Vol. 29 Number 6 March 2000 http://physics.weber.edu/oas/oas.html
THE MARCH MEETING
The regular monthly meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society will convene at 7:30 p.m. in the Ott Planetarium on the Weber State University campus this Thursday March 9, 2000.
This month, Dr. John Sohl has an interesting group event planned that promises to be challenging and educational. OAS members and visitors will find this a interesting twist on astronomy.
Deloy Pierce will update the members on the upcoming ALCON conference.
THE PRESIDENT'S PARSEC
[Web editor's note: click on the images for a larger view.]
Greeting Earthlings;
There are two events to report on this month. One past and one future. First the past event:
On February 19, the first ever Northern Utah Astronomical Swap Meet
(NUASM) to be held indoors, was canceled. The reason being, it turned out to be such a
fine day the venue was moved out doors to the parking lot. Some estimates had the number
of participants at 40 or 50. If I include the Pierces with us, we had a dozen representing
OAS with SLAS members and other AAers from the area comprising the rest. One gentleman
came up from Cedar City for the event.
There were 8 or 9 tables set up with a wide variety of scopes, eyepieces, and sorted parts for sale. I would give Jim Seargeant the award for " best deals". Chuck Hards, amateur from Salt Lake had the largest assortment of goodies on one table.
I must confess your Prez was in silent distress that day. Lately a few
financial black holes have expanded their event horizons into my monetary accretion disk.
I was relegated to agonizing envy as others less deserving snatched up several bargains as
I gaped on helplessly . I did however blow the dust off my emergency five dollar bill I
keep hidden in my shoe and buy this beat up long metal tube "thing" with some
glass in one end that Jim Seargent was selling. He didn't know what it was either although
we both agreed it might be extra-terrestrial in origin. I ran some photons through it the
other night hoping by some magic it would show only Gamma Ray Burst sources, but it turned
out to be only a decent 35 to 40 mm eyepiece with a pretty good field of view.
This was no RTMC swap meet but it was a lively affair and provided a
good foundation on which to construct the next one. I'm thinking October would be a good
month for the next one. Some have suggested an all day affair with a Barbeque and public
visibility. We'll see what shakes out as the time approaches.
Now on to the future event which is of course the Messier Marathon to be held Sat. April 1st west of Brigham City. Two members of Thiokol's astro club are hosting the event for us and they guarantee dark skies and low horizons. [Web editor's note: click on the link above to get a set of maps to the location of the Messier Marathon.]
I liked Deloy's suggestion at the last meeting about having a breakfast at midnight as sort of a change of pace and wake-up time. So we will plan that aspect of the night with those coming as the time gets closer ( I can see Steve Richer digging for a chili recipe now). The official title of this interlude will be Messier Marathon Midnight Mulches.
Those planning to attend please contact me so I can compile a list of your names and keep everyone up-dated and plan the logistics of parking, set up and cooking to some extent.
The Prez
ANOTHER SWAP MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
A swap meet of interest to astronomers is the Print Society's annual Photo
Garage Sale. It is held this year Saturday, March 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the
Senior Activity Center, 237 South 1000 East. Admission is $2.50. It is a good place to
pick up tripods, accessory lenses for your old 35mm SLR camera or other camera do-dads. Do
you need a mechanical shuttered camera for those long timed exposures? They have tables
full. For additional information contact Karen and Deloy Pierce at 451-8215 or e-mail to:
starpartiesrus@utah-inter.net
STAR PARTY SCHEDULE FOR 2000
It has been long in coming but the projected star party schedule for this year is finally available. Ground rules for attendees will be the same as in years past; Leave it as you found it. All Antelope Island events will be on a Saturday and will be held, as before, at White Rock Bay. Dates and times are:
Messier Marathon, April 1, in Penrose, UT
Antelope Island, April 8, 4 day moon
Antelope Island, May 6, 2 day moon
Antelope Island, June 10, Mercury Visible
East Canyon State Park, June 24, No moon
Antelope Island, July 8, 1st Quarter Moon
Monte Cristo overnight, July 28 weekend
Antelope Island, August 5, 5 day moon
Monte Cristo overnight, August 25 weekend
Antelope Island, September 9, 4 day moon
Antelope Island, October 21, Jupiter/Saturn
MINUTES
OGDEN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
February 10, 2000
The regular monthly meeting of the Ogden Astronomical Society was called to order by president Ron Vanderhule at 7:30 p.m. in the WSU Ott Planetarium.
On February 19, the first Northern Utah Astronomical Swap Meet will be held. Everyone is invited. The place will be one of SLAS president Kim Hyatt's commercial buildings in Bountiful, Utah. Time will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A Messier Marathon has been scheduled for Saturday April 1, 2000. The next Star Diagonal will have location maps and details.
