San Diego Astronomy Association Celebrating Over 40 of Astronomical Outreach

Office (619) 645-8940 October 2011 Observatory (619) 766-9118 http://www.sdaa.org October Program Meeting A Non-Profit Educational Association P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215 Date: October 19th Speaker: Prof. Alison Coil SDAA Business Meeting Topic: Lighting Up the Dark: How Trace Dark Matter on Large Scales Next meeting will be held at: 3838 Camino del Rio North Measurements of the spatial distribution of galaxies on very large scales constrains Suite 300 both our understanding of cosmology as well as the physics of evolution. San Diego, CA 92108 October 11th at 7pm Dr. Coil has received her B.A. in astrophysics from Princeton University in 1997, Next Program Meeting her M.S. in astrophysics from the University of California October 19, 2011 at 7pm at Berkeley in 2001, and her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Mission Trails Regional Park University of California at Berkeley in 2004. She has been Visitor and Interpretive Center a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail before joining the faculty at the University of California at San Diego in 2008.

CONTENTS San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) sponsors speakers on a wide range of astronomy topics on the third October 2011, Vol XLIX, Issue 10 Wednesday of every month at the Mission Trails Regional Published Monthly by the Park Visitors Center. The Program meeting begins at 7:00 San Diego Astronomy Association PM. Each attendee receives one free door prize ticket. After

$2.50 an issue/$30.00 announcements and a small amount of business, the audi- Incorporated in California in 1963 ence is treated to the featured presentation. At the close of October Program Meeting...... 1 the meeting the door prizes are presented. The event is open to the public. The Mission The Great Square...... 1 Trails Regional Park Visitors Center is at One Fr. Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego CA Jim Thommes’ Astronomical 92119. Call the park at 619-668-3281 for more information or visit http://www.mtrp.org. Discovery...... 4 Please contact Bill Carlson ([email protected]) if you have an questions, com- Dark Clues to the Universe...... 5 ments, or ideas for the Program Meetings. October Minutes...... 6 October Calendar...... 8 SDAA Contacts...... 9 ASIG Gallery...... 10 The Great Square The Back Page...... 12 As the Summer Triangle begins its fall to the sea, the Great Square of climbs high in the east, heralding the change of season. The of Pegasus, the Flying Horse doesn’t look much like a horse, but the Great Square asterism is readily identifiable and makes a good landmark for navigating the autumn sky. The Great Square is formed by four mag 2-3 , each about 12-15 degrees apart, making a giant square enclosing a relatively empty region of space. Although referred to Newsletter Deadline as the Great Square of Pegasus, the northeastern-most in the asterism is α Androme- The deadline to submit articles dae (Alpheratz, aka Sirrah; mag 2.1), which is a tight binary of mags 2.2 and 4.4. The for publication is the other stars of the Great Square include β Pegasi (Sheat; mag 2.4) to the southeast, α PEG 15th of each month. (Markab; mag 2.5) to the southwest, and γ PEG (Algenib; mag 2.8) to the northwest.

