ISSN-0039-2502 Journal of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers The Strolling Astronomer Volume 44, Number 3, Summer 2002 Now in Portable Document Format (PDF) for MacIntosh and PC-Compatible Computers Inside . An honor well-deserved ALPO Executive Director Donald C. Parker (left) presents Richard W. Schmude, Jr., with the 2002 Walter H. Haas Observing Award in recognition of Richard’s contributions to the organiza- tion as coordinator of both the ALPO Jupiter Section and Remote Planets Section, and as a very active observer. The award was presented at the Astro- nomical League’s ALCON 2002 con- vention closing ceremonies banquet held in Salt Lake City July 31 - August 3. Details about the ALPO portion of the convention are inside this Journal. Also ..a observing even with vision problems, a report on the 2001 Leonids, thoughts on changes in the lunar crater Herodotus, frost-flashes on Mars, the 2001 remote planets report and much, much more. The Strolling Astronomer Journal of the In This Issue: Association of Lunar & The ALPO Pages Point of View: “Where Are the Observations” by Planetary Observers, Donald C. Parker ...........................................1 Letters.................................................................2 The Strolling Astronomer Reminder: Address Changes ...............................2 Observing Section Reports: Volume 44, No. 3, Summer 2002 Meteors Section ..............................................2 This issue published in September 2002 for distribution Comets Section...............................................2 in both portable document format (pdf) and also hard- Solar Section ..................................................3 copy format. Lunar Section Lunar Meteoritic Impacts Search ..................4 This publication is the official journal of the Association Lunar Transient Phenomena........................4 of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO). Minor Planets Section .....................................5 Jupiter Section................................................5 The purpose of this journal is to share observation Remote Planets Section ..................................6 reports, opinions, and other news from ALPO members Interest Section Reports with other members and the professional astronomical ALPO Website ................................................6 community. Instruments Section.........................................7 ALPO-Member-Discussion Listserv .................7 © 2002, Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Staff News: Lunar Section...................................7 (ALPO). The ALPO hereby grants permission to educa- About Some of the Authors.................................8 tors, academic libraries and the professional astronomi- cal community to photocopy material for educational or research purposes as required. There is no charge for Features these uses provided that credit is given to The Strolling The ALPO Board Meeting of 01 August 2002.....9 Astronomer, the “JALPO” or the ALPO itself, as appro- Vision Problems? You Can Still Enjoy Observing... priate. All others must request permission from the .....................................................................11 ALPO. Further Insight on the 2001 Leonids and Prospects for the 2002 Return.......................12 For membership or general information about the An Old Example in the Crater Herodotus and ALPO, contact: Some Thoughts on Their Recurrence ............14 Frost, Dunes and Specular Reflections on Mars..... Matthew Will .....................................................................18 ALPO Membership Secretary/Treasurer The Uranus, Neptune and Pluto Apparitions P.O. Box 13456 of 2001 .........................................................22 Springfield, Illinois 62791-3456 ALPO Resources E-mail to: [email protected] ALPO Board of Directors ..................................32 Publications Staff ..............................................32 Visit the ALPO online at: Lunar and Planetary Training Program .............32 http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/alpo Observing and Interest Section Staff............ 32-33 ALPO Board/Staff E-mail Directory...................33 ALPO Publications: The Monograph Series..................................33 ALPO Observing Section Publications ..........34 Other ALPO Publications..............................35 Membership in the ALPO..................................36 Volume 44, No. 3 Summer 2002 The Strolling Astronomer The ALPO Pages: Member, section and activity news Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) Point of View Where Are the Observations?! Board of Directors Executive Director (Chair); Donald C. Parker By Donald C. Parker, executive director, ALPO Associate Director, Richard W. Schmude, Jr. Founder/Director Emeritus; Walter H. Haas In August, when I again assumed directorship of the Member of the Board; Julius L. Benton, Jr. Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, I found Member of the Board; Richard Hill some very positive things about the organization: Julius Member of the Board; Ken Poshedly Benton’s excellent organizational skill has left the Member of the Board; John E. Westfall ALPO running smoothly, making my job much easier. Member of the Board, Secretary; Elizabeth W. Westfall The Web Page, managed by WebMeister Rik Hill, Member of the Board, Treasurer and remains second to none, with more and more organiza- Membership Secretary; Matthew Will tions linking to our site. The ALPO continues to strengthen its ties with inter- Publications national organizations, notably the British Astronomi- cal Association and the Oriental Astronomical Acting Publisher, Ken Poshedly Association. Our journal, The Strolling Astronomer, under Ken Poshedly’s guidance, has maintained its first-class status, with the papers steadily improving in Primary Observing Coordinators, Other readability and scientific content. I was particularly Staff struck by the high quality of the ALPO presentations at our meeting in Salt Lake City. But one thing has been (See full listing in ALPO Resources at end of book) nagging me where are the observations? Lunar and Planetary Training Program: Coordina- When Walter Haas and I were discussing solitary tor; reports of unusual Solar System events, Walter men- Timothy J. Robertson tioned that there surely must have been other amateur Solar Section: Coordinator, Website, SolNet, Rotation astronomers seeing these occurrences. Why, then, have Report, handbook; Richard Hill they not reported them? I feel that the main reason is Mercury Section: Acting Coordinator; Frank Melillo that they feel that their work is somehow inferior: “It’s Venus Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. only visual work, a drawing.” Nothing could be further Mercury/Venus Transit Section: Coordinator; from the truth. John E. Westfall We should remember that the primary purpose of the Lunar Section: Coordinator; Selected Areas Program; ALPO is to collect data and thus provide a long-term Julius L. Benton, Jr. record of the Solar System bodies and that visual obser- Mars Section: Coordinator, all observations, U.S. cor- vations are still the backbone of this work. At a recent respondence; Daniel M. Troiani Mars meeting, I was surprised and delighted to see pro- Minor Planets Section: Coordinator; Frederick Pilcher fessional planetary astronomers refer to data gleaned Jupiter Section: Coordinator; Richard W. Schmude, Jr. from ALPO drawings. But how many more quality Saturn Section: Coordinator; Julius L. Benton, Jr. observations are gathering dust in some amateur’s desk Remote Planets Section: Coordinator; Richard W. drawer? Schmude, Jr. When attending club meetings and star parties, let’s Comets Section: Coordinator; Gary Kronk make an effort to encourage other amateurs to report Meteors Section: Coordinator; Robert D. Lunsford their observations, explaining that valuable work is Meteorites Section: Coordinator; Dolores Hill often done with very modest equipment. These ama- Computing Section: Coordinator; Mike W. McClure teurs don’t even need to join our organization, although Youth Section: Acting Coordinator; membership will provide them with a means to better Timothy J. Robertson comprehend what they are observing and thus derive Historical Section: Coordinator; Richard Baum more enjoyment from even casual observations of the Instruments Section: Coordinator; R.B. Minton Moon and planets. So perhaps we should explain to Eclipse Section: Coordinator; Michael D. Reynolds other amateurs why we are members of ALPO being Webmaster: Coordinator; Richard Hill able to appreciate what is happening on other worlds as we gaze upon them through our telescopes is, quite simply, fun! Volume 44, No. 3 Summer 2002 Page 1 The Strolling Astronomer Letters So once again, if you move or change Inter- net Service Providers and are assigned a The opinions expressed in the “Letters” section of this Journal are those of the writer and do not nec- new e-mail address, please notify Matt Will essarily reflect the official policies of the ALPO. at [email protected] as soon as possi- ble. (Posted on the ALPO-Members-Dicsussion listserv) ******************** I would like to propose a simple change in the defini- tions we use for "astronomical seeing" and "transpar- Observing Section Reports ency" to "atmospheric stability" and "atmospheric clarity." Probably better terms for the masses would Meteors Section be "sky steadiness" and "sky clearness" for the uniniti- ated and unabashed amateur astronomers who have By Robert D. Lunsford,