Mar 05

March 2009

Categories:

Newsletter

by

The meeting took place on Thursday March 5th at the Beechwood Inn from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

In attendance: Jim Reier, Frank Roldan, Peter Burkey

Old Business Items

1) Treasury Report:
Account balance as of March 5th is $859.71

2) IYA2009 International Year of Astronomy
The board discussed ways to celebrate IYA2009 in the community. The following ideas have been proposed:

  1. Setup telescopes for public viewing of Saturn in the Spring
  2. Coincide public viewing of Saturn with 1st quarter Moon
  3. Work with local movie theatres to allow the club to setup telescopes on opening night of the new Star Trek movie
  4. Work with Ottawa County parks to authorize public viewing sessions. Suggested parks include: Rosey Mound, Kirk Park and Hemlock Park
  5. Work with Outdoor Discovery Center or DeGraaf Nature Center to co-sponsor astronomy workshops using NSN toolkit resources

Frank has volunteered to research dates for these events and will help contact the necessary authorities.

3) Next General Meeting on March 13th

  1. Award ceremony to reward those individuals who participated in five or more NSN events in 2008 with NSN award pins.
  2. Our comet chef, Peter Burkey, will build a comet out of dry ice, ammonia, corn syrup water and dirt.
  3. Training of the latest NSN toolkit titled: “Telescopes: Eyes on the Universe”

4) Astronomy Day on May 2nd/ Tulip Time Fireworks On Friday May 1st
We discussed celebrating Astronomy Day in Holland. May 2nd occurs during Tulip Time. The night of the fireworks display is Friday, May 1st. Peter suggested setting up telescopes near the entrance of Kollen Park. As the crowd leaves, we can provide views of Saturn and other objects.

New Business Items
1) Payment Received
Jim Reier received payment from Park Township for February’s “Tour of the Solar System” program. The check was transferred to the treasury in the amount of $92.00.

“Thanks to our many members who volunteered that night. The program ran flawlessly and public response was well received. – J.Reier

2) Messier Marathon
The Messier Marathon will be held on Friday March 27th and into the morning of March 28th.

3) 2009 Star Party Schedule to Vivekananda
Jim Reier prepared a letter to Vivekananda with the observing schedule for 2009. This letter will accompany our contribution to Vivekananda later in the month.

4) Sky & Telescope Magazine Subscriptions
Reminder to all club members who are renewing or wish to receive S&T magazine at the Astronomy League discount rate. You may renew your subscription online per the renewal notice received in the mail. New members wishing to start a subscription should contact our Treasurer, Peter Burkey.

Jim Reier, president

This post has no tag

Mar 01

March 2009

Categories:

What's Up In The Sky

by

What’s Up in the Sky March, 2009
By Peter Burkey

This month’s news includes a space catastrophe, a visitor to our solar system, and an interesting planetary observation you can try.

You probably heard the recent reports about the collision of two satellites in orbit, the first such event involving an operational spacecraft. On February 11 a U.S. Iridium communications satellite and a Russian Cosmos satellite, each traveling over 15,000 mph at an altitude of about 500 miles, crashed into each other over Siberia. The collision created a huge cloud of debris that poses a real threat to other spacecraft including the International Space Station and the Hubble Space telescope. Although the risk to the ISS is very low since it orbits at a much lower altitude, NASA may have to scrub a planned May repair mission to the higher-flying Hubble. This would probably mean its demise.

On a brighter note is the appearance of Comet Lulin which can be seen between the constellations Leo and Gemini in early March. You will need binoculars or a small telescope and a chart to show you just where to look. I recommend trying on March 6 when the comet will be right below the star cluster M44. For more information check online at skyandtelescope.com.

Finally this month you have an opportunity to make a rare observation of the planet Venus twice on the same day. Viewing the planet at dusk all month will make it easier to find by the last week when it will be close to the sun. The key is to find it near the eastern horizon just prior to sunrise. Start looking around 6:15 a.m. on the 23rd or 24th just to the left of where the sun will rise. Use binoculars as the sky will be bright. Once you spot it, look again that evening at sunset. With a little luck and clear skies you will have observed something few can claim to have seen.

