NEWSLETTER OF THE ORANGE COUNTY ASTRONOMERS See our web site at http://www.chapman.edu/oca/

December 1998 Free to members, subscriptions $12 for 12 issues Vol. 25, No. 12

Paul Curnow, Chris McGill, and Russ Sipe pose here for a photo in front of Palomar Observatory’s 200-inch Hale Tele- scope. Volunteers with the Explore the Stars program (see link from OCA website) in which many OCA members par- ticipate, were treated in September to a personal tour of the observatory by Jean Mueller, the well-known astronomer.

CHAPMAN MEETINGS STAR PARTIES COMING UP

The next meeting of the OCA is on The SIlverado site will be open for ob- The Geminid meteor shower takes Friday, December 11, at 7:30pm in the serving on Saturday, December 12. place this month between December Science Hall of Chapman University in The Anza site and Observatory will be 7 and 17th. The peak period will occur Orange. The free and open meeting will open December 19. Both events are during the evening of the 13th. feature Dr. William Ailor, who will talk on open to members and their guests, not “Meteoroids, Space Debris, and Related the general public. Come prepared for See our Outreach column in this Space Hazards,” as well as a “What’s cold weather -- dress warmly (layers), newsletter for information on coming Up?” presentation by Chris Butler, plus a and if in doubt, check the satellite activities. Members with telescopes weather pictures before leaving town are needed and welcome! raffle and open slides/videos. or call the observatory.

Sirius Astronomer page 1 The President’s Message by Wayne P. Johnson (aka Mr. Galaxy)

The holidays are closing in fast and I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone happy holidays. I will not make it to the December meeting, but I know all will go well!

We were fortunate to have Jay Glowacki locate a very timely speaker for us in the person of Ed Tagliaf- erri, who gave a great presentation on the Leonid meteors. The November meeting was one of the best- attended meetings in a long time. It was standing room only! Jay will again introduce another of his "finds" from the Aerospace Corporation in the person of Bill Ailor, who will speak on a topic of current interest: space debris. There is a more thorough description of our upcoming speaker and his talk in the OCA's premier website run by Russ Sipe for those of you who need to be enticed to come to a meeting!

I want to welcome and congratulate our new Sirius Astronomer Editor, Chris McGill, and Assistant Edi- tor, Aaron Imaoka. It's a lot of hard work to put out a quality newsletter as John Sanford has done for many years. I would like those of you who find (or better yet, write) items of interest to submit them to the Editor so that club members can read about what others are doing. We have a huge membership and a lot of potential for great stories, fact and fiction.

A couple weekends ago---thanks to several volunteers---we were able to pour a 14' x 14' concrete pad with an isolated pier for the OCA's latest club telescope, now affectionately known as “MOCAT” (Mul- tifunctional OCA Telescope). The pad is located west of the Anza House. We are planning to move the 12-inch cassegrain and 8-inch newtonian telescope combination that will become MOCAT during the day of the November 21st Star Party. If we have enough people we will attempt to move the dome onto the pad and perhaps put the mount for the telescope inside. The telescope will not be mounted until the building is secure.

We are finalizing the Anza House regulations. The primary rule for users is to leave the place in better shape than it was found. The second rule is that a very reasonable $5 per person per night usage fee will be requested. Signup sheets are available in the house for those who want to use the bedrooms on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Roy Weinberger (949-768-5205) is heading up the committee which is responsible for running the house. Feel free to contact him if you have questions on its use. I hope that he will write an article in the near future for both the Sirius Astronomer and the webpage discussing the house in general and the rules for its use (profusely illustrated, of course)! We have curtains that need to be installed and some windows that need to be blocked. I got yelled at for turning on the bath- room lights (which I didn't even think had windows) early in the evening while dropping off compo- nents for the MOCAT. When using the Anza House facilities be careful and considerate of others who are trying to observe at the site.

Clear skies, Wayne (aka Mr. Galaxy)

Sirius Astronomer page 2 Celestial “Talons” by Paul Curnow

Aquila the Eagle is one of the few constellations of which a definite shape can clearly be seen. Now viewed in the nighttime skies, Aquila is one of a number of celestial birds that our ancestors have past down to us. The constellation dates from at least 1200 b.c., where it was recorded on an Eurphatean stone tablet. In mythology, it was known as the bird who was the companion of the Roman god Jupiter, and often carried his thunderbolt.

