Highlights of the April Sky. . .

- - - 1st - - - PM: Pleiades near Moon; Occultation in progress PrimePrime FocusFocus after sunset (7:08 pm EST) A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society - - - 3rd - - - PM: Mars below crescent Moon. April 2006 - - - 5th - - - PM: Pollux above Moon.

First Quarter Moon. ThisThis MonthsMonths KAS EventsEvents - - - 6th - - - PM: Saturn below Moon. General Meeting: Friday, April 7 @ 7:00 pm - - - 8th - - - PM: Regulus below Moon. Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center

- - - 12th - - - Observing Session: Saturday, April 8 @ 8:00 pm PM: Spica lower left of Moon. Kalamazoo Nature Center - Moon, Jupiter, & Saturn

th - - - 13 - - - Young : Tuesday, April 18 @ 6:30 pm PM: Spica upper right of Moon. Trinity Reformed Church - See Page 11 for Details Full Moon

th Day: Saturday, April 22 @ 10:00 am - - - 14 - - - PM: Jupiter left of Moon. Kalamazoo Nature Center - See Page 4 for Full Schedule

- - - 15h - - - PM: Jupiter above Moon.

PM: Mars 1º right of M35 open cluster next 4 nights InsideInside thethe Newsletter.Newsletter. .. ..

- - - 17th - - - March Meeting Minutes...... p. 2 AM: Antares above Moon. Board Meeting Minutes...... p. 2 th - - - 18 - - - Observations...... p. 3 Dawn: Uranus 0.3º below Venus. February Freeze Out Report...... p. 4

- - - 20th - - - Astronomy Day 2006 Schedule...... p. 4 Last Quarter Moon. Winter Report...... p. 5 nd - - - 22 - - - Starbooks...... p. 7 AM: Lyrid meteor shower (10 - 20 meteors/hour). NASA Space Place...... p. 8

- - - 24th - - - Intro to ...... p. 9 Dawn: Venus left of cres- cent Moon. April Night Sky...... p. 10 KAS Officers & Announcements...... p. 11 - - - 27th - - - New Moon www.kasonline.org April 2006 Page 2

March Meeting Minutes Board Meeting Minutes

The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Soci- The KAS Board met on March 12, 2006 at Sunnyside ety was brought to order by President Richard Bell on Fri- Church on Gull Road. The meeting was called to order by day, March 3, 2006 at 7:24 pm EST. Approximately 47 President Richard Bell at 5:10 pm. Present were Board members and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Members David Andrews, Beverly Byle, Rich Mather, Jack Area Math & Science Center (KAMSC). Price, Frank Severance, and Roger Williams, with David Woolf and KAS Member Jean DeMott arriving a bit later. Our feature presentation for the evening was given by fellow KAS Member and WMU Associate Professor of Astronomy, The meeting began with the treasurer’s report from Rich Dr. Kirk Korista. Kirk’s presentation was entitled Quasars Mather. Total assets as of 3/12/06 are $7127.92. Member- and the Birth & Evolution of Galaxies. However, he started ship dues received from 1/1/06 - 3/12/06 were $1130, and things off by showing the beautiful new image of the face-on expenditures during the same period were $311.16 spiral galaxy M101 taken by the . (including $100 for IDA membership fee). Beverly sug- gested that we put some of the checking account reserves In the early 1960’s, radio astronomers discovered many into a higher-yielding form such as treasury bills, and Rich sources that were different than other radio active galaxies. agreed to look at this possibility. When these mysterious sources were photographed, only a star-like point of light was revealed. This new class of ob- Richard reported that we still need volunteers for Astronomy ject was dubbed quasi-stellar objects (QSO’s) or quasars, Day on April 22nd. Pluto and the New Horizons mission are since they looked like stars, but had totally different spectra. this year’s theme. Frank Severance mentioned that he might get some good display materials on an imminent trip to After twenty years of study, quasars were revealed to be the NASA headquarters. Other ideas suggested include a Clyde ultra-luminous nuclei of massive galaxies. Kirk explained Tombaugh display and a New Horizons DVD that Miguel that quasars are powered by the gravitational accretion of Rodriguez had offered to loan. Dave Woolf, by mentioning matter as it spirals into a supermassive black hole. Some that he had once done the “make a comet” demonstration, have masses 108 or 109 times that of the ! found that he had just volunteered to do it again.

