Volume 12 Issue 7, July 2000
A GLANCE INSIDE
What’s Up in July
From the President
A Look Back at June
WOW Pictures
NPMAS Logo Shirts
From the Membership
WHAT'S UP IN JULY
JULY 12TH MONTHLY MEETING
Please join us from 7:00 PM to 9:00PM at the
Neville Public Museum. This months talk is . . . well, we don’t know what
it is. But we do know that club member Jim Sentowski is giving it. Jim’s
talks are always light-hearted and informative so come to the meeting to
find out what the "mystery topic" is.
Happy Joes to follow!
JULY 15TH ADLER PLANETARIUM
Hopefully you’ve sent in your forms and money
for this year’s field trip the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. But in case
you haven’t – there is still time! Fourteen people pre-registered for the
trip – just shy of the necessary number needed to have a group reservation.
Thus we can still have last minute additions for the field trip.
If you would like to come please contact George
McCourt at 920-468-9296. We will be discussing our carpooling options at
the club meeting.
JULY 26TH NCRAL CONVENTION MEETING
The next NCRAL 2001 convention planning
meeting will be held at the DeWitt residence, 1081 Raleigh Street in Green
Bay. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM.
We could use all the help we can get from
club members to make next years convention a success. Please consider coming
to the meeting.
JULY 28TH – 29TH POW
The first Parmentier Observing Weekend
is finally here! Dust off your binoculars and telescopes and join your
fellow amateur astronomers for two nights (hopefully) of observing bliss.
You can set up your own equipment in the field below the observatory or
join Ron for views through his 30 inch telescope.
All club members should have a map to Parmentier
Observatory already but extra copies will be available from Wayne Kuhn
at the club meeting. With the Solar Maximum upon us we may even be treated
to some aurora displays. Mark your calendar now to join us and do what
we all want to: OBSERVE!
FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Katrina DeWitt
The first in a new series for The
Eyepiece, this monthly column will provide club members important information
on the services and benefits of the Astronomical League (A.L.) that are
available. As a paid member of the NPMAS, you are one of the 18,000 plus
members of the A.L and entitled to use their services.
As some of you may already know, the A.L.
currently has 16 different observing programs ranging from absolute beginner
to skilled deep sky observer. These programs are made for telescope as
well as binocular users. Each month, I will highlight a different observing
program with comments from members that have finished it. Included will
be some facts about the Astronomical League itself.
This month I chose to highlight the Lunar
Observing Program. The Lunar Program is one of the newer clubs available,
getting its start in 1995. As of the May issue of The Reflector, only
216 of the 18,000+ members of the A.L. has completed this program.
So what is the Lunar Observing Program? Well,
for starters, it's about our nearest neighbor the Moon. This program is
designed for both beginner and experienced observers. It provides the chance
to get acquainted or reacquainted with the bright object that ruins deep
sky observing. It's also ideal for those living in light polluted areas
who want to complete an observing program without having to drive to a
dark sky site.
To start this observing program, one only
needs the A.L. list of the required 100 features, a good moon map, three
different optical instruments (naked eye, binoculars and telescope) and
a commitment to observe the moon during all its phases. This program can
be completed in one month's time, providing mom nature cooperates!
The list consists of 100 features, broken
down into naked eye, binocular and telescopic objects and are listed according
to the phases they are best observed. All you need to do is observe the
objects using the recommended optical instrument during the recommended
phases. Once located, you need only to record the date and time and check
it off the list.
Features to observe include familiar and not
so familiar mares, craters, mountain ranges, scarps and rills. By completing
this program, one will attain a fairly good knowledge of the lunar surface
and some of the nicer features to look at. What if you cannot locate an
object, or just can't bear to get up in the wee hours of the morning to
observe? Is there hope of completing this program? The answer is YES!
What makes this program unique, is that there
are ten optional activities that may be done in place of an observation.
However, not all are easy and some take more time to do. Each completed
activity is worth two object observations. Activities range from estimating
quarter phases within eight hours, plotting the moon against the background
stars over a period of time, to measuring the height of a lunar mountain
using the sun's elevation and length of the mountain's shadow.
Once the observations and/or activities
total 100, you then are eligible to receive a certificate and pin from
the A.L. First, you must submit you observations to our club's award co-ordinator
(Don DeWitt) who will review your observations and then complete the necessary
paperwork. Shortly thereafter, your certificate and pin will be presented
at the next club meeting and your name will be printed in the next issue
of The Reflector. Proud recognition for a job well done. As of this
writing, there are only two club members who have completed this award.
It is my hope that many more will go out and complete the Lunar Observing
Program. Then you can join the select few who can truly say they're "luna-tics".
For further information about this observing
program or any other, please contact Katrina DeWitt. Completed observations
for any of the A.L. awards should be sent to Don DeWitt.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE
WISCONSIN OBSERVERS WEEKEND JUNE 2nd – 4th
By Wayne Kuhn
This year’s WOW star party at Hartman
Creek State Park was somewhat of a milestone in my life. My wife doesn’t
share my interest in astronomy or camping so I’ve been waiting patiently
for my kids to grow up enough to be able to share these activities with
me. This year I felt that my six-year-old son, Tyler, was old enough to
go.