In Germany it is called "Adler", in France "Aigle"; to the Spanish, it is known as "Aguila", and to the Russians it is known as "Awryell ". Its brightest star Altair (alpha Aquilae) is only 16 light-years away, making it one of our sun’s nearest neighbours. Altair is a white star with an extremely rapid rotation; in fact, Altair spins so rapidly that it's motion must tremendously distort this star's shape. The name Altair is derived from an Arabic name meaning “flying eagle”.

There are a total of 47 stars above magnitude 5.5 within the constellation, and portions of this constellation are visible worldwide. It is the 22nd largest constellation and ranks 41st in overall brightness. On either side of Altair there are two stars sitting like sentinels guarding their king. To the north, there’s the yellow giant star Tarazed (gamma Aquilae), and to the south, the yellow star Alshain (beta Aquilae). Both names for these stars are derived from the constellations’ Persian name "Shahin Tara zed,” which means “star- striking falcon.”

This celestial “bird of prey” was so revered by our ancestors that some of its stars even appeared on Roman coins dating from 94BC. To the ancient people of India, the three stars in a row were a representation of the footsteps of the deity Vishnu. The Hindu people be- lieved Vishnu was the preserver of the world, Shiva was the destroyer of the world, and Brahma was the creator of the world.

The three stars were known to the ancient Chinese as "Ho Koo", a river drum. The three

Sirius Astronomer page 3 stars also act as useful pointers as well. If we follow them north they point down to the bright star Vega in Lyra, and then if we follow the line south they point into the constella- tion of Capricorn. Aquila is also an abundant area for novae, with one of the most fa- mous novae in recent times appearing near the star lambda Aquilae in June, 1918. It was the brightest nova to appear since Kepler's nova in the year 1604. In 389 BC. another nova appeared near Altair, and was said to have equaled the planet Venus in brightness and to have been visible for a period of three weeks.

The constellation contains the star eta Aquilae, one of the brightest Cepheid variables in the sky, ranging in brightness from magnitude 4.1 to magnitude 5.3 every 7.2 days. Aquila does not contain any Messier objects, but it does have a number of faint NGC ob- jects that the amateur can aim for. There are three globular clusters within Aquila's bor- ders, NGC 6760 being the most easily seen.

The star Altair (along with the star Vega from the constellation Lyra) features in another star legend which is prominent in the Orient. In Japan, Altair is often called “Kengyu Boshi”, which means “Puller of Cows Star”, and Vega is known as “Orihime Boshi”, which means “Princess of the Weaving Star”. “Orihime” and “Kengyu” were once mar- ried, but they were later forced to separate by Orihime's emperor father. The two stars are separated by the Milky Way, which represents a celestial river. Only on one night of the year would the emperor permit his daughter to meet Kengyu, on the 7th day of the 7th month. Even today the Japanese still celebrate “Tanabata Matsuri” (the Tanabata festival) on the 7th day of the 7th month of each year. In English, Tanabata means “a machine for weaving”, and the festival celebrates technical skill and ability.

Thus, to the delight of astronomers and ornithologists alike, the mighty celestial eagle flies on for another night.

Paul Curnow, Adelaide, Australia

References 1. Allen, Richard Hinckley, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Dover Publications, 1963. 2. Bakich, Michael, The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations, Cambridge University Press, 1995. 3. Ridpath, Ian, & Triton, Wil, Collins’ Guide to the Stars and Planets, Collins, 1988. 4. Malin, David, & Frew, David J., Hartung's Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes, Melbourne University Press, 1995. 5. Staal, Julius. D.W., The New Patterns in the Sky: Myths and Legends of the Stars, McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, 1988. 6. Willis, Roy, The Hutchinson Dictionary of World Myth, Helicon & Duncan Baird Publishers, 1995.

(Editor’s note: my thanks to Paul Curnow for submitting this article. Paul is a member of one of our Sister Societies, the Astronomical Society of South Australia. Visit the club’s website at: http://www.assa.org.au/. You can also visit Paul’s “Starlore” website at: http://ching.apana.org.au/~paulc/index.html.)

Sirius Astronomer page 4

OCA Outreach Programs by Jim Benet

“That’s not a picture I’m looking at?” asked the mother of one the kids waiting in line to catch a glimpse of Saturn. I explained to her that she was looking directly at Sat- urn, that bright object in sky to the left of Jupiter. The lady could not believe that she was seeing the real thing through an 8-inch diameter telescope. So often I get the same type of response when people look through the telescope for the first time. Adults are more struck with amazement and awe than are children. This should not come as a sur- prise since kids are usually more accepting than adults. It is always a thrill to me to see the expressions of delight in the faces of those peering through my little 8-inch telescope for the first time.