Kirk explained that quasars are now extinct. The nearest In new business, Roger distributed brochures on the group quasar (3C 273) is estimated to be 2 billion light-years dis- liability insurance available through Astronomical League, tant. Modern galaxies also contain supermassive black holes as requested by the Board in February. The cost can only be and some of them are active such as Seyfert galaxies, but do learned precisely through submission of an application (no not emit nearly as much energy as quasars. The black hole obligation), but the A.L. contact said that most such policies at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy is dormant. were currently in the $325-$350/year range. The club would be covered for up to $1 million per event and $2 million Kirk also explained the transient nature of galaxy formation aggregate coverage per year. The Board requested that we and how the rise and fall of quasar populations mimics gal- go ahead with the application and find what the price is. axy star formation rates through cosmic time. He also dis- Dave Andrews suggested that with this number in hand, we cussed the correlation between the mass of a galaxy’s central could contact some local agents and see how they compare. black hole and the mass of its central bulge. Star formation can be also be triggered by galaxy collisions and this can Richard again mentioned that Norm Terry is building a also feed the black hole “monsters” at their centers. bench to fit along one wall of Owl Observatory. It was sug- gested that this would be a good time to replace the carpet After the snack break, Richard gave his president’s report. and also to schedule a cleaning session. Jack Price volun- He went over the proposed changes to the Bylaws. The teered to wire the observatory for an additional electrical vote to remove Editor as an officer position will be held at outlet. Dave Woolf proposed that we get a focal reducer for the April meeting. Volunteers are needed for Astronomy the 12” LX200 in Owl Observatory, and the suggestion was Day on April 22nd (see page 4). Astronomical news included made to look for a deal on Astromart. the arrival of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a discussion of the “false aurora” or light pillars that appeared during the Outreach projects were briefly discussed. Taste of Portage very cold weather we had on February 18th. Karen Sinclair (June 10th), Kindleberger Festival (July 15th), and Oshtemo announced that Mike Sinclair has been named the Michigan Fun Day (Aug. 20th at Flesher Field) were proposed. The High School Science Teacher of the Year. Congratulations next board meeting was set for April 9th, 5:00 pm, at Sunny- to Mike! The meeting concluded at 9:30 pm. side Church. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm. April 2006 Page 3

