ISSN-0039-2502 Journal of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers The Strolling Astronomer Volume 46, Number 3, Summer 2004 Now in Portable Document Format (PDF) for MacIntosh and PC-Compatible Computers Inside. * The Perseids are coming! The Perseids are coming! And guess what — almost NO Moon this time! * Some early personal reports on the Venus transit * A report on the 1996 Jupi- ter apparition * A writeup on This Issue’s Cover: A great shot of the Venus transit by Mercury Section Coordinator the Moon’s Frank Melillo from Holtsville, NY, USA. Taken June 8, 10:40 UT (6:40 a.m. local time) using a Celestron 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 equipped with a Starlight Xpress MX5 CCD Maestlin camera; exposure 0.5 second; some clouds present. For an animation of this image, go to Region http://hometown.aol.com/frankj12/specialtransitpage1.html . plus LOTS of reports about your ALPO section activities and much, much more. The Strolling Astronomer Journal of the In This Issue: Association of Lunar & Inside the ALPO Point of View: It’s Nice to be Noticed – Again..... 1 Planetary Observers, ALPO Founder Walter Haas Injured in Fall..........2 In Memoriam: Janet Mattei .................................2 The Strolling Astronomer ALPO’s L. Garrett: Asteroid Discoverer ...............2 Reminder: Address Changes ...............................2 Volume 46, No. 3, Summer 2004 Report from the ALPO Membership Secretary/ This issue published in July 2004 for distribution in both Treasurer.........................................................2 portable document format (pdf) and also hardcopy for- Interest Section Reports mat. Computing Section .........................................3 ALPO Lunar & Planetary Training Program....3 This publication is the official journal of the Association The Federation of Galaxy Explorers: The Future of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO). in Space..........................................................4 Observing Section Reports: The purpose of this journal is to share observation Eclipse Section................................................5 reports, opinions, and other news from ALPO members Meteors Section ..............................................5 with other members and the professional astronomical Solar Section ..................................................6 community. Mercury Section..............................................6 Venus Section .................................................6 © 2004, Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Lunar Section: (ALPO). The ALPO hereby grants permission to educa- Lunar Meteoritic Impact Search ...................7 tors, academic libraries and the professional astronomi- Lunar Domes...............................................8 cal community to photocopy material for educational or Lunar Selected Areas ...................................8 research purposes as required. There is no charge for Lunar Transient Phenomena........................8 these uses provided that credit is given to The Strolling Mars Section ...................................................8 Astronomer, the “JALPO” or the ALPO itself, as appro- Minor Planets Section .....................................9 priate. All others must request permission from the Jupiter Section ...............................................9 ALPO. Saturn Section ...............................................9 Remote Planets Section ...............................10 For membership or general information about the ALPO Membership Online................................10 ALPO, contact: ALPO Sponsors, Sustaining Members, and Newest Members................................................. 11-15 Matthew Will ALPO Membership Secretary/Treasurer P.O. Box 13456 Features Springfield, Illinois 62791-3456 ALPO Book Review: David Levy’s Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets ..............16 E-mail to: [email protected] Viewing the 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower ........18 The Late, Great Transit of Venus.......................24 The Maestlin Lunar Region: Geology and Geologic Visit the ALPO online at: History .........................................................26 http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/alpo Jupiter –The 1995 - 1997 Apparition................31 Observing Alert: Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites ..42 ALPO Resources ALPO Board of Directors ..................................44 Publications Staff ..............................................44 Interest Section Staff .........................................44 Observing Section Staff............................... 44-46 ALPO Board/Staff E-mail Directory...................46 ALPO Publications...................................... 