:

Fort Worth Astronomical Society (Est. 1949)  May - June 2011  Astronomical League Member

May Meeting:

Dr. Sara Seager and the Search for Habitable Worlds

June Meeting: Harry Bearman

Optics In the normal location

Club Calendars – 2

Skyportunities – 4 Black Holes – 5

Mercury: The Elusive Planet – 6 Club Reports – 7

Hercules – 8

What’s Up with the Moon? – 9 (Back to top) PhotoBlogs – 11 1

Stargazers’ Diary – 15 May 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

New Moon Museum

1:51 am Party

Lunation 1093 3 R F

Star Party

Fort Worth: New Moon Moonrise 9:58 am Weekend Illuminated: 20.4%

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

First Qtr Moon 3 R F

3:33 pm Lunar Party

Werner X

Low in West &

barely visible to us

this month. (Peaks Challenge binary star for May: 48 Virginis

@ 11:24 pm – shortly Notable for May: R Hydrae (Hydra) before Moonset) Notable for May: SS Virginis

Fort Worth:

Moonset:12:25 am

15 16 17 Full Moon 18 19 20 21

Moon at Perigee 6:09 am 6 am (225,021 miles)

FWAS Meeting Exoplanets & the Search for Habitable Worlds Dr. Sara Seager Normal Room

22 24 25 26 27 28 23 Last Qtr Moon Moon at Apogee Algol @ Minima 5 am 7:07 am 9:40 pm NW (251,036 miles)

29 30 31 Top ten deep-sky objects for May: M3, M51, M63, M64, M83, M87, M104, M106, NGC 4449, NGC 4565 Top ten binocular deep-sky objects for May: M3, M51, M63, M64, M84, M86, M87, M104, M106, Mel 111 Challenge deep-sky object for May: () (Some objects require dark skies to be seen.) Memorial Day

June 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 New Moon Museum 4:03 pm Star Party Lunation 1094 3 R F Challenge: Star Party Sunset 8:32 pm Moonset 8:40 pm Can you see the Fort Worth: super-thin crescent Moonrise 8:52 am Moon? New Moon Moonset:11:07 pm You’d better have a

high vantage point. Weekend Illuminated: 9.6%

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

First Qtr Moon Double Shadow 3 R F 9:11 pm Transit on Jupiter Lunar Party

4:26 am Werner X Moon @ Perigee

not visible to us this 9 pm

month. It peaks (228,161 miles)

11:34 AM &

Moonrise is 1:08 PM

Jupiter’s Moons

in 1-2-3-4 order Jupiter rises 4am until A.T. @ 4:40 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Algol @ Minima Saturn’s Moons Moon at Perigee Full Moon 4:31 am NW sky in 2-3-4-5-6 order 11:59:59 pm 3:14 pm 1:43 am – Saturn (222,507 miles)

Total Lunar Eclipse sets.

not visible to us. LOW in western

Moon below horizon. sky!

Challenge binary star for June: Notable carbon star for June: V Coronae Borealis

19 21 22 23 24 25 20 .

Last Qtr Moon 6:48 am

Moon at Apogee 11 pm FWAS Meeting (251,036 miles)

Optics with Harry Bearman

Normal Room

26 27 28 29 30 31 Pluto Opposition 1 am Top ten deep-sky objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, GC 5907 Top five binocular deep-sky objects for June: Solstice M5, M101, M102, NGC 5466, NGC 5907 June 21 12:16 pm Challenge deep-sky object for June:

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Observing & Outreach Opportunities Weather permitting (FWAS contacts in parentheses)

FWAS & Noble Planetarium Star Party.

Star Parties are the public outreach events of the society. Club members volunteer their time and telescopes to educate the public about the night sky. Star parties are also excellent opportunities for those new to astronomy, as they give the beginner a chance to use different kinds of equipment or ask experienced club members for assistance with their own equipment.

