittee report to the board, and asked Past Events Bruce described several conversa- that discussions of the report be dif- tions he has had with state park offi- fered until the members had read the Astronomy Day cials, and proposed adding a start material. Kevin noted that he had re- Mike Pendley announced that ev- party to our calendar for Brantley State cently discovered several historical erything went well this year, with Park for either 10/2 or 10/9. Bruce will TAAS assets at GNTO that needed to about 38 TAAS volunteers. Timing own the event, and will solicit input be added to the inventory. Sam ex- seemed to be a problem this year (As- to see if enough members will go. tronomy Day was in late May), as sev- plained that the inventory was a “liv- Old Business ing document”, that would change eral groups like NM Tech were unable continually. to participate because of the summer ATM SIG break from school. The UNM Obser- Mike Pendley explained a busi- Observatory Committee vatory viewing later that night was Carl announced a GNTO work good, but had a very poor turnout. party for June 5th, with lots of work Mike suggested that next year we: (1) Continued on page 14 planned for the Isengard, dome, and Start preparations much earlier, and (2) Page 3 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999 July 1999 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

Sunrise/Sunset Planet Rise / Set (7/15/1999) 123 Mercury 07:30/21:00 Uranus 21:30/08:00 • Uranus 0.4° • UNM? 07/01 5:56/20:25 Venus 09:15/22:15 Neptune 20:45/07:00 from Moon (call to confirm) 07/15 6:04/20:21 Mars 14:15/01:00 Pluto 16:30/03:30 07/31 6:15/20:11 Jupiter 01:00/14:15 (MDT) Saturn 01:45/15:15 (Approximate MDT times) 45 678910 • Independence • Jupiter 4° from • Saturn 3° from • UNM? • TAAS Picnic at Day • Last quarter Moon Moon (call to confirm) GNTO 5:57 am • Aldebaran 0.8° • Earth at aphelion from Moon @ 2pm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 • Mercury ° ° • UNM? stationary • Venus 1.5 • Mercury 3 • GNTO Mtg. • Oak Flat from Regulus from Moon • Regulus 1.1° (call to confirm) • Moon at • New Moon • Alamogordo perigee, 56.7 • Venus @ from Moon 10:24 pm. greatest • Venus 3° from Astronomy Club earth-radii @ general meeting midnight brilliancy Moon 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 • Board Mtg. • UNM? •General • Special Board • First (7pm @ PandA quarter 2:59 am (call to confirm) Meeting, 7 pm, of Directors building) • Moon at apogee, meeting • Mars 7° from Regener Hall Moon 63.5 earth-radii • Sun enters Cancer @ 12:01 am 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 • Neptune @ • Juno stationary opposition • Venus • Full • Moon occults • UNM? • Mars • Jupiter at W stationary Moon 5:25 am. Uranus (~2 am) (call to confirm) becomes > 1au quadrature • Partial Lunar • Delta Aquarid from Earth • Mercury @ Eclipse (before Meteor Shower inferior conj. sunrise) What’s Up For July morning partial lunar eclipse on the about 2 degrees to the west of the night of July 27th-28th. See Sky and Tele- moon during the eclipse! by Kevin McKeown scope, July issue, for details. Since the Lastly, and most weirdly, on This month presents a busy slate eclipse is near maximum just as the the night of July 28th-29th, the moon of unusual events for amateurs! On moon sets in the west—and the sun occults the planet Uranus! Begin July 12th, Venus slides just south of rises in the east—here is your chance your watch around 2 am. I can’t the bright star Regulus. Compare to see the Sun shining on the eclipsed guarantee what you’ll see, but few the colors of both in the same low Moon! Remember, atmospheric refrac- have seen such an event! Since the power field. On July 15th, the cres- tion lifts both the sun, and the moon, moon is 1 day past full, you’ll need cent moon swings into the Venus- such that there is only 178 degrees be- a large scope with very high con- Regulus mix. At mid day, look for tween them- not 180 degrees. This ar- trast. Let us know what you see! Venus, Regulus, and the moon all on rangement is actually helped out by This will be a great test for the soft- a short line, with Venus on the south the fact that the moon slides through ware package Starry Night V2.1 by end. Remember that this is a day- the northern edge of the Earth’s Sienna Software. That package pre- time observation. Locate the moon shadow. Begin your eclipse vigil at dicts that only half the disk of Uranus th first, and then sweep up Venus and about 2 am, July 28 . By 5:30 am or so, (only 3.7 arc seconds!) will be covered then Regulus. By nightfall on the the partial phase begins. Since sunrise by the moon—with Miranda visible 15th, the three objects form a beauti- is 6:13 am, around 6 am begin to chase above the Moon. Starry Night show the ful small triangle in the western sky. the eclipsed Moon into the horizon. partial occultation starting at 12:47am The big event of July is an early Note: the planet Neptune lurks only on the 29th and lasting 7 minutes.-ed.