He was excited the entire week before, counting
the days to our departure. I was kind of nervous because I really wanted
the weekend to go well and meet his expectations. I started making lists
and gathering supplies early in the week so as not to forget anything.
When Tyler got home from school that Friday
afternoon we headed out for Waupaca. The forecast for the weekend was on
the cool side, which had me worried because we were tenting it. But after
we arrived at the group campsite the sun broke through the clouds and warmed
us up as we unloaded our gear. We set up our tent next to those belonging
to other members of the NPMAS including Tony Kroes, Dick Francini, George
McCourt, Don DeWitt, and Steve Mofle.
My next hurdle was cooking dinner, something
I have never done before while camping (NOTE: if you put skinless wieners
on a grill be sure not to let your kids see them before they eat
them). All in all, the meal was a success. A quick walk on one of the park
trails past the time until it got dark enough to start observing.
The night turned out to be near perfect. There
was little wind, the sky was clear, and seeing was very good. Throughout
the night you could here a constant murmur as dozens of amateur astronomers
jumped from object to object and telescope to telescope. Tyler looked at
several clusters and nebulae before retiring to the tent at 11:00 PM. I
stayed up until 2:00 AM, bagging 10 new globular clusters from the spring
constellations of Scorpius and Ophiuchus. Others stayed up long enough
to get a glimpse of Comet LINEAR which became visible sometime after 3:00
AM.
In the morning Tyler and I enjoyed a hearty
breakfast of sausage, eggs, and bread before we headed out for a day of
fishing. We launched our pedal boat onto the chain of lakes and spent the
next 6 hours on the water fishing and site-seeing. We even docked at a
resort and enjoyed a pizza for dinner! Later that evening the park provided
a talk on "the creatures of the night" which my son attended with several
other kids from our party.
Unfortunately the forecast for Saturday night
was 60% chance of rain and 90% for Sunday. So everyone in the observing
field packed up their telescopes and waited for the inevitable. At 9:00
PM the rain started right on que and did not let up until morning. It was
a soft rain so it did not interrupt our evening around the campfire roasting
marshmallows and making somores with the other campers.
The rain stopped long enough on Sunday morning
to allow us to pack everything up and head for home. Tyler had a great
time and the whole event was a huge success despite the rain on Saturday
night. I would encourage all of our club members with families to take
advantage of WOW and other club events. They can be a golden opportunity
to share not only your hobby but some real quality time as well.
Fourty-three people attended the June
club meeting. Club business dominated the first hour. Tom Jorgenson described
the events that took place at this years WOW observing party. He described
it as a great success with 93 people (a new high) attending. Next years
Wisconsin Observers Weekend will be extended an extra day (Thursday added)
aat Gary Baier has revealed the mystery speaker for the upcoming Northwoods
Starfest. It is John Dobson, inventor of the popular Dobsonian telescope
mount. It will be a treat to listen to him, especially since this may be
one of his last public speaking events.
The second hour featured a talk on "Internet
Astronomy" given by club member and CCD guru Tony Kroes. His presentation
was well presented and included numerous examples of popular astronomy
sites on the web. Great job Tony!
CRIVITZ OBSERVING WEEKEND PART 1 JUNE 30TH – JULY 2ND
By Mike Monfils
I arrived at Dave and Carol Jorgenson’s
house near Crivitz about 8:00 PM on Friday. Carol was there and she informed
me that Dave was opening up one of the cabins for us. She said to be on
the lookout for George and Teddy (a pair of black bears), that were the
local bird feeder raiders.
When I arrived at the cabin, Alan and Andy
Wagner had their tent set up and Ty Westbrook from NEWSTAR was busy setting
up his tent. We introduced ourselves and hoped it would be clear for observing
that night.
Just before dark we went to the observing
site to set up. Brian Becker was there with his 10" LX200 SCT. After dark
we did made equipment comparisons between some of the scopes on the Ring
Nebula (M57) and the Hercules Cluster (M13). Brian was viewing some of
the galaxies in Ursa Major (the Big Dipper). Dave came out later and we
looked at the Vail nebula. We couldn’t see much of it and attributed the
problem to poor seeing conditions and dew.
About 1:30 AM Ty moved his scope so he could
look at Comet LINEAR. It was near M34 and not too difficult to find. It
looked like a comet and not like a fuzzy blob. Fatigue set in and Brian
packed up and left for his cottage. Andy, Alan and myself went to get some
sleep while Ty viewed a bit longer.
The next day everyone made their own breakfast.
My stove had a leak so I went to Crivitz to find an O-ring. At Dave’s place
of work I found Steve Mofle and the O-ring I needed. Soon after I returned
to camp and Wayne Kuhn showed up to join our group. Late Saturday afternoon
everyone cooked their suppers and looked to the sky hoping that it would
clear, but this would not happen – the clouds prevailed.
The evening consisted of sitting around a
red glow stick watching the lightning and discussing world politics. Shortly
after midnight we crashed for the night. Sunday morning was dry but cloudy.
Most of us packed up and headed for home except for Steve. Hopefully Steve
had some viewing on Sunday night.