Wayne Sumner described an interesting new astro web site. He explained how to access it. [Web editor's note, you can access it from the link at the bottom of the OAS home page. You can also access it here: The Utah Astronomy E-mail List Server.]
John Sohl is planning another "Grand Opening" event for the WSU Observatory tomorrow night. He announced that the Sky Wizard has been attached to the new 25 inch telescope.
John also described his efforts, which proved fruitful, in obtaining a county lighting ordinance. Thanks went to other local astronomers who participated in this effort. John spoke about Weber State's observatory property at Powder Mountain and proposed a club star party be held there sometime this year.
The evening's main speaker was introduced. Professor Jim Keener, professor of mathematics at the U of U will discuss "Evidence for Design in the Universe."
Following a rousing presentation and discussion, the meeting adjourned into individual rap groups at 9:45 p.m.
Bob Tillotson, Sec.
A BOOK REVIEW
by Jim Seargeant
Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel
When I asked about Galileo's Daughter at the Weber County Library, I was
placed fifth on a waiting list. When I returned it, (late, I'm ashamed to say, so that I
could write this report) the waiting list had grown to ten. And with good reason; author
Dava Sobel has given us a remarkable book.
This book follows many threads. The central one is the correspondence between Galileo and
his daughter, Suor (Sister) Maria Celeste, as told from her point of view. He kept her
letters; his letters to her have not survived. The second thread is the life and work of
Galileo himself, from his early career as professor of mathematics in Pisa through his
death as both scholar honored throughout Europe and prisoner in his own house,
"vehemently suspected of heresy". The third is an account of Italy in the late
16th and early 17th centuries, including both the troubles of daily
life and the tensions between the city-states such as Galileo's Florence and the only real
central authority, the Pope.
Galileo's Daughter uses her letters to him as a central backbone, and they
greatly humanize the great scientist by showing the enduring love between father and
daughter and of Galileo's involvement with his family. Although they represent only one
side of the dialogue, Sour Maria Celeste's letters reflect a lively and continuous
correspondence that ranges from the difficulties of life in a poor convent to her concern
with Galileo's conflicts with Pope Urban VIII. I found the postscripts to be delightful as
the daughter gently chided the absent minded professor; "The little basket, which I
sent to you recently with several pastries, is not mine, and therefore I wish you to
return it to me."
Dava Sobel supports the structure provided by these letters with an account of Galileo's
life and work that is based on extensive research into both historical and contemporary
material. A heavily researched work is often a dry read, but Dava Sobel's style is fluid
and elegant. The book touches on many aspects of Galileo's work besides his discovery of
the moons of Jupiter and his defense of the Copernican theory of planetary motion. Galileo's
Daughter shows that he investigated buoyancy, the pendulum, hydraulics, motion, sound
and music, and many other phenomena. He was a mathematician, astronomer, physicist,
engineer, consummate logician and author, and savage debater. Einstein called him the
father of modern science; Galileo based his work on observation, experiment, and
mathematics, rather than the Aristotlean approach of relying on pure logic, and proved his
approach to be superior. Indeed, his powers of observation were remarkable; Galileo
discovered the librations of the Moon when he was almost blind.
Very much of what it was like to live in the Italy of that time is revealed by the
correspondence between Galileo and Sour Maria Celeste and the author's account. The book
describes Galileo's role as his extended family's most prominent member; securing sources
of income was a constant concern. It's difficult for us to appreciate how ideas were
spread before our present age of telecommunications, but Galileo's Daughter
reveals an extensive correspondence by letter between Galileo and many of the scientists
and mathematicians throughout Europe. Galileo's stature would have been much diminished
had he not been such a supremely skilled writer. Despite his constant illnesses, Galileo
lived to the venerable age of 78, but the plague, malaria, dysentery, and other diseases
were constant threats. Galileo's days included all of the mechanics of simply living; he
tended his own vineyard and made his own wine, grew his own lettuce and beans, and
contended with a burro that would obey none but his master.
Galileo's Daughter is a wonderful, engaging book about a remarkable person, or
rather two remarkable people. And it ends with a beautiful surprise.
Jim
THOUGHTS ON LAST MONTH'S
SWAP MEET (NUASW)
Karen and Deloy Pierce solicited comment from astronomers who attended the Swap Meet in
February. The following insights were received:
Was it worth while? EVERYONE REPLIED --- Yes
Did you Buy/Sell any items? Varied, some came just to look but enjoyed. Prices were very
good on the items for sell.
Would you like to see this continue? EVERYONE REPLIED --- Yes
What didn't you like about it? More Notice was the biggest complaint. Attendance was good
with such short notice. This activity went from a suggestion in passing to the final event
in just a month's time.
How can we make it better if it is done again?
A. Invite Al Nagler to bring cut-rate 2" lenses and other items.
B. Several mentioned rotating the site to make it fair for all whowants to attend.
It was nice to renew old acquaintances, and put faces to the names of all the people who
showed up.