This month in history:
March 2: Cometary probe Rosetta is launched – 2006
March 6: Vega 1 makes fly-by of Comet Halley – 1986
March 10: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars – 2006
March 17: First solar-powered satellite, Vanguard 1, is launched – 1958
March 18: Soviet rocket explosion at launch pad kills 48 workers – 1980
March 23: Wernher von Braun born – 1912
March 25: Comet Hyakutake passes closest to Earth – 1996
March 28: Asteroid Pallas discovered by Heinrich Olbers – 1802

Here are this month’s viewing highlights:

Planets this month: Venus continues to dominate western sky at dusk setting three hours after the Sun on March 1. Binoculars reveal its crescent as it follows the sun toward the horizon each night, setting less than 10 min. after the Sun by the 27th. Saturn lies below the constellation Leo in the southeast all night. Jupiter and Mars are low in the southeast before dawn.

March 4: First quarter Moon
March 10: Full Moon.
March 18: Last quarter Moon.
March 20: Spring begins at 7:44 a.m. when the Sun reaches vernal equinox.
March 22-3: Look for Jupiter and crescent Moon low in SE 40 min. before sunrise.
March 26: New Moon.

This post has no tag

Feb 05

February 2009

Categories:

Newsletter

by

We met on Monday February 5th at the 84 East Pasta. The meeting lasted from 5:30 p.m. until approximately 7:15 p.m.

In attendance: Jim Reier, Frank Roldan, Peter Burkey, George Miller

Old Business Items
1. The Jan. 30th preparation training for the Black River Science Olympiad went very well. This will be logged as our first Night Sky Event of 2009.

2. Planetarium maintenance-
A Wi-Fi data network has been added to the room, and works very well.
A dimmer switch has been installed to control the room lights.
The School will provide new stackable chairs, to replace the aging folding chairs.
*The Planetarium projector still has problems with several features.

3. Treasury report- Current account balance is $809.71

New Business Items

1. Recent but inactive SAAA members will be invited to the Feb. 13th Park Township program, with a reminder to renew their dues for 2009.

The Park Twp class will be split into two groups, which will rotate between:
-Planetarium: “Tour of the Solar System”
-Classroom: Pocket Solar System project and a PowerPoint slide show by Larry Logsdon.

2. Peter inquired about obtaining dry ice, to build a model comet for public demonstrations.

3. George obtained a batch of SAAA brochures, and dropped them off at the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce. Additional brochures may be left at the Visitor and Convention Bureau.

4. SAAA Star Party is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Feb.27th at Vivekananda Monastery.

5. The March 13th SAAA meeting will explore the latest Night Sky Network program.

George Miller- Secretary

This post has no tag

Feb 01

February 2009

Categories:

What's Up In The Sky

by

What’s Up in the Sky February, 2009
By Peter Burkey

Four hundred years ago Galileo first pointed his telescope toward the sky revealing sights never before seen by humans and launching the scientific revolution. To celebrate this landmark event in history, 2009 has been declared the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by the United Nations and the International Astronomical Union. Many activities and events are planned and will be noted in future columns.

Let’s start with two noteworthy celestial events that, weather permitting, should not be missed next month. Both will be easy to observe with the naked eye as well as binoculars, occur early in the evening, and involve two of the objects first observed by Galileo – Venus and the Moon.

The first will be on February 3 when the Moon will pass very close to the Pleiades cluster high in the southern sky. Start watching around 7:00 p.m. or as soon as it is dark enough to see the Pleiades. As the night progresses you should be able to notice two celestial motions simultaneously. The first is the gradual drift of the Moon and the stars toward the western horizon. This is caused, of course, by the rotation of the Earth and affects all celestial objects.
The second is the movement of the Moon from west to east as it passes the cluster over the course of several hours. By 9:00 p.m. it will be nearly touching the Pleiades and by 11:00 p.m. it will be directly above them. In fact, between nine and ten o’clock binoculars should reveal the Moon covering up one or more of the individual stars in the cluster.