We set up in the front of the Museum at 1600 Gendy where you can back up your vehicles up to the curb around the circle the front of the Museum of Science and History and the Cowgirl Museums. From there you can unload and set up on the sidewalk area. You may leave your cars and trucks at the curb, that way you will not have to pay the parking fee. This change is due to the fact that the Parking Lots are now fee based. (Be sure to check the e-group in the days leading up to the star party). Brownie Bribes are often provided! (Linda Krouse and Michele Martinez)

OUR NEXT STAR PARTIES: June 4th and then July 9th weather permitting.

May 7 (DSO) & May 14 (Lunar) — Three Rivers Foundation (3RF) Star Party — 3RF invites you out to Comanche Springs near Crowell, Texas for a night under the . The dark skies of Big Ranch Country provide a spectacular view of the universe. The party starts with solar observing followed by a break. Evening activities begin with a short educational introduction to astronomy. The observatories and Star Field are then opened to the public to enjoy the use of many different kinds of astronomy instruments. For more information the day of a scheduled star party, please call 940-655- 3384. (Russ Boatright and Doug Brown) (Panhandle Plains, where Oklahoma tucks into the Texas Panhandle) th h 3RF will have two public events next month in June: June 4 for Deep Sky Observation and June 11 for Lunar.

May 17 – Estero Llano Grande State Park (World Birding Center) – Full Moon Party! Come celebrate the full moon and see all that the park has to offer after hours. We will take a night hike; learn about the stars and , search for scorpions, tarantulas, common pauraques, frogs and owls and much more! Accessible for the mobility, visually and hearing impaired. (956) 565-3919. This event repeats June 15th. May 21 – Purtis Creek State Park – Make a star wheel and learn how to use it, learn about the solar system and view the night sky through a telescope. Weather permitting, meet at the over flow camping parking lot. (903) 425-2332. This repeats June 25th. May 28 – Copper Breaks State Park – Sun Fun & Starwalk - Begin your celestial journey in the afternoon with Sun Fun, which features solar viewing of our closest star, the sun. In the evening take a Star Walk for a naked eye tour of the night sky over the park followed by a closer look through telescopes and binoculars. Accessible for the mobility impaired. Call for specific times; fees free for Texas State Parks Pass members, $2 non-members, $1 senior citizens, free for children 12 and under. (940) 839-4331. This event repeats June 25th. June 11 – San Angelo State Park – Join the San Angelo Amateur Astronomy Club as they explore planets, and other wonders of deep space. Club members will provide telescopes and share their knowledge of our expanding universe. Enter through the South Shore Gate House. Directions to the Chaparral Pavilion location will be provided. Start time will be at twilight. (325) 949-4757.

June 25 – Big Bend Ranch State Park – Take a tour of the night sky with local amateur astronomy clubs up on Scenic Mountain. Learn about far away galaxies and planets. Watch the sunset atop the bluff before the presentations begin. This is a fun and educational way to spend Saturday night outdoors with your family! (432) 263-4931.

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The May / June Sky – Thomsen Foundation -- 9 pm local time, June 4th – from Heavens-Above.com

Star Charts:

Sky & Telescope Sky Maps http://tinyrul.com/5np8n http://www.skymaps.com

Heavens Above International Space Station Transits http://www.heavens-above.com http://tinyrul.com/y8zk5c

Black Holes: Watch videos on YouTube (you must be reading electronic PDF while connected to the Internet in order to link)

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Cloudy Night Library Media reviews by Matt J. McCullar, FWAS