Page 4 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times August 1999 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

12 34567 • GNTO • Lammas, a cross • Mercury • UNM • Bluewater quarter day. Half • Moon ~4° SSE • Last quarter stationary in Star Party way between (call to confirm) of Saturn 11:27 am RA 10 am. End ° • Uranus @ opp. Summer and Fall • Moon ~3° SSE retrograde • Moon ~0.8 N of Aldebaran • Moon at perigee. of Saturn motion 57.5 Earth-radii 89 10 11 12 13 14 • Venus at • Moon ~1.1° N • UNM? • Oak Flat • Saturn at west aphelion, of Regulus (call to confirm) • Mercury at quadrature 0.7282 au from • New Moon 5:09 greatest Sun at 10 am. am elongation west • Sun enters Leo (18.8°)

15 16 17 18 19 20 • UNM? 21 (call to confirm) • GNTO Mtg. • Venus @ inferior • First • Moon at apogee. quarter 7:47 pm conjunction with 63.4 Earth-radii Sun @ 6 am • Mercury ~1.7° S at 6 pm of Beehive Cluster • Pluto stationary in RA at 9 pm 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 • Jupiter • UNM? •General • Mercury at • Moon ~0.75° N • Full Moon perihelion. stationary in RA (call to confirm) Meeting, 7 pm, of Neptune 5:49 pm. ° 0.3075 au from 6 am. Begin • Board Mtg. • Mercury ~9.8 Regener Hall Sun at 2 pm retrograde (7pm @ PandA NNE of Venus motion building) (morning sky) 29 30 31 Sunrise/Sunset Planet Rise / Set (8/15/1999) • Saturn stationary Mercury 05:00/18:45 Uranus 19:30/06:00 in RA. Begin 08/01 6:16/20:10 retrograde 08/15 6:26/19:55 Venus 07:15/19:45 Neptune 18:45/05:00 motion 08/31 6:38/19:35 Mars 13:30/23:45 Pluto 14:15/01:30 Jupiter 23:15/12:15 (MDT) Saturn 23:45/13:15 (Approximate MDT times)

1999 TAAS Events Y2K TAAS Events NOTES: September 1999 General Meetings TAAS=The Albuquerque 4 Chaco January 22 Astronomical Society 4 Astronomy 101 February 19 11 Sevilleta Open House GNTO=General Nathan March 18 Twining Observatory. Call 11 GNTO April 15 Gordon Pegue @ 332-2591 to 25 General Meeting May 13 confirm. October 1999 June 17 UNM=University of New 9 GNTO July 15 Mexico Observatory. Call the 23 General Meeting August 12 TAAS hotline @296-0549, or September 9 the UNM hotline @ 277-1446 November 1999 October 14 to confirm. 6 GNTO November 11 ATM=Amateur Telescope 13 Placitas Star Party December 9 Making. Call Michael Pendley 20 General Meeting Messier Marathon for information @ 296-0549. December 1999 April 1 PandA=UNM Physics and 4 GNTO, Astronomy 101 Astronomy Day Astronomy. Corner of Lomas 11 Winter Solstice Potluck and Yale. April 8

