Vol. 29 Number 5 February 2000 http://physics.weber.edu/oas/oas.html

THE FEBRUARY MEETING

The regular monthly meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society will convene in the Ott Planetarium on the Weber State University campus at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday February 10, 2000. A special guest speaker is scheduled to address members and visitors. See "The President's Parsec below, for details.

THE PRESIDENT'S PARSEC Greetings Earthlings:

This month's meeting should be a mind expanding diversion from the typical astro-fare we have had lately. This Thursday we will be privileged to have Jim Keener, Professor of Mathematics at U of U as our guest speaker.

Professor Keener's topic "Evidence for Design in the Universe", should provide a stimulating evening. Any of us who have followed the controversy of a designed, purposeful universe vs the accidental "form from chaos" mode, should be there.

This is a debate that refuses to go away. Interestingly enough, both sides are using scientific evidence to buttress their arguments. This is the result of advancements in technology that provide us with a view of our universe and world that reveals increasing complexity and order which some interpret as "design and purpose". Others see it merely as "the illusion of design" .

Professor Keener's lecture is not at all religious in context. He sums it up this way:

"Ever since Paley's suggestion that a watch found on the beach implicates a watchmaker, the debate has raged over whether or not there is evidence of design in the universe. Recently this debate has taken a new turn with the work of philosopher/mathematician William Dembski and biochemist Michael Behe and biologist Michael Denton.

Dembski's main claim is that there is a systematic way in which one can infer design, and that this system ( he calls it a decision filter ) can be applied to a wide variety of objects, including the physical and biological world in which we live.

In this talk I will summarize the arguments of Dembski and then examine the outcome of these arguments when applied to the universe and to the existence of life on our planet." So there you go. Anyone in the club that can't get motivated intellectually to attend this meeting will have their membership up for review and star party privileges revoked for the summer. I will be handing out thinking caps at the door for those who don't have one (Doug, what size do you wear?).

I would encourage you to check out Professor Keener's website <www.math.utah.edu/~keener/> to get a better impression of his ability to present his topic. See ya there.

The Prez

ASTRO SWAP MEET

PLANNED IN FEBRUARY

The first ever Northern Utah Astronomical Swap Meet will be held Saturday February 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bountiful. Kim Hyatt, president of SLAS, has generously offered the use of one of the vacant office spaces in his building for the event. Adequate notice will be given to the other clubs in the area and several non-club types will also be notified. This event should be well attended.

Sellers might want to bring a small table if they have many items for sale. This is for astronomy related merchandise only. The address in Bountiful is 845 South Main (about ½ mile north of five points intersection) Kim requests that we park in the rear of the building or to the north so as not to disturb any tenants working that day.

WSU OBSERVATORY GRAND OPENING GREAT, EVEN IF CLOUDY

On January 20, 2000 Dr. John Sohl opened the new Weber State University observatory to the public. In spite of cloudy weather which blocked the lunar eclipse and the occultations of Jupiter's satellites, about 70 people showed up to see the new facility and see some really big telescopes. About a half dozen OAS members assisted Dr. Sohl by bringing their own telescopes and describing the observatory and the heavens to the visitors. As OAS Vice Prez. Dave Dunn puts it:

"The star party at the Observatory was a lot of fun. There were around 70 people that came to see the stars. We had a lot of clouds but we were able to show some good views of Saturn and Jupiter. We had a few teenaged boys come through. I always like the comments that they have when they see Saturn, 'That can't be real, You must have a picture in there.' We met some of the donors that have supported the Observatory and had donated some of the Telescopes. When the time came for the eclipse the clouds thinned out some and we were able to see the moon disappear. The last I saw of it was a thin amount of light that was not a direct reflection. The clouds then got thick again and everybody left for home.

Two more opening events are planned this week. February 9 and 11 have been planned by Dr. Sohl and one of these should produce clear skies. Members should attend.

[Web editor's note: A more accurate count of the attendance would be about 150 to 180 people! - JES.]

MINUTES

OGDEN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

January 13, 2000

The January meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by president Ron Vanderhule in the WSU Ott Planetarium. Dr. Sohl entered bearing two large trays of select cookies for the crowd to enjoy.

Ron spoke of a proposed Astro Swap Meet perhaps to be held on February 19; the location remains to be selected.

A Messier Marathon will be scheduled for the early part of April, 2000. The Golden Spike National Monument has been suggested for a site. The skies are dark and there is plenty of room for the equipment.

The 2000 star party schedule has been laid out and has been posted on the OAS web site. We are still waiting, however, for confirmation approval from the ranger at Antelope Island.

OAS club shirts are available. As soon as these remaining articles are sold, a new order for sweats, T's and caps will be placed.

The diamond grinding compound which has been made available to members and friends by Wayne Sumner and our Prez. is available. The different types of compound available were described.

On January 20, a total lunar eclipse will be visible, weather permitting. This will coincide with the Grand Opening of the WSU Observatory planned by Dr. Sohl. John then described the upcoming event. Members are encouraged to bring their equipment.

The group was then directed out of the planetarium and over to the observatory. Members were treated to the site of the new 25 inch Dobsonian and the many other telescopes that are a part of the new observatory.

The meeting gradually disbursed around 9:00 p.m.

Bob Tillotson, Secretary

Jim Seargeant's - Images

M1

M1, the first in the series of Monsieur Messier's objects and also known as the Crab Nebula or NGC1952, is located between the horns of the Bull, the constellation Taurus. M1 is the remains of a supernova that was seen and recorded by early astronomers on 4 July 1054. The explosion of the massive star, 4,000 light years away, was so bright that it was visible in the daytime for months. Besides the nebulosity you see here, a pulsar remains, rotating many times a second.

This picture was taken 28 Jan 00, just about the first night I've seen the clear sky so far this year. M1 has been the subject of efforts among several amateur CCD astronomers to show the difference between cameras and pixel sizes when imaging deep sky objects. Since I'm using an SBIG ST-7, I was able to use three pixel sizes - 9, 18, and 27 microns. This is the result of combining 4, 600 second images taken at high resolution - 9 microns. Now that I've finally got my shots, I'll compare them with other's.

This image was taken using a f/6.3 reducer-corrector on my 12" Meade LX-200, giving a focal length of 75.6 inches. This focal length, compared to the normal 120 inches of the Meade at f/10, enlarges the field of view of both the imaging and tracking chips of the ST-7. The larger view of the imaging chip captured the full extent of the nebulosity. The larger view of the tracking chip let it see a mag 9.69 star just north of M1 and permitted a tracking rate of almost 15 Hz. At that rate, the AO-7 does a fine job of delivering tight, round stars with a FWHM of about 2.5.

Jim Seargeant