Observe—Educate—Have Fun September 2018 The Sidereal Times

The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-0581 www.TAAS.org

taas — 2011 winner of astronomy magazine’s out-of-this-world award for outstanding public programming since 1959

General Meeting News Lynne Olson The Next Step

You have completed all four of Phil Fleming’s Fabulous 50 sessions and you now have a familiarity with where some of the prominent objects are in the sky. Con- gratulations!

Phil has taught you about items like plani- spheres and sky charts. So, what is next? Now it is time to use your telescope to find objects that you cannot see with the naked eye. Armed with a telescope, planisphere, sky charts, and/or a planetarium program you are ready to do some star hopping and to take The Next Step. TAAS GenerAl MeeTinG TAAS ASTrOnOMY 101 “Let There Be Light” “Filters for Viewing Deep-Sky Objects” The concept for The Next Step is to meet Howard J. Brewington Martin Hilario at GNTO during a New Moon Observing Saturday, September 29, 7:00pm Saturday, September 29, 6:00pm session and find a number of Deep-Space UnM Science and Math UnM Science and Math Objects that I will announce on TAAS_Talk learning Center* learning Center* a week or so before the session. I will as- Free and Open to the Public Free and Open to the Public sist you in using your equipment to find the objects. • Howard J. Brewington is the speaker for TAAS vice president Martin Hilario will What you need to do to participate: be the speaker for Astronomy 101, at 6 p.m. our Sept. 29 TAAS General Meeting. His Tell me you want to participate by on Sept. 29, prior to the regular TAAS Gen- topic: “Let There Be Light: Man’s Quest for sending an email to jim@fordice. eral Meeting. His topic: “Filters For Viewing Global Illumination.” Brewington offered • net. this preview of his remarks: Deep-Sky Objects.” Have completed and/or reviewed “Anatomically modern humans arose from The introduction in the past 40 years of the Fabulous 50 session for the cur- Africa about 200,000 years ago. From multi-layer interference filters for several continued on page 3 . . . • rent season. the very beginning, our ancestors feared types of deep-sky objectscontinued has on made page 3it . pos-. . continued on page 3 . . . Be at GNTO before sunset.

Explora School Star Party New Moon Observing Adult Night Isleta Pueblo GNTO Upstairs Patio Tue., October 9 Sat., October 13 Fri., September 21 7:00 p.m 6:30–10:00 p.m.

INSIDE 2...... President’s Message 7...... The Purpose of TAAS_Talk 10...... August Photos from Oak Flat 4...... Astrophotos: Two Photos of Mars 7...... Telescope Loan Program Update 11...... TAAS Reports & Notices 5...... Under the Dome 8...... Astrophoto: Sharpless 2-126 12...... TAAS Directors & Staff The Sidereal Times September 2018