Page 5 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999

wastes of Ophiuchus.” While it is true THE OBSERVERS PAGE that obscuring dust plays a major role By Kevin McKeown in modifying the star clouds of the Milky Way in eastern to southern Ophiuchus-Serpens, it is not respon- July Musings Serpentis, seen just south of Corona sible for the lack of stars, open clus- Borealis. From here, the serpent traces Eleven pm on a July evening is a ters, and diffuse emission nebulae. Let through the stars delta, alpha, epsilon good time to stargaze the strange con- me explain. and mu Serpentis, the Yeds, and zeta stellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Of any class of object that and eta Ophiuchus. From there, the Bearer, and its associated double con- Ophiuchus-Serpens is known for, it is serpent leaves Ophiuchus, and traces stellation of Serpens, the Snake. From globular clusters. Burnham’s Celestial northeast through the stars psi, omi- long ago, we are told that Ophiuchus— Handbook lists twenty, but there are cron, nu (Ophiuchi), eta, and theta Greek for “the Serpent Bearer”—is the at least a handful more if you place Serpentis. starry picture of the first physician, his Messier 62 in Ophiuchus and not Scor- However, Ophiuchus-Serpens, as name being Aesculapius. Since snake pius, and include the several Palomar depicted in most renaissance and con- venom was thought to have medicinal globs, and also the newly classified IC temporary star charts, is formed dif- powers, Aesculapius is depicted as ei- 1257. While the globulars of ferently from what the ancient Arabs ther grasping a snake, or entwined by Ophiuchus-Serpens are so varied in specify. Here’s how this better a snake. In fact, the doctor’s symbol— terms of size, richness, brightness, Ophiuchus goes (and this is the that of a snake, or two snakes, character, and setting, they all are Ophiuchus I envision). Alpha marks wrapped around either a scepter, or a sadly, more-or-less, overlooked and his head, kappa Ophiuchus his left winged humanoid—apparently de- underrated. Serpens holds Messier 5, (western) shoulder, lambda his left el- rives from Ophiuchus-Serpens. a globular of the highest tier in the sky, bow, and the Yeds mark only his left So how do we form the star pic- and the virtual equal to the great hand which grasps the front part of the ture of Ophiuchus-Serpens? Note that Messier 13, although M 5 does lack the snake. Now, beta and gamma Ophiuchus-Serpens, like Argo Navis, wonderful star chains, and voids of M Ophiuchus mark his right shoulder, is really one large constellation, sub- 13. There are four globulars of the sec- and eta Serpentis his right hand—on divided for modern convenience. With ond tier: Messier 10, 12, 19, and 62. another point of the snake! This makes certainty, we know that the bright 2nd Terribly underrated and overlooked, sense—the downward bowed shape of magnitude star alpha Ophiuchus has Messiers 10 and 12 verge on naked eye Serpens requires the snake be held at to mark Ophiuchus’ head, because the visibility, and are bold, distinctive two points of its body! From here, it Arab given name for the star is Ras-al- globs that resolve in even 3-inch seems that zeta, phi, chi, upsilon, and Hague: “the serpent charmer’s head.” scopes. The very oval M 19 is a small rho form the physicians left leg, and From the ancient Arabs, we are also replica of omega Centauri, and M 62 eta, psi, and theta Ophiuchi form the told that gamma Ophiuchus— lies amongst dark nebulae. Even the physician’s lower right leg. In the sky, Marfik—marks his elbow, and the stars lesser globs of Ophiuchus-Serpens— Ophiuchus looks like a large, stretched delta and epsilon Ophiuchi—closely M 107, NGC 6293, M9, NGC 6356, and pentagon formed of alpha, kappa, zeta, spaced about 1 degree apart—mark the M 14—would be landmarks if singly eta, and beta, with the parts of Serpens two hands of Ophiuchus grasping onto featured in a winter constellation. Of attached to the bottom of the pentagon. the body of the snake. They are called note is Messier 14. This fine, very rich, Yet in the night sky, Ophiuchus- the “Yeds”. The other stars in oval shaped globular- another omega Serpens is remarkably indistinct. Al- Ophiuchus are not defined as points Centauri look alike- is very highly pha is a fine luminary, but even though on a male figure, so I leave it to you to veiled by dust. Yet it is there. the remaining stars of Ophiuchus- try to form rest of this confusing form Most importantly, globular clus- Serpens are fairly bright, they are of the ancient physician. ters are found throughout Ophiuchus- spread out over such a large region On the other hand, Serpens is well Serpens, especially in the trend of the their light is wasted. This lack of a lot defined. While the serpent actually Milky Way, and they are all very re- of any really bright stars is quite re- crosses the figure of Ophiuchus, the mote objects. Therefore, the “wastes” markable, considering that territory of Ophiuchus divides Serpens of Ophiuchus cannot be the result of Ophiuchus-Serpens lies partly in the into two halves—the Pakistan of the dust alone- we can see distant Milky Way, and especially considering night sky! The western half of Serpens globulars! Also, dust does not extin- it lies on the trend of Gould’s belt of is called Serpens Caput—the Serpent’s guish the red line of hydrogen emis- bright stars! This paucity of stars, open Head—and the eastern half is called sion nebulae—and veiled H II regions clusters (Messier 16 excepting), and Serpens Cauda—the Serpent’s Tail. would still show reasonably well in red emission nebulae, along with the The head is marked by a distinct light photos. The conclusion, albeit realms of obscuring dust, led one au- wedge of four, 4th magnitude stars— qualitative herein, is that in the direc- thor, long ago, to coin the term “the beta, gamma, iota, and kappa tion of Ophiuchus-Serpens there sim-