47-48 Membership in the ALPO......... Inside Back Cover Volume 46, No. 3 Summer 2004 The Strolling Astronomer Inside the ALPO Member, section and activity news Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) Point of View Board of Directors It’s Nice to be Noticed – Executive Director (Chair); Richard Schmude Associate Director, Treasurer, and Again Membership Secretary; Matthew Will Founder/Director Emeritus; Walter H. Haas By Ken Poshedly, editor, Member of the Board; Julius L. Benton, Jr. The Strolling Astronomer Member of the Board; Donald C. Parker Member of the Board; Ken Poshedly Well, once more a celestial event has put Member of the Board; Michael D. Reynolds astronomy and astronomers back in the pub- Member of the Board; John E. Westfall lic eye. Member of the Board, Secretary; Elizabeth W. Westfall While it’s too bad it takes a rare event to make it happen, it IS nice to be sought out by the Publications great unwashed for answers to questions we (the knowing) can handle easily. Editor & Publisher, Ken Poshedly This time, it was the transit of Venus on June Primary Observing Coordinators, 8. And what makes it perhaps even more spe- Other Staff cial is that no one alive today saw the last (See full listing in ALPO Resources at end of issue) one, which occurred in 1882. Lunar& Planetary Training Program: Coordinator; Timothy J. Robertson So once more, co-workers and friends who Solar Section: Acting Coordinator, Rick Gossett may think our hobby or avocation is “odd” Mercury Section: Coordinator; Frank Melillo sought us out asking if we ourselves saw the Venus Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. event, why doesn’t it happen more often, why Mercury/Venus Transit Section: Coordinator; couldn’t it be seen without a telescope, etc. John E. Westfall Lunar Section: The mainstream media helped by mentioning Coordinator; Selected Areas Program; it and even seeking out groups that planned Julius L. Benton, Jr. organized observing activities. (We in metro Coordinator; Lunar Meteoritic Impact Search; Atlanta, Georgia, were pretty much clouded out; so some folks travelled from here south Brian Cudnik to Florida and north to other points and got Coordinator; Lunar Transient Phenomena; great views.) Anthony Cook Mars Section: Coordinator, all observations, U.S. cor- So once again, for a few fleeting days, we respondence; Daniel M. Troiani were the celebrities of the office, the school or Minor Planets Section: Coordinator; Frederick Pilcher the workplace. And, yes, it DID feel good to Jupiter Section: Coordinator; Richard W. Schmude, Jr. take the “mystery” out of one of Mother Saturn Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. Nature’s occasional treats. Remote Planets Section: Coordinator; Richard W. Schmude, Jr. But like I said earlier, it’s too bad that it takes a Comets Section: Coordinator; Open once-every-so-often event like this to get peo- Meteors Section: Coordinator; Robert D. Lunsford ple to look up and appreciate or at least Meteorites Section: Coordinator; Dolores Hill inquire about the heavens. Computing Section: Coordinator; Kim Hay Youth Section: Coordinator; Timothy J. Robertson By the way, you can probably expect another Historical Section: Coordinator; Richard Baum round of questions in early August – with little Instruments Section: Coordinator; R.B. Minton interference from the Moon, this year’s Per- Eclipse Section: Coordinator; Michael D. Reynolds seids should be much more noticeable. And Webmaster: Coordinator; Richard Hill so it goes. Volume 46, No. 3 Summer 2004 Page 1 The Strolling Astronomer Inside the ALPO Member, section and activity news (continued) ALPO Founder Walter Haas Near Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP) as SW40E3, for others to attempt. Injured in Fall On June 19, 17h30 UT, MPEC-2004 M25 Walter Haas, age 86 and founder of this organization, announced this object as 2004 MO1, earning me my is currently recovering from a broken hip suffered first designation. from a fall while in London on June 14. The announcement was made to ALPO officers by his This object is quite small at H 23.3, or roughly 200 daughter, Mary Haas Alba ([email protected]) feet in diameter. Because it was observed for just a 2 day arc, it is now lost, which is normal for this type of When he will return to the United States is uncertain, near-Earth object of the Amor class. From its current but it is certain that he will not be at the upcoming orbital elements, this object will return to near-Earth ALCON event. space in 2023, to be rediscovered, and hopefully linked to this passage. This linkage would result in a Walter can be contacted via David Oosterman (e- permanent number. mail: [email protected], telephone 011 44 207-701-1408). While the discoverer of this object, I may lose the rights to suggest a name for this object to a future In Memoriam: Janet Mattei astronomer.