A GLANCE INSIDE
What’s Up in December
A Look Back at November
New Member Welcome Mat
On the Horizon
"Cosmos" Video Checkout
What’s Next, Leonids?
WHAT'S UP IN DECEMBER 
December 8th MONTHLY MEETING
Please join us at the Neville Public Museum from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. This month's topic will be "The 50 Best Non-Messier Objects" given by club members Katrina DeWitt and George McCourt. Happy Joe's to follow!
December 11th HOLIDAY PARTY
Our annual Holiday
Party will take place at Damon’s Clubhouse, 909 Plymrock Terrace on Green
Bay’s West Side. We will meet at 6:00 PM for cocktails with dinner commencing
at 6:30 PM.
We have 42 people
signed up so far so it should be a wonderful time. Damon’s has room for
at least 60 so even if you didn’t pre-register you are welcome to join
us.
A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER
MONTHLY MEETING – November 10th
Forty-eight people
were in attendance at November's meeting at the Neville Public Museum.
This included five members of the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society.
Their club is about one year old and they are interested in seeing how
we do things at NPMAS.
Club business
was conducted during the first hour followed by Tom Jorgenson’s presentation
of "The Sun". Tom shared some wonderful video on solar phenomena he’s made
through the years as well as insight on how to observe the sun. Great job
Tom!
TRANSIT OF MERCURY – November 15th
By Wayne
Kuhn
Even though the
sky had a thick layer of clouds in the West, I decided to set-up my scope
to observe the transit anyway. Since it was scheduled to start at 3:15
PM on a Monday this meant setting up right outside my place of employment.
As if on queue, the clouds started to separate a little after 3:00 PM and
I was able to get a fix on the Sun.
The information
I had gotten from the internet on the transit was amazingly accurate. At
3:15 I observed a small, black "notch" in the Sun’s Northeastern limb.
It was so small that my first reaction was to second guess myself as to
if this really was Mercury, and not just an aberration in my telescope
optics. I had never observed a transit in front of the Sun before.
But as the minutes
passed it was apparent that this indeed was Mercury. It slowly grew in
size and finally separated from the limb, about twenty minutes after I
initially spotted it. Mercury never ventured more than three or four diameters
of itself from the edge of the sun and was a perfectly round, pitch-black
dot. This easily distinguished it from the many mottled gray-black sunspots
that were also visible on the Sun’s surface.
I had the pleasure
of showing this rare event to two of my employees and a UPS driver that
came to pick up packages. Now that I have had a taste of a planet-Sun transit
I look forward to the next one, and the one after that, . . .
LEONID METEORS – November 16th – 18th
By Wayne
Kuhn
The sky had been
somewhat hazy earlier in the evening but by the time I reached Steve Mofle’s
house at around midnight on Friday it had cleared for the most part. Steve’s
house looked deserted and there didn’t seem to be anyone around. While
poking around the house I noticed a familiar vehicle going up and down
the street – Ron Parmentier’s mini van.
After Ron parked
in the driveway and upon finding the door to the house locked I decided
to give Steve a call on my cell phone to see if he was home. A somewhat
sleepy person answered the phone and then let us in.
Steve said that
some club members had been there earlier but neither the meteors or the
clouds were cooperating. They went home and he had decided to rest a bit
before trying again.
The three of
us set up our lawn chairs outside to hopefully see the show of our lifetimes.
Unfortunately, The Leonids were poor (only a couple dozen in over two hours)
and the sky developed a fog that blocked out the dimmer stars and meteors.
We gave it up around 3:00 AM.
The next night
produced more club members including myself, Don & Katrina DeWitt,
Katrina’s brother Paul, Gary Baier, Jill Last, Dan Sheber, Brad DeMain,
Ray Schofield, and Steve Mofle (hope I didn’t miss anyone). Also present
were Steve’s friend Tom, the four people from the apartment upstairs, a
reporter and camera man from TV26 and 3 firemen. Steve’s house and yard
was bustling with people, popcorn, pizza, and red lights.
Once again the
clouds were a problem for most of the night. The sky was kind of brackish
with cracks and small openings here and there. Once in a while a large
section would clear out long enough for us to tell that the meteor shower
was a dud – at least in our part of the world. A few of us resorted to
throwing ‘glow sticks’ through the air to create a little excitement.
Other parts
of the world (Middle East and Europe) were treated to as many as 1500 meteors
per hour. Though we missed a "storm" this year some scientists say we still
can have some very high activity in the next three to six years. So don’t
give up hope! You still may see a meteor storm (or close to it) without
having to wait another 33 years.
