Vol. 28 No. 5 February 1999 http://physics.weber.edu/oas/oas.html
THE FEBRUARY MEETING
The regular meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society will be held on Thursday February 11, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ott Planetarium on the Weber State University campus.
The agenda includes a brief business portion in which a reconsideration of last month's vote on the Astronomical League will be entertained, (see member's comments in this issue).
Following all club business, the members will be treated to a free showing of the latest planetarium program which just opened to the public in January. The new program is titled, "Mars: Return To The Red Planet". Originally produced by the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, this program allows the audience to travel through space and time to Mars, the mysterious planet whose eerie red glow and puzzling motion has captivated the human imagination for centuries. With Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker of Star Wars fame) as your guide, OAS members will examine the past, present, and future of planet Mars.
You won't want to miss this one.
STAR PARTIES FOR 1999
The following dates have been selected for the Antelope
Island and Monte Cristo events this year.
[Web editors note: These star parties and more about what objects may be visible are also
posted on the OAS home page.]
ANTELOPE ISLAND
at White Rock Bay
Saturday April 17, 24 Hr. Moon
Saturday May 22, 1st Qr. Moon
Saturday June 19, 1st Qr. Moon
Saturday July 10, Waning Moon
Saturday August 21, 48 Hr's. past 1st Qr.
Saturday September 11, 48 Hr. Moon
Saturday October 9, New Moon
MONTE CRISTO
Weekend of July 16, 1999
Weekend of August 13, 1999
THE PRESIDENT'S PARSEC
Greetings earthlings! Just a few rambling thoughts and ideas from your consideration, this time around. First, I'm hoping for an early spring. I would like to spend a night with a bunch of OAS members and do a Messier marathon. The best date this year is Friday March 19th and Saturday the 20th , 2 days after the new moon. Sometimes we have decent weather that time of year (sometimes not). Monte Cristo and the Uintahs are out of the picture that early in the year. Maybe Antelope Island, who knows? Anyone interested and with ideas of possible locations, get a hold of me so it can be announced in the February newsletter.
A couple of local guys appeared in two astronomy publications this month. Former OAS member, Steve Dodds was profiled in the Amateur Astronomy. Steve owns and operates Nova Optical Systems in Cornish, Utah. Also, in Sky and Telescope this month, Chuck Hards from West Valley City was featured. The article was about Chuck's telescope making project and gave details on making a really fine looking Dobsonian. I actually bought a used focuser from Chuck last year.
Here is a novel project some of you might be interested in: Timothy Ferris, well known science writer, is writing a book about amateur astronomers, and what inspires them in their pursuit. He is soliciting testimonials from the average A. A. to incorporate into the book. His letter in regards to this project appears elsewhere in this newsletter. So there you go, a chance to be famous like Steve and Chuck. Imagine ripples radiating thru the astronomical community and northern Utah is the epicenter.
The rest will be history.
The Prez
A LETTER FROM TIMOTHY FERRIS
I am writing a book about amateur astronomy titled "Seeing in the Dark." It's neither a "how to" book nor a guide to the night sky, but an investigation of how and why stargazers devote such time and effort to their pursuit. It has to do with what observing means to them, and how and why they go about it.
In this connection, I would like very much to know more about your own involvement in stargazing For instance, how you became interested in astronomy, and what role observing plays in your thoughts and emotions.
Please feel free to reply at any length. Also, you are invited to pass this note along to other stargazers whom you think might find a place in the book. I am particular interested in learning about amateur astronomers who have devoted unusual amounts of their time and resources to casual observing or to ongoing research projects.
In case you're not aware of my prior work in this field, I have taken the liberty of including a brief biographical sketch.
With all best wishes,
Tim Ferris
(Timothy Ferris is the author of nine books on astronomy, physics, and the history of
science, among them the bestsellers The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s) Report,
Coming of Age in the Milky Way, Galaxies, and The Mind's Sky. He is the author and
narrator of two PBS television specials -- "The Creation of the Universe," which
has been called "the best science documentary ever made," and the upcoming
"Life Beyond Earth", scheduled for release in 1999. [Web editors note: He also
wrote the planetarium show "Galaxies" that was shown in the Ott Planetarium and
produced by the Hansen Planetarium.]
Ferris produced the Voyager phonograph record, an artifact of human civilization
containing music, sounds of Earth and encoded photographs launched aboard the Voyager
interstellar spacecraft, and was among the journalists selected as candidates to fly
aboard the Space Shuttle in 1986. He has received the American Institute of Physics prize,
the American Association for the Advancement of Science prize, and a Guggenheim
Fellowship. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer
Prize.