San Diego Astronomy Association

Starting with the Great Square, the first deep sky object I ever star hopped to was M31 (mag 3.4), the great spiral galaxy in An- dromeda. M31 is a naked eye object under dark skies, and, at 2.3 million light years, arguably the most distant object visible without optical aid. I’ve never seen it naked eye in the city, but it’s visible with binoculars and is fairly easily found, beginning at α AND, the northeastern-most star of the Great Square. From α AND, head northeast about 7 degrees to the first bright star, δ AND (mag 3.3), and continue on that line another 7 degrees to the next bright star, β AND (mag 2). At β AND, make a right angle and head northwest about 4 degrees to mag 3.9 μ AND, and continue on that line another 3 degrees to mag 4.3 υ AND. In binoculars, M31 is visible as a small cloudy region a couple of degrees northeast of υ AND. The companion galaxies M32 (mag 8.2) and M110 (mag 8.9) become vis- ible through my reflector at 90x. Under a dark sky, you can these same stars to find the Triangulum galaxy (M33; mag 5.7). If you imagine the “right angle” formed by the line from α AND (point “A”) to β AND (point “B”), and the line from “B” to υ AND (point “C”), then rotate the right angle 180 degrees along the axis A-B, the point C will lie just a bit east of M33. M33 lies about 3 million light years away, and is the third larg- est member of the Local Group, after M31 and the Milky Way. But it has a very low surface brightness and is a challenge to find from the city. Moving on, if you again begin with the line A-B, and continue along that line northeast about 10 degrees, you’ll reach γ AND (Almach), a multiple star system comprising a mag 2.2 gold primary separated by about 10 arcsec from a blue companion that is a very tight double star (mags 5.0 and 6.8; 0.8 arcsec). The rest of the constellation Andromeda spans southeast of Almach as a band of stars. East/northeast of Andromeda, in the northern Milky Way, lies Perseus (“the Hero”). α Persei (Mirfak; mag 1.8), anchors the Alpha Persei Cluster (Melotte 20), which lies about 601 light years away. The Alpha Perseid Cluster seems to be a relatively underappreciated open cluster, probably because it covers a large field of view and is best seen through binoculars (or a wide fov refractor). The second brightest star in Perseus is Algol, the Demon Star (β PER), about 10 degrees to the south of Mirfak. Algol is an eclipsing that comprises a tight triple star system. Algol generally appears mag 2.1, but every 2 days, 20 hours and 49 minutes, one of the com- panions eclipses the primary causing Algol to drop to mag 3.4 for about 10 hr. You can see an animation of Algol at Wikipedia.org. North of the Great Square lies Cassiopeia (“the Queen”), which at this time of year looks kind of like a “W” that’s being stretched a bit to the north. Due to the curve of the Earth, I sometimes get a bit tricked up about “east” and “west” when looking at rising that lie at the more extreme in the northern or southern sky because they seem to change orientation as they traverse the sky. Cassiopeia is a good example, where β CAS seems to be farthest east in the “W” as the constellation rises, but is, in fact, the westernmost star of the “W”. So, if you’re not sure, check out a star chart or look up the constellation at a site like Wikipedia. org or on Google sky, or wait until it reaches the meridian. From west to east, respectively, the three brightest stars of the “W” are β CAS, α CAS, and γ CAS; each is about mag 2.2, although γ CAS, the middle star of the “W”, can vary unpredictably by a magnitude or two. East of γ CAS in the “W” is δ CAS, and the easternmost (and northernmost) star of the “W” is ε CAS. If you imagine a line from δ CAS to ε CAS, then extend that line about the same distance, you come to naked eye iota CAS, a nice triple star system (mags 4.6, 6.9 and 8.4; 2.5 and 7 arcsecs). In my reflector, with an aperture cover, the closer component is nicely resolved at 220x. West of Cassiopeia is Cepheus (“the King”), a constellation that looks like a house, with the base of the “house” to the south and the high peaked roof pointing to the north. The base of the “house” includes α Cephei (mag 2.5) to the west, and zeta CEP (mag 3.8) and δ CEP (mag 4.1) to the east. δ CEP (mags 3.5-4.1) is a variable star and the prototype “Cepheid variable”, the “standard candle” stars that are used to determine the distances of galaxies from earth. δ CEP also is a double star, with a mag 6.1 companion (41 arcsec). Cepheus also contains the carbon star, Herschel’s Garnet Star (μ CEP; mag 4.1). Herschel’s Garnet Star is a naked eye star located just south of and about halfway along a line formed by α CEP and δ CEP, the base of the “house”. Its color isn’t particularly evident by eye, but the red color becomes apparent in binoculars and looks really nice through a telescope. Before leaving the north side of the Great Square, check out the Double Cluster (NGC 869 and 884; aka Caldwell 14). If you imagine a line from ε CAS, the easternmost star of the Cassiopeia “W”, to α PER, the Double Cluster lies about 1/3 of the way from ε CAS along and a bit south of this line. On a fairly dark night, with binoculars, the double cluster appears as a dim “sparkly” region. Through a telescope, it’s interesting to compare the differences among the clusters, including the numerous triangle asterisms in one and the sprinkling of red stars in the other.