It was a beautiful day, great location, great people. Since I sold most of what I brought.
I'm not even going to complain about crowd size. (I'd say the crowd numbered about 40-50
at it's peak, with maybe another 30 drifting through during the event) There was a good
mixture of OAS, SLAS, and Utah Valley Astronomers.
Would have liked more time to talk with all the wonderful people who came to my table. I
can see that there is still a passionate group of telescope makers and astronomers here,
and three hours wasn't enough time to talk shop with everyone. I'm sure that I will be
seeing more of you in the near future.
Were this to turn into a yearly thing, I would suggest that it be combined into a telescope-makers workshop, or exhibition, with a sun or star party thrown in, and maybe a barbeque.
*************
I think it was especially nice that the swap meet was not associated with
any particular club, but anyone was welcomed and new faces were seen. It would be our
suggestion that the swap meet be supported by all clubs, but not taking over the future
swap meets.
Deloy and Karen
Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC)
The 32nd annual Riverside Telescope Makers Conference will be held May 26th thru May 29th (Memorial Day Weekend). It is held at Camp Oakes, a YMCA camp near Big Bear Lake, California. The conference is a combination of speakers, commercial vendors, a swap meet, and all-night star parties. There are often several scopes in the 30 inch to 40 inch range to look at during the day and look through at night.
As indicated by its title, the emphasis is on Telescope Making. Talented telescope builders bring their latest efforts to show to attendees. About a half dozen of the best efforts are awarded Merit Awards. A special award is also given for the best scope built with found, surplus or otherwise inexpensive materials.
There are between 50 and 70 vendors offering: new and used telescopes, new and used equipment, software, tee shirts, books, prints and slides and lots of other do-dads. Both Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines are there. Celestron, Meade, Lumicon, Televue, Pocono Optics, and Orion are just a few of the other big names you will find.
Saturday morning starts the Swap Meet which tapers off through the day but sometimes continues again the next day. Any one can sell or buy at the Swap Meet and lots of great bargains are available. Bring lots of cash!
You can stay in the dorms, camp in your own tent or one of the shelters (all sites are available First-Come, First-Serve) at Camp Oakes, or stay in town at a motel. You bring your own food or pay for the meal plan which includes 3 meals a day. Eating in the dining hall is a great opportunity to shmooze with astronomers from every part of the country exchanging ideas about telescopes and clubs. Attendance varies from 800 to 2300 (day passes are available for walk-ins) depending on the weather and the moon phase. Most years it is warm to hot in the day time. You need sun screen, a hat, and sun glasses. The 7600 feet elevation can turn cold at night and about once in a while it snows. Bring some warm clothing and extra bedding. Be prepared for any type of weather.
Saturday and Sunday nights have drawings for dozens of door prizes including some worth thousands of dollars. People must be present to win. Well worth staying for.
In the past several years there have been 30 to 40 Northern Utahns attend RTMC. Registration Forms for RTMC will be available at the meetings for the next few months. Discount prices are available if registering before May 1st.
We hope to see new OAS faces at RTMC this year and hope you will enjoy attending this
annual event.
Karen and Deloy
Jim Seargeant's - Images
NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula
Several astronomers - both professional and amateur - have been tracking the variations in NGC2261's nebula. Distinct changes can be seen in a series of images taken over just a three month period. This one is my first and was taken on 25 Feb this year. If the clouds will just part occasionally, I'll try to take more over the next several months.
Frank Loch, at: http://home.early.com/~floch/lnai20.htm
has an excellent page on his web site that includes several animated sequences of shots
and this description.
"Hubble's variable nebula is named (like the Hubble telescope itself) after the
American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, who carried out some of the early studies of this
object. It is a fan-shaped cloud of gas and dust which is illuminated by R Monocerotis ®
Mon), the bright star at the bottom end of the nebula. Dense condensations of dust near
the star cast shadows out into the nebula, and as they move the illumination changes,
giving rise to the variations first noted by Hubble. The star itself, lying about 2,500
light-years from Earth, cannot be seen directly, but only through light scattered off of
dust particles in the surrounding nebula. R Mon is believed to have a mass of about 10
times that of the Sun, and to have an age of only 300,000 years. There is probably a
symmetrical counterpart of the fan-shaped nebula on the southern side of the star, but it
is heavily obscured from view by dust lying between this lobe and our line of sight."
The image shown here was taken with my usual setup, a 12" Meade LX200 operating at
f/10 and SBIG's ST-7 CCD camera mounted on their AO-7 adaptive optics system. I combined
four, 10 minute shots in an attempt to improve the signal-to-noise ratio; unfortunately, a
high cloud layer made it hard to get really clean images. Also, I'm still learning how to
process the images so that the details in the bright part of the nebulosity are brought
out.
Jim Seargeant