NEW MEMBER WELCOME MAT
We added two
new memberships to the club in November. The first one is a family membership
– Tom and Jeanne Thomson, 315 Welhouse Drive, Kimberly, WI 54136.
Phone: 920-734-1068, Email: w9chp@aol.com
Tom (58) has
had an interest in astronomy since he visited the Adler Planetarium when
he was 10 years old. Recently he and his wife, Jeanne, have been planning
for retirement to a home on Lake Superior. Realizing the potential of the
dark skies has piqued their interested in astronomy even more.
They found out
about the NPMAS through the Internet. Currently they do not have a telescope
or binoculars but Tom thinks that Santa may take care of that shortly.
He has his eye on a 3.1" Celestron reflector.
Our second new
member is Art Meyer, N9433 Jurs Lane, Crivitz, WI 54114. Phone:
715-757-3726. Art is 62 and says he has always had an interest in Astronomy.
He found out about the NPMAS through Dave Jorgenson, club member and fellow
Crivitz resident.
Recently he
retired from Popp’s Resort and received a 10" Mead Starfinder telescope
from his wife as a gift. She also bought him his membership in the NPMAS.
Art looks forward to learning how to use his new scope with the help of
our members.
Welcome to the
club Tom, Jeanne, and Art!
ON THE HORIZON
January 7th – 9th CAMP U-NAH-LI-YA WINTER WEEKEND
As 1999 comes
to a close, we are already starting to look forward to our first event
for 2000, our tenth annual Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya Winter Weekend. The dates are
Friday through Sunday, January 7th through 9th.
What is the
Winter Weekend? First of all, it means relaxation. The camp cooks you six
meals(Friday night, 3 meals on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday),
and then they wash the dishes! The only phones are in the offices
and there are no televisions or radio's to be found.
If you enjoy
winter sports you will definitely like it here. The camp has an ice skating
rink right next to the dining hall and there are hockey sticks and pucks
for those interested in getting a game of broom ball going. There is also
an extremely large ice rink known as the lake not far from our cabin. The
camp has many different sizes of ice skates or you can bring your own.
Skating not your forte? Well how about cross-country skiing? The camp
has over seven miles of well-groomed trails in and around the Nicolet National
Forest for your enjoyment. Camp U-Nie has many skis, boots and poles. Again,
you are also welcome to bring your own equipment.
Other activities
include: snow shoeing, ice fishing, and sledding. The camp has a variety
of snow shoes, sleds and fishing gear including an ice shanty on the lake
for our use.
What? You are
a warm weather person? Fine, as a matter of fact, bring your shorts along!
The camp has a wood burning sauna waiting to melt the icicles from your
nose and we've got the keys! If you are brave you can even compete in the
snow-rolling contest.
Lodging for
both nights is in group cabins #11 and #12 that will be shared by NPMAS
members and their families. Bunk beds with mattresses are provided but
you must bring a sleeping bag or any other bed linens you desire. The cabins
are heated and equipped with a fireplace. Separate bathroom facilities
and hot showers are provided.
Since this is
an astronomy club event, we will, of course, be bringing our telescopes
along to enjoy Wisconsin's dark northern sky's. The camp also owns an eight
inch telescope which we will be able to use. There is currently one other
group scheduled, the 4-H Northeast Youth Council with about 25 people(many
of them kids). We have agreed to put on a stargazing session for them on
Saturday if the weather cooperates. It usually lasts for one to two hours,
which will leave us plenty of time afterwards to do some serious observing.
The cost for
the weekend is $60.00 for adults and $50.00 for those under 18. A very
reasonable price considering what you get: two nights lodging, six meals,
unlimited use of all facilities, cross country skis, ice skates, sauna
etc.
If you are interested
in going please send your check made payable to the NPMAS to Don DeWitt,
1081 Raleigh Street, Green Bay, WI 54304. You can also call me at 405-8534
if you need more information. We look forward to you coming along and making
Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya Winter weekend a weekend to remember!
February 6th SCIENCE SATURDAY
By Katrina
DeWitt
The museum once
again approached the Astronomy club to help out with Science Saturday,
slated for February 6th, 2000 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This
year's theme is ‘Who's Got the Time?’. The focus is on the different ways
of measuring time.
The tricky part
is to come up with a hands on activity or activities to demonstrate some
aspect of time. This could be distinguishing between universal and local
mean time, some aspect of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, etc. The activity
needn't be long or complicated and should be geared towards grade school
age kids to adults.
If you're interested
in helping out, please contact Wayne Kuhn. For more information about this
event, contact Wayne or speak to Eugene Umberger from the museum at 448-4460
ext. 228.
Thanks in advance
for your help!