Page 6 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times

ply are no close by open clusters, emis- somewhat derailed serious observing, about 7, Comet Lee looked a lot like a sion nebulae, and bright, young blue but what the hell! Unfortunately, the very condensed globular cluster in bin- to white supergiant stars (O-B associa- seeing was again poor, and Mars was oculars, and small scopes. tions). The kind of Milky Way fabric never seen well in large apertures. Dave Blair, and Robert Ortega in constellations such as Perseus, Cyg- Mars was acceptable in smaller, apo- printed out some fields for asteroids, nus, Auriga, and Carina-Vela just chromatic refractors, though. Many of and later, Dave recovered two of these doesn’t occur here. Apparently, dust us reviewed the Coma-Virgo galaxy (33 Polyhymnia, and I believe 41 located in the middle distance modi- cluster. Gordon Pegue and I attempted Daphne). I used the 16-inch to recover fies and partly obscures mostly just the to observe the Corona Borealis galaxy 33 Polyhymnia, seen close to globular very distant starclouds of our galaxy’s cluster (see Tirion) in his 20-inch scope. Messier 19, and after about 3 hours, inner region, and the galactic hub, We apparently had success, but on this drift was definitely seen! This aster- along with the globulars. But anyway, night—with some light pollution was oid was at 11th magnitude. BTW, M take a vacation in Ophiuchus-Serpens present—the galaxies of this very rich 19 was spectacular in the 16 inch. this July! cluster were only on the edge of vision. We also looked at many of our fa- Gordon reports that, from darker skies vorite objects in the 6-inch Astrophys- Recent Occultations father out of town, many galaxies were ics. Omega Centauri was awesome, The crescent moon occulted Alde- definitely seen! This is certainly an “in- and appeared as a huge oval pile of baran for a good part of northern USA. ner sanctum” observation! stardust! Messier 4 and NGC 6144— From Albuquerque, a spectacular near On Saturday, May 15th, some of two globs in Scorpius—were fit into miss occurred. At closest approach, you ventured to GNTO and not Oak the same low power field, and these Aldebaran hung just off the south Flat (where I was). I understand that made for a memorable sight! Also, cusp. It was very beautiful! Just in- skies were good, but again, poor see- Barnard 86, the vivid dark nebula in side the graze line, from Golden, Colo- ing hampered Mars. Sagittarius, was simply beautiful in the rado, my friend Shelby Worley, Finally, on June 5th, another good 6 inch. The 6-inch Astrophysics is op- watched a brief occultation of about 8.5 group showed for this scheduled tically exquisite!! minutes. He reports that for many GNTO night. Attending were Dave Lastly, some of us looked at the minutes Aldebaran seemed to be at- Blair, Pete Eschman, Robert Ortega, famous variable SS Cygni, and it was tached to the edge of the moon, and Carl Frisch, Gordon Pegue, George near maximum! Also, the famous vari- there was doubt all along if the event Pellegrino, Alejandra Valderrama, Bill able R Coronae Borealis was very was even going to occur. Finally the Tondreau, Mark Nagrodsky and guest, bright, and easily seen in the Ring. star winked out- and for a surprisingly and Kevin McKeown. While the see- Before last quarter moonrise, the Milky long time! ing was again so-so, the sky was espe- Way showed exquisite contrast, and Some of you also saw the occulta- cially clean and dark, and wholly cloud sharpness. The Burro was well seen, tion of Regulus on May 21st, although free! This provided some memorable and I had no trouble sweeping up high clouds over Albuquerque hin- viewing. At our disposal was the NGC 6397, the globular in Ara, in the dered the event somewhat. I was com- GNTO 16-inch f/6 Cave, and the (new) 3-inch scope, so clean was the sky! pletely remiss here! 6-inch Astrophysics refractor! As nightfall approached, Mercury was The TAAS 200 GNTO nights seen very low along the WNW hori- Early evening stargazing in July On Saturday evening April 17th, zon. I could just detect a tiny disk in yet presents some of the best spring a fairly good group gathered at GNTO, the Astrophysics. As the sky darkened, galaxies, in addition to the clusters and but the sky, and especially the seeing, several satellites were seen, including nebulae of the summer Milky Way. was not first rate. Still, we had some Mir, around 9:22 pm! Mir, the Russians Let’s start with some galaxies in Canes great looks at spring galaxies. Mars long time space station, was observed Venatici. Working off of beta Canes was never seen with any clarity. Some to move fairly rapidly across the sky Venaticum, move southeast to 6 Canes, fine meteors were seen, including a from NW to SE. Mir appeared as a and continue the trend to the quite Lyrid. I arrived somewhat late, and white star of magnitude minus 2 to spectacular, and impressive galaxy didn’t get attendance this night, but minus 3 (Jupiter bright). It was quite NGC 4244. This edge on spiral ap- most of the “hard cores” showed up. spectacular! Shortly thereafter, Gor- pears as a uniform needle, or pencil of On Saturday evening, May 8th, a don Pegue swept up new Comet Lee! light reaching to nearly 16 arc minutes very large group—greater than about Located just to the left, and below Ve- on photos! There is no core, or nucleus. 30 persons—gathered at GNTO for nus, this was a beautiful sight! The NGC 4244 is one of the true gems of some great observing, and socializing. comet had a small, round, well-con- the deep sky. Next, move 2 degrees Robert Williams was kind enough to densed coma containing a starlike bring in a cake, and we had something nucleus. In RFT’s, a short, somewhat of a party just after nightfall! This fanned, antisolar tail was faintly de- Continued on page 14 tected. With a magnitude right at