ObservationsObservations By Richard S. Bell

April is turning out to be one of the busiest months the tivities, and displays. Hopefully solar minimum will let up Kalamazoo Astronomical Society has had in a long while. a little bit and give us some sunspots on April 22nd. In fact, there’s so much stuff going on this month I could- n’t even fit it all on the cover of the newsletter! In honor of the New Horizons mission, our theme will be Pluto, comets, and the rest of the Kuiper Belt. Kirk Korista First, we have a top-notch speaker lined up for our general gave me an idea for a special activity for Astronomy Day. meeting on April 7th. Associate Professor of Astronomy at He knows that Mike Sinclair and I have different views of Michigan State University, Dr. Megan Donahue, will lec- Pluto’s planetary status. I no longer think it should be con- ture on Measuring the Accelerating Universe. Dr. Dona- sidered a “planet” (still a very loose term), while Mike hue will describe how the discovery of the acceleration of thinks differently. So, I thought it would be fun to have a the expansion of the universe was made and discuss the “Pluto Planet Debate” at Astronomy Day 2006. Mike has latest theories that try to explain why we live in a runaway already accepted my challenge and I’m hoping Kirk will be universe. This is one of those “can’t miss” meetings, so the moderator. mark your calendars for April 7th. We’ll also be doing something else different this year - The Public Observing Sessions at the Kalamazoo Nature we’re going to have a birthday party and you’re invited! Center will return (weather The KAS is 70 years old this permitting) on April 8th. I year and Dave Andrews always look forward to shar- thought it would be fitting to ing views of the universe celebrate during Astronomy through the eyepiece, giving Day. So, even if you’re not constellation tours with the volunteering at Astronomy green laser pointer, and help- Day, I hope you’ll come out ing folks with their tele- and celebrate with us. As- scopes. Some of the observ- tronomy Day ends with an- ing sessions were very well other Public Observing Ses- attended in 2005 and I hope sion (weather permitting, of that trend continues this year. course). There aren’t any special events like a Lunar Eclipse or The last event of April is on a Mars opposition this year; the 30th. It’s the first install- just the typically spectacular ment of the five-part Intro- deep sky objects. That’s duction to Amateur Astron- Mike Sinclair - Michigan High School Science Teacher of the Year. good enough for me! omy lecture series. More details on the entire series can be found on page 9. This is Next, we’ve got another meeting of the Young Astrono- the third time I’ve done the lecture series and I think it’ll be mers on April 18th. Carol Van Dien, the Young Astrono- the best, so I hope you’re planning to attend. Most of the mer Coordinator, will be talking about Meteors, Comets, series takes place next month and I’ll need some help. and Asteroids. If you have a meteorite collection, then More details on that next month though. please consider bringing it to the Young meet- ing and share it with the kids (both young and old). If you were at the March General Meeting and/or saw the Carol’s been very busy with a new granddaughter lately, so article on the front page of the March 16th edition of the she could probably use some extra help! Kalamazoo Gazette then you know we have a celebrity in our midst. Former KAS President and KAMSC Teacher Astronomy Day returns after a one year hiatus on April Mike Sinclair has been named the Michigan High School 22nd. This is our biggest outreach program of the year and Science Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Science it requires your assistance to make it a success. The de- Teachers Association. I joke around a lot with Mike and tailed schedule for Astronomy Day appears on page 4, but I pester him to no end, but this comes from the heart: it’s wanted to highlight some of the events here. We’ll be do- about time and it couldn't happen to a better guy. Con- ing the traditional stuff like solar observing, hands-on ac- gratulations, but don’t let it go to your head! April 2006 Page 4

FebruaryFebruary FreezeFreeze--OutOut AstronomyAstronomy DayDay 20062006 Report Saturday, April 22 By Richard S. Bell

The very first “Freeze Out” was held on February 16, 1996 The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society will once again at Pete Mumbower’s house in Vicksburg. Unfortunately, I bring astronomy to the people by hosting a day of exciting was not able to attend because I had to work at the then- and informative activities in conjunction with Open House brand-new planetarium at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Day at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. I recall hearing reports of excellent viewing, Dave Garten sweating to death in his charcoal suit, Dave Moore’s frozen Below is the tentative schedule of activities on April 22nd. LX200 declination drive, and mysterious “crop circles” in If you would like to volunteer your services or have any Pete’s front yard! It sounded like a swell time! ideas, questions or comments please contact Richard Bell (373-8942) or Jean DeMott (381-1406). The ‘97 Freeze Out was foiled by cloudy weather and, ac- cording to a report by Mark Miller in the April 1998 issue MAIN PROGRAMMING 10:00 am - 4:00 pm of Prime Focus (page 4), only two members attended that years session held near Schoolcraft. From Mark’s report, it Our main activities will take place in the Glen Vista Room, sounds like it was cloudy all day on February 27th and which is located in the main building at the Nature Center. cleared up at the last second. After that, as far as I can re- Elevator access is available through the lower level call, every single Freeze Out has been clouded out. . .that entrance. is, until February 25, 2006. Hands-on According to the Clear Sky Clock, conditions for the Fan Comets Freeze Out didn’t look promising. Skies were only fore- Paper Pluto Globe cast to be clear until 11 pm and the transparency and seeing Displays looked bad the whole night. So, I wasn’t particularly look- New Horizons ing forward to being in the cold under those conditions. Clyde Tombaugh Member Astrophotography In all, only seven KAS members attended the Freeze Out. This wasn’t a surprise, since the temperature was around Solar Observing (weather permitting) 17º F for the majority of the session. The wind was also Telescopes with safe solar filters will be setup on very heavy for half the session with gusts around 25 mph the deck outside the Glen Vista Room and/or in the and the wind chill was close to or below 0º F. Other mem- Nature Center’s main parking lot. bers in attendance included Bob Havira, Mark Miller, Robert Norton, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and Dave Woolf. Comet Making Demo 12:00, 1:30, & 2:30 pm Dave Woolf will make a miniature model of a comet Bob brought out his ETX-90EC and Don, who joined the nucleus out of dry ice, dirt, ammonia, and more. KAS in late 2005, brought his 8” LX90. Robert, who just joined in January, set up his brand-new Meade 10” Light- Pluto Planet Debate 1:00 pm bridge Dobsonian. Mark only attended long enough for some quick peaks through the 12” LX200 in Owl Observa- Richard Bell and Mike Sinclair will have a lively tory and to make some magnitude measurements as part of debate about Pluto’s planetary status. WMU his light pollution project. I brought my little Tele Vue Astronomer Kirk Korista will be the moderator. Pronto 70mm refractor for some wide-field views. 70th Anniversary Party 3:30 pm The sky conditions turned out to be much better than pre- Join us for cake and ice cream as we celebrate the dicted. Both the transparency and seeing were about as 70th anniversary of the KAS. good as it gets at the Nature Center. We enjoyed fantastic views of Saturn and the other popular deep sky objects of Saturday Night Stargazing 8:00 pm winter. Most of us endured the cold until about 11 pm (that’s when my toe warmers gave out). Too bad more Observe the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and the deep sky members didn’t attend (at least for an hour) because it was delights of spring through our 12” telescope in Owl a lot of fun. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another Observatory as well as member telescopes. eight years or so for another February Freeze Out! For the Latest Info Visit: www.kasonline.org April 2006 Page 5