Page 2 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 San Diego Astronomy Association

Heading southwest of the Great Square, you can star hop to the globular cluster, M15 (mag 2.4). Starting at α PEG, the southwest- ern-most star of the Great Square, proceed about 15 degrees southwest to mag 3.5 θ PEG, then head about 7 degrees east/northeast (toward Delphinus) to ε PEG (mag 2.4). ε PEG is slightly brighter than α PEG, and is the brightest star in the region directly east of Delphinus. M15 lies about 5 degrees beyond ε PEG, along the line formed by θ PEG and ε PEG. With binoculars, I was just able to spot M15 east of a mag 6 star on a night of relatively poor seeing. At 90x in my reflector, M15 looks like a fuzzy snowball; at 220x I could barely resolve a few individual stars. M15 is about 33,500 light years from earth and has a diameter of about 175 light years. It’s one of the most densely packed globular clusters and is believed to contain a central black hole. As such, it may be a galaxy remnant, as has been suggested for Omega Centauri. At an estimated 13.2 billion years old, M15 is one of the oldest globular clusters known, and is another of the four globular clusters known to contain a planetary . South of the Great Square lie the “watery” constellations, Pisces (the Fish), Aquarius (the Water Bearer), Capricornus (the Sea Goat), (the Whale), and Pisces Austrinus (the Southern Fish). If you can see the “circlet” asterism of Pisces just south of the Great Square, know that Uranus is wandering nearby, and that Neptune is to the southwest, between Capricornus and the “water jar” asterism of Aquarius. You can find Uranus and, on a dark night, Neptune, using the chart in the September 2011 issue of Sky and Telescope (page 53). Cetus lies southwest of the circlet and contains the prototype long period variable star, omicron Ceti (; mags 2.0-10.1; 332 day period), which is positioned about midway between the circles of stars making up the head and tail of the whale. Mira is a binary system comprising the Mira A, which is losing mass, and the , Mira B, which is accreting that mass. And Pisces Austrinus contains first magnitude Fomalhaut (α PSA), the lone bright star on the otherwise star-poor southern horizon. Besides sharing the autumn sky, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, Pegasus and Cetus are connected in mythology. Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. The Queen constantly waxed on about her daugh- ter’s beauty, and offended the Nerieds, sea nymphs renowned for their beauty, by boasting that lovely Andromeda was fairer than the nymphs. The nymphs petitioned Poseidon to punish the Queen for her vanity, so the god of the Seas sent the monster Cetus to terror- ize the shores of Cepheus’ kingdom. As a sacrifice to appease Poseidon and the nymphs, Cepheus chained his daughter to rocks on the shore, but as Cetus rose to gulp Andromeda, the hero Perseus swooped in on Pegasus, slayed the monster, and rescued sweet Androm- eda. But I digress. © 2011 – San Diego Stargazer.

A Pulsar and Its Mysterious Tail A spinning neutron star is tied to a mysterious tail -- or so it seems. Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Obser- vatory found that this pulsar, known as PSR J0357+3205 (or PSR J0357 for short), apparently has a long, bright X-ray tail streaming away from it. This composite image shows Chandra data in blue and Digitized Sky Survey data in yellow. The position of the pulsar at the upper right end of the tail is seen by mousing over the image. The two bright sources lying near the lower left end of the tail are both thought to be unrelated background objects located outside our galaxy. PSR J0357 was originally discovered by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope in 2009. Astronomers calculate that the pulsar lies about 1,600 light years from Earth and is about half a million years old, which makes it roughly middle-aged for this type of object.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/IUSS/A.De Luca et al; Optical: DSS

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 Page 3 San Diego Astronomy Association

SDAA Member Jim Thommes Makes Recognized Astronomical Discovery

A recent announcement was made in the Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (CBET) about the discovery of a star illuminating a nebula apparently not previously seen. This discovery was made by one of SDAA’s most capable astro-imagers, Jim Thommes.