Page 7 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999

around ATM workshop. gan with a potluck supper attended by Year Around TAAS members and board members Ray and I met at his classroom last from the Friends. Jay Roush’s potatoes, Telescope Making month and what an ATM workshop baked in his solar oven, were a big hit. venue it will make. The room has a In a successful effort to pass the word Workshop large lecture area on one end and work around about the event, Robert Will- areas with running water at the other. iams played the part of town crier, Proposed The room has several lockable book- walking through the campground and by Michael Pendley cases that would be perfect for storing personally inviting visitors to the pro- reference material and test equipment. Imagine a place where you could gram. There is also a store room in the back go, any time of the year, to get advice As the skies darkened and star- that would be perfect for keeping sup- on telescope making, pour a pitch lap, light began to pierce the black velvet, plies such as sonotube, mirror kits, or pick up a bag of 220 grit. Imagine a families and other interested visitors pitch, and grit for those that want to place where you could learn how to made their way to the group shelter to start a project immediately. use a knife edge tester, build a Ronchi listen to Robert Williams and Kevin tester, or borrow a spherometer. Imag- The location is only half the equa- McKeown present a tour of our galaxy ine a place where you could learn how tion though. We still need an opera- via magnificent slide images. Follow- to start your first telescope making tion plan to submit to the TAAS board ing the slide presentation, Carl Frisch project, just ask “what do I do next?”, of directors for consideration. To that offered the basics of telescope eti- look up an obscure fact in a reference end, Ray and I have set the date of the quette. Kevin McKeown captivated library, use a ray tracing program to first workshop meeting to be Wednes- his audience with the logistics and sto- test a new telescope design, or get an- day June 30. The purpose of this meet- ries of the zodiacal constellations as other telescope makers opinion on ing will be to let others interested in dozens of curious campers milled whether you have too much wedge on the idea see the room, discuss the among the telescopes, gazing starry- that Maksutov corrector plate you workshop format, set meeting nights, eyed through the lenses at the secrets have been working so hard on. etc. Ray and I encourage anyone in- of the universe. Carl also had his won- I have imagined such a place for terested in the topic of telescope mak- derful cosmic computer slide display quite some time. ing to attend and share their ideas. operating. Soft, ethereal sounds Valley High School is located at drifted through the warm, April air, We have been experimenting with courtesy of Friends president, Vicki the Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) 1505 Candelaria (the north side of Can- th Scott and husband, Scotty. Campers class format for the last several years delaria, just west of 12 street. The meeting will begin at 7 PM in build- were simultaneously delighted and en- to try to make it more effective, in- lightened and several local visitors ex- crease participation and increase the ing A, room 7 (follow the signs after you get to the school). Need more in- pressed an interest in returning for success rate. I have always felt the ef- more heavenly viewing in the future. forts were rushed and the start- formation? — call me at 296-0549 or e- mail me at [email protected]. A big hug and many thanks to middle-end / twice-a-year format these dedicated gentlemen who made forces would be ATMers to first wait the long drive south to Elephant Butte for a class to start and then work to a and made the evening such a success. class schedule. The lack of a “place” It truly was a “Butte” of an evening! requires the instructor to pack and A Big Hug to transport all class materials—which in turn limits what is available on a given TAAS Members Astronomy night. Perhaps of more importance, the by Rebecca Stoneman lack of an advanced ATM effort in Interpretive Ranger Day Sponsors TAAS makes getting past that first Elephant Butte Lake State Park mirror difficult. by Michael Pendley Well, I hope that is all about to Saturday, April 10, 1999 was a very I would like to send out a spe- change. special evening at the Desert Cove cial thanks to two special sponsors: campground at Elephant Butte Lake Ray Collins, a student in the most Barcelona Suites Uptown—for State Park. Approximately sixty camp- recent ATM class, shares my vision and providing a room for one of our out ers and local visitors gathered to par- has the means to help realize it. Ray is of town exhibitors a high school science teacher at Valley ticipate in the first official Star Party for Rain Bird—for providing the High School and has received permis- Star Gazers, co-sponsored by the TAAS Astronomy Day volunteer T sion from school officials to use his Friends of Elephant Butte Lake State Park shirts. chemistry classroom to host a year and Elephant Butte Lake State Park. The Balmy, windless evening be-

Page 8 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times

Right: Two of the TAAS Loaner tele- scopes (see page 14 for info on how to get one) Left: A before and after shot of a con- verted Coulter telescope by Brock Parker and Tom Saunders.

The People That Made it Happen Jeff Bender, Jerry Cross, Nancy Dodge, David Finley, Dee Friesen, Mae Jeanne Garcia (Coronado Mall), Linda Hixon, Kathryn Noble, Brock Parker, Bill Tondreau, Anna Whitlow, Lisa Wood, David Blair, Katherine Blankenburg, Larry Cash, Nancy Davis, Peter Eschman, Beth Fernandez, Carl Frisch, Roger Geer, Barry Gordon, Allan Green, Dave Haugh, Mr. Kinley (AKA Table Man, Coronado Mall), Bruce Levin, Sam Lockwood, Shayna Lockwood, Kevin McKeown, Ray Mosteller, Gordon Pegue, George Pellegrino, Ruth Pendley, Mike Pendley, Jon Pendley, Tara Ransom, J Above: That same “Coulter” Rowse, Tom Saunders (RRAS), Sengdhuan St. John, next to Tom Saunders ready to Will Vandermolen, Robert Williams transport.

Left: Gordon Pegue works on the GNTO display. Below: Beth Fernandez discusses her Science Fair project with a visitor.