ASTRONOMY DAY- April 8th, 2000
By Katrina
DeWitt
On Monday, November
15th, plans for Astronomy Day were underway. There are several
significant changes in the plans. First off, Astronomy Day will be held
at the museum on Saturday, April 8th, 2000 from 11:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We have reserved the three classrooms, auditorium, and
if needed, we can also book the learning center room.
Other changes
are as follows, there will be no Friday night set-up. The museum closes
at 5:00 p.m. All of the set-up will have to occur Saturday morning before
our event (8:00-11:00 a.m.). However, if we get the blueprints to the museum,
they will arrange all the tables and audio-video to our specifications.
So all we need to do is set up the displays. One other item of note, Friday
during the day will be open, if anyone wants to get a jump on setting up
displays.
The museum will
also take care of all our publicity. As most know, this has been a major
weakness of Astronomy Day, as we could not generate media attention. The
museum will send out notices to all the media, as well as publish our event
in the Musepaper (museum newsletter). They will also print all of
our posters for us. Our club needs to round up pictures of our past Astronomy
Days, design and make the posters, and have all necessary information to
the museum by the end of January 2000. The sooner we can get done with
this, the better off we'll be.
If you'd like
to get in on the planning of Astronomy Day, the first meeting will be on
Wednesday, January 26th, 2000. The time 7:00 p.m. at the home
of Jeff and Jill Last. Other meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, February
23rd and Wednesday, March 22nd. Both of these meetings
will be at the museum starting at 7:00 p.m.
For any information,
please contact Katrina DeWitt or Jill Last. Come on out and partake in
the club's biggest public event of the year. We need everyone's involvement
to make it a success!!
"COSMOS" VIDEO CHECKOUT
by
Katrina DeWitt
"Cosmos" watching
has become a popular pastime for our club members. Thanks to the generosity
of Roger Dier who donated this series to the society, club members are
able to enjoy it without cost. However, it has come to my attention that
a few potential problems are occurring.
I want all our
club members to enjoy this series, so I ask that everyone take a moment
to read the following guidelines:
WHAT’S NEXT, LEONIDS?
Taken from Space Science News
Leonids 2000
Observers in
the year 2000 will be handicapped by a moon near last quarter, putting
it very near the constellation of Leo, the radiant point for the shower.
The brightness of the moon will diminish the number of faint meteors that
can be seen. The Earth is predicted to pass near two different debris streams
of significance, however, the first ejected from the comet in 1733, and
the second from the year after the comet's discovery in 1865.
Observers in
western Africa, western Europe, and northeastern South America will be
favorably located to view the first peak, predicted to occur at approximately
03:44 UT on the 18th of November. The second peak will be visible to stargazers
in North America, Central America, and northwest South America some four
hours later, near 07:51 UT.
Leonids 2001
If the 2000
Leonids disappoint, then the 2001 Leonids should be the redemption for
a poor sky show the year before. The moon is nearly new during this time
of November, promising dark skies for observing. The presence of three
different debris streams offers the possibility for a spectacular show
from many different parts of the world. The activity begins with the Earth's
close passage to the 1767 dust trail, providing a peak near 10:00 UT on
November 18, 2001 that will be visible from North and Central America.
Estimated activity is in the vicinity of 1,500 meteors per hour. Seven
hours later, the Earth will pass through overlapping debris streams, ejected
from Tempel-Tuttle in 1699 and 1866. Dual peaks at 17:31 UT and 18:19 UT
will make for an excellent sky show over Australia, East Asia, and Central
Asia.
Leonids 2002
The moon will
be nearly full during the 2002 Leonids activity, again diminishing the
observing quality, as was the case two years earlier. As was the case in
2001, the Earth will be encountering two different debris tails, the first
from 1767, and the second from 1866. A first peak of about 15,000 meteors
per hour (ZHR) will be seen over western Europe and Africa as well as northern
Canada and northeastern South America on November 19, 2002 at about 04:00
UT. The second and more intense peak of about 25,000 meteors per hour will
occur over North America at 10:36 UT the same night.
Leonids 2006
For your long-range
planning, consider the Leonids in November of 2006. While Tempel-Tuttle
will have been on its out-bound journey from the inner solar system for
over 8 years, there remains the possibility of a small and well-defined
outburst visible from parts of western Europe and Africa, as the Earth
passes directly through the debris stream from the visit of the comet in
1932. The shower is predicted to peak at about 04:45 UT on November 19,
with a Zenith Hourly Rate of about 100 meteors per hour.
Observations
from the 1999 Leonids will help to refine these predictions and the models
of Earth encounters with Comet Tempel-Tuttle, as well as those from other
meteor showers.