The annual Winter Star Party took place from the 20th to the Program Highlights 25th of February at Camp Wesumke on West Summerland Key at the beautiful Caribbean edge of Florida. About 650 Retired astronaut Story Musgrave described his life, his people attended for their “latitude adjustment” and enjoyed efforts, his ideas, and his 30 years in the space program. five sunny days and clear nights in a row. Stellar objects He is a fix-it spaceman. He fixed farm equipment in his included Canopus, Crux, Omega Centauri, and Eta Carina youth and even now. He satisfies his curiosity by learning in addition to a neck-bending view of Orion and the other as much as possible and doing whatever to complete and winter constellations we usually see in snow boots. detailed perfection. He has accomplished the most by plan- ning, training and practicing complex procedures from Four full days of expert presentations and work shops, medical surgery, pilot performance, and astronomical in- more than ten major vendors, a big list of door prizes that strument service like the Hubble Space Telescope repairs. ended with a Meade 8” Ritchey-Chrétien Telescope with He pointed out several shortcomings of past and present DSI Pro camera, astronaut Story Musgrave, and a “million space programs and proposed improvements and hopes for dollar row” of a hundred or so of the latest, biggest, most the future. He noted that this audience needs minimum advanced telescopes crowded explanations because “we get onto the sand berm landscape it” already. We understand the filled the tiny island. important concepts of exploring space and the progress of sci- My personal projects were to ence. get my new DSI Pro CCD cam- era into operation. This in- Image Processing Workshop volves a lot of new tricks / old presentations had a working CD dog training and Scott Roberts in the booklet and you can hack at the Meade tent showed me along with each step shown and everything in a couple of hours. described. Adobe Photoshop I also rigged my Orion Short Layers and Masks were the Tube 90 as an adjustable guide topic this year. Don Parker scope and tried some deep sky showed a summary of the re- film shots at f/5.8 on the 5” re- cent Mars opposition images fractor and piggyback constella- and compared them to past fea- tion shots with a 20mm wide- tures. Many webcam users are angle lens. Perhaps I can mesh contributing a lot to the quan- the capabilities of big film and tity of received images at the small chip to capture more diffi- Association of Lunar & Plane- cult objects and also improve tary Observers (A.L.P.O.) but results with Michigan’s tricky encouragement continues. Sean weather. Walker of Sky & Telescope showed processed solar images he gets “at work” with a The four hurricanes of 2005 did some damage at the camp. Coronado PST, Canon 4 megapixel camera, and a Several ocean rim trees are gone so we only have the shade Scopetronix afocal adapter. Jim Burnell gave a complete of two trees while sitting around the well attended door tutorial of CCD electronics and the technical reasons about prize session. The presentations are given on the second proper installation and operation of various types of system floor of the Wheelhouse building that got several feet of components. sand washed into it last fall. A lot of cleanup work got it out and also pushed the sand off the road and back onto the Robert Reeves gave a complete experience presentation berm. The other building had been condemned and fenced about economical and most fun-per-dollar CCD camera off, but the fence was squashed over and required repairs. projects. He also has a new book out called Introduction to Several local club members were thanked and a few cases Digital Astrophotography. Robert is impressive in my of Girl Scout cookies were vigorously hawked to raise view for his complete yet simple description of how each $4,000 to assist in repair costs not covered by insurance. part works and how you can purchase various CCD compo- April 2006 Page 6

