THE FOML Foilnt
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THEFOML FOilNT The Atlanta Astronomy Club, Inc. Vol. D( No.4 September, 1996 7947-7997 Celebrating Fifty Years of Astronomy in Atlanta The SeptemberMeeting was suggestedthat membersshould bring a covereddish. The ne$ me€ting of the Atlanta Astronomy Club Bring your lawn chairs and telescopes,plus an)'thing you wrll take place at 8:00 pm, Friday. September20. The *ish to gnll. For more details, contact Larry Htggtrrf (@ -2233 meetrng will b€ held at Emory Universit-v's Whire Hall. 770-227 . Our speaker will be Dr. Chris DePree. of Agnes Scott College. Clris will describe his recent work at the Very Die Eard Party At Dauset Trails Large Array (VLA) radio telescope The first annual AAC Die Hard ObserversPafty Unlike their optical counterparts,radio telescopes will be held on November8 and 9. This event will be a no cal consist of componentswhich are separatedb.v large frius star party held at DausetTrails and doesnot take the distances. Their signals are combined electronically, place of the Peach State Star Gaze. It will cost $5.00 a producing an image of much greaterresolution than would personper night. There will be camping on the back field be possiblewith a single antenna.The \/LA is the largest and r€stroom facilities wiU be available. A fire ring, such assemblagein the world. Chris was at the VLA in locatedaway ftom the ok€rving fiel{ will be provided for 1995. and he will describehow astronomersuse this kind warmth. of equipmentto explore the universe. AAC AUGUST MEETING Caler:dar of Observing Events: by Jack Wamer' Sept 13 SidewalkObserving for EgalstonHospital The August meeting of the Adanta Astronomy @ Hardlabor Creek.For directionsplease Club was held on August 16 at Emory Univers8's White contactLarry Higgins aI 770-227-2233. t{all at 8:00 P.M. The guest speakerwas Dr. Dick Miller, Sept 14 Club Picnic/Observirg at Villa Rica. Professorof Astronomyat Georgia state university. There Sept 20 AAC Lteetingat Emory University rMere55 memberspres€nt for Dr. Miller's presentationof Sept 26 Lunor Eclipse! ..don't miss this event,I the subject"Blazars: Th€ Most ExtremeQuazars." ts the last total lunar eclipfe in this part Prior to Dr. Miller's presentatioq AAC Presidert of the world for the rest of the century. Doug Chesser conducted the club's monthly hrsiness Oct 10-13 Chiefland Star Party meeting. [n the president's report, Doug announc€dthe Nov.EJ De-Hard Star Partv at Dauset Trails publicatron of a Master Events Sch€d e that will be maintained b_vArt Russell. The schedrle will be for six monthsand is intendedto eliminate conflictlng club events. Wheream I? Members are requestedto provi& Art Russell wi& dates by Alex Inngoussis and information concerningfuture AAC evena. For those with computerized telescopes,the alignment processoften goesquicker when the observer'slocation is . There were 35 to 40 peopl€ present for the 'lery known. So, with thanks to Riley O'Connor for loaning me successfirlPerseid meteor showerobserving session at his Global Positroning System rec€iver, here are the the CohuttaOverlook, north of Elltjay, on August 10. coordinatesfor someof our obs€rvingsitesi . The New Logo Committee, chaired by Ken Walbum, BarberObsevatory: N 33" 47' 27" W 84" 56' 05" has been working on a new logo presenlationfor the DausetTrails: N 33" 14' 04" W 83' 56' 44" Septembermeeting .ll* R Ranch: N 3.1"37' W 83"57' {5" . Ken Poshedlyhas resignedas Publicity Chairman due to his continuing educationand commilnents to other SeptemberPicnic At Villa Rica! organizations but will conlinue as Chairman of the The AAC Annual Picnic will be held on Peach Slate Star Gaze Event. Art Russell has been September14 at Villa Rica. The club will fumish the hot namedPublicity Chairman. dogs but wiU ne€d some club membersto bring grills. It o The Chiefland Starfestwill be held October l0 rhrcugh scheduledobsewing sessionsin the past few months have October 13, 1996,in Chieflan4 Florida. The five acre beenwashouts or cloudolers (..don'tforget the thisyear's site accomodatescamping at a cost of $5.00 per night. "PeachState Haze-Gaze" -editor). The Advance Site SelectronCommittee is still actively Everyoneused to say .."If Art plans an observing involved in searchingfor an op.imum observingsite. sessionyou can bet on clouds or rain". Well guesswhat . Help is needed in finishing the club's 12" loaner Art, It arr'tjust you! That's right, this obEervingchairman telescope. Anyone with wood working skdls and is under the sameUmbrella (hnm..I think you need to get willing to work on this Foject should contact Eric that thing patched or something,Larry -ed.). I was talking Shelton. to Rich Jakrelthe other day and he said the samething..."it o Alex Langoussis,who has been maintaining the club's seemed to rain or cloud e\€ry time I scheduled an web page for two years is looking for someoneto take observingsession". (tftts was back in 1988-1990,and I over this responsibiliry. eventually clt back on the number of scheduledevents . The next Board of Directors meeting will be at Tushar Jiguring I could "fool" the cloudgods. This heralded the Thrivil<raman's home on Nwember 2. 