Abstract Following a communication by J. Thommes (San Diego, California) of the discovery in the LDN 1656 cloud in Monoceros of a compact reflection nebula that was not visible on the first Palomar Sky Survey plates, B. Reipurth, C. Aspin, and G. H. Herbig, Insti- tute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, report that optical and infrared low- and high-resolution spectroscopy of the illuminating star (R.A. = 6h57m22s.2, Decl. = -8d23’18”, equinox 2000.0) show an absorption-line spectrum with great similarity to FU Ori, albeit with significantly more reddening. H alpha and the sodium doublet show prominent P-Cyg profiles (indicating a massive high-velocity outflowing wind), lithium is present, and the near-infrared CO bands are in deep absorption -- suggesting that the star is a new mem- ber of the rare “FUor” class of young eruptive variables. Optical imaging obtained at the Gemini-North telescope shows a bright, compact reflection nebula surrounding the star, and photometry indicates an SDSS r’-band magnitude of 16.11 (0.05) in a 1”-radius aperture, and 14.59 (0.05) in a 5”-radius aperture. Gemini-North NIRI photometry yields J = 9.80, H = 8.44, K = 7.33 on 2010 Oct. 14, whereas the 2MASS catalogue lists the following magnitudes for the star (2MASS J06572222-0823176): J = 11.50, H = 9.99, K = 9.00 (i.e., significantly fainter. Spitzer IRAC magnitudes for the star are I1 = 6.90, I2 = 6.16, I3 = 5.42, I4 = 4.50. Further details will be communicated elsewhere. Comments by Jim Thommes

I was undoubtedly proud of this announcement and look forward to any further study the scientific community reports on this object. It has been a somewhat “lucky” turn of events that brought me to this exciting circumstance. I believe it is a testament to the way amateur astronomers contribute to the astronomical body of scientific understanding. There are certainly many telescopes and eyes pointed to the sky observing celestial regions. But I believe that in the last 10 to 15 years, there are now significantly more electronic sensors in amateur’s hands making some these observations. I believe our own SDAA AISIG started September 2005 with many fine imagers now participating and images contributed. Because we are many, with reasonably competent observing instruments, we can have an impact on science. For myself, I have to say that my part is only that of discovery. As I read the above abstract, I real- ize I can follow only a portion of the science involved. My story begins November 21, 2009. It was an “observing day”. I usually plan my observing sessions in the morning or evening before figuring out what I am going to image and what the general plan is. That day, I planned to image one of Lynd’s Bright , LBN 1022. As it happens my field would also cover one of Lynd’s Dark Nebulas LDN 1656. This was fortunate for me since that is where the new nebula is located. I packed my stuff and I drove to Blair Valley, a location I frequent for imaging. I set up scopes, tent - all the things I normally do. That night, LBN 1022 was my second target; IC405 and IC410 was my first. I did not start imaging this object until about 1:30 AM. I do remember that as I saw the images download that night, there was this “smudge”. I was concerned this was an artifact of some sort that would degrade the image. Later the next week, I processed the image data and was convinced that the “smudge” was not a one or two frame artifact: it was on all images. I then compared my finished image with the Palomar plates as presented in Digital Sky Survey (DSS2). My “artifact” lined up with a star and a hint of dust in the LDN1656 dark cloud. I began to believe that I had captured something that was not there on the plates. As it turned out, the data was a bit short and the image was somewhat mediocre, but I decided it wasn’t an artifact. I really did not know what to do, so I simply published the image with my comment about the apparent new nebula on astronomy forums including our own AISIG gallery. The first post, on Cloudy Nights, was dated 12/8/2009. The ASIG image is posted as “LBN1022 region 12/18/2009”. A fellow Amateur Astronomer Sakib Rasool saw my post on Cloudy Nights and contacted both Bo Reipurth and me by email on 12/9/2009. Bo had emailed me back the same day asking for more information on my observation to which I had responded. It took Bo and his team some time to schedule additional data collection (through 2010) on the object. Bo had also communicated with the General Catalogue of Variable Stars team in Moscow to give a GCVS name to the star that has now been assigned as V900 Monoc- erotis. Bo had drafted and published the above announcement in CBET August 2011.