A former newspaper reporter and editor of Rolling Stone magazine, Ferris is a frequent
contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times, Scientific American, and other
publications.
Professor Ferris has taught in five disciplines at four universities, and is currently emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Timothy Ferris
97 Telegraph Hill Boulevard
San Francisco, California 94133
415 9891189 (voice)
415 9893189 (fax)
EDITORIALS
The OAS is a Dynamic Group
At the February meeting we'll have a chance to reconsider our decision to join the AL. While there was no elation felt by those who voted for it, there was some degree of heat generated on the side that voted against it.
Call me naive but I was surprised. But sometimes I forget that astronomers are people too. And 25 people can have 25 different responses to the same thing.
The OAS has some great dynamics going for it. a good blend of new and established members, experienced and novice observers and we are very active with the public. We don't need any animosity over the club's membership in the A. L. It's the wrong direction to go at this time. The good news is that we can have it both ways. Those of us interested enough can join the A L as a member at large for 80 cents per month. And those not interested simply don't have to contend with it. This is certainly the fairest way to handle this. I would encourage your consideration of this approach.
Ron Vanderhule
Should Astronomical League membership
be forced on all club members?
I have strong personal feelings that this is the wrong approach for OAS. If the only way members could gain membership in the Astronomical League, AND the general feeling of a majority of ALL members was "yes", I could support the move. This isn't the case however. The Astronomical League has a Member-At-Large membership offering that is only $10.00 a year and doesn't require the entire club join to gain the benefits.
I seriously doubt that more than a few members will take advantage of the AL offerings. The AL quarterly newsletter is currently made available to members by Bob Tillotson as they are received. The book prices of 10 percent off is less discount than you can receive through a discount bookstore or from an Internet supplier such as Amazon.Com (20 to 30 percent). The Observing Clubs and the associated award programs will be started by only a few and completed by even fewer. Even Karen and Deloy Pierce who are the AL Coordinators for the SLAS indicated that they haven't completed an observing club activity. I believe that the general membership will receive little if any benefit from a forced AL membership and the few who do desire affiliation can do so as a Member-at-Large.
Will I personally join AL? Probably. I would like to learn more about the Moon and one of the Observing Clubs could possibly contribute to that knowledge. I would not however try to force an entire club to join so I might work on that personal interest area
Cliff Peterson
My 2 cents worth
As to my views on becoming a member of the "League", I don't see what our CLUB has to gain. If I want to be a member I can join as a member-at-large, with out forcing anyone else in our club to join.
I'll receive the newsletter and can do any of their events I chose to do. I feel that joining should be a volunteer basis. A freedom of choice. As I chose to be a member of the O.A.S. my choice is to be a
member-at -large.
Steve Peterson
The Astronomical League; A Matter of Choice?
The Astronomical League (AL) is a very worth while association. Their observing programs, certificates, the "Reflector" quarterly newsletter, the annual meetings, book and magazine discounts, their member support and all the rest is just what many astronomers enjoy. There is really no specific reason the average amateur astronomer shouldn't want to belong. That is why the League's Member-at-Large option is so popular. It allows astronomers to join on an individual basis.
The Ogden Astronomical Society too, has many similar virtues. The star parties, the comradeship between members, our work with the schools, the state and national parks, mirror building and telescope construction, access to B.O.B., monthly meetings, planetarium shows, book and magazine discounts. Most OAS members are doing fine without a structured observing schedule, certificates of accomplishment and more membership ties.
In order for the OAS, proper, to become affiliated with the AL, League rules say All society members are to enroll and pay dues. That means Everyone in the Ogden Astronomical Society signs up. That is their policy, even if many society members have no intention of utilizing the League benefits. The OAS as a "society" gains nothing from joining. There are presently 55 members of the OAS. Of those, it is unlikely that more than fifteen or twenty would enroll in the outlined observing plans. Of those, there would likely be a 50% drop out before the observing curriculum is completed.
What about the other 60% or more of the OAS members that don't care. Should they be REQUIRED to join another association and pay dues even though there is no interest or intention to support the League? It is far more logical for those who wish to join the AL do so individually for a very modest fee, ($10.00), enjoy the advantages and leave the rest of the OAS members to make their own decision.
At the February OAS meeting, the issue of our club's participation in The Astronomical League will again be considered. This will be the final and deciding vote, i.e. to SUSTAIN the vote taken at the January meeting for the OAS to join the League or to RESCIND the vote and allow for individual decisions in League membership. I prefer the individual Member-At-Large option and plan to vote to rescind. I hope every OAS member in good standing comes to cast a vote too.
Bob Tillotson
Membership in the AL
The Astronomical League's observing clubs sound like a lot of fun. I think that they offer a beginner like myself the opportunity to learn more about astronomy.