Page 9 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999 1999 TAAS Picnic by Carl Frisch

The 1999 annual TAAS Picnic will be held July 10th at The General Nathan Twining Observatory. It was decided that this would be the ideal venue because of the recently com- pleted picnic area, and give us a chance to show off recent observatory reno- vations. As at past TAAS picnics this one will also be of the potluck variety. Paper goods will be available but it’s better if you could bring your own plate and utensils. Bring your favor- ite dish or coordinate complimentary items with others attending. A charcoal grill will be available as well as a stove in the guest camper for hot food prep. The camper has water and a sink for some dish wash- ing as well. Shade will be at a pre- mium so if anyone can bring down a portable shade canopy or umbrella that could fit in the 1 1/2" hole in one of the three picnic tables it would be appreciated. You may come down as early as you like, even the night before to observe and camp out. The eating part of the picnic will start about 4 pm Saturday and continue all night. There will be horseshoes for those active in- dividuals, and I encourage activities for the kids, but need suggestions. De- pending on many factors, a campfire may be started in the fire pit. Since July 10 is near new Moon, don’t forget the star party following the picnic. Don’t worry if you don’t have a scope, we have loaners and of course, there is the Isengard. What an excellent opportunity to get checked out on the big scope and observatory operations. Both 12 VDC and 120 VAC UNM Campus Observatory are available for scope drives at the by Jay Harden, Campus Observatory Coordinator observatory door. If you have your own scope or one of our loaners and need help with collimation or finding The past month has been clouds, clouds, and more clouds on Friday Night. things, this will be perfect timing. We only had one night of viewing since the last report. Call Robert Ortega (see page 15) June 4 for the latest developments and for The sky was clear along with a brisk wind. Mike Pendley and Jay Harden road conditions. Remember, this is a treated 18 – 20 people to views of Venus, Mars and a few deep sky objects. family event so don’t leave anyone at home. The general rules at GNTO will The Campus Observatory is officially open (i.e. staffed by UNM grad. students) be in effect: NO alcohol, pets, running, the first Friday of each month during the summer. However, Jay is going to open the or smoking in the dome. observatory every Friday this summer so please come out and help if you can.— ed. Page 10 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times Docent News by Lisa Wood The The Final Tally... The big news this summer is that Kids’ the docents are taking a break! After tallying our impressive numbers (that Corner were a bit loose, I must admit), I can report that we served 3002 school kids and their parents this last season (the by Barry Wood 2 comes from the school where we ac- tually did a pretty accurate count—the rest we rounded off.) Daytime Astronomy Slide Show Project... Considering this success, while Last month when I camped at the GNTO I had fun look- some small projects are underway, for ing at the stars at night. In the morning, we built a little fire the most part I hope everyone is re- in the fire pit. Then we went rock hunting. Some of the charging their batteries for next season. rocks I found reminded me of things in the solar system. I One thing we will accomplish is creat- found a red rock that looks like Mars. Mars is red because ing a nice astronomy slide show and script that can be used at star parties its soil is rusty. I found a really light rock that reminded me in case we’re short on docents. This of Saturn. Saturn is a light planet; it would float in a very “pre-packaged” slideshow will be 15 large bathtub. I found a yellow and orange rock the same minutes in length and be geared to- color as one moon of Jupiter called Io. I found a rock that wards the K-8 crowd. Several docents had alot of holes in it, kind of like earth’s moon with all of have volunteered to put this together, and I’m most happy to report that its craters. I found a rock that was not round—like aster- Charlie and Nancy Dodge have do- oids are mostly not round. You can think about astronomy nated a large number of slides to be even during the day at GNTO! used in this project, along with the promise for more if the need arises! Don’t Forget the Quest... As always come early and picnic or From the home page of the Oak Flat News join the usual impromptu potluck sev- Stanford Solar Center, I found this 6th by Carl Frisch eral hours before sunset. Take I-40 grader’s quote: “Most books say our about 10 miles east of town to the sun is a star. But it still knows how to The star party at Oak Flat on May Tijeras exit, south on 337 (old S-14) for change back into a sun in the daytime.” 15 was a great success. After an inspir- about 8 miles and watch for the Oak While I am impressed that this boy ing intro to the night sky by Barry Gor- Flat sign. Turn left for about a mile and managed to summarize the highlights don about a dozen scopes entertained park in the Juniper loop. Additional of Babylonian solar theory in one fell about as many people! That’s right, information can be obtained from the swoop, it’s a good reminder of the task only a dozen or so soles came out that Forest Service office at 281-3304. that lies unendingly before us; not to night, but it was a quality group. We scoff at the ignorance of others, but to did get to the press ahead of time, but enjoy the sharing of our knowledge maybe it was a bit early in the season. Lost and Found This did allow for a lot of membership with them. viewing including testing Bill Oak Flat (May 15) Random Acts of Kindness Tondreau’s new type 4 Nagler; thanks One eyepiece. Call Carl Frisch at Many thanks to Charlie and Bill. Also thanks to all who showed 239-6002 and leave a message. Nancy Dodge for greatly enriching our the night sky to the visitors; good TAAS library with a collection of as- work. Astronomy Day tronomical slides. Charlie has offered The next Oak Flat date is June 19; An eyeglass case, a sweat shirt, to create more for us upon request, and hope to see more new faces up there and a chair. Call the hot line and we we’re so pleased about this generous as this is an excellent opportunity for will make arrangements to get your donation! new members, even without scopes. item returned. Page 11 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999

Left: Most of the setup crew (Jeff Bender escaped before the photo-op). Below Left: RRAS President Tom Saunders and TAAS Board of Directors member Nancy Dodge ready one of the TAAS display panels

Below Right: DaVinci Soci- ety President, TAAS mem- ber, and telescope curator Dee Friesen watches over the ¡Explora! Gravity Well

Page 12 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times

Above: The Tomasita Elementary School Young Astronauts crystal growth experiment carried in to orbit by STS-91. Left: Trying out an !Explora! “make-and-take 35mm film can planetarium.”