President’s Message Jim Fordice

As I write this it is not quite three ment of a TAAS Code of Conduct. I have bers to help with awards, the trivia contest, weeks since I was elected as the TAAS announced this effort on TAAS_Talk and on room decoration, welcoming the guests, and President. I am honored to be leading the website. I have received numerous com- event promotion. Contact Bob at secretary@ ments that will be used to improve the draft. taas.org or [email protected] if you are this very fine organization and I am look- Thank-you for the thoughtful comments. The interested in helping. ing for to serving as President for the BOD will review the updated draft on 20 Sep- next couple of years. tember. There is a separate article in this newslet- ter about my new initiative called “The Next On 25 August I held a meeting with you to I talked about several opportunities. The first Step” (page 1). discuss the situation that lead to the change one was that we needed a new Webmaster. of leadership and some areas where I will Bill Wallace is serving as the Interim Web- TAAS has been selected to host the 2020 As- be concentrating my efforts. This article is master and is doing an excellent job. Art Van- tronomical League Convention (ALCON). The intended to give those of you who could not dereedt has volunteered to take over as the ALCON will be held on 15 to 18 July 2020. attend the meeting a synopsis of what was Webmaster. The venue will be the Hotel Albuquerque. discussed. Some items have been updated to We held the first planning meeting on 5 Sep- reflect its status as I write this article. The second opportunity was that we needed tember. If you are interested in assisting with a Public Events Coordinator. The Public planning the ALCON, please contact me. The first item I covered was the resignations Events Coordinator is responsible for site of Dale Murray, Barry Spletzer, Gordon Pegue, liaison, scheduling, and staffing for Public I addressed the purpose and use of TAAS_ Chris Watts, and Kevin McKeown. Dale Mur- Star Parties at Oak Flat, the Open Space Visi- Talk. Please see the separate article in this ray and Barry Spletzer have resigned their tor Center (OSVC), Placitas Library, and the newsletter about this important means of TAAS memberships and the TAAS positions Bachechi Open Space. Steve Snider volun- communication (page 7). they held. Their memberships are still ac- teered for this position at the meeting and tive, and they are welcome to resume their has assumed responsibility for our Public Over the last decade or so TAAS received membership at any time. Gordon Pegue re- Star Parties. donations for a Dark Sky fund that now to- signed from the Board of Directors (BOD) but tals $2,083.32. These funds were collected remains an active TAAS member. Chris Watts The third opportunity is that we need a relief specifically to support Dark Sky efforts. I am resigned as the Astronomy 101 Coordinator for Lynne Olson as the Publicity Coordinator. looking for proposals for how to utilize these and as a TAAS member. Chris has decided to The Publicity Coordinator is responsible for funds. resume his Astronomy 101 leadership and spreading the news about and promoting our his TAAS membership. Kevin McKeown has events. If you are interested in taking on this Proposals must be related to protection, edu- resigned his TAAS membership. The Trea- responsibility, please contact me. cation about, measurement of the darkness surer has refunded Kevin’s membership fee. of the sky, etc. If you want to make a propos- Kevin’s membership is expired. The fourth opportunity was to serve on the al, please submit it to me in writing and send 2019 Nominations Committee. We needed it to [email protected]. Several of you asked for a copy of the minutes two members to join Steve Snider on the of the 25 July BOD Meeting. You can obtain a committee. We have three additional volun- Are you a member of the International Dark copy of the minutes from the TAAS website at teers, Chris Watts, Carl Larson and Phil Flem- Sky Association (IDA)? The IDA is leading an http://www.taas.org/Minutes/index.html. ing, so the committee is now fully staffed. international effort to promote acting to pro- tect and improve the dark sky. As an amateur If you have any questions about the circum- The last opportunity is that we need a re- astronomer who is dependent on dark skies, stances discussed above, please contact me. lief for Tom Grzybowski as the Education membership in the IDA is in your interest. If there are a large number of requests for Outreach Director. The Education Outreach You can read more at http://darksky.org. information I will schedule a second meeting Director is responsible for scheduling and to discuss them with you. organizing School Star Parties and other Edu- Our motto is “Observe – Educate – Have Fun.” cation efforts. One member has contacted me Whenever you are participating in TAAS ac- After concluding my remarks about the res- about this position. Please contact me if you tivities keep this motto in mind. It is an excel- ignations, I thanked Martin Hilario for serv- are interested in this very important part of lent way to remember what we are all about. ing as the Acting President. Martin did an our operations. outstanding job and I encourage you to thank Bob Shipley is coordinating the planning for him personally for keeping us moving in the our annual Perihelion Banquet which we be right direction. held on 12 January. He is looking for mem- The next item I discussed is the establish- Page 2 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