Mercury: The Elusive Planet by Robert G. Strom Published in 1987 by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 197 pages ISBN 0-87474-892-5 Mercury is one of those objects in astronomy that we all hear about, but rarely see. It moves quickly, never gets very far from the sun’s glare, and simply isn’t very interesting to look at through a telescope. It’s been known about since ancient times but some famous astronomers never even looked at it. So mysterious was this tiny planet that, according to the author, “Mercury’s true rotation period was not known until 1965, and this information was not obtained by telescopes, but rather by radar observations… From Earth, Mercury always appears featureless. Even the best telescopic photographs, taken under optimum conditions, show only vague hints of markings.” How did Mercury earn its name? The ancient Greeks observed that Mercury moved more rapidly among the background stars than the other “wanderers,” so they named it Hermes – the messenger of the gods, and the god of twilight and dawn who announced the rising of Zeus, the god of day. Strom explains: “The adjective ‘Hermian’ is used when referring to certain aspects of Mercury, such as cartographic designations.” Even so, the Romans largely adopted the Greek gods as their own, but gave them new names; in this case, Mercurius. Mercury rotates three times for every two trips around the sun. It also has no seasons, because it has almost no axial tilt. It has no atmosphere, for two reasons: its close proximity to the blast furnace that is the Sun and because of its small size (and, therefore, low escape velocity for any gases). “Transits of the Sun by Mercury are rather rare events,” Strom explains. “Because of its short orbital period (88 Earth days), Mercury often passes between the Earth and Sun (called inferior conjunction). The planet, however, usually passes above or below the Sun as seen from Earth because of the high inclination (7 degrees) of its orbit. The points where Mercury’s orbit crosses the plane of the ecliptic are called the nodes of its orbit. A transit will occur only when Mercury happens to be quite near a node during inferior conjunction. As a consequence, the minimum time between successive transits is three years, and the maximum is 13 years. Therefore, only about 13 transits of Mercury occur each century.” One of the more curious things about Mercury is that it is quite massive for its small size. Mercury has the same surface gravity as Mars, although Mercury is 30% smaller. Astronomers speculate that the planet’s main component is iron. This makes sense; only very dense material, such as metallic rock, could stand up to this kind of constant thermal abuse. [As an aside, the planets Venus and Uranus have identical surface gravities too, despite their vast differences in size; again, density makes the difference.] A good part of this book describes the flight of NASA’s robotic probe Mariner 10, which was the first spacecraft to visit the innermost planet in 1974. It made three flybys, photographing and examining major chunks of Mercury, but never actually went into orbit around it. Mercury: The Elusive Planet describes the on-board experiments in detail and the various technical problems scientists encountered. Hundreds of excellent photographs were delivered to allow astronomers to produce detailed maps of the planet’s surface. Mariner 10 revealed a rocky sphere heavily battered and bruised all over. Many spacecraft navigation techniques and propulsion methods we now use regularly were tried for the first time on Mariner 10. It marked the first time that the gravity of one planet (Venus) was used to propel and steer a probe on to another planet (Mercury). Much of the last few chapters of this book describe crater formation, and how other surface features may have been created. With no atmosphere or water to speak of, the only way anything on Mercury can change is by being struck by another object. Craters can be dated approximately by how they have changed other features, or by how they themselves have been altered. Mercury: The Elusive Planet contains a detailed listing of official crater and landmark names assigned by astronomers. To its credit, Mercury attempts to make use of the information returned by modern technology. It’s one thing to look at a photograph; it’s something else to interpret it. The book may bog down a little towards the end as it goes into heavy geology, but as a whole it’s a good read. It contains several photographs and drawings but could have used more. The NASA space probe Messenger is now in orbit around Mercury. It’s hot work. Photographs from Mariner 10 provide the blueprint for this next-generation probe. Mariner 10 was simply a flyby probe and did not photograph even half of the entire planet, even though three photographic encounters. Who knows what surprises Messenger will provide?

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Club Notes

MAY IS THE TIME FOR CLUB OFFICER AND BOARD NOMINATIONS for our election coming up in June. All members are encouraged to consider volunteering and running for an elected position, especially those of you who have not held office previously. The club functions, as an ongoing entity, through the efforts of those who volunteer. At the present time, the following offices will be vacated: President Secretary - Treasurer 2 Executive Board positions Other positions may also be vacated. If you are interested, or just want to know more about the responsibilities of an office, please contact any of the current officers or Executive Board members. Also, remember to consult the FWAS Bylaws regarding officer responsibilities. A copy is located in the "Files" section of the eGroup site. A final slate of candidates should be completed by the conclusion of the May meeting to give the membership time to consider them prior to the vote during the June meeting.