I see membership in the AL as a benefit to myself, not to all the members of OAS. The AL has a "member-at-large" membership for $10. I feel that there is no reason to force all the members of OAS to join the AL when only a few of us will participate.
Dave Dunn
Is there an alternative?
At the time the vote was taken, I wasn't aware that (apparently) the AL will allow a club to have both AL and non-AL members, as someone said is the case in an Arizona club. IF THIS IS TRUE, then I would reconsider my vote to have the club join the AL. I would, in deference to those who do not wish to be compelled to pay the additional $3 to join the AL, rather vote to create a new membership category that includes membership in the AL for an additional $3. Can we get an authoritative statement from the AL that this is permissible? I do NOT think we should do this on the sly.
Wayne Sumner
AL Feedback
I think that the OAS is the best club in the country because of its size and diversity; 50% attendance at meetings, and about 25% attendance at star parties. I was a member of the San Antonio group which had over 400 members a couple of years ago.
The SA group did some public events, got involved with Earth Day and did a joint star party with Austin group to build an observatory at Pedernales State Park for the Austin group, and got volunteers o help out with a major Astronomical conference in January 1996.
The bottom line is, the SA group with its size was not a visible group in the community. If we lose members due to joining the AL, I don't think it is worth joining. I would like to see more discussion in February's meeting and take a vote in March. This will give the members more time to digest what is said and raise any final issues in March. If OAS should join AL, this will give OAS an opportunity to shine in the astronomical community (After all, what is $3.00/person when each of us has a $1,000 or more vested in our hobby).
I know this sounds like sitting on the fence, but keep the members! This is my input on AL.
Steve Richer
I'm For Choice
I'm OK with joining AL if members have a choice. If no choice e.g. all or none then I'm not in favor of joining.
Dr. Bob Neill
All or Nothing bothers me
I have been pondering the events of the last meeting of OAS and have a suggestion. I propose that the following motion be made at the next meeting:
"The dues for OAS shall be raised from $12 to $15. For those members wishing to join the Astronomical League $3 each shall be sent to the
AL along with the names and addresses of those members. For those member not wishing to join the AL, $3 of their OAS dues shall go into the scope fund."
This motion is consistent with the previous motions and discussions of the club at the January meeting.
I have always attempted to be as low key as possible in the running and operation of the OAS. I am a member, but obviously, I am not a "typical" member. However, I have a hard time keeping quiet on this
issue since it is clearly a divisive issue to several valuable members of the club.
My personal opinion is that I am always bothered by outside organizations telling me what to do. I could understand the situation if AL had a policy like: "To be a Member Club you must have at least
10 (or whatever number) AL members." To make a requirement that you can't join unless 100.0000% of your members all join is troubling to me. I might very well wish to join AL, however, I do not wish to be
forced to join.
AL must have some minimum number to be able to provide a reduced dues structure. The difference between $10 and $3 is substantial to an organization like AL. (Multiply those numbers by 5,000 and take a look at the difference!) Thus, it makes sense for AL to require a minimum number (or percentage) of club members in order to provide a reduced dues level. However, requiring 100% is simply offensive and too much.
So, there is my $0.02 worth.
Dr. John Sohl
For Sale
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Jim Seargeant's - Images
With all the clouds over the last month I haven't been able to improve on my planetary
shots, so I dug into some of my old files to see what my new processing skills would
yield. This is an image of M51 - the Whirlpool Galaxy or NGC 5194, taken on 15 July last
summer at midnight. The smaller companion is NGC 5195.
This image was taken with my 12" Meade operating at f/6.3. The SBIG ST-7 CCD
camera was recording at high resolution with 9x9 micron pixels, where the camera is the
least sensitive. M51 is not very bright at 9.2 magnitude, so it took a 12 minute exposure
to reach pixel values of 30,000; they really should have been in the 50,000 range. The
insufficient exposure and high operating temperature (it was summer, so the camera would
only get down to about -2 deg C) resulted in a fairly noisy image. I've only recently
learned how to process images like this to get any kind of a good picture.
My mount would not normally be able to yield this good an image with a 12 minute
exposure, but once again the SBIG AO-7 adaptive optics unit did it's usual magic. The
seeing wasn't very good - the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) measurement of the stars is
about 3.5 arc seconds - but at least the stars are round.
M51 is located in the northeastern corner of Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs. The way to locate M51, though, is to find the last star in the handle of the Ursa Major - The Big dipper - and look just 3 1/2 degrees to the
Southwest. Visually, it takes more than a 10" telescope to see more than a fuzzy ball. Last summer I saw M51 through a 24" Dob on Elizabeth Ridge and it was magnificent!
Jim
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