A vast array of telescopes await sunset on the beach of Camp Astronaut Story Musgrave answers questions by the fire pit on Wesumke. Image courtesy of Joe Bergeron. February 21. Image courtesy of Joe Bergeron.

nents without using up a lot of “spousal permission units”. I found Don Yeier in the vendor area at Hands On Optics. Tony Hallas showed several state-of-the-art images and He was clearance selling a variety of Brandon eyepieces. impressive results of recent projects to image what has He is the president of VERNONscope and is famous for never been detailed before. The art concepts of various supplying the eyepieces for Questar. I have been using a images were also explained. Brandon 8mm with excellent performance for years and jumped at the chance to get a 16mm for half price. He has- Jim Bell from Cornell University and manager of the Mars n’t advertised in several years because he is at full capacity Rover camera projects showed us all over Mars. He com- with his military and Questar productions. Al Nagler with pares what is seen on the landscape of Mars with Don his Tele Vue products, several “we got everything” ven- Parker’s and other images that are constantly streaming in dors, and even participants had For Sale signs up for 22” to A.L.P.O. Don promised to focus on the blueberries bet- and 24” complete Dobsonians for $7500 and up. I should ter. Layered outcroppings, dust devils, and even some as- have brought more “spousal permission units”! I didn’t tronomical object observing were accomplished by the win any door prizes either! But I did suffer stellar overex- landscape cameras using “Starry Night”. Therefore, Jim is posure (in February) at a wind-chill of 69 degrees F. the director of the first observatory on Mars! The 2007 Winter Star Party will be held from February Tim Puckett is the originator of the Puckett Observatory 12th - 17th at Camp Wesumke on West Summerland Key. Supernova Search (POSS); a survey project for automated For more information check out the official WSP web site:

observers. He described his beginnings of learning tele- http://www.scas.org/wsp.htm scope construction. Scrap steel, garage welding, and plenty of after work hours were invested. He now has an automated observatory in northern Georgia and has led a team of supernova image gathering observers with many discoveries. “Crazy” Bob Summerfield from Astronomy To Go demonstrated how he cleans his 36” mirror with hose water, alcohol, acetone, and cotton balls.

Brian Lula from Boston was setup next to me with his su- per-duper automated imaging 12-inch Newtonian Astro- graph. It is a beauty in the daytime as well with plenty of custom machinery to view. Brian did have a problem on the first night - I heard a crashing clunk in the dark. He was trying to move the legs for better polar alignment when a couple of bolts sheared and caused a husky tube crash. I helped hold it up while the counterweights were put back on. SAFETY NOTICE! Don’t take off the coun- terweights while the tube is on! Brian went on to win the astrophotography contest of the week. Bill Nigg poses next to his 5” Astro-Physics refractor under the crystal clear blue skies of the 2005 Winter Star Party. April 2006 Page 7