By Christmas, we will have conducted ten Fall Outreach programs. My favorite thus far was at Eader Elementary School in Huntington Beach. The PTA put on an As- tronomy Fair for a school fundraiser, charging an admission of $1 per person. The Fair included a book sale, a slide show presentation (put on by Russ Sipe), and telescope viewing courtesy of the OCA. Russ put on a great show using a set of slides he purchased from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He presented “A Grand Tour of The Uni- verse.” We put out a stack of about 100 OCA handout flyers which were “zapped up” in no time. For an hour and a half, the folks lined up as many as 30 people for each of the six available telescopes to catch glimpses of Jupiter and Saturn. After the kids left, OCA Outreach Volunteer Liam Kennedy stayed behind to show the adult workers other deep- sky objects. This Outreach event was so successful, the PTA lady in charge promised to send the club a large donation. (I think that “the check is in the mail!”)

Kids are not the only ones interested in astronomy. Bob Gill and I did an Outreach for a senior citizens group at a private residence in Brea. Bob did an interesting slide show which delighted the 14 members present there that night. After that, I showed them Jupiter and Saturn through my telescope. They were so impressed that they said they would like to make a small donation to the club. While club donations are not the pri- mary purpose of Outreach and certainly not required, they are accepted as a means of supporting club expenses.

Sirius Astronomer page 5 We have a large agenda of Outreach programs lined up this fall. We could use your help. If you would like to share a part in these activities for one or more Outreach programs, give me a call at (714) 693-1639 or email me at [email protected]. We par- ticularly need volunteers to support Outreach in the South County areas. I want to thank Jay Glowacki for taking on the Outreach responsibilities while I was gone last month on business. I also want to thank all the volunteers that have participated in these activities.

Fall OCA Outreach Programs

Date Type Place Date Type Place 10/01/98 School Landell Elementary 11/24/98 School Gilbert Elementary Cypress Buena Park 10/16/98 School Crown Valley Elem. 12/4/98 School Capistrano High School Laguna Niguel Mission Viejo 10/29/98 School Eader Elementary 12/7/98 Scouts Trinity Lutheran Church Huntington Beach Anaheim 11/15/98 Seniors Senior Citizens 12/14/98 School Perry Elementary School Brea Huntington Beach 11/20/98 Scouts Cub Scouts TBD School Burneese Air Middle Dana Point San Clemente

December’s Featured Speaker

Dr. William Ailor Director, Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies

Dr. Ailor received a Ph.D. degree from Purdue University and joined The Aerospace Corporation in 1974. He spent 15 years conducting analyses on spacecraft reentry and reentry breakup. He received a NASA Group Achievement Award in 1992 for his work helping to understand the reentry breakup characteristics of the Space Shuttle External Tank. He has worked in the strategic planning and new business areas at Aerospace nd headed the company’s computer network and voice communi- cations areas. He was chair of the Reentry Subpanel of the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel (INSRP) for the Gali- leo, Ulysses, Cassini, and Mars Explorer missions. INSRP provides independent assessments to the White House on the safety of space missions containing radioactive materials. He was appointed director of the new Center for Orbital and Re- entry Debris Studies when it was formed in June of 1997.

Dr. Ailor has been an active volunteer in the local community. He served on the Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission for seven years and is founder and president of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. He received Audubon Soci- ety’s Conservation Award in 1990 for his work with the Conservancy, and was awarded the Community Association of the Peninsula’s community service award for his work on preserving Peninsula open space. He was member of the Creative Solutions committee for the Palos Verdes Library District and is a Board member of the Peninsula Symphony Association. Dr. Ailor played clarinet for 15 years with the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band, was solo clarinetist with the Torrance Sym- phony, and currently plays with the Peninsula Symphonic Winds.

Sirius Astronomer page 6 Virtual Astronomy

by Dave Kodama

Leonid Meteor Shower Update

The 1998 Leonid meteor shower is now history, and though the results are still coming in, the general feeling seems to be one of disappointment that the hoped for storm didn’t materialize. But “quality, not quantity” might be the way to summarize the show. At peak, a rate of a few hundred meteors an hour was reported, but with a high percentage of bright meteors. This generally agrees with my observation, though I made no attempt to establish a count.