...The Next Step ...Astronomy 101 continued from page 1 continued from page 1 • o Review where the announced Sky Charts and/or a • deep-space objects are located. planetarium program (such as SkySafari) loaded on a Know where the objects are tablet. in your sky charts or how to o select them in your planetarium Red flashlight and anything • program. else you need for observing at GNTO. Determine what naked-eye star you will use to start your star hop The next The Next Step session is • to the object. planned for 10 November. Please contact sible for amateur telescopes/observers to me if you have any questions.Jim Fordice see these when previously even dark-sky conditions did not provide that ability. o Bring: — Greater contrast and detail can be obtained Your own telescope or a loan with these filters on familiar nebulae, for program telescope (Do not instance, allowing the desired object to plan to use one of the GNTO stand out. o Loaners) and its accessories. Hilario will explain what these filters can-- Planisphere. and cannot--do, how to use them, types of filters and other useful information to get Observe – Educate – Have Fun you started on another level —Lynneof observing. Olson *See www.taas.org for map ...General Meeting News continued from page 1 Photos for Perihelion, Please! the dark because they were easy prey for the task, which included hand-grinding I have begun collectIng photos of large nocturnal predators. To survive until and polishing the 8 and 16-inch primary TAAS events and members for the slide show to be presented at our Perihelion morning twilight, early humans hunkered mirrors himself. Banquet on Jan. 12, 2019. This is a down in caves and built fires for protection request for copies of your photos. After finding his first comet from South – and for more than 99.9% of man’s exis- Part of the fun at our annual gathering is tence, fire was the only anthropogenic light Carolina in 1989, Brewington moved to watching the slide show – so I’m looking source on the planet. southern New Mexico in the fall of 1990 for . color photos (medium resolution) of and built a comet-hunting observatory on members eating, socializing, and doing “But humans eventually invented better a mountain ridge east of Cloudcroft. The astronomy stuff. That means we need to ways to illuminate their nightlife. This relocation issued four more discoveries by take and collect pictures of members at virtually all of our many activities. new technology came with a multitude of 1996. Two of his New Mexico comets, 97P/ unforeseen consequences, which included Metcalf-Brewington and 154P/Brewing- As you send me images (to: bobship10@ gmail.com). I’ll build the show. You will the brightening of Earth’s night sky. With ton, have short-period orbits of about ten receive credit for each picture I use. I plan human population also factored in, the out- years. to select between 100 and 150 pictures, come has proved disastrous.” depending on quality and number of the Brewington graduated with honors from year’s events represented. Brewington will discuss the current world- the University of South Carolina in Co- Each month’s activities are on our Web wide light-pollution problem and what lumbia in 2002. Now retired from the As- site under the heading, Upcoming steps can be taken to save our night skies. tronomy Department at NMSU, Brewington Events with date and location. With your contribution, we can look forward to seeing lives in Las Cruces with his wife, Maya, and lots of smiling faces in the slide show at An amateur astronomer, Brewington visu- is president of the Astronomical Society of next year’s banquet. ally discovered or co-discovered five com- Las Cruces. ets while manually sweeping the night sky —Bob Shipley, TAAS board secretary with his home-built reflecting telescopes. *For map, go to www.taas.org—Lynne . Olson He specifically designed his telescopes for Page 3 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

Two photos of Mars, captured on Aug. 28 and Sept. 8 at GNTO.

In the fIrst Image, the planet was only one month past opposition and presents a relatively full disk. The dust storm was beginning to die down and seeing was less than optimal. Conse- quently, I chose to use the IR image as a lumi- nance image, as the longer wavelength captures more detail through turbulent air. The result of using the luminance image is that color saturation is reduced, while detail is enhanced. At the time this image was made the Central Meridian was at 210º by WinJupos and 150º by the Sky and Telescope convention. The different conventions use the same zero point, differing in the direction in which longitude is numbered. In the second image, the central meridian was at 91.1º using WinJupos and 269º by the Sky and Telescope map. In this image the planet presents a less-than-full phase as it moves farther away from opposition. The seeing was somewhat bet- ter than on the previous attempt, and I was able to reduce the amount of the IR luminance frame incorporated into the image. This resulted in more saturated colors. These images were captured using an 11” Ce- lestron HD Edge, a 2x Tele Vue Barlow lens, an ASI120mm camera, filter wheel and filters and an Astronomic 742 nm IR pass filter. Video streams of 3000 frames were captured with each filter. The best 25% were stacked using Autostakkert!2. Wavelet sharpening was done in Registax 6. Im- ages were combined using WinJuPos and final processing was done in Photoshop CS2 and PixInsight. The combination of the OTA, Barlow lens and the spacing of the camera-filter wheel yield an effec- tive focal length of about 7300 mm. This is calcu- lated by the capture software used, Firecapture, from the known sizes of the planet and image sites on the chip. The system employs an electric focuser in addition to the primary mirror move- ment, so that the “effective focal length” will vary due to the difference in extension of the electric focuser.