Page 4 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 San Diego Astronomy Association

You can learn more about Bo Reipurth from his Institute for Astronomy profile at: http://www2.ifa.hawaii.edu/newsletters/article.cfm?a=381&n=32

So now it is about 2 years later and I think I have plans to image this area again this year. For anyone else interested in imaging this region, the nebula’s coordinates are R.A.: 6h57m22s.2, Decl.: -8d23’18”, equinox 2000. Dark Clues to the Universe By Dr. Marc Rayman

Urban astronomers are always wishing for darker skies. But that complaint is due to light from Earth. What about the light coming from the night sky itself? When you think about it, why is the sky dark at all? Of course, space appears dark at night because that is when our side of Earth faces away from the Sun. But what about all those other suns? Our own Milky Way galaxy contains over 200 billion stars, and the entire universe probably contains over 100 billion galaxies. You might suppose that that many stars would light up the night like daytime! Until the 20th century, astronomers didn't think it was even possible to count all the stars in the universe. They thought the universe was infinite and unchanging. Besides being very hard to imagine, the trouble with an infinite universe is that no matter where you look in the night sky, you should see a star. Stars should overlap each other in the sky like tree trunks in the middle of a very thick forest. But, if this were the case, the sky would be blazing with light. This problem greatly troubled astronomers and became known as “Olbers’ Paradox” after the 19th century astronomer Heinrich Olbers who wrote about it, although he was not the first to raise this astronomical mystery. To try to explain the paradox, some 19th century scientists thought that dust clouds between the stars must be absorbing a lot of the starlight so it wouldn’t shine through to us. But later scientists realized that the dust itself would absorb so much energy from the starlight that eventually it would glow as hot and bright as the stars themselves. Astronomers now realize that the universe is not infinite. A finite universe—that is, a universe of limited size—even one with trillions of stars, just wouldn't have enough stars to light up all of space. Although the idea of a finite universe explains why Earth's sky is dark at night, other factors work to make it even darker. The universe is expanding. As a result, the light that leaves a distant galaxy today will have much farther to travel to our eyes than the light that left it a million years ago or even one year ago. That means the amount of light energy reaching us from distant stars dwindles all the time. And the farther away the star, the less bright it will look to us. Also, because space is expanding, the wavelengths of the light passing through it are expanding. Thus, the farther the light has traveled, the more red-shifted (and lower in energy) it becomes, perhaps red-shifting right out of the visible range. So, even darker skies prevail. The universe, both finite in size and finite in age, is full of wonderful sights. See some bright, beautiful images of faraway galaxies against the blackness of space at the Space Place image galleries. Visit http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/?q=gallery.

This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

This image of Galaxy NGC 4414 was used to help calculate the expansion rate of the universe. The galaxy is about 60 million light-years away. Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 Page 5 San Diego Astronomy Association

SDAA Board of Directors Monthly Business Meeting Minutes 13 September 2011- Unapproved and Subject to Revision

1. Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 7:02pm with the following board members in attendance: Michael Vander Vorst, President; Bill Carlson, Vice President; Ed Rumsey, Treasurer; Jeff Herman, Corresponding Secretary; Brian McFarland, Record- ing Secretary; Mike Finch, Director; Kin Searcy, Director; Scott Baker, Director. Members in attendance were Rick Imbra, Manuel & Jose Cravo, Mike Chasin, Paul “Moose” Pountney, and Hillary Griffith.

2. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes. Approved

3. Priority / Member Business. • Rick Imbra appeared before the Board of Directors to express his displeasure regarding the proposed $10 increase in contribut- ing membership dues and $5 increase in basic membership dues, citing the bank account balance as a reason to cap the dues where they are. The Board agreed to weigh his position against the reasons for maintaining a healthy balance (2nd site savings, emergency funds in case of catastrophic well pump failure, wildfire, lawsuits, etc.) and respond. The Board asked Rick to run for a Director or Officer posi- tion but he declined. • Manuel and Jose Cravo presented their plan for improving pad #12 to accommodate their car and equipment. Since their plan included brush clearing and remediation, the Board agreed to view the pad and the proposed plan on-site during the annual picnic. • Mike Chasin was present to learn what is required by the Board in order to gain approval for improving pad #68. The Board provided Mike with details and offered to help in the planning. • Jim Traweek asked the Board to consider creating a memorial in honor of Brian Staples. It was noted that Brian Staples had expressed his displeasure of memorials at TDS on numerous occasions, so the Board declined in honor of Brian’s wishes. • Hillary Griffith, Ed Rumsey, Mike Finch, and Scott Baker presented the results of the Julian StarFest (JSF) event. This year’s event saw an increase in the number of campers and public star party attendees, and the SDAA made a modest amount of money (it should be noted that this event is outreach, not fundraising). The volunteers who pulled it off are eager to do it again in 2012 so the Board agreed to support the effort.

4. Standard Reports.

Treasurer’s Report. Approved.

Membership Report. Membership is up one for a total of 542 members.

Site Maintenance Report. No report.

Observatory Report. No report.

Private Pad Report (from Mark Smith). • I tacked 3 people onto the end of the last private pad offering cycle. One of them is a swap (Mike Chasin is going to give up Pad 33 and take Pad 68), one of them is new (Pad 66) and one of them is a pair of people who are going to take a lease on a second Pad (they currently have 34 and will take over 33 when Mike vacates). I have explained that they will need to show minimum usage for BOTH pads. Given the historical usage on Pad 34, this shouldn’t be an issue. • With the new offerings, the waiting list is effectively empty. All 6 people currently on the list have been there for over a year and have opted out for at least 2 offerings. • There are currently 5 pads available. • Pad 33 was vacated due to light pollution off the neighbor’s water tank and initially the owners of Pad 34 were put on the wait- ing list to change pads as well (they decided to take out the second lease instead). Apparently a SDAA installed tarp to mitigate the light pollution has been shredded by the weather and is now little more than an annoyance in the breeze. Request that the BOD investigate methods of mitigating the light pollution.

Page 6 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 San Diego Astronomy Association

• I have access to the SDAA business site, but need a password to get into the database (Ed Rumsey will discuss with Mark Smith about this). I’m also still trying to connect with Ed to ensure that the last round of leases and payments arrived. • Manuel Cravo has requested BOD approval for improvements to Pad 12 and should be on the agenda for this month. Mike Chasin may also be requesting approval for improvements to Pad 68 this month.

Outreach Committee Report. Kin Searcy is scheduling events for the fall. So far September is looking light, but October looks to be pretty busy.

Program Report. • Ed R. will deliver the projector and PA system to Bill C. in time for the program meeting. • September’s program meeting will feature Robert Piccioni who will present Einstein & Light.

NASA Robotic Observatory. No report.

AISIG Report. Kin will miss the September meeting. The August meeting was gadget night.

Governing Documents Report. Now that JSF is over, Scott B. expects to have time to devote to this effort.

Newsletter Report. No report.

Website Report. No report.