A large part of the United States was clouded out and was not able to view the Leonid activity. Unfor- tunately, because meteor shower activity is one of those astronomical events which is difficult to record and pass along via any medium, there was no real alternative for astronomers even on the internet. However, both Sky & Telescope’s web site (now under the management of OCA’s Russ Sipe!) and Gary Kronk’s web site gathered early reports from observers around the world which conveyed some of the excitement:

http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/98firstreports.html http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/leonidresults.html

Early photographic results are also available at the sites of amateur astronomers Wil Milan, Jerry Lodriguss, and Bob Yen (though, whether Bob is an amateur might be questioned since he had 14 cam- eras going!).

http://www.airdigital.com/leonids1998.html ftp://ftp.cyberenet.net/home/jml/LEONIDS/LEONIDS.HTM http://www.comet-track.com/meteor/leonids98/leonids98.html

You might also want to check the Virtual Astronomy links page (http://www.chapman.edu/oca/virtual.htm) on the OCA web site, as I will continue to add on to these lists as more information becomes available.

Personally, I had a hectic, but good outing (Comdex convention by day, Leonid observing by night). I ended up a few miles inside the California side of the California-Nevada border on the advice of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society’s contact man, Jim Mellor, who was listed on their web site:

http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu/other/LVAS/

Via email, Jim gave me numerous suggestions for places to try. I first checked these out on Delorme’s software product TopoUSA, (which covers the entire United States on four CD-ROMs), and then I set- tled on two possible locations, which I checked out in the daylight on my drive to Las Vegas. In the mean time, Jim and the LVAS were checking out another site northeast of Las Vegas so he followed up with another email to me later. Wonders of the computer age! If you aren’t connected yet, hurry and join the crowd!

(If you would like to be emailed weekly notices of upcoming OCA meetings, send a note to me at: ko- [email protected])

Sirius Astronomer page 7 Space Update

Gathered by Don Lynn from NASA and other sources

To find out more on these topics, or those of past months' columns, through the World Wide Web, send your Web browser to our OCA Web site (http://www.chapman.edu/oca/), select Space Update Online, and the topics are there to click on.

Galileo (Jupiter mission) - has discovered hints that Jupiter's moon Callisto may have a salty ocean under its ice, though the evidence is scantier than that for the moon Europa. Galileo's measurements of Callisto's magnetic field showed that it fluctuated in time with Jupiter's rotation. The best explanation is that the planet's powerful magnetic field was creating electrical cur- rents somewhere within Callisto, and it would probably take a salty ocean to conduct electricity suffi- ciently well. Europa is still a better bet for finding microscopic life forms in its probable ocean, since it is known to be warmer than Callisto. Europa is heated internally by tidal forces, while Callisto's internal heat comes mainly from radioactive decay. Observations will be made of Ganymede to see if there is any similar magnetic field evidence there also.

On November 22, Galileo performed its next-to-last flyby of Europa during its extended Europa mis- sion, that was added after the spacecraft completed its original 2-year mission. Still left in the extended mission, after the last Europa flyby, is a series of Callisto flybys, which will change the orbit so it ap- proaches the innermost large moon Io, and also the dangerous radiation belts that may eventually end the spacecraft's life.

Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) - 1996 TO66 was found to have a rotation period of 6 hr 15 min by measur- ing its light curve, that is, the graph of brightness as time passes, from the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The Kuiper Belt is a zone outside the orbits of Neptune and Pluto in which icy solar system objects were inferred, but were not found until 1992. Since then, more than 70 KBOs have been found. It is esti- mated that there may be at least 100,000 KBOs larger than 100 km in diameter. Pluto is probably a KBO rather than a planet, since its size, composition, and orbit resemble KBOs more than a planet. Short period comets are thought to be smaller KBOs that were perturbed inward from the Kuiper Belt. The significance of finding the first KBO rotation period is that large KBOs, such as 1996 TO66 at about 600 km, are thought to retain approximately the original rotation imparted during formation of the Solar System, and gives us further clues as to exactly how it formed. The light curve observations also showed that the KBO is elongated with length at least 10% longer than width or depth, and that the sur- face may have some darker and brighter regions.

