OAS Executive Committee 

President- Dave Dunn Ph. (801) 544-7705

Vice Pres- Lee Priest, Ph. (801) 479-5803

Secretary- Bob Tillotson, Ph. (801) 773-8106

Treasurer- Doug Say, Ph. (801) 731-7324

THE APRIL MEETING

The regular monthly meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society will be held this coming Thursday April 11, 2002 in the Ott Planetarium on the Weber State University campus.

The meeting this month is on Newtonian Optics. Brent Watson will show us a program that he developed to aid in designing mirrors for a telescope. We will also have some mirror testing equipment to demonstrate. You will be able to see how good the curve is on some of the mirrors that OAS members have been working on. Everyone is welcome to bring a mirror if you are working on one or you can test your existing telescope mirror. Don't remove the mirror from your telescope. There are much better ways to test one that is already mounted.

APRIL STAR PARTIES

There are a number of upcoming star party events scheduled for April. They are: 

1) The first Antelope Island Star party at White Rock Bay is scheduled for Saturday April 13. The routine is the same as in years past. Feel free to arrive early and get in some solar observations.

2) A school star party for the Sixth-Graders at Roy Elementary School is scheduled for the evening of Friday April 19. Roy Elementary is located at 2888 West 5600 South in Roy. The students will be participating in a astronomy work shop at 6:30 p.m. and the star party will follow at dusk.

3) On May 2, 2002, the OAS is hosting a star party at Adams Elementary school in Layton. The address is 2200 East and 2500 North. Please have you 'scopes set up by dusk.

4) [Added by web editor, JES.] National Astronomy Day is Saturday, April 20th. We are doing a star party at the Ogden Nature Center at 966 W. 12th St. right next to the IRS building. Sunset is at 8:13 pm and we'd like to start the slide show ASAP. Please have your scopes setup and ready by 8:00 at the latest. Tell the person at the kiosk that you are with OAS and ask them where you should drive to.

DEAD HORSE POINT MESSIER MARATHON WAS A BLAST

The first annual Spring Star Party was held March 15 - 16 at Dead Horse Point State Park. This location was beautiful. The sky was real dark. The only real problem with the party was the forecast of Mostly Cloudy and the cold breeze (on Saturday night). We had great viewing for several hours the first night. We got a great view of Comet Ikeya-Zhang. With the dark sky we could see the tail for almost 10 degrees. Because the weather was predicted to be cloudy, I decided to abandon the Messier Marathon and looked for the objects that were high in the sky so that I could enjoy the view with the dark sky. M1 was real bright. I saw a lot of galaxies in Leo and Ursa Major. The weather predictions came true about the time that Virgo came up to where you could see the galaxies there. On the second night there was a light breeze. It was real cold. We spent some time viewing. I was able to pick up several objects (M34, 76, and 33) that I hadn't seen on previous marathons. The breeze got stronger so we went to bed before the clouds came in.

This was also a fun trip for our family. We went to Arches and took several of the hikes. The kids really enjoyed that. The sky at Dead Horse Point was real dark. We are planning to go down again next year for a spring star party. I think we will do it during April and maybe the weather will be a little warmer and more predictable.

Dave Dunn

ALCON 2002

The following News Release about the upcoming Astronomical League's ALCON 2002 has been provided to the Star Diagonal by the ALCON Chairman, Lowell Lyon. Lowell is encouraging OAS members to "sign up" for this rare and exciting opportunity.

* * *

April 1, 2002

News Release

The Astronomical League was organized on November 15, 1946 under the leadership of Dr. Harlow Shapley. At present, the Astronomical League is a federation of over 280 astronomical societies throughout the United States and several foreign countries. It is the largest general astronomical organization in the world.

National Conventions, called ALCons (Astronomical League CONventions) take place yearly in various locations throughout the country over a four-day period starting on Wednesday and ending with an awards banquet on Saturday. There are lectures/presentations scheduled mornings and afternoons each day, besides workshops, astronomy related tours of nearby facilities and a vendor area. The conventions provide a unique opportunity for professional astronomers to intermingle with knowledgeable amateurs. It also allows the amateur to learn about the latest discoveries in astronomy, physics and space science directly from the astronomers and other scientists doing the research. These conventions provide a unique opportunity for amateur and professional astronomers to gather together, learn from each other and exchange ideas.

ALCON 2002 will be held on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wednesday, July 31st through Saturday, August 3rd 2002. In addition to our guest presenters/lecturers, this convention will include workshops on CCD Imaging, The Fine Art of Observing, Professional-Amateur coordination, and Telescope Technology. Field trips will include Evans and Sutherland, developers of digital planetarium technology, along with other destinations of interest to conference attendees. Well-known vendors will also be on hand to display their products.

The public is invited to visit the vendor displays the full length of the convention. Vendor representatives and other astronomy enthusiasts will speak on topics including how to buy and use a telescope.

Lowell Lyon, Chairman ­ ALCON 2002 Planning Committee

Lowell's email: bolide@sisna.com

Event website: www.alcon2002.org

National Convention of the Astronomical League, July 31 ­ August 3, 2002, University of Utah ALCON 2002, P.O. Box 9574, Salt Lake City, UT 84109-9574 www.alcon2002.org

DON'T FORGET THE ARCHEO-ASTRONOMY FIELD TRIP IN APRIL

For those interested in the Parowan Gap field trip scheduled for the weekend of April 5 through 7, 2002,

be sure to contact Karen and Deloy Pierce by e-mail at starpartiesrus@utah-inter.net or call (801) 451-8215.. The group leader is researcher Nowell Morris who has studied the local petroglyphs for many years.

MINUTES

OGDEN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

March 14, 2002

The monthly meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society was called to order by club president David Dunn at 7:30 p.m. in the Ott Planetarium.

Upcoming star parties for the new year were discussed. The first scheduled event is this weekend at Dead Horse Point at Canyonlands in Southern Utah. Dave has arranged a camping area and a Messier Marathon will be attempted - weather permitting. Two elementary school star parties are scheduled in the next few weeks: the first is at Roy Elementary on April 19^th and the second is at Adams Elementary in Layton on May 2^nd.

Deloy and Karen Pierce described the upcoming Parowan Gap Astro-Astronomy field trip. Contact them directly for further details.

The ALCON 2002 conference is scheduled for this summer. Lowell Lyon is this year's conference Chairman. OAS members were encouraged to sigh up for the event.

Following the business discussion, Dr. John Sohl was introduced for the evenings main topic, "A Critical Analysis of Astrology." John discussed the why's and wherefores of the pseudoscience of Astrology.

The meeting adjourned to the usual rap-session at 9:55 p.m.

Bob Tillotson, Secretary