DUES BEING PULLED FORWARD. The Executive Board has decided to bring the dues payment forward one month. So that dues will be paid at the JUNE meeting, rather than the July meeting as it has in years past. This is to comply with the Astronomical League’s requirement that the club roster be made available to them on July 1st. This should also shorten the time it takes for new members to begin to receive their copies of The Reflector. In years past, the start of the Reflector subscription has been a point of concern for many members in the club. Hopefully, this will alleviate that.

PAYPAL OPTION FOR DUES PAYMENT. The Executive Board has decided to offer PayPal as an optional method for paying dues to the club in addition to the continuing methods of paying dues with cash and/or check at a meeting. PayPal assesses a $1.50 surcharge for their service. So members who wish to use PayPal will be charged $41.50 for a normal or family membership, and members who prefer to continue to pay by check or cast at a meeting will pay $40.00 for a normal or family membership. This PayPal option will not be available until after June 1st.

NEWSLETTER NEWS: Our current club newsletter editor has had scheduling changes that are making it difficult to put out the Prime Focus in a timely manner. He will continue at least through the end of this club year (June). Any member interested in taking on the newsletter should contact the new club President after the elections in June. The newsletter editor is not an elected position, but is appointed by the club President.

At the May meeting, Bob Sirkis showed an ATM members identify and avoid potentially harmful ones; as project that he and Jake worked on. He discussed the well as those that are beneficial, such as the rat snake. challenges and solutions that they discovered as they Barry then talked about serpents in mythology and in built this telescope and memories together. the constellations. The picture here is not of Barry’s fun Barry Allen did a very informative presentation on Ophiuchus impersonation at the meeting (that pic just snakes in the Texas outdoors, their head and iris didn’t get a good scald to it); so he is shown here shapes, skin markings and their habits to help club setting up at a recent Museum star party,

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Hercules, Hercules, Hercules !!!

Hercules was perhaps the greatest hero in all mythology. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and was hounded all his life by Juno. (This is deliciously ironic, because in the original Greek myths, Juno is named Hera and Hercules is Heracles, which means "glory of Hera.") Juno was unhappy with Jupiter's infidelity, and saw Hercules as a living, breathing symbol of her shame. She delayed his birth, and when Hercules was a mere baby (but a big one!) sent two snakes into the crib he shared with his mortal half-twin Iphicles. Hercules killed them both with his bare hands, marking the beginning of his career as a monster-killer. After a precocious childhood and adolesence, Hercules married Megara (daughter of Creon, king of Thebes). Juno succeeded in driving him mad, though, and he killed his wife and his children. As atonement, he serves the king Eurystheus, performing the twelve labors for which he is most famed: 1. He wrestled and killed the Nemean Lion (Leo) in its den, then used one of the beast's teeth to remove the otherwise impenetrable hide. He wore the hide as protection from then on. 2. He killed the Lernaean Hydra, a poisonous monster which could regenerate its heads, growing two each time one was lopped off. Hercules managed this by burning the stump of each before anything could grow back and burying the one immortal head beneath a rock. While battling the Hydra, his feet were nipped by a crab sent by Juno. 3. He captured the Cerynean Hind, a stag with golden horns which was famous for its speed, after a year-long pursuit. 4. He captured the Erymanthian Boar and killed the centaurs Pholus and Chiron who opposed him. 5. He successfully cleaned the Augean Stables, which had held 3000 oxen for thirty years without ever having been cleaned, in one night by redirecting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them. 6. He killed the Stymphalian Birds, which fed on human flesh in Arcadia. 7. He captured the Cretan Bull. 8. He captured the mares of Diomedes, which fed on human flesh, by feeding them their owner. 9. He stole the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. 10. He stole the man-eating cattle of Geryon. 11. He stole the three-headed guard dog Cerberus from the underworld. 12. He obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides, killing a dragon to do so. Hercules also accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece and assisted in the war between the gods and the giants. He remarried, and eventually died after accidentally poisoned by his wife Deineira. He was subsequently immortalized, even though he was by birth only half immortal. The Hercules, found between Lyra and Bootes, shows the hero wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion while holding his characteristic club and Cerberus the three-headed dog. He also rests his foot atop the head of Draco the dragon. The constellation is huge--the fifth-largest in the sky--but rather dim, which is an interesting parallel with Hercules himself. The hero was famed for his brawn, but his wits were rather lacking.