The second interesting sight is very similar in nature but this time it involves the Moon and the planet Venus. Right after sunset on February 27 look for a thin crescent Moon high in the west, right below Venus. Again, watch these two as the evening progresses and you should be able to witness the Moon move past the planet before they both set around 9:30. Clear weather and a good view of the horizon will be helpful for this observation.

This month in history:
Feb. 4: Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh born – 1906
Feb. 7: First untethered spacewalk made by Bruce McCandless – 1984
Feb. 14: Voyager 1 looks back to take photo of solar system – 1990
Feb. 15: Galileo Galilei born – 1564
Feb. 19: Nicholas Copernicus born – 1473
Feb. 22: First GPS satellite launched – 1978
Feb. 28: New Horizons spacecraft flies past Jupiter on its way to Pluto – 2007

Here are this month’s viewing highlights:
Planets this month: Venus dominates the western sky after sunset all month. Jupiter, Mercury and Mars are visible before dawn near the eastern horizon. Saturn rises around 9:00 p.m. early in the month and 7:00 p.m. at month’s end.

Feb. 2: First quarter Moon.
Feb. 3: Moon very near Pleiades cluster in southern sky.
Feb. 9: Full Moon.
Feb. 16: Last quarter Moon.
Feb. 24: New Moon.
Feb. 27: Watch Moon move past Venus in western sky right after sunset.

This post has no tag

Jan 05

January 2009

Categories:

Newsletter

by

We met on Monday January 5th at the Crazy Horse Steakhouse. The meeting lasted from 5:30 p.m. until approximately 8:00 p.m.

In attendance: Jim Reier, Frank Roldan, Mark Logsdon, Peter Burkey, George Miller

New Business Items
1. Establish date/time/places for recurring monthly board meetings We decided the first Thursday of the month should work.

2. Brainstorm topics for general meetings through June 2009 Jim will contact potential guest speakers.

3. Discuss ideas for International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) activities Mark suggested the upcoming pairing of crescent Venus and crescent Moon. We may be able to coordinate activities with Ottawa County Parks or DeGraaf Nature Center, as well as Tuesday night concerts at Kollen Park. We also discussed running a Public Service Announcement on local radio, and running an advert in the Community Events column of the Holland Sentinel or other paper. Have we left any of our flyers with the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce?

4. Club ALCOR representative and duties Peter volunteered for this Astronomy League position.

5. Payment schedule for 2009 Reviewed 2008 treasurer’s log for payments including Astronomical League, International Dark Sky Association, Vivekananda, S&T, and others

Old Business Items
1. Treasury report $731.65 – Mark turned over the Treasury folder, notes and a cashier’s check for the account balance to Peter.

2. Prepare for February’s Park Township program “A Tour of the Solar System” We will begin with a Planetarium sky tour, followed by an activity, probably ending with a classroom discussion for the older guests.

3. What do we need to do to help Black River prepare for the Science Olympiad? No action on this item.

1/8/09 Update: Received an update from Robin. We will decide a date/time at the next general meeting – J.Reier

4. Planetarium maintenance and service assessment to Dave Zimmer Jim and Frank will meet with Dave and other School Board members Wednesday, Jan. 7th at 3:00 PM.

1/8/09 Update: Met with Dave Zimmer, Tom Winegar and Dave Daniels. (1) There will be a wireless access point added to the planetarium to access the internet. (2) A manual dimmer switch will be installed to control the dome lights. (3) All folding chairs will be replaced with stackable chairs. (4) Dave Daniels agreed to research a sound system in the planetarium to provide a microphone public address system and to play audio (CD player / AUX jacks, etc.) – J.Reier

5. $86 check to Treasury from October’s Park Township program Jim handed a personal check over to Peter.

6. Membership dues collected at next general meeting on January 9

George Miller- Secretary

This post has no tag

Older posts «

» Newer posts