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Journal of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers Journal of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers The Strolling Astronomer Volume 43, Number 1 Winter 2001 Now in Portable Document Format (PDF) for Macintosh and PC-Compatible Computers Inside . The Spokes of Venus In 1896, Percival Lowell revealed his belief that markings he saw while observing Venus “radiate like spokes” as shown in one of his drawings (above). Compare this with an image taken April 30, 1999 by Frank J. Melillo using a Celestron 8-inch Starlight Xpress MX-5. See report by Richard Baum inside. Also . A new Journal of the ALPO debuts, report on the Mercury transit, a tour of the lunar Aristarchus Pla- teau, Mars perihelic apparition report, observing Phobos and Deimos, report on a new solar filter, book review on Wide Field Astrophotography, plus ALPO section news, a Call-for-Papers for the ALPO/ALCON conference and much, much more. The Strolling Astronomer Journal of the In This Issue: Association of Lunar & The ALPO Pages Planetary Observers, 2 A Call-for-Papers: ALPO at ALCON Approaches The Strolling Astronomer 2 History Section Volume 43, No. 1, Winter 2001 2 Solar Section This issue published in April 2001 for distribution in 2Mercury Section both portable document format (pdf) and also hardcopy 2 Jupiter, Youth and Remote Planets sec- format. tions 3 ALPO Website This publication is the official journal of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO). Features 1 Guest Column: Walter Haas The purpose of this journal is to share observation 4 Mercury — Finding That Little Rock reports, opinions, and other news from ALPO members 6 CCD/UV Images of Venus Revive with other members and the professional astronomical community. Interest in a 104-Year-Old Mystery 8 The Moon — The Aristarchus Plateau © 2001, Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers 11 The 2001 Perihelic Apparition of Mars: (ALPO). The ALPO hereby grants permission to educa- A Request for Observations tors, academic libraries and the professional astronomi- 23 Tides and the Future of Phobos cal community to photocopy material for educational or 26 Observing Phobos and Deimos research purposes as required. There is no charge for these uses provided that credit given to The Strolling 29 A New Solar Filter Material — Baader Astronomer, the JALPO or the ALPO itself, as appropri- Planetarium Astrosolar ate. All others must request permission from the ALPO. 31 New Books Received: Wide-Field Astrophotography For membership or general information about the ALPO, contact: Harry D. Jamieson ALPO Resources P.O. Box 171302 32 ALPO Board of Directors Memphis, TN 38187-1302 32 Publications Staff E-mail: [email protected] 32 Lunar and Planetary Training Program 32-34 Observing and Interest Section Staff Visit the ALPO online at: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/alpo 34 ALPO Board/Staff E-mail Directory 34 ALPO Publications 34 The Monograph Series 35 ALPO Observing Section Publications 36 Other ALPO Publications Volume 43, No. 1 Winter 2001 The Strolling Astronomer Association of Lunar and Guest Column: Planetary Observers Walter Haas (ALPO) Founder and Director Emeritus, Assn. of Lunar & Planetary Observers Every issue, we plan to feature in this column the views Board of Directors of an ALPO member about matters of import to our Executive Director (Chair); Julius L. Benton, Jr. organization and amateur astronomy. Associate Director, Treasurer; Harry D. Jamieson Founder/Director Emeritus; Walter H. Haas In 1947 a small group of corresponding enthusiastic Member of the Board, Secretary; Elizabeth W. Westfall amateur observers of the Moon and the bright planets Member of the Board; Richard Hill formed the Association Member of the Board; Donald C. Parker of Lunar and Planetary Member of the Board; Richard W. Schmude, Jr. Observers (ALPO). The Member of the Board; John E. Westfall basic idea was to send Member of the Board; Matthew Will observations to a cen- tral place, to study them Publications there, and to publish results in a monthly Publisher, Harry D. Jamieson bulletin with the whim- (See full listing in ALPO Resources at end of book) sical title of The Stroll- ing Astronomer. This concept found a friendly, Primary Observing Coordinators, Other receptive, and even enthusiastic amateur astronomy Staff audience in the following years; the bulletin improved in size and content to become a respectable journal , (See full listing in ALPO Resources at end of book) and reader membership grew. It soon became neces- Lunar and Planetary Training Program Coordinators: sary to have more personnel to supervise the observa- Timothy L. Robertson and Matthew Will tional efforts, and we imitated the selection of Section Solar Section: Coordinator, Website, SolNet, Rotation Recorders, employed so successfully by the British Report, handbook; Richard Hill Astronomical Association. Mercury Section: Acting Coordinator; Frank Mellilo Venus Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. Of course, growth brings both opportunities and prob- Mercury/Venus Transit Section: Coordinator; lems.We early established ties with individuals and