—Vance Ley

Page 4 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018 Under the Dome Notes from and about GNTO Jim Fordice

August 11 - new Moon Observing:

Kurt thought they saw three moons, but Will awoke at 12:30 a.m. and joined the Alan Scott was the Opener. He reported: they sure looked like stars to Alan. They two fellows, Jim Kaminski and Mike Moli- Last night was interesting. It started out didn’t verify whether they were moons tor who had ignored the weather fore- almost 100% clouds at 6 p.m., then there or not. Mars was the highlight of Alan’s cast. In a 15-minute spread, between was a pretty substantial downpour (and night. At 156X and then 203X, they could 12:40 and 12:55, they saw together nine lightning - lots of very close lightning) at make out features on Mars. To Alan’s meteors. That rate equals 36 meteors per around 6:30 p.m., followed by solid clouds. untrained eye, it looked like there was a hour. That was in spite of 50% cloud cover- At sunset, clouds were still wall to wall. By darker area on top, with a lighter area be- age. It might have seen double that number 9 p.m. we started seeing sucker holes and low. Alan “thinks” he saw the ice caps, but it with clear skies. by about 10 p.m. or so, the clouds parted, could have been imagination. Kurt and Alan and we had one of the darkest nights at then enjoyed M51 (glorious), the Lagoon The clouds then thickened so Will returned GNTO I have seen. Transparency was fair to (M8), and the Veil (right in Dobson’s hole, to bed just after 1 a.m. He awoke again at good, seeing was fair to good. but spectacular with a narrow band filter). 3:45 a.m. and did another 15-minute count

The Perseids were few, but good. Alan saw about four through the night, beautiful, bright, with glorious long tails. He guessed there was one every 15 minutes.

The roads are good, but you needed to take all of the bypasses. There were some pretty impressive lakes in the road. Safety tip: we do have rattlesnakes in the area, and we did have a visit. He was more afraid of them Becky Ramotowski and Benjamin Jones Dave and Maya Walz-Burkett than they were of him, and he left them alone. But, listen when walking around, and use a flashlight. of meteors on his own. His tally was seven, David Ochadlik. arrived right after Alan. As Everyone left around 1 a.m. meaning a rate of 28 per hour. Alan was running around locking stuff up August 12 - Perseids Observing Session: in the rain and lightning, getting ready to At 3:45 a.m. the sky was completely clear. bug out, David wisely (but unfortunately) Will Ferrell was the opener for a special In fact, Will’s count was thrown off because decided to leave. The rain quickly let up, Perseids observing session. He reported: he would find himself gazing at the Double so Alan hung around. Around 7 p.m. Kurt Predicting the future is a risky business, Cluster and M31, naked eye objects usually, Sandquist and Mike Molitor arrived. Mike even for weather prognosticators with mil- but extremely clear at the time. He tried watched the Perseids all evening with lions of dollars of sophisticated equipment. counting stars inside Pegasus to determine Kurt. When the clouds parted Alan set up sky quality but got bored. his 20” Dobsonian. The Clear Sky Chart showed a bad night for observing shaping up. Will arrived at GNTO This shows that you must take weather After taking three observations for his at 7 p.m. and it was exactly that, with haze forecasts with a grain of salt. Oh, and also Caldwell list, Alan let his scope basically threatening to envelop the sky. the road did have wet spots and puddles became public. They observed Jupiter, with but there were drive arounds for all of the all four beautiful moons (two on one side, At dusk, they had pockets of clear sky. Two bad spots so even a mediocre driver such two on the other). The red spot was vis- lovely meteors, one teal colored and one as Will had no problem. ible, along with something in a matching Mars orange, flashed across the sky. Things band on the other side of the planet. Jupi- looked promising. But conditions wors- Jim Kaminski reported: ter was very low. Next up was Saturn. The ened, and Will decided at 10 p.m. to sleep 10-11 p.m. = 8 Perseidscontinued + 0 others on page(74F, 6 . . . Cassini division was obvious. Mike and for a while. 8-12 mph, mostly cloudy/”sucker holes”) Page 5 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

...Under the Dome continued from page 5 Ramatowski for her previous post which trails were 20-30 degrees in extent. A few reminded Jim to look for it). had some color (red/green). These were spectacular to see. 11-12 p.m. = 2 + 2 (70F, 4-7mph, mostly Many thanks to Will Ferrell. for being the clear but very few meteors -- were they Opener. Mike said he’s sure that it was just coinci- tired and on break?) dence, but it seemed that a large propor- 12-1 a.m. = 8 + 5 (68F, 1-3 mph, alternat- Mike Molitor reported: I traveled to GNTO tion of the meteors streaked along the ing very clear and mostly overcast, SQM- on both Saturday and Sunday evenings to Milky Way. (Perhaps they were headed to L=21.5, or 21.4 with Milky Way) get a view of the Perseid meteors. Many Sagittarius A*? (wink-wink)). He is thinking 1-2 a.m. = 22 + 4 (66F, 4-7 mph, very clear, thanks to Alan Scott and Will Ferrell for about the Quadrantids in early January. SQM-L=21.6 w/o Milky Way) opening those nights.

