1 Volume MMXI No. 4 April 2011 President: Mark Folkerts (425) 486-9733 folkerts at seanet dot com The Stargazer Programs: Ron Mosher mosheriffic69 at comcast dot net P.O. Box 12746 Librarian: Chris Dennis chrisandlinda at frontier dot net Everett, WA 98206 Treasurer: Jerry Galt jerryg at genwest dot com ‘Planetarium’ column John Goerger wolfstar1701 at comcast dot net Web assistance: Cody Gibson cgibson41 at austin dot rr dot com Vice President: <open> (change ‘at’ to @, dot to. to send email) Intro Astro Classes Jack Barnes jackdanielb at comcast dot net See EAS website at: Public Outreach coord. Mike Tucker scalped_raven at yahoo dot com http://everettastro.org Way, is a large spiral galaxy, and to study our own stellar halo's global EAS BUSINESS… properties, astronomers must contend with our position within the galaxy, which requires disentangling the various constituent parts (thin/thick disk, bulge). Conveniently, M31 is far enough away to give PREVIOUS (MARCH) EAS MEETING an overall view, while close enough to take spectra of individual stars. Its disk is highly inclined, enabling observation of the inner parts of the The presenter for the March was Dave Ingram - BEAS, Dark Skies galaxy. Astronomers are interested in the fact that until relatively Northwest, and International Dark Sky Association, who discussed recently, the stellar halos of M31 and the Milky Way were thought to be ‘Artificial Nighttime Light Pollution: The Adverse Consequences and very different. M31’s stellar halo was found to be more metal-rich than Means of Mitigation’. - As the Pacific NW’s population grows, so too the Milky Way's halo, and its density was thought to fall off much more does the problem of artificial nighttime light pollution in and around our steeply. In fact, M31’s "stellar halo" looked much more like an extension cities. Though photographers, stargazers, and astronomers are familiar of its bulge than a distinct spheroidal component, as we see in the Milky with light pollution's detrimental effect on the night sky, overall public Way. awareness of those negative effects has yet to rise to the level that it Meeting is at the Evergreen branch of the Everett Public Library has with air, soil or water pollution. Included info based on solid, located at 9512 Evergreen Way. - Website · Directions Attending extensive research by the IDA and by commercial, civic, industrial, members will be eligible for a monthly door prize (book). government and foreign sources that focus on light pollution from artificial outdoor lighting. NEW MEMBER / BEGINNERS CLASS WITH JACK BARNES TH NEXT MEETING – SATURDAY APRIL 16 - 3:00 PM – Classes are set for the 4th Tuesday of each month. EVERGREEN BRANCH LIBRARY Email - jackdanielb at comcast dot net Presenter for the April 16th EAS meeting will be Dr. Karrie Gilbert STAR PARTY INFO from UW, “Stars / objects in the stellar halo of galaxies”. She will ASTRONOMY DAY STAR PARTY – FRI/SAT MAY 6/7 discuss her investigation of the structure, motion, and composition of HARBORVIEW PARK – 7:30-11:30 PM, WEATHER PERMITTING the M31 (Andromeda) Galaxy's newly discovered extended stellar halo, exploring the halo of the out to very large distances. HST can resolve Scheduled EAS Star Parties at Ron Tam’s: the light of a galaxy like M31 into its constituent stars, and allows the “Listed below are proposed dates for planned EAS star parties at my structure and formation history of the galaxy to be studied in great *Ron Tam’s+ place, depending upon the weather, of course. “ detail. Current theories of galaxy formation indicate that larger Fri Apr 29 galaxies are built up through the merging of smaller systems over the Fri Jun 3 lifetime of the universe. Since stellar halos are sparse places, they Fri Jul 1 maintain the imprints of galaxy collisions (in the form of tidal streams) Fri Jul 29 for billions of years after a collision, and this makes them ideal starting points for studying the applicability of current models of galaxy Fri Aug 26 formation to the actual physical universe. M31, like our own Milky Sat Sep 24 2 Sat Oct 29 July Star Parties Sat Nov 5. Jul 1-3 - RCA Maupin Dark Sky Star Party, Maupin, OR - EAS member Ron Tam has offered a flexible opportunity to EAS http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/maupin.htm members to come to his home north of Snohomish for observing on Jul 22-23 - MVAS City of Rocks Star Party - Almo ID - clear weekend evenings and for EAS star parties. Anyone wishing to do http://mvastro.org so needs to contact him in advance and confirm available dates, and let Jul 28-30 - Table Mt. Star Party (TMSP), Table Mt, Lion Rock, him know if plans change. “Our place is open for star parties any Ellensburg WA http://www.tmspa.com/ Saturday except weekends of the Full Moon. People can call to get Jul 28-30 - Annual Weekend Under the Stars - Foxpark, WY - weather conditions or to confirm that there is a star party. Our phone http://home.bresnan.net/~curranm/wuts.html number is (360) 