Below: Activity at the TAAS booth.

Page 13 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— The Sidereal Times June 1999 Board Observers May 29 General Continued from page 3 Continued from page 7 Meeting Recap ness plan for an Amateur Telescope SE from NGC 4244, and locate NGC by David Blair Makers Special Interest Group (ATM 4214, a large, bright, irregular galaxy. SIG) that was distributed at the last This galaxy is circular overall, and has The 1999 Leonid shower, perhaps board meeting. He plans on more re- a small, very bright, elongated core, a long-awaited storm, is most likely to search before he will make a specific surrounded by an uneven, tapering reach its peak at a moment that affords request, and will hold a meeting at 7pm halo. At magnitude 9.7, it is visible the best view to Europe. June 30, at Valley High School to see even in binoculars. Next, retreat back “I wouldn’t recommend buying a what kind of interest there is. to beta CVn. Just northwest of beta, ticket, though,” Dr. Jack Drummond New Business in the same low power field as beta, is told a TAAS audience May 29. Predic- an interesting pair of galaxies, of tions, he said, just aren’t that reliable. TAAS Logo Use which the brighter, NGC 4490, is the Drummond, an astronomer at the Bruce expressed concern over sev- TAAS 200 object. At magnitude 9.8, Star Fire Optical Range at Kirtland Air eral “versions” of the TAAS logo used this is a conspicuous oval spiral Force Base, graced the May general in recent promotions. Mike will de- nebula with a distinct hub. The much meeting with a discussion of the Solar velop a “Logo Page” on the web site fainter companion, NGC 4485, is only Systems minor bodies: meteors, com- with appropriate logos. 3 arc minutes distant. Next, move ets, and asteroids. Membership Roster about 3 degrees NNW of beta Canes A highlight of the program was a It was noted that the membership to locate another of the gems of the video shot during Leonid meteor rosters from Robert Williams are now deep sky—NGC 4449—the famous shower of 1998. It clearly showed the labeled: “To Board Members Only,” “Box Galaxy”. This very bright irregu- unexplained trails—luminous and lin- instead of “For official use only.” Rob- lar galaxy has a distinct grainy, arrow- gering—of fireballs observed early in ert will be asked to change the label head shaped core, with an overall rect- the morning back to “For official use only.” angular shape. It is a memorable find! Dr. Drummond noted that known Lastly, take the trouble to recover IC minor bodies in the Solar System no Newsletter Assignments were handed 3568, a fine, overlooked planetary longer fit as neatly into traditional cat- out, and the meeting adjourned at nebula in Camelopardalis. Located in egories as they once did. For example, 9:12pm. a blank area way up near the north one body traveling in the traditional pole, this is one of the hardest objects realm of asteroids, the space between These minutes are unofficial until the to locate!!! It lies very close to the cen- the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, displays Board of Directors makes any necessary ter of curvature of the handle of the a coma, like a comet. Faint, extremely corrections and votes to accept them. - ed. Little Dipper- this should help. At distant trans-Newtonian objects are magnitude 9.5, IC 3568 consists of a difficult to classify because so little is small intense, round, rich blue-green known about them. core set in a larger, fainter nebula that Dr. Drummond downplayed the measures to nearly 18 arc seconds. danger of an asteroid impact. If looked Good luck, and clear skies! at in terms of deaths per year, he said, it does not overshadow other natural disasters. ★ Free Telescope Offer What’s that? Did you say Free? That’s right FREE! ★ SETI @ Home Any TAAS member can use this coupon to borrow a TAAS telescope. Call Dee Friesen at 856-1593 or Jason Vargas at 899-9755 by Mike Pendley and receive a loaner telescope absolutely free. You can choose from scopes with apertures ranging from 6” to 13”. Call soon because they’ll be going fast! You can help the SETI people lo- cate Extraterrestrial Intelligence by pro- ★ Some restrictions apply. Offer valid for current TAAS members. cessing data at home with a special Offer is first come first served. Late comers will be put on a waiting list. screen saver. Go to http:// Neither TAAS nor the telescope curators will be held liable for any lost sleep or other setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ and read all problems arising from the use of TAAS scopes. Borrowers are required to enjoy the telescopes. about it. Software is available for Mac, Windows (95, 98 and NT), Unix, and Linux. Page 14 —The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society— June 1999 The Sidereal Times

A cutie gets a look at the sun through Bruce Levin’s H-Alpha filter CLASSIFIED ADS counter weights, 25mm eyepiece, barlow, and right angle adapter. One For Sale: Meade LX-10 SCT, year old but only used a few times. heavy-duty adjustable tripod, dec Make offer. Mike Smiel, 505-293-2117. drive, equatorial wedge, 1000 Oaks solar filter, Meade series 4000 26mm For Sale: Tripod and ATM eyepiece. Make offer. Roger Geer, 505- stuff. New, never used, tripod from 294-4535, [email protected]. a 4.5 inch Celestron telescope. New 8” f/5 mirror. Miscellaneous new For Sale: Meade 8” LX-50, equa- parts to build a telescope including torial mount, metal tripod, Meade off- tube, mirror cell, focuser, and more. axis guider, focal length reducer, cam- Make offer. Call Helen Moncure at era adapter, illuminated reticle, 505-856-7129.