1996. Please birth of the Zombieswho observedaany* time it was clear, contact a Board memb€rwith anlthign that you would not just on scheduledeyents). So you see what I mean - like the Board to considerat the Novembermeeting. there must be a curse on the observing chairman in . Doug Chesser extended a special thanks to Jerry astronomyclub6! Armstrong and Lenny Abbey for their work in Speaking of curces, oru August lTth observing obtarning speakersfor the club. sessiona1 Dauset Trails looked promising the first tro . Larry Higgins, frserving Chairman, reported on the hour. There was a gteat numberof club members- at least schedrled fonhcorning events. The Egleston Heart 20 at this outing. Of course,before the cloud-godsmade Camp observingevent was changedfrom August 15 to their amearance,we saw a number of good objects. Art SeFember 13. There will be about 100 to 150 people Russelltreated us to somenice views of Uranus.while Ken there and consequendy,volunteers with telescop€s Poshedlyproudly showed off Satum is his 6-inch scope. will be need€d. Contact Larry Higgtns at (770)227- t{ale-Bopp now shidng at magnrtude5.5 was very pretty to view, and Alex l,angoussisdisplayed many good objectsin . Phil Bracken, Treasurer, reported on the club's his l5-inch TecEon. Doug Chessernearly stole the show financial situalion. Phil encourageddonations to the with his CCD setup,His systemeasily cut through the nasty SpeakersFund, ObseJvatoryFund and Refreshment haze allowing us to s€e impressiveimages of galaxies and nebulae accomodationswhen required to obtarn speakers. Phil On August 24th, we held the beginner's interest announced that lhe club has grom lo 214 family goup/ public observingsession at Villa Rica. It was geat membe$hips. fun watching the lightning streakacross the slry, and to fe€l . Jerry Armstrong, hogam Chairman, announcedthe the warm-up shedbeing buffetedby high winds and intense you watn speakersfor Januarywill be Alex Hale and Tom Bopp. rain. The Curse. ..How come didn't meArt? . Art Russell, Rrblicity Chairman, indicated he has addressesand contactsfor the major publications but The Morning Pyramid needsthe addressesand contactsfor local community By Dave Riddle publications. AAC membersahving htis information, The brighlest reflection nebula visible from our please contact him. Art encouragedparticipation in planet lies not in the far reachesof interstellar spacebut in ' ' the BeginnersGroup and the MessierProgram. the near sky surrounding our Sun and appearsin the . l€nny Abbey, Assistant Program chairman, moming skies of SeFemb€ras the Zodiacal ( zoe-DYE-a- amounced that Ben Z€llner r4dl be the speakerfor the kd ) Light , This pymmid shapedglow heraldsthe coming Octobermeeting and Marc Buie will be the speakerfor of the dawn'sfirst light in the eastemslry during SeFember the Novembermeeting. and is a splendidsight as seenfrom a really dark location . Tom Buchanan, Light Pollution Charrman reported Surprisingly , few amateurastronomers look for this cloud that NASA has advised him that his spectrogramof of interplanetary dust during it's Spring and Autumn Halley's Comet has been us€d in their publication apparitionsbut if you have been fortunate enough to have International Hallev Watch Under NASA. seenthis towering glow in a star studdedsky you will look for it a1eyery oppoftnity . For obcerversin th€ temperate The Obserrer's Notebook zone of the the Northem hemisphere, the Light is b€st seen byInrry Higgins when the constellation of Orion ( the 6th hour of Right in the Curseof the ObsemingChairman" Ascension ) stands on the meridian before dawn "The moming sky and after dusk in the evening sky . The Somewhere,sometime, somehow, somebody must ecliptic is inclined almost vertically in relation to the have madesome amateur astronomer "witch doctor" angry. horizon at this tlme and the prramid is best positionedfor I ihink he/she put a spell on all Observing Chairman observauon. around the world. It certainly seemsthat 95% of all the Good dascriptlons of the visual appearanceof rhe round patch of light Zodiacal about 5 degees across There are Light are rather difficult ro find . My own freld reports that the Counterglow is variable in both size and notesare perhapsas good as any I have managedto locate brightnessbut it will always be 1g0 degreesfrom the Sun so I'll quote them here Although this particular and highest in the sky at midnight . If you find yourself obEervationwas in the evening sky it wiU describe ',nder the a good dark sky . try looking around in the Aquarius mormng appari ons aboul as well - Piscesarea this Septernberwhen theseconstellati;ns are February 25th , 1984 high overhead Some book mistalcenly credit the GumLog , GA . 'About American astronom€rEdward Barnard with lhe discoverv an hour and half alter etnset a dilluse of the Gegenschein.