Ahhh- -the weather. Cloud conditions initially were poor both nights but later cleared off nicely. The initial overcast Saturday was thick enough that not even Venus could penetrate it. To begin, Sunday had thinner and more broken cloud (lots of sucker holes). So, Sunday evening was more photogenic, with a thin crescent Moon (41 hours old) hanging over the Jeff Boggs western horizon. Tracing the arc from the Mike Williams Moon west to east through Venus, Jupiter, September 1 - 3rd Quarter Moon Observ- Saturn and Mars, it was easy to imagine the ing: These are only the ones Jim saw, mostly ecliptic plane. Wonderful! in the North and Northeast, and he heard Mike/Will see others. Jim wondered if they A couple of years back when Mike opened Martin Hilario was the Opener. He opened make eyeglasses with fish-eye lenses so one GNTO mid-week for the Perseids, they the site just after 6 p.m. Because of the could see more of the sky at once! Anyway, had a gibbous moon that did not set until chance for rain no one joined him. After most of his views were of bright 1-second 1:30 a.m. or so. Although the weather was doing some serious weeding Martin closed flashes with granulated tails/remnants -- perfect then, this year traded early interfer- the site just after 9 p.m. and departed. very pretty. ence from clouds, for no interference from Some nights are like that! the Moon. On Saturday afternoon the cloud forecast was about equally iffy for both nights, with some clearing predicted after midnight. Saturday the sky cleared about 10 p.m. and Mike saw some nice meteors with longish trails typical of Perseids. The rate was maybe 10/hr. in my field of view from midnight to 1 a.m.

Rather than staying on, Mike left at about 1 a.m. on Sunday. Sunday 7 p.m. was the Shane Ramotowski predicted peak of the shower, and the wee Rick Hill hours of Monday were closer to shower peak than after midnight Saturday. Even September 2 - Special Observing Ses- though the Perseid duration is listed as two sion: After 2 a.m. Jim hunted faint fuzzes (galax- days, Mike reasoned that he had the poten- ies and nebulae) then packed up but was tial to see a higher frequency of meteors pleasantly interrupted with occasional early Monday. Sunday night, the sky didn’t I arrived at the site on at about 5:15 p.m. flashes of light from more meteors. Jim clear completely until 12 to 1 a.m. Mon- got some zzz’s then left at 6 a.m. with fond Jeff Boggs had been there since about 2 day. The shower rate seemed moderately p.m. Jeff stained the Ortega Building porch memories of the evening. higher than Saturday. There was variety to which now looks verycontinued nice. He also on page did 7 . . . the length of meteor trails. Although they some staining of the wood around the Jim also observed comet 21P Giacobini- did not persist for long, some glowing dust PageZinner in 6 Cassiopeia (kudos to Becky The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

...Under the Dome continued from page 6 The Purpose of TAAS_Talk

Piazza and the Cocina window frames. We finished up the weeding Martin had started TAAS_Talk is our main means of com- members. Observation reports, astronomy the day before. The weeds are pretty much munication for coordinating TAAS events comments and questions, and equipment taken care of. such as general meetings, special meetings, questions are all appropriate uses of GNTO, star parties, and the Perihelion Ban- TAAS_Talk. The roads to the site are in good condition. quet. It is an important means of communi- As I drove in the road was being smoothed. cations from the Board of Directors to the TAAS_Talk is not to be used to criticize or Membership. harass. All TAAS_Talk communications My main purpose for going to the site was should be kept positive. Jim Fordice to allow a new member, Benjamin Jones, to TAAS_Talk is also for sharing general as- see the site. He arrived with his friend Kris- tronomical news items of interest between — topher Goodrich. They are both professors at UNM. Others in attendance were Dave Telescope Loan Program Update Ochadlik, his friend Michael Grumbine, by Rick Vergas, Telescope Loan Coordinator Martin Hilario, Melissa Kirk, and Bridget de Saint Phalle. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES to the telescope and accessories in- ventory this month. However, on August 16, Dr. John McGraw, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at UNM, wrote TAAS to say that he was shutting down his lab at UNM and offered us the opportunity to look through astronomy related equipment that he had accumulated over the years and which was not going to be used by col- leagues. UNM would donate to TAAS anything of interest.