568-5152. They can e-mail me too (tam1951 at Jul 29-31 - Trout Lake Star Party Weekend, Trout Lake WA frontier dot net) but I don't check my email daily. They can email me http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/sp_schedule.htm http://www.rca- for directions if they never have been out here.” Call Ron about spur- omsi.org/sp/pix/troutlake.pdf of-the-moment observing. Jul 29-31 - RASCals Island Star Party (ISP), Victoria Fish & Game Assoc - Holker Place, Metchosin Cricket Field, Metchosin BC, CA Please also join the EAS e-mail list, and then send mail to the mail list http://victoria.rasc.ca/events/StarParty/ at [email protected] to coordinate spur-of-the-moment http://www.starfinders.ca/starparty.htm observing get-togethers, on nights when the sky clears. We try to hold Jul 30-Aug 7 - Mt. Kobau Star Party (MKSP), Mt. Kobau, Kelowna- informal close-in star parties each month during the spring, summer, Osoyoos BC http://www.mksp.ca/ and fall months on a weekend near the New moon at a member’s Jul 29-30 - Star-B-Q star party - Eccles Ranch Obs. - Caroline, AB property or a local park. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Eccles+Ranch+Observatory,+near+Carolin e,+Alberta&hl=en http://calgary.rasc.ca Other Western US Star Parties This Season August Star Parties April Star Parties Aug 12 - OMSI-RCA Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party, Rooster Rock State Park & Stub Stewart State Park, OR http://www.rca- Apr 28-May 1 - OAS Camp Delany Star Party, Sun Lakes SP - omsi.org/sp/sp_schedule.htm http://www.olympicastronomicalsociety.org/Documents/Spring%202011%20Camp%2 Aug 24-28 - Mount Bachelor Star Party @ Sunriver - Sunriver Nature 0Delany%20Registration%20Form.pdf http://www.olympicastronomicalsociety.org Center and Observatory, Sunriver, OR http://www.mbsp.org/ May Star Parties Aug 26-28 - Idaho Star Party - Bruneau Dunes State Park, Eagle Cove May 6-7– EAS Astronomy Day Star Party – Harborview Park Campground - Mountain Home ID - http://www.boiseastro.org/ May 21 - RCA Prineville Reservoir Star Party, Prineville, OR - Aug 27-Sep 3 - Merritt Star Quest star party- Loon Lake Road - Merritt, http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/sp_schedule.htm BC - http://www.merrittastronomical.com/ http://www.prinevillereservoirstarparty.org/index.html Aug 27- RCA White River Canyon star party, Mt. Hood OR. - May 25-30 - Annual RTMC Astronomy Expo, Riverside, CA - http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/whiteriver.htm http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/ Aug 31-Sep 4 - Oregon Star Party (OSP), Ochocco NF May 27-29 - RCA Maupin Dark Sky Star Party, Maupin, OR - http://www.oregonstarparty.org/ http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/maupin.htm Aug Labor Day – (tentative) SAS Brooks Memorial Park Star Party, May 27–28 - Cathedral Gorge Spring Fling - Cathedral Gorge SP - SR 97 near Goldendale - http://www.seattleastro.org/events.shtml http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Cathedral%20Gorge%20State%20Park May 29-Jun 5 - Texas Star Party (TSP) - Prude Ranch, Fort Davis, TX - September Star Parties http://www.texasstarparty.org/ Sep 23-25 - RCA Dark Sky Camp Weekend, Camp Hancock, OR - http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/sp_schedule.htm June Star Parties Sep 23-24 - LVAS Annual Cathedral Gorge Star Party & Campout - Jun 2-5 - *NEW* Mount Bachelor Star Party @ Brothers - 40 miles Cathedral Gorge State Park - Panaca, NV - East of Bend, OR - N-43 d 47.900 W-120 38.864 - http://www.lvastronomy.org/ http://www.mbsp.org/ http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Cathedral%20Gorge%20State%20Park Jun 3-4 - Farewell Bend Public Star Party, Farewell Bend State Park, Sep 24-25 - Alberta Star Party, Starland Recreation Area Campground Huntington OR - http://www.boiseastro.org near Drumheller, Alberta, CA Jun 2-4 Craters of the Moon Star Party, Craters of the Moon Nat. http://www.astronomycalgary.com/events/info/155 Monument, ID - http://www.boiseastro.org/ Contact http://mvastro.org http://calgary.rasc.ca/asp2011.htm http://ifastro.org/pdf/IFAS_2010_Star_Parties.pdf Sep 24-Oct 2 - Okie-Tex Star Party - Camp Billy Joe, Black Mesa OK - Jun 18-25 Grand Canyon Star Party (GCSP), On North & South Rim, http://www.okie-tex.com/ Flagstaff AZ - http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/gcsp.html Sep 28-Oct 1 - Enchanted Skies Star Party - Socorro, NM - Jun 24-26 - RCA Maupin Dark Sky Star Party, Maupin, OR - http://enchantedskies.org/ http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/maupin.htm Sep 30-Oct 2 - RCA Maupin Dark Sky Star Party, Maupin, OR - Jun 29-Jul 3 - The Rocky Mountain Star Stare (RMSS), Gardner- http://www.rca-omsi.org/sp/maupin.htm Westcliffe, CA http://www.rmss.org/ Sep 30-Oct 1- EAS Fall Astronomy Day Star Party - Harborview Park Jun 29-Jul 3 2011 - Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, Bryce Canyon Sep 29-Oct 1 - Orion Star Party, Table Mt.