Mars Global Surveyor (Mars orbiter) - has shown giant plates of solidified volcanic lava, and evi- dence for active dunes near the planet's north pole. Close-up views of Mars's Elysium Basin show what appear to be huge plates of lava hundreds of miles across that had cooled, then were broken up and floated on molten lava. Similar structures were found in Marte Vallis, implying that some of the lava spilled into this valley and flowed thousands of miles. Sparse occurrence of craters on these lava plates indicates that this occurred only millions of years ago, much more recently than other volcanic activity. The sand dunes appear to be active, since they have moved between various Global Surveyor images.

Sirius Astronomer page 8 Like Earth dunes, the sand grains either rolled or hopped along due to the effects of wind, eventually transporting the whole dune.

Mars Climate Orbiter - is scheduled for launch atop a Delta II rocket on December 10 to go into orbit around Mars next September. It will measure global distribution and variation over time of temperature, pressure, dust, water vapor etc. in the Martian atmosphere.

Mars Polar Lander - is scheduled for launch January 3, also on a Delta II rocket, to land on Mars near the south polar cap a year from now. It will take images as it descends, and on the surface will measure weather and dust, and sample the soil. Also included are 2 probes that separate before the soft landing, then slam into the surface and take water and other measurements where they lodge, perhaps 6 feet un- der sthe crust.

Space Shuttle - Astronauts on the recent Shuttle STS-95 mission, including Sen. John Glenn, performed experiments to make Aerogel in space. Aerogel is the lightest known solid, sometimes called "frozen smoke". It is a remarkable insulator, and was used to insulate the sensitive parts of the Mars rover So- journer. Aerogel produced on Earth is not completely transparent, but appears a hazy blue. It is hoped that without gravity during the formation, Aerogel can be made clear. This would make an excellent highly insulating window, greatly reducing heating costs in homes during cold weather.

Stardust (Comet Wild-2 sample mission) - was shipped to Florida in November for launch on yet an- other Delta II rocket on February 6. This will be the first spacecraft ever to bring cometary material back to Earth (Utah, specifically, January 2006), for analysis that will find out the ingredients of the original recipe to create the Solar System. It is in fact the first sample returned from farther than the Moon. The sample is to be collected by exposing a piece of Aerogel on the front of the spacecraft as it flies through the coma of the comet.

Comet Hale-Bopp - Continuing observations of the comet from the La Silla Observatory in Chile show amazingly strong activity for a comet now so far from the Sun. It is now between Jupiter's and Saturn's orbits, at nearly 7 times the Earth's distance from the Sun. The comet is still bright enough to be easily visible in small telescopes or even large binoculars, but due to its far southern location in the sky, just east of the Large Magellanic Cloud, is not visible from here. Methanol and hydrogen cyanide are being detected as they spew from the comet, along with other gases. These two chemicals have never been detected in a comet this far from the Sun. Other molecules being observed include water, carbon mon- oxide, methanol, formaldehyde, methyl cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon sulfide. The principal source of comet activity is carbon monoxide at the low temperature (about 29 degrees above absolute zero) the comet is now experiencing, where water was the principal constituent when closer to the Sun and warmer. Due to the large size of the Hale-Bopp nucleus (25-40 miles), it will be possible to observe with large (southern) optical telescopes for many more years.

Sirius Astronomer page 9

International Space Station - will begin assembly (finally) with the launch of the Zarya module from Russia scheduled for November 20 as we go to press. The Space Shuttle Endeavour will carry the Unity node on its STS-88 mission, and assemble the 2 pieces, partly during spacewalks. Full assembly will take 5 years of launches, numerous spacewalks, and the cooperation of 16 nations. It has been 25 years since the last NASA space station, Skylab, while during this time the former Soviet Union launched 8 space stations, 3 of them successful for long periods.

Discovery Missions (fast cheap planetary missions) - 5 proposed Discovery missions have received preliminary approval, which allows further study aimed at final approval of 1 or 2 of these missions in June. The missions are: 1) Aladdin, to gather samples from Martian moons Phobos and Deimos by fir- ing projectiles and gathering ejecta during slow flybys, then return to Earth; 2) Deep Impact, to similarly gather samples from comet Tempel 1; 3) INSIDE, to orbit Jupiter and determine some of its internal properties through gravitational and magnetic measurements; 4) Messenger, to orbit Mercury with an imager and 6 other instruments; 5) Vesper, to measure composition and dynamic circulation of the mid- dle atmosphere of Venus. In addition, an instrument to study solar wind was given final NASA ap- proval to be carried on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft in 2003.