Site Master Plan Committee Report. Bill C. presented our proposal to the county, and we were informed that we cannot do another mi- nor deviation. We now have to request a “modification” which will require a deposit of between $10,000 and $20,000 dollars, and likely represents a minimum investment to proceed. Additionally, a modification will require an environmental impact statement, public review, input from the neighbors, etc., etc. Should the county disapprove our request for modification, then a major use permit will be required, and that involves significantly more effort and money. It appears at this point we cannot proceed with our original plan. Bill will write an article for the newsletter explaining our dilemma.

Merchandise Report We went slightly over budget on the merchandise for JSF, but it won’t affect anything.

5. Old Business. Status of approved purchases: • $250 – paint for the observatory floor • $250 max – chairs for the observatory • $250 max – weed whacker • Robo scope repairs

Call for any other Old Business – none.

6. New Business. • The SDAA barbecue will be at TDS on September 24th, starting at 2pm with food served at approximately 4pm. Jerry Hil- burn is coordinating the event and we appear to have plenty of volunteers. • We need a wireless lapel microphone for our PA system, and a 10-foot projector screen which Scott B. will look into.

7. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 9pm

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 Page 7 San Diego Astronomy Association

October 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 Wm Heise Camp with the Stars

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stars in the Park Sycamore Canyon Girl Scouts @Heise & Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 SDAA Business Full Moon Hearst Stars at Mission Meeting Elementary Trails

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Explorer Post SDAA Program Birney Leadership Meeting Elementary KQ Ranch Recognition Dinner Star Party

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Spencer Valley AISIG Meeting Ramona TDS Public Night School, Julian Community New Moon School

30 31 1 2 3 4 5

Stars in the Park Bay Park BSA Troop 4 Heise

Page 8 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 San Diego Astronomy Association

SDAA Contacts Club Officers and Directors President Michael Vander Vorst [email protected] (858) 755-5846 Vice-President Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 Recording Secretary Brian McFarland [email protected] (619) 462-4483 Treasurer Ed Rumsey [email protected] (858) 722-3846 Corresponding Secretary Jeff Herman [email protected] (619) 846-4898 Director Alpha Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174 Director Beta Scott Baker [email protected] (858) 442-7513 Director Gamma Michael Finch [email protected] (760) 440-9650 Director Delta Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974

Committees Site Maintenance Bill Quackenbush [email protected] (858) 395-1007 Observatory Director Jim Traweek [email protected] (619) 207-7542 Private Pads Mark Smith [email protected] (858) 484-0540 Outreach Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 N. County Star Parties Doug McFarland [email protected] (760) 583-5436 S. County Star Parties -Vacant- [email protected] E. County Star Parties -Vacant- [email protected] Central County Star Parties Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 Camp with the Stars Doug McFarland [email protected] (760) 583-5436 K.Q. Ranch Coordinator Bill Griffith (760) 525-9954 Newsletter Andrea Kuhl [email protected] (858) 547-9887 Membership Ed Rumsey [email protected] (858) 722-3846 New Member Mentor Jerry Hilburn (858) 565-4059 Webmaster Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174 AISIG Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 Site Acquisition Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Field Trips Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 Grants/Fund Raising Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Merchandising Paul “Moose” Pountney [email protected] (619) 465-7014 Publicity Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Roboscope Director Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Governing Documents Scott Baker [email protected] (858) 442-7513 TDS Network Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 Amateur Telescope Making Peter De Baan [email protected] (760) 745-0925

Have a great new piece of gear? Read an astronomy-related book that you think SDAA Editorial Staff others should know about? How about a photograph of an SDAA Member in Editor - Andrea Kuhl action? Or are you simply tired of seeing these Boxes in the Newsletter rather [email protected] than something, well, interesting? Assistant Editor: Rick Imbra Contributing Writers Join the campaign to rid the Newsletter of little boxes by sharing them with the

membership. In return for your efforts, you will get your very own by line or pho- Jim Thommes Dr. Marc Rayman tograph credit in addition to the undying gratitude of the Newsletter Editor. Just send your article or picture to [email protected].