NEW MEXICO ASTRONOMICAL CELESTRON • MEADE • TELEVUE PARKS OPTICAL • UNITRON • HOME DOME Telescopes • Eyepieces • Mounts • Accessories Observatory Fabrication On-Site Observatory • Regular Star Parties Come to the Country Telescope Store and Test Equipment Under Dark Skies! 834 N. Gabaldon Rd. Hours: by appointment and ... Belen, NM 87002 Wednesday : 7-930 pm (505) 864-2953 Ask about the TAAS Friday : 7-930 pm member discount Mark A. Nagrodsky 30 Owner Saturday: 12-4 pm

—SOCIETY STAFF— Board of Directors Phone E-mail Address President David Nelson Blair 296-9632 (H) [email protected] Vice President George S. Pellegrino 821-8516 (H) [email protected] Secretary Sam Lockwood 275-0258 (H) [email protected] Treasurer, Database Manager, and Starlab Chair Robert Williams 839-2840 (H) [email protected] Director Katherine Blankenburg 224-3384 (W) [email protected] Director Nancy Dodge 275-0007 (H) [email protected] Director, Event Coordinator Carl Frisch 239-6002 (H) Director Allan Green 281-6651 (H) [email protected] Director Bruce Levin 299-0891 (H) Director Kevin McKeown 254-9117 (H) [email protected] Director, Observatory Director Robert Ortega 891-7847 (H) [email protected] Director Gordon Pegue 332-2591 (H) [email protected]

Non-Board Members

Archivist Jaclyn Fuller Lane 296-4980 (H) Telescope Curator Dee Friesen 856-1593 (H) [email protected] Telescope Curator Jason Vargas 452-9098 (H) [email protected] Education Liaison, Librarian Lisa Wood 344-8308 (H) [email protected] Web Master, Newsletter Editor Michael Pendley 296-0549 (H) [email protected] UNM Campus Observatory Coordinator Jay Harden 296-0537 (H) [email protected]

Page 15 —TheTAAS Official Hot Newsletter Line Phone of The AlbuquerqueNumber is 296-0549Astronomical Society— MEMBERSHIP: You may request a member- for 12 consecutive issues. The newsletter edi- TAAS LIBRARY: Please contact the Librarian ship application by calling the Hotline or by tor reserves the right to include and/or edit any (Lisa Wood) to check out a book or make a con- sending e-mail to the Database Manager (see article or advertisement. E-mail attachments tribution. previous page). Applications may also be in Microsoft Word, 10 point Palatino, justified, downloaded from the Web site. Annual dues .25 inch indent at paragraph beginning, no TAAS on the World Wide Web: to The Albuquerque Astronomical Society are spaces between paragraphs is preferred. ASCII $30/year for a full membership and $15/year and RTF are acceptable. One column is approxi- http://www.taas.org for an educator or full time student member- mately 350 words. Contact the Newsletter Edi- http://www.taas.org/download ship. Additional family members may join for tor (see previous page ) for more information. $3/each (educator, student, and family mem- ftp://astro.phys.unm.edu/pub/taas berships are not eligible to vote on society mat- CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Note that The Si- [email protected] ters). New member information packets are dereal Times is mailed at a nonprofit organiza- available for $3.50 (free copies are available from tion bulk mail rate. As a result, the newsletter TAAS Hotline: (505) 296-0549 the Web site). You may send your dues by mail will NOT be forwarded to your new address to our newsletter return address with your should you move!! Please provide the Database check written out to The Albuquerque Astro- Manager with your new mailing address to en- Map to UNM Campus Observatory nomical Society or give your check to the Trea- sure that you receive your newsletter. (not to scale) surer (see previous page ) at the next meeting. To Santa Fe MAGAZINES: Discount magazine subscrip- tions to Sky and Telescope ($29.95/12 issues) and Map to Regener Hall Astronomy ($29/12 issues) as well as discounts on books from Sky Publishing Corporation are (not to scale) available when purchased by TAAS members I-40 through our society. Include any of the above magazine renewal mailers and subscription payments as part of your renewal check (We rec- MLK Dr. ommend you renew 1-2 months early to ensure Regener Observatory uninterrupted magazine subscriptions.). I-25 Hall Popejoy Parking NEWSLETTER ARTICLES/ADVERTISE- Hall Parking MENTS: Articles, personal astronomical clas- sified advertisements and business card size ad- vertisements for businesses related to as- Parking tronomy must be submitted by the deadline University shown on the Society calendar (generally the Yale

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