Triana (Earth observation mission) - has been approved by NASA. It is named for the sailor on Co- lumbus's voyage who first saw the New World. It will be launched from the Space Shuttle in late 2000 to the L1 LaGrange point, about a million miles toward the Sun, where the combination of Earth's and Sun's gravity hold the spacecraft in a stable relation to Earth. This allows a continuous view of Earth in full sunlight. A multi-color imager and advanced radiometer will study how Earth absorbs and reflects the Sun's energy, a major factor in our weather and climate. The Earth view is expected to be placed live on the World Wide Web.

SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) - has been scheduled for September 1999. It evolved from the two 1994 Space Radar Laboratory missions, and this time will map 80% of the Earth's land mass, taking a measurement every 90 feet over all that area.

Sirius Astronomer page 10 ASTROLLANEOUS

Reminder: Elections for the 1999 OCA Board of Trustees will be held at the January Annual General Meeting. Nominations for the Board will remain open through the end of the December meeting. Any member may be nominated; however, you may want to check first with the member to be sure he or she will accept the nomination.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS FOR OCA AND FUNCTIONARIES----

Club address is now officially: P.O. Box 1762, Costa Mesa, CA 92628

Membership Information: Charlie Oostdyk, P.O. Box 1762, Costa Mesa, CA 92628 Tel. 714-751-5381 Email: [email protected]

Press contact for OCA: Russell Sipe, 244 S. Owens Dr. Anaheim, CA 92808-1327 Tel. 714-281-0651 Email: [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDS

FOR SALE: Anza Pad in the Lower Pad area. Contact: Mike Cadwell at: (714) 535-2871 days, (714) 693-8886 evenings.

Sirius Astronomer page 11 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID NEWSLETTER OF THE Garden Grove, CA ORANGE COUNTY ASTRONOMERS PERMIT NO. 15 P.O. BOX 1762 COSTA MESA, CA 92628

DO NOT FORWARD RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL DELIVER PROMPTLY

HANDY CONTACT LIST President ...... Wayne Johnson...... [email protected] ...... 909-653-8813 Vice President...... Chris Butler...... [email protected] ...... 714-670-8485 Treasurer ...... Charlie Oostdyk...... [email protected] ...... 714-751-5381 Secretary ...... Joel Harris ...... [email protected] ...... 818-676-0853 Trustee ...... Carol Copp ...... 714-871-3430 Trustee, Beginner’s Astronomy Class.....Don French...... [email protected]...... 949-830-1167 Trustee ...... Jay Glowacki ...... [email protected]...... 310-831-4199 Trustee, Sirius Astronomer Editor...... Chris McGill ...... [email protected] ...... 714-840-1026 Trustee ...... Gary Schones...... [email protected]...... 714-556-8729 Trustee, Webmaster, Press Contact...... Russell Sipe ...... [email protected] ...... 714-281-0651 Trustee, Outreach Coordinator ...... Jim Benet ...... [email protected] ...... 714-693-1639 COMMITTEES, SUBGROUPS, AND FUNCTIONARIES Sirius Astronomer Editor...... Chris McGill ...... [email protected] ...... 714-840-1026 22" Scope Maint., EOA, Research...... Wayne Johnson...... [email protected] ...... 909-653-8813 Anza Site Maintenance...... Don Lynn ...... [email protected]...... 714-775-7238 Astrophysics SIG, Fundraising...... Gordon Pattison ...... [email protected] ...... 949-786-7079 Librarian...... Catherine Bailey-Weinberger...... [email protected]...... 949-768-5205 Membership, Pad Coordinator ...... Charlie Oostdyk...... [email protected] ...... 714-751-5381 Beginner’s Astronomy Class...... Don French...... [email protected]...... 949-830-1167 Planetarium Group...... Don Prescott...... [email protected]...... 714-997-8828 Media Group, Public Observatory...... Bob Gill...... [email protected]...... 714-525-0831 Silverado Star Parties ...... Robert Buchheim...... [email protected] ...... 949-459-7622 Star Member Training ...... Chuck Lodoza ...... [email protected]...... 909-699-4699 Anza House Coordinator...... Roy Weinberger...... 949-768-5205 Telescope Loaner Program ...... Henry Fry...... 714-635-6056 OCA WEBSITE ...... http://www.chapman.edu/oca/ STARLINE 24-HR. RECORDING...... 714-995-2203 ANZA OBSERVATORY ...... 909-763-5152 PRESS CONTACT ...... 714-281-0651

Sirius Astronomer page 12