Dr. Sara Seager speaking @ the May Meeting

FWAS presents MIT Planetary Scientist, Dr. Sara Seager, to our May meeting. Dr Seager's topic, Exoplanets and the Search for Habitable Worlds is a web-based lecture given at the Perimeter Institute, in Waterloo, Canada, on January 26th, 2011, and will be shown at the FWAS general meeting this month. Dr. Seager will then take questions live via conference call from the FWAS audience pertaining to the video lecture. Dr. Seager is the Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Planetary Science and Associate Professor of Physics at MIT where her research focuses on theoretical models of atmospheres and interiors of all kinds of exoplanets. She is the 2007 recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Helen B. Warner Prize. Dr. Seager has a B.Sc. in math and physics from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University.

Lunation 1094 at ~ 3 days *. . . and everyone knows that the Moon is made out of green cheese.”

This image almost shows what the Moon will look like on the evening of June 4th, our star party with the Museum night. This image does not exactly represent what will be visible along the limbs, because on that night the libration of the Moon will be just about NNW. The Moon’s South Pole and shadowed Western Limb will be tilted more towards us. The Moon will be just to the left of Gemini on that night as it slides towards the east relative to the background sky. The Moon will set in Fort Worth at 11:07 pm on that night. The Western limb will be most exposed by 5.4O on the 4th and again by .5.2O on the 30th. The Northern limb will be most exposed by 6.8O on the 9th and the Eastern limb will be most exposed by 5.4O on the 17th. The Southern limb will be most exposed by 6.9O on the 22nd. At Moonrise, the Moon’s SW will be “down.” At Moonset, the Moon’s SE will be “down.” That is to say, a waxing crescent moon “frowns” as it rises, and “smiles” as it sets. (A waning crescent moon is the opposite.) Let’s look at a few points of interest. Be aware that with such a young moon, it will be low at twilight and there will not be any naked eye details seen.

Look at 82-mile wide Crater Langrenus, you will enjoy the view of this young crater with a ray complex around it. Take note of how it looks this night; because the better viewing is going to be when the Moon is between 15 and 17 days old. That 15 – 17 day old gibbous Moon is much higher in the sky and not nearly as effected by atmospheric turbulence. With good skies on the later night, you might be able to resolve some of the craterettes that were probably made from the chunky fallout from the primary impact.

 Lunar image borrowed from http://www.stargazing.net/David/moon/day03h12moontext.html Club members are always encouraged to submit their images for publication in Prime Focus. In the same latitude as Langrenus, 110-mile wide Crater Petavius is full of interesting treats. Petavius’ central peak rises just over one mile above the crater floor. Now here’s a challenge: with the Moon so close to the muddy horizon and still in the Sun’s twilight glare, see if you can resolve the thin fault line that runs from the central peaks to the crater wall without using too much averted imagination; it’s going to be tough on star party night. Don’t spend so much time looking for the fault line that you don’t try to take in Palitzsch Valley. Palitzsch Valley is just beyond Crater Petavius towards the eastern limb of the Moon. Again, this might be a challenge due to the unfavorable libration and placement in the sky. If all is going your way that night, you still might be able to resolve the valley into a long chain of craters that were probably formed ratta-tat-tat. It will help to visualize the bombardment coming in like a gravitationally-disintegrating comet’s “string of pearls,” (the most widely known being the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 when it plowed into Jupiter.) (Back to top) 9