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 Page 9 San Diego Astronomy Association

AISIG Gallery

Jim Thommes posted a colorful image of the LBN 310 region. These are large and faint emission nebulae in Cygnus designated in Lynd’s Bright Nebula (LBN) catalog. Check out these and other great AISIG images in color on http://aisig.sdaa.org . He used an ST8300M CCD camera on a Megrez II refractor mounted on a Losmandy G11.

Page 10 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 San Diego Astronomy Association

Bob Austin put together a nice detailed image of NGC 6960, the Witches Broom area of the Veil Nebula.. This consists of a mosaic of three frames, each of which contains 13 hours of data, taken from his observatory at TDS using an SBIG ST-2000XM CCD camera on an Astro Tech 203mm Ritchey Chretien mounted on a Losmandy G11.

Bill Carter submitted astrophoto taken in Julian the weekend of the StarFest of NGC6888 taken that Thursday, Saturday and Sunday night (Friday was pretty cloudy) in Julian. This DSO results from the Wolf-Rayet star near the center of the nebula. The photo was taken with an auto-guided Meade 8”ACF, an Atik 314L CCD and HaRGB filters (100, 60,60,60 minutes unbinned).

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, OCTOBER 2011 Page 11 San Diego Astronomy Association P.O. Box 23215 NON-PROFIT ORG. San Diego, CA 92193-3215 U.S. POSTAGE (619) 645-8940 PAID VOL XLIX Issue 10, October 2011 PERMIT NO. 3489 Published Monthly by the San Diego Astronomy Association SAN DIEGO, CA. Subscription $30.00/year, Single Issue $2.50

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For sale: For Sale: Rare 10” f/6.3 LX200 Classic Comes with tripod, metal dew shield, Losmandy DM-10 dovetail for mounting a guide scope, Losmandy WS counter weight system, JMI NTS-F electronic focuser, telrad and original hard case (I’m sure their are other accessories I’m forgetting). Asking $1500 I also have a Marsden “Ulti-Wedge” for sale, the best equatorial wedge ever made. Asking $400 but will not sell until the LX200 sells. Contact Bob Austin at 760-787-1174 or [email protected]

Meade LX200 12” Classic f/10 telescope, Giant Field Tripod from storage never used, Meade Super Wedge, pair custom fabricated dovetail plates with single camera adaptor, dual camera adapter, weight adapter and 4 weights. Also includes Meade 1-1/4 diagonal, 26mm eyepiece, 18 volt power supply/extension cord, Kendrick flex dew shield, cap, and heat element w/o controller. This telescope has the left fork brass weighted for proper sidereal drive loading, fork reinforcements each side that also reduce harmonics, mirror lock mod, and the Meade Dec plastic bushings replaced with precision bearings. Optics/drive/appearance excellent, former observa- tory instrument. $925. Offered by Frank at [email protected] 760-855-2000

Meade LX200 10” Classic f/6.3. Includes tripod, finder scope, diagonal, dew shield/dew strip, 26mm eyepiece, and power supply. $400 Frank at [email protected] 760-855-2000

Orion XT 10 Classic for sale. Pictures and information can be found at http://www.tcsiv.com/orion/orionxt10.htm I’m also throwing in two very nice canvas collapsible folding chairs with cases in excellent condition. Contact Darrin Preuss at darrin@tcsiv. com. Cell phone number is 760-427-1444 MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Send dues and renewals to P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215. Include any renewal cards from Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, or Odyssey magazine in which you wish to continue your subscription. The expiration date shown on your newsletter’s mailing label is the only notice that your membership in SDAA will expire. Dues are $50 for Contributing Memberships; $30 for Basic Membership; $50.00 for Private Pads; $5 for each Family membership. In addition to the club dues the annual rates for magazines available at the club discount are: Sky & Telescope $32.95, Astronomy $34, Sky Watch $6.99, and Odyssey $25.46. Make checks payable to S.D. Astronomy Assn. PLEASE DO NOT send renewals directly to Sky Publishing. They return them to us for processing.