John E. Westfall observing groups all over the world ( e.g., the British Lunar Section: Cordinator; Selected Areas Program; Astronomical Association, the Oriental Astronomical Julius L. Benton, Jr. Association in Japan, and the Vereinigung der Stern- Mars Section: Coordinator, all observations, U.S. corre- freunde in Germany). We began to hold annual con- spondence; Daniel M. Troiani ventions in 1956, almost always with our friends in Minor Planets Section: Coordinator; Frederick Pilcher either the Astronomical League or the Western Ama- Jupiter Section: Acting Coordinator; teur Astronomers. There was an unending need to Richard Schmude instruct and to train new observers. Some of our volun- Saturn Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. teer staff gave selfless , earnest, and scientifically Remote Planets Section: Coordinator; Richard W. sound service for years; and others soon found con- Schmude, Jr. flicts with jobs, family responsibilities, and personal Comets Section: Coordinator; Don E. Machholz priorities. Generous Sponsors and Sustaining Members Meteors Section: Coordinator; Robert D. Lunsford helped us survive severe financial difficulties. Computing Section: Coordinator; Mike W. McClure Youth Section: Coordinator; Matthew Will The original field of study has expanded to include Historical Section (provisional): Acting Coordinator; much of Solar System astronomy, in so far as the Richard Baum instrumentation and methods available to most ama- Instruments Section: Acting Coordinator; teur astronomers can apply. (Amateurs seldom dis- R.B. Minton cover asteroids fainter than stellar magnitude 20.) Over Eclipse Section (provisional): Acting Coordinator; the years, we have added sections for minor planets, Michael D. Reynolds the Sun, the three remote planets beyond Saturn, com- Webmaster: Coordinator; Richard Hill ets, meteors, and meteorites. (Continued on page 3) Page 1 Volume 43, No. 1 Winter 2001 The Strolling Astronomer The ALPO Pages Member, section and activity news A Call for Papers: emeritus of the ALPO. Certainly, this is a project very near and dear to all of us, and in the selection process, I ALPO at ALCON Approaches have tried to find someone who will do it justice and As most of you know, the ALPO will be joining the make it something we can all be immensely proud of. Astronomical League for ALCON2001, which begins on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 and ends Saturday, July “Accordingly, I have had considerable discussion with 28, 2001, located at the Holiday Inn-FSK Conference our colleague, Mr. Richard Baum, about this endeavor. Center in Fredrick, MD. I would like to encourage those Richard Baum, who many of you know, is an avid astro- of you planning to attend to make your reservations nomical historian and very gifted writer, particularly in early so that your accommodation requirements can be the area of lunar and planetary astronomy. Based on his met satisfactorily. Registration forms and other details expressed willingness to undertake such a challenge, I are available on the ALCON2001 official website vai a have asked Richard Baum to write the history of the link on the ALPO website. ALPO, and he has cheerfully accepted. Walter, I know, will be delighted with this very pleasant news. We have set aside all day Thursday, July 26th, for our ALPO presentations. Accordingly, I would like to “ I have appointed (and he has accepted) Richard Baum encourage all of you who can to think about submitting as Acting Coordinator of the ALPO History Section, brief papers (presentations are limited to 20 minutes) effective immediately. Under his direction, the History that tell about interesting observing projects, programs, Section will proceed solely with the purpose of writing equipment, etc., to support this meeting. A major theme the History of the ALPO, and because of the importance of this meeting is "Youth in Astronomy," and interested of this venture, the History Section shall not be accept- young people are encouraged to attend and participate. ing additional tasks until the History of the ALPO is Bringing your family to this gathering should prove fully complete and published in a year or two. I hereby interesting and informative, not just from an ALPO per- recommend that we waive the "Acting" designation for spective, but from that of astronomy in general. The Richard Baum on the basis that he is a life member of interface between professional and amateur astronomers the ALPO, has faithfully served on our staff in the past, who attend such meetings has proven to be enjoyable and has been a member for nearly half a century.” and intellectually stimulating in the past for young and old alike. Other points contained in Mr. Benton’s letter to the Board are detailed below. Those wishing to submit and present papers should send titles and abstracts to me and Harry D. Jamieson by no Solar Section later than May 1, 2001. A final camera-ready printed Jeffery Sandel and Jeff Medkeff, both of the ALPO copy of the paper, as well as an ASCII text file of the Solar Section, have resigned for various personal rea- paper, should be submitted by no later than June 1, sons.
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