Harry Bearman speaking @ the June Meeting

Why doesn’t anybody give a straight answer to the question “What’s the best eyepiece?” always “Depends on what you’re looking at.” Why are there so many eyepiece designs? Plossl’s, Orthoscopic, Nagler, (and its cousins). Are they really any different? What are those differences? And why should I care? Isn’t the most expensive going to be the best? Why does the 9mm Orthoscopic eyepiece that I bought new in 1971 for $12.50 (they’re $76 today) give a crisper image of Jupiter than my $290 9mm Nagler? And why should I expect that? There won’t be any math, there won’t be any test; but I will discuss the problems and trade-offs made in optical design such as spherical aberration, chromatic aberration, and field curvature to M S B help give an understanding of why one type may be a better choice than another. Qualifications: BS Physics from Texas Tech University 1980. For several years, I was an engineer at a company in Dallas that designed and manufactured night vision tank periscopes for the US Army. I was also an engineer at General Dynamics and worked on the development of a variety of optical equipment for the F-16 Falcon. In the past, I've written very sophisticated optical design and design analysis software.

Illumination of the Moon’s Librated Edge Compiled by Ed “Dr. K” Kotapish, aka Edosaurusrex

SLONG and SLAT are the theoretical position on the Moon’s surface of the most librated point that’s illuminated and visible from the Earth. SLAT values with a “T” indicate the point is at the terminator and the actual point of maximum libration is in darkness. TLIB is the amount of angular visibility over the face defined by 90E to 90@ longitude. ILL%: 0.00 = New Moon; 1.00 = Full Moon; 0.50 is First or Last Quarter & you have to see if the Moon is waxing (ILL% increasing) or waning (ILL% decreasing) to determine. For instance, on September 20th Mare Oriental lovers will be able to see 6.5 degrees past 90W when the Moon is 0.56% illuminated or nearly Last Quarter. MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% MAY 1 -140.1 -81.8 6.3 0.05 JUN 1 -95.9 -33.9 4.9 0.01 MAY 2 -109.0 -71.5 5.9 0.02 JUN 2 -96.7 -57.0T 3.7 0.00 MAY 3 -100.7 -58.2 5.6 0.00 JUN 3 -100.1 87.7T 0.4 0.01 MAY 4 -105.3 -71.9T 4.7 0.01 JUN 4 -116.9 85.3T 2.1 0.05 MAY 5 -127.9 -85.6T 2.7 0.03 JUN 5 -130.1 84.4T 3.6 0.10 MAY 6 155.4 -89.0T 0.9 0.07 JUN 6 -142.8 83.9T 4.8 0.18 MAY 7 -110.2 87.9T 0.7 0.13 JUN 7 -155.4 83.6T 5.8 0.27 MAY 8 -133.8 86.7T 2.3 0.21 JUN 8 -167.9 83.4T 6.5 0.38 MAY 9 -150.3 85.8T 3.7 0.30 JUN 9 179.6 83.2T 6.8 0.49 MAY 10 -164.8 85.0T 4.8 0.41 JUN 10 167.1 83.1T 6.7 0.61 MAY 11 -178.6 84.3T 5.7 0.52 JUN 11 154.7 83.0T 6.3 0.72 MAY 12 168.0 83.6T 6.3 0.63 JUN 12 129.7 81.3 5.5 0.81 MAY 13 154.7 82.8T 6.5 0.74 JUN 13 101.6 65.9 4.7 0.90 MAY 14 141.5 81.8T 6.4 0.83 JUN 14 95.8 43.3 4.2 0.96 MAY 15 128.3 80.3T 6.0 0.91 JUN 15 94.4 17.6 4.2 0.99 MAY 16 109.8 74.2 5.3 0.97 JUN 16 92.5 80.3T 0.4 1.00 MAY 17 97.9 51.9 4.8 1.00 JUN 17 100.0 -82.5T 1.3 0.98 MAY 18 -96.2 77.7T 1.3 1.00 JUN 18 -112.4 -82.6T 2.8 0.94 MAY 19 165.9 89.3T 0.7 0.97 JUN 19 -124.8 -82.7T 4.1 0.89 MAY 20 -103.9 -87.1T 0.7 0.92 JUN 20 -137.2 -82.8T 5.3 0.82 MAY 21 -120.7 -85.8T 2.1 0.85 JUN 21 -149.7 -82.9T 6.1 0.73 MAY 22 -134.6 -85.0T 3.5 0.77 JUN 22 -162.1 -83.0T 6.6 0.64 MAY 23 -147.8 -84.4T 4.7 0.67 JUN 23 -174.6 -83.2T 6.8 0.55 MAY 24 -160.7 -83.9T 5.7 0.58 JUN 24 173.0 -83.3T 6.6 0.45 MAY 25 -173.5 -83.5T 6.4 0.48 JUN 25 -133.7 -81.1 6.2 0.36 MAY 26 173.9 -83.2T 6.8 0.39 JUN 26 -106.6 -69.6 5.7 0.27 MAY 27 161.3 -82.8T 6.8 0.30 JUN 27 -99.3 -55.0 5.3 0.19 MAY 28 167.6 -83.4 6.5 0.21 JUN 28 -96.5 -38.5 5.1 0.12 MAY 29 -120.6 -78.1 6.0 0.14 JUN 29 -95.3 -20.8 5.0 0.06 MAY 30 -103.7 -65.9 5.5 0.08 JUN 30 -95.1 -3.0 5.1 0.02 MAY 31 -98.2 -51.0 5.1 0.04