Review: Planetarium ver. 2.40, are also displayed separately. As a first test I selected Sat- software by Andreas Hofer, for urn and without looking up I used my compass to orient me Palm type pocket computers. and I pointed my binoculars on that azimuth and slowly Shareware, registration $30.00. raised them until Saturn appeared. I have no doubt that had I an elevation scale on the binoculars that it would have One of the biggest problems been right on. Sometimes it’s hard to find the Sun in bin- (other than cloudy Michigan oculars. So I selected Sun, pointed myself on the calculated skies) that backyard astrono- azimuth and raised the binoculars (filtered of course) until mers face is finding what you the Sun appeared... The manual claims 0.1 degree accu- want to look at. The sky is racy. This conversion from right ascension and declination really big and the field of view to altitude and azimuth makes it feasible to attach simple of a telescope at lowest power azimuth and elevation scales to Dobsonians or other alt/az is usually well under 10 de- telescopes to help find objects. grees. One needs charts, refer- ence books and patience to navigate the depths of space. One can zoom in the display to match the magnification of Young eyes help too. Many of us have computerized Go- your eyepiece. User definable red circles showing three To scopes that for the most part solve the finding problem. different angles of view are displayed. The display can be Some notebook computers have astronomy programs that quickly inverted or flipped to match your telescope’s op- not only show accurate sky charts but also interface with a tics. It is very convenient to check the position of your Go-To telescope. Either way the necessary references object within a star field (to magnitude 10 or more) without overflow a large briefcase. This limits what one can carry leaving the scope. Further more it’s easy to orient the dis- onto an airplane flying us to dark skies. play to match the field in the scope.

I recently ran across a reference to an astronomy program This tiny computer also has a serial port which allows con- for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). These are pocket- nection to a Go-To scope. Several drivers for popular tele- sized computers that are commonly used for maintaining a scopes are available for download. I have a cable on order daily calendar, address lists and the like. The astronomy and hope to field test the computer with my LX90 soon. programs available are not as powerful as many of those for Planetarium has a “night view” screen which is red and desktops and notebooks but they are more than enough to black eliminating the need to cover the screen with red be very useful at the telescope replacing star charts and plastic. However there was a narrow 1/16th inch border of other references. white screen visible that I masked with black tape. You can also enter and store notes using a “log” feature. I emailed Planetarium is one of several programs written for PDAs. Mr. Hofer the author several times with questions and he These programs work with Palm computers. Pocket PCs, I replied promptly and helpfully. I use the program with a learned, are different and have fewer programs available. Palm Tungsten E2 and have made Planetarium a permanent The Sky is one (reviewed in Sky & Telescope March, 2001). part of my observing gear.

Planetarium has far more features than I could describe For more information visit the Planetarium for the Palm here. This is a sampling. Planetarium displays a scalable Computing Platform web site where you may download a sky map based on input of location and time. It has several shareware copy of Planetarium and an instruction manual. databases of stars and objects. It uses Yale, Bayer and There are a number of web- Flamsteed designations for stars and has the Messier list, sites having to do with Palm the Caldwell, the Herschel, planets, comets, asteroids etc., based astronomy. Many have etc. I downloaded stars to magnitude 10. Down to magni- programs both for sale and tude 13.5 is available. You select an object which is then free. Though a novice to both displayed in red concentric rings matching Telrad finder PDAs and Planetarium I will reticles. To help find the object in the sky you may select try to answer any questions “compass view.” This screen displays a large compass rose live at the next meeting or by with a line showing the azimuth in degrees to the selected e-mail. By the way, in case object. On the left side of the screen is a semicircle show- it’s cloudy I have 2 novels ing the elevation in degrees to the object. The coordinates loaded on my PDA. April 2006 Page 8

NASANASA SpaceSpace PlacPlacee PlanetsPlanets inin StrangeStrange PlacesPlaces By Trudy E. Bell