Jim Fordice, Boris Venet, and I met with Gary Harrison, Facilities Manager in the De- partment of Physics and Astronomy and visited the lab. We made a list of small tele- scopes, various finders, eyepieces, visual backs, electronic focusers, mirror blanks, and other items. The donation has been completed, and I have placed the items in Ron Hospelhorn the storage facility to be catalogued and evaluated further. TAAS thanks Prof. Mc- Graw and UNM for this generous donation. Telescopes in the loan program, including those available as of Sept. 9, 2018, include: Benjamin and Kristopher departed shortly after sunset. After viewing Mars from the Loan Program Statistics Isengard telescope I departed a bit after 8 # of % on p.m. As I left thunderstorms were building Scopes # on Loan # Available Loan to the west. Everyone else departed a bit after 9 p.m. 42 34 8 84% September 8 - new Moon Observing: Type: Reflectors Refractors Catadioptrics Pete Eschman was the Opener on 8 Sep- 23 7 12 tember. He reported: We had a very good observing session at GNTO last night. Nine- Size: Large (>8”) Medium (5”-8”) Small (<5”) teen people enjoyed nice skies and comfort- 12 17 13 able viewing temperatures. I was scheduled to open the facility, but Jeff Boggs arrived Tracking: Manual Push-To Go-To Tracking before me and had everything ready to go 26 5 7 11 before I arrived at 6:30. The recent crop of weeds seemed to be under control, thanks to the efforts of recent volunteers.

I used the Isengard throughoutcontinued on the page evening. 9 . . . The tuned-up dome rotation motor worked

Page 7 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

Sharpless 2-126, a diffuse nebula in constellation Lacerta. Again the conditions kept me from imaging in the monsoon season. My USB Hub has suddenly become unreliable, and quit during a imaging of open cluster NGC6811. Even on my latest try, clouds wiped out imaging another open cluster, NGC663.

Resorting to my imaging archives from 2017, I found this dim object, Sh2- 126 located in the dim constellation Lacerta. It is very large and only 2000 light years from us, located about halfway between Cygnus and Andromeda. The complex area called 10 Lacertae is thought to ionize the nebula.

Equipment: ES ED127CF f/7.5, iOptron CEM60 mount, SBIG ST8300M with FW5 ccd camera, guided with SBIG SG-4 on a AT72ED f/6. Software: CCD- Soft V5.210, ImagesPlus V5.75a, Photoshop Elements v9, Astronomy Tools (false color).

Exposure: 24 x 5 minute for total 2 hour exposure. Filter used: narrowband Hydrogen Alpha 7nm passband. Location: 3 miles north of Oak Flat on my backyard patio on Nov. 23, 2017, between dark and 10 PM MST.

—John Laning

Page 8 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

...Under the Dome continued from page 7

great for all dome slews. I looked at a number of objects and had occasional observers requesting objects that were of interest to them. As the evening turned to early morning I was able to observe comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, although I did not wait for it to rise above about 18 degrees above the NE ho- rizon. I left the facility about 3 AM, with Jeff Boggs, Vance Ley, Jim Kaminski, Jim Roucis, Shane Rama- towski, and Viola Sanchez still observing or sleeping in their vehicles.

Jim Fordice worked with Sandy Fleming and Viola Sanchez on “The Next Step” observing program, which is intended to help those who have complet- ed Phil Fleming’s Fabulous 50 sessions and want to use their gear to learn how to find deep-space objects.

Jim Kaminski had a nice binder full of some of his astro tips available in the Cocina, along with a box Vance Ley of AA and AAA batteries for anyone to grab if they needed to power up. A good selection of cookies also tempted anyone within range in the Cocina.