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May 2011 Star Party Pix

A good time was had by volunteers and guests alike. In addition to the oohs- and aahs-generating views of the Moon, Saturn and DSO’s, there was an unexpected added treat for the evening, when a sudden increase in ground humidity was experienced.

These images are compressed with a lower resolution than the originals. They are “color corrected” with a quick and very heavy hand (which further diminishes resolution). If you would like a full-sized unprocessed image, please feel free to contact me off list & I will email it to you. – ed. (Back to top) 11

May 2011 Star Party Pix

See the Universe with your own eyes.

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Fort Davis wildfires very near the McDonald Observatory

The red circular area is the visitor center area, telescope park etc., lit by the red lights.

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The Parting Shot

Stefanie Gordon captured this remarkable picture on a flight from New York to Palm Beach, Florida, after the final liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour near Cape Canaveral on Monday, May 16, 2011

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Stargazers’ Diary Russ Boatright and Doug Brown

March 30- April 3, 2011 Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus – good skies

The Three Rivers Foundation for Arts and Sciences hosted their first Messier Marathon recently, underneath the pristine skies of the CSAC between Crowell and Paducah, Texas. Amateur astronomers and imagers came from all over Texas and Oklahoma to take part in the festivities and compete for awards in various categories. The weather mainly cooperated, although four nights turned out to be about our tent camping limit. The wind was severe during daytime, but died down nicely at sundown, except during the last evening when it refused to quit. Those winds would play a major role in area grass fires the next week, but fortunately, the campus was spared. While we were never sure what the imaging contest rules were, the visual ones were straight forward enough; there was a computer assisted as well as a star hopping category. Surprisingly, most went for star hopping. You could team up or go it alone in all the competitions. Each spotted counted as a point, and 100 of them had to be spotted to qualify for bonus points, which would probably determine the winner. Judging was on the honor system, of course. Two points were awarded for every Hershel object spotted, three for an Arp , and four for a Hickson compact galaxy group. These targets were the bonus objects, provided that they weren’t also a Messier object. An Arp/Messier object, such as M65 for example, just counted as a point. The first couple of nights were for practice while Friday or Saturday was to be the scoring nights. We teamed up with veteran marathon astronomer Tom Monahan to form the FWAS group, and the three of us set up shop in our usual spot beside the roll off observatory at the southeast corner of the campus. Equipped with 18” and 10” reflectors, 15x70 mounted binoculars, 12x36 and 18x50 image stabilized binoculars; we felt we had the tools to do the job. 3RF’s ‘specialty’ telescopes, like the 30” reflector and 15” refractor, were available and featured, but not part of the competition. There were some amazing visual feats; 102 Messier objects were had by binocular in one team and the elusive first/early and last/late objects were bagged by another. But somehow we managed to partial credit our way through for the win, thanks in large part to bonus DSOs. We were fortunate the rules played to our strengths, because anyone who has observed with us knows this is what we like to do; star hop to faint targets like Hershel’s, Arp’s and Hickson’s. But we’ll take the trophy anyway. Actually, we figured that now that our score was a line in the sand as a target to shoot for, someone would surpass it on Saturday night. And we were too worn by then to try and better it ourselves; Saturday would be a casual and social evening, ending prior to dawn considering we were leaving on Sunday. But as it turned out, Saturday’s viewing would be hampered by clouds and high winds, so no one was able to seriously challenge the score anyway. Four nights of great telescopes and darkness were the real draw for this event, while we figured that the Messier competition was no big deal. But once we won, it was huge! But while winning is good, we would have enjoyed the event regardless. Multiple primo stargazing nights were the real prize. (Back to top) 15