Red star, blue star, big star, small star — planets may form carbons, and other geological substances found on Earth. around virtually any type or size of star throughout the universe, not just around mid-sized middle-aged yellow These newfound disks represent “extremes of the environ- stars like the Sun. That’s the surprising implication of two ments in which planets might form,” Kastner said. “Not recent discoveries from the 0.85-meter diameter Spitzer what you’d expect if you think our is the Space Telescope, which is exploring the universe from rule.” orbit at infrared (heat) wavelengths blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere. Hypergiants and dwarfs? The Milky Way could be crowded with worlds circling every kind of star imaginable At one extreme are two blazing, blue “hypergiant” stars — very strange, indeed. 180,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the two companion galaxies to our Milky Way. The Keep up with the latest findings from the Spitzer at: stars, called R 66 and R 126, are respectively 30 and 70 times the mass of the Sun, “about as massive as stars can http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/ get,” said Joel Kastner, professor of imaging science at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. R 126 is For kids, the Infrared Photo Album at The Space Place so luminous that if it were placed 10 parsecs (32.6 light- introduces the electromagnetic spectrum and compares the years) away — a distance at which the Sun would be one appearance of common scenes in visible versus infrared of the dimmest stars visible in the sky—the hypergiant light. Check it out at: would be as bright as the full moon, “definitely a daytime object,” Kastner remarked. http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/sirtf1/sirtf_action.shtml

Such hot stars have fierce solar winds, so Kastner and his This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Labora- team are mystified why any dust in the neighborhood has- tory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract n’t long since been blown away. But there it is: an unmis- with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. takable spectral signature that both hypergiants are surrounded by mammoth disks of what might be planet-forming dust and even sand.

At the other extreme is a tiny brown dwarf star called Cha 110913-773444, relatively nearby (500 light-years) in the Milky Way. One of the small- est brown dwarfs known, it has less than 1 percent the mass of the Sun. It’s not even massive enough to kindle thermonuclear reactions for fus- ing hydrogen into helium. Yet this miniature “failed star,” as brown dwarfs are often called, is also surrounded by a flat disk of dust that may eventually clump into planets. (Note: This brown dwarf discovery was made by a group led by Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University.)

Although actual planets have not been detected (in part because of the stars’ great distances), the spectra of the hypergiants show that their dust is composed of forsterite, olivine, aromatic hydro- IntroductionIntroduction toto AmateurAmateur AstronomyAstronomy

targazing is easy, and astronomy is something anyone can do and enjoy. You just have to get started off on the right foot. Starting out wrong can lead to disappointment, frustration, and wasted money. Starting out right can lead to a lifetime of celestial exploration and enjoyment. Today, the hobby of astronomy - the biggest and most mind- boggling branch of amateur nature study - is attracting more people than ever. The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society is happy to present a five-part lecture series that will help you become a star-hopping skymaster!

Part 1: Grand Tour of the Universe April 30

For a long time, the stars were merely pinpoints of light on the black backdrop of the heavens. Before massive telescopes on mountaintops came along, all we could observe were the Sun, Moon, planets, their satellites, and the occasional comet. Today we know that those pinpoints of light are distant and that we live in a remote corner of one galaxy amongst billions. For our first presentation, we'll travel through our solar system, explore the star clusters and nebulae of our Milky Way Galaxy, and the countless other galaxies in this vast, infinite universe.

Part 2: Astromedia May 7

Is that a bright star or a planet? Where's the constellation Orion? Your first task as an amateur astronomer is to learn your way around the night sky. Learn how to find any star or constellation in the night sky with the use of a simple star map. We'll also look at several of the best books geared toward the novice stargazer and the many sophisticated planetarium programs for your home computer.

Part 3: Binocular Basics May 21

Every amateur astronomer, novice or advanced, should own at least one good pair of binoculars. They make an ideal first "telescope" because of their wide field of view, ease of use, portability, versatility, and low cost. Several types of binoculars are available, but which ones are best for astronomy? You’ll be amazed at what you can see!

Part 4: Telescope Tutorial May 28

Sooner or later, every amateur astronomer faces the decision of purchasing a first telescope. There are literally hundreds of choices today! What's the difference between a refractor and reflector? Which telescope is the right one for you? To make this daunting task easier, we'll compare several of the top telescopes available today and tell you which ones to avoid. We'll also look at the countless array of accessories available for your telescope. If you already have a telescope but need help then bring it along.

Part 5: Astrophotography June 4

Astrophotography is the art of photographing the night sky. In the past few years that art has undergone a revolution as digital cameras have overtaken their film counterparts. In some ways this has made the field more technical, but in many ways shooting the sky is easier than ever! We’ll start with the basics like using a stationary photographic tripod and work our way up to imaging with sophisticated CCD cameras. Constellation patterns, the Milky Way, the night-to-night motion of the planets, bright comets, northern lights, and perhaps a meteor all await you.

Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Location: Kalamazoo Nature Center

Fee: KAS and KNC members free. All other’s pay regular KNC entrance fee.

For more information please contact the Kalamazoo Nature Center at (269) 381-1574 or visit the KAS web site: www.kasonline.org. Clear Skies! AprilApril NightNight Sky...... Sky......

This star map is property of the This map represents the sky at the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. NORTH following local standard times: However you may make as many copies as you wish free-of-charge, y Late March 10 pm so long as it is for non-profit y Early April 10 pm educational purposes and full y Late April 9 pm credit is given to the KAS. y Early May 8 pm www.kasonline.org EAST WEST

SOUTH

pril is a month of close celestial The scene will be in full view after but it’ll make for a nice scene in a encounters. The Moon will astronomical twilight at 8:45 pm. telescope at medium to low power. occult or pass through the Binoculars or a wide-field telescope Uranus and Venus will be separated by a Pleiades star cluster (M45) on April 1st. should give a stunning view! mere 0.3º during dawn on April 18th. The occultation is actually in progress when the Sun sets at 7:08 pm EST, so Mars will be only ¾º away from the The Lyrid meteor shower peaks in the individual stars of the Pleiades won’t open cluster M35 on April 12th. The early morning hours on April 22nd; 10- become visible until approx. 8:00 pm. Red Planet will only be 5.2" in diameter, 20 meteors/hour may be visible. KAS OFFICERS April 2006 Page 11 PRESIDENT Richard S. Bell 373-8942 [email protected] YoungYoung AstronomersAstronomers MEETING PREVIEW VICE PRESIDENT Frank Severance Do you know the difference between a meteor, 372-2237 meteorite, and meteoroid? How about the [email protected] difference between an asteroid and a comet? Find out when we talk about Meteors, Comets, & TREASURER Asteroids (Oh My!). We’ll also make a mini-comet, a Rich Mather potato asteroid, and check out real meteorites! For 629-5312 more information, contact the Young Astronomer [email protected] Coordinator Carol Van Dien (342-4983).

SECRETARY/ALCOR Roger Williams Tuesday, April 18 @ 6:30 pm 375-4867 Trinity Reformed Church - 326 W. Cork St. [email protected]

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Dave Andrews 637-6117 [email protected] Wanted:Wanted: PlantsPlants Beverly Byle [email protected] After an extremely successful 2005 season, the Perpetual Plant Sale will Jack Price soon be getting started. Over the past two seasons Jean DeMott has raised 343-3193 $1,500 toward the purchase of a dark-sky observing site for the KAS by [email protected] conducting summer-long plant sales. This years goal is $1,000 and the sale kicks off on the weekend of June 17/18. Dave Woolf 373-7080 A greater variety of plants will increase the potential earnings for this years [email protected] sale, so Jean is asking for donations of perennial plants. If you or someone you know has a flower bed that needs to be thinned please contact Jean at ([email protected] or 381-1406).

OBSERVE!OBSERVE! APRIL OBSERVING SCHEDULE Kalamazoo Nature Center 7000 N. Westnedge Ave.

Saturday, April 8 @ 8:00 pm Gibbous Moon, Jupiter, & Saturn

Saturday, April 22 @ 8:00 pm Astronomy Day 2006 - See Page 4

with the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society General Meeting Preview

Presented by Dr.Dr. Megan Donahue Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, MSU

One of the great discoveries of the early 20th century was that the universe was not static and unchanging: it was expanding. At the turn of the 20th to the 21st century, astronomers revealed something arguably more startling: the universe is not only expanding, its expansion has been getting faster and faster! Dr. Donahue will explain why observations of exploding stars seen by the Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes forced astronomers into this rather unsavory conclusion. Dr. Donahue will close with a necessarily brief discussion of current explanations for the Universe's unexpected acceleration.

Friday, April 7 @ 7:00 pm Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center 600 West Vine, Suite 400

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC STAMP 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

© April 2006, Stargazer Productions