The attendees were: Jeff Boggs, Jim Fordice, Vance Ley, Benjamin Jones, Jim Kaminski, Jim Roucis, Pete Eschman, Dave Walz-Burkett, Maya Walz-Burkett, Mike Williams, Ron Hospelhorn, Shane Ramatowski, Becky Ramatowski, Rick Hill, George Friedman, Alan Scott, Phil Fleming, Sandy UpcomingFleming, and events: Viola Sanchez

• Oct 6: 3rd Quarter Moon Observing

• Oct 7: new Moon Observing

• nov 3: 3rd Quarter Moon Observing

• nov 10: new Moon Observing

Don’t forget that the GNTO Observing Field is avail- able for use by TAAS members any time. Check the TAAS website for the procedure to follow. Contact GNTO Observing Field me if you have any questions. As always, check TAAS_Talk and the TAAS website for last-minute changes and updates. GNTO events are open to all TAAS members and their guests. GNTO Director: [email protected] or 505-803-3640.

Page 9 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

August At OAk flAt TAAS General Meeting

Saturday, September 29 Science and Math learning Center, UnM Campus 7:00 p.m.

Let There Be Light Howard J. Brewington

president, astronomical society of las cruces Here are two amusing images 6:00 p.m. Astronomy 101 Filters for Viewing Deep-Sky Objects provided by Bob Shipley from the Martin Hilario Oak Flat star party on August 18. Obviously, a good time was had by all.

Page 10 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018 TAAS Reports & Notices Location, Location, Location Donations to TAAS Welcome to New • Chaco Canyon• or Returning 6185’ elevation TAAS Members Latitude Longitude 36˚ 01’ 50”N 107˚ 54’ 36”W Benjamin Burnett•Olga Copson 36.03˚ -107.91˚ Henry Culpepper•Josetta Culpepper 36˚ 1.83’ -107˚ 54.60’ • William Doleman•Desirae Draper Diego Draper•Gabriel Draper • Oak Flat• William Doleman Gabriel Draper, Jr.•Theo Gatanis 7680’ elevation Cheyenne Hajagos•Eli Hajagos Latitude Longitude Guy Kent 34˚ 59’ 48”N 106˚ 19’ 17”W Jamina Oomen-Hajagos Andrew Ochadlick, Jr. Bud Lensing•Kathe Lensing 34.99˚ -106.32˚ Larry O’Hanlon Andrea Ochadlick•Andrew Ochadlick 34˚ 59.80’ -106˚ 19.28’ Jim Seargeant JoAnne Ochadlick• Tyler Ochadlick • UNM Campus Observatory• Austin Oetken•Joseph Maffione 5180’ elevation Fernando Torres Samantha Multari•Kaylyn Rogers Latitude Longitude 35˚ 5’ 29”N 106˚ 37’ 17”W • John Sharp•Rachel Sharp Michael Tausch•Tiffany Tausch 35.09˚ -106.62˚ Valerie Tausch•John Ward 35˚ 5.48’ -106˚ 37.29’ Liza White•Stuart White John York•Leah York Courtesy Pete Eschman

For security reasons, GNTO location is available by request only, so please contact Explanation of Dues and Jim Fordice, GNTO Director, for GNTO The Albuquerque Astronomical Society is a 501(c) Membership information, e-mail [email protected]. (3) organization. Donations are deductible as Renewal Date charitable contributions on the donor’s federal income tax return. Membership Services Monthly Membership Report New memberships are registered for: immediately if you pay online. If you August 2018 •Membership Inquiries pay by check, your membership is reg- Membership Current Past Change •Events Information istered when your check is received by Month Month •Volunteer Opportunities the treasurer. Regular 252 253 -1 Contact Bob Anderson at Family 162 155 7 Renewal notices will be sent out via [email protected] Educator 16 16 0 e-mail beginning 60 days before your Student 28 25 3 membership expires. If your member- for: Military 0 0 0 ship is renewed before it expires or with •Membership Dues Honorary 5 5 0 in 90 days after it expires, your new ex- •Address/e-mail changes Total Members 463 454 9 piration date will be advanced one year from the previous expiration date and Contact Doug LeGrand at your membership will be continuous. [email protected] Editor’s Note If dues payment is received more The deadline for the next issue of The TAAS than 90 days after the expiration date, Sidereal Times is Wednesday, October 10. P.O. Box 50581 The newsletter editors’ e-mail address is you will be reinstated as a member with Albuquerque, NM 87181 [email protected] . an expiration date set as one year from the receipt of payment. Page 11 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times September 2018