The Fine Print

FWAS Contact information http://www.fortworthastro.com

Officers: Steve Tuttle – President Shawn Kirchdorfer – Vice President John Dowell – Treasurer Dean Crabtree – Secretary Meetings – FWAS meets at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the UNT Health Science Center – Research & Education Building, Room 100; 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd; Ft. Worth. Guests and visitors are always welcome. (Steve Tuttle) Web Site – http://www.fortworthastro.com E-Group (members only) – You may post messages to the group by sending e-mail to [email protected]. Any message sent to [email protected] will be automatically sent to all members on the list. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to [email protected] Include your real name. Outreach – items concerning FWAS Outreach activities should be addressed to [email protected] (Shawn Kirchdorfer) Prime Focus – The FWAS newsletter is published monthly. Letters to the editor, articles for publication, photos, or just about anything you would like to have included in the newsletter should be sent to: [email protected]. Mable Sterns Award Finalist, Steve The club gate @ Thomsen Foundation Gray (2002) & Dean Crabtree (2008 - 10) Batting .307 FWAS Annual Dues - $40 for adults / families, $20.00 for students Observing Site Reminders (half-price Jan 1 thru June 30); checks payable to the Fort Worth Astronomical Society; payments can be mailed to 3812 Fenton Be careful with fire, ban in effect

Avenue. Fort Worth, TX 76133, or in-person at the next indoor All members … meeting. Membership runs July 1 through June 30. (John Dowell) Email John Dowell that you are going. Discount Subscriptions Available – Sky & Telescope ($32.95), and Sign the logbook in the camo-painted club storage unit Astronomy (1 year for $34.00; 2 years for $60.00). A Sky & Put equipment back neatly when finished Telescope subscription through FWAS entitles you to 10% off Leave a log note if there is a club equipment problem; also, purchases at Sky and Telescope’s on-line store. (John Dowell) please contact a FWAS Trustee to let them know Astronomical League Membership – Your FWAS membership also Maintain Dark-Sky etiquette enrolls you in the Astronomical League. This makes you eligible Turn out your headlights at the gate! for various observing certificates and you get their quarterly Last person out, please … magazine, Reflector. There are League Observing clubs: http://tinyurl.com/3vjh4fl (Tres Ross) Make sure nothing is left out Lock the gate. Fort Worth Museum of Science & History See the Museum’s website for schedules: http://tinyurl.com/3jkn5j (Linda Krouse)

Credits

Cover Image: Jimmy Banks, long time Friend of the Club & Museum, shares a twilight view of the Moon with visitors at the May 2011 Star Party Observing Data RCAS 2011 Observers’ Handbook Ed “Dr. K” Kotapish, aka “Edosaurusrex”

Top Ten & Challenge Targets Dave Mitsky (assisted by Tony Donnangelo) Navigate the Newsletter “Chance favors the prepared mind” When reading the electronic newsletter while on-line, if your cursor (Chesmont Astronomical Society) “changes” as you roll over an image or blue text, you can click on that web link to be taken to further information of the subject at hand. Sky Chart www.heavens-above.com West Texas Wildfires Linda Krouse, via her friend @ observatory Shuttle Endeavor’s Final Launch Stefanie Gordon (what an awesome pic!!!) Hercules Comfychair.org wikicommons

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