If I had to describe C.O.W. in one statement
I would say, "All had a good time."
NPMAS LOGO SHIRTS
By Steve Wicker
Time to order T-shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts
and sweat-shirts! The order form is on page 7 of this newsletter and extras
will be available at the club meeting on July 12th. The deadline
will be the 16th of August. There will be a couple new colors added, maroon
and forest (not Gump!) for the T-shirts and sweatshirts. Only forest will
be available to add on the long-sleeved T-shirts. All the available colors
will be on the order form. Please note the long-sleeve T-shirts are not
available in the small size.
Any questions call Steve Wicker at 496-0288.
Send all orders to Steve Wicker 1286 San Jose Place, Green Bay WI, 54303.
Please make sure your order is in by August 16th so that they
will be ready to pick up at the Sept 13th meeting.
FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
CHANGES TO THE TREASURY
By Don DeWitt
I just wanted to update everyone on the status
of the club treasury. Ron Parmentier is your new treasurer and all the
books and records have been transferred to him. During this process two
magazine subscriptions inadvertently got missed. If you are one of those
people, please accept my apologies. I do believe that everything else has
transferred smoothly, but if you have a magazine subscription that has
expired and are wondering about it, please call me immediately so I can
check into it for you.
It has been a great honor serving as the club's
treasurer for the last ten years but it now time for me to concentrate
on other things, both astronomy and non-astronomy related. I hope to be
able to make some updates to the club web page over the next several months.
I also plan on doing more observing. It took six years to complete the
first Herschel 400 but I do
not plan on taking that long with the second 400. With some good clear
sky's and some luck, I hope to finish with it by next summer.
Clear Skies,
Don DeWitt
THE FIREWORKS OF COSMIC EVOLUTION
By Roger Dier
On June 25, 1178, five British monks, perhaps out for
a stroll in the early evening, reported witnessing a profound event in
the lunar neighborhood. They chronicled: "There was a bright new moon and
as usual in that phase its horns were tilted toward the east. Suddenly,
the upper horn split in two. From the midpoint of the division, a flaming
torch sprang up, spewing out fire, hot coals, and sparks."
While walking my dog after the
recent 4th of July fireworks display above downtown Green Bay, I thought
about what the monks had seen 822 years ago. Like that summer evening in
1178, the moon on the night of July 4 was a few days old above the western
horizon.
We celebrate our nation's birth
with glitter, fizz and loud noises after dusk in early July, but imagine
the kind of celestial fireworks that were ordinary during the birth of
our solar system. There was so much rock and goop flying around our solar
pinwheel that the 10,000 visible craters on the side of the moon facing
earth are probably second or third generation craters. Most first-generation
craters are either buried beneath impact strata of subsequent collisions,
were vaporized by later impacts, or covered from lava that oozed out from
the moon's interior after convulsive impacts cracked the
lunar skull.
Imagine, if your mind's eye,
being able to watch a month's worth of those kinds of fireworks. Unlike
the 4th of July fireworks in Green Bay, the Grande Finale’ in our solar
system probably occurred very early after our solar system formed. Call
it a Grande Entree’. Fortunately, Jupiter evolved to help clean up
loose debris as things coalesced around the sun. Jupiter's gravity gave
life a chance to begin here, and Big Jupe is still doing its job as the
solar system's vacuum cleaner. Who can forget comet Shoemaker-Levy fragments
that slammed into Jupiter in the early 1990s?
As influential as Jupiter is
as it patrols its turf 483 million miles from the sun, it can't corral
every chunk of litter still in unfettered flight. On an early summer night
more than 800 years ago, five British monks noted that the fireworks of
cosmic evolution continue when it wants, where it wants.
A NIGHT AT PARMENTIER OBSERVATORY
By Gary Baier
Monday night, July 3rd
was a very clear night at the start. A few hours later we had some high
level clouds come in but it was still possible to observe. In all five
people were at Ron's Observatory (Ron Parmentier, George McCourt, Dan Sheber,
Wayne Kuhn, and myself) and we spent several hours looking at very faint
galaxies.
The highlight of the night was
finding Comet LINEAR at around 1:30 A.M. It was about 6th magnitude
directly above Algol. It was amazing to see it move against the background
stars in only a few minutes. I will have a complete map at the July meeting.
ON THE HORIZON
UDATED 2000 SCHEDULE FOR REMAINDER OF YEAR
*denotes a change
August
04-06 Northwoods Starfest
*09 Monthly Meeting-Weather On Other Planets/Joint
meeting with Weather Club
*19 17th Annual Club Picnic
25-26 Parmentier Observatory Weekend with NEWSTAR
September
01-03 Parmentier Observatory Weekend
13 Monthly Meeting-Celestial Navagation
22-24
Astrofest, Kankakee Illinois
29-30 Parmentier Observatory Weekend
October
06-07 Fall Public Observing Weekend
11 Monthly Meeting-Astronomy Photos
27-29 Crivitz Observers Weekend Part 2
November
08 Monthly Meeting-Astronomical Toys
December
09 Holiday Party
13 Monthly Meeting-Building of Parmentier Observatory