2018 TAAS Board of Directors/Staff

Jim Fordice, President martin Hilario, Vice President [email protected] [email protected] 505-803-3640 213-999-2582

doug legrand, Treasurer BoB SHipley, Secretary [email protected] [email protected] 505-559-0252 [email protected] 505-872-8366

roBert anderSon, Director Jim Fordice, Director Membership Coordinator GNTO Director, [email protected] [email protected] 505-803-3640 505-275-1916

tom grzyBowSki, Director BoB Havlen, Director Education Outreach Director [email protected] [email protected] 505-856-3306 505-363-9427

carl larSon, Director BoriS venet, Director [email protected] Chaco Events Coordinator 408-623-4717 [email protected] 505-507-7838

rick vergaS, Director Telescope Loan Coordinator [email protected] 505-620-2832

Astronomical League Coordinator Becky Ramotowski 505-286-8334 [email protected] ATM Coordinator Ray Collins 505-344-9686 [email protected] Chaco Events Coordinator Boris Venet 505-507-7838 [email protected] Education Outreach Tom Grzybowski 505-363-9427 [email protected] Explora Adult Night Coordinator Bob Hufnagel 505-890-8122 [email protected] Fabulous Fifty Coordinator Phil Fleming 505-870-5604 [email protected] GNTO Director Jim Fordice 505-803-3640 [email protected] Membership Chair Bob Anderson 505-275-1916 [email protected] Newsletter Co-Editor, Content Bruce Meyer 917-449-0700 [email protected] Newsletter Co-Editor, Design Gary Cooper 505-227-3974 [email protected] Public Events Coordinator Open [email protected] Publicity Coordinator Lynne Olson 505-856-2537 [email protected] Scout Coordinator Chaz Jetty 505-350-7949 [email protected] Telescope Loan Coordinator Rick Vergas 505-620-2832 [email protected] UNM Observatory Coordinator Fernando Torres 505-615-7036 [email protected] Webmaster, Interim Bill Wallace 505-710-5172 [email protected]

Page 12 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Albuquerque Astronomical Society

P.O. Box 50581 Albuquerque, NM 87181-0581

“OUT-OF-THiS-wOrld” AwArd 2011 TAAS is honoredAlbuquerque to receive Magazine an TAAS isAstronomy honored to receive an “Editor’sBeST PickPlAC 2013e TO Best STAr ofGAZ the eCity” award from . from Magazine for Outstanding Public Programming. CELESTIAL EDITION

MEMBERSHIP ARTICLES/ADVERTISEMENTS TAAS ONLINE You can join TAAS or renew your Articles, personal astronomical classified TAAS website: http://www.TAAS.org membership online. Just go to www.taas. advertisements and advertisements for org and select “Join Us!” or “Renew Your businesses related to astronomy must be The TAAS website includes: Membership” from the main menu on the submitted by the deadline shown on the left side. Annual dues are $30 for a regular Society calendar (generally the Friday • Programs . . . membership, $15 for educators and active near the new Moon). Rates for commer- • TAAS 200 military, and $5 for students. Only regular cial ads (per issue) are $120 per page, $60 • TAAS Fabulous Fifty members are eligible to vote in society per half page, $30 per quarter page, $7 for • Educational Outreach: School Star matters. Our new member information business card size. The newsletter editor packet can be viewed or downloaded from reserves the right to include and/or edit Parties, Solar Astronomy Outreach the same location on the website. You can any article or advertisement. E-mail at- • Equipment Trader pay your dues on line through PayPal, by tachments in Microsoft Word or compat- • Telescope Loaner Program Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. ible word processor format; ASCII and • Telescope Making and Maintenance Sidereal Times To pay by check, mail your check to TAAS, RTF are acceptable. One space between . . . And more P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, NM 87181- paragraphs is preferred. One column is 0581 or give it to the treasurer at one of approximately 350 words. Contact the • Online our meetings. Newsletter Editor at [email protected] for • Calendar of TAAS Events more information.Sidereal Times • Members’ Guide MAGAZINES Note that the is no longer • Links to Astronomy Resources and mailed. It is posted on the TAAS website, Members’ Blogs TAAS no longer offers magazine www.TAAS.org. subscriptions. Send submissions or correspondence to E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]. Members’ Google Group: [email protected]