RAS News

Newsletter of RAS (Richmond Astronomical Society)
July, 2001

Visit our web site at www.richastro.org

Next meeting--Monday, July 9

Last meeting ...
by Terry Barker

Sam Bruce opened the meeting (he wasn’t sure if it was the 620^th meeting or not). He apologized for not being more attentive to the club’s needs.

Ken Wilson brought in star charts, tracking of iridium flares, etc. Also, an article on the Mars opposition which was in a computer magazine.

Jim Petty discussed the Boy Scouts and the number who have earned a badge in astronomy. Expressed dismay that the organization doesn’t seem too eager for outside help in earning the badges from clubs like ours.

IDA membership drive – The International Dark Sky Association is having a membership drive. The grand prize is an ETX-125EC Telescope with an Autostar Computer Controller and Tripod. See http://www.darksky.org/ida/contest/mc2001.html for details.

The Astronomical League is looking for a new webmaster. Contact them at www.astronomicalleague.com for more information.

Observing--several  people reported on observing Mars, tracking the International Space Station, and the sun – there were many sunspots reported on the sun last weekend.

Gary Cowardin reported a continuation of our bad luck with Skywatch last month – heavy cloud cover.

Joe Hetmanski and Malvern Hill were also washed out.

July 21 is the rain date for the observing session scheduled for Sayler's Creek on June 23. No A/C power will be available on July 21. However, there will be DC power packs available. Set up is 8:30 – 9:00. The public viewing is scheduled from 10:00 to 12:00. Take 360 west to 307, take a right. Go to 317, and take another right. Proceed for almost 3 miles, and just past the Hillsman House, look for the star party signs on your right.

No observatory report.

Sam announced that he signed a contract with the Science Museum to use the planetarium as our new meeting place.

Library – no change. If you have checked out any books, please remember to return them to the club when you are finished with them.

Gary Cowardin announced that he is archiving information on the club. If you have any pictures, articles, etc., contract Gary and he will have them copied.

Joe Hetmanski gave a talk on the history of meteors hitting the earth and the destruction of species that the impacts caused.

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New board member, Brackett's Farm coordinator
by Terry Barker

We'd like to welcome David Thomas to the board of directors. David is replacing David Helm, who has moved to Seattle. We really enjoyed having David (Helm) on the board, and we congratulate David (Thomas). David has also agreed to act as the coordinator for Brackett's Farm. He will maintain contact with the owner, and ensure that permission has been agreed on for any visits. So, if you're itching to get out there, contact David. You can reach him at 353-1599, or cosmo23@msn.com.

Mars observation
by Tom Kunsitis

Last night at about 2330 EDT I turned my 13" scope towards Mars.  I set my
telescope in my back yard in South Richmond.  Conditions were poor as far
as transparency with a limiting magnitude of about 2.0.  However, the
seeing was quite good.  One of the ironies of astronomy is that generally
the air is steadier in the city than out in the country.  The seeing was
*much* better than out at Powhatan on an average night.  The poor limiting
magnitude didn't hurt Mars one bit and the steady air helped a lot.

Mars showed quite a bit of detail.  I used a red (#25) filter which helped
to see the surface details.  The best observations were at 250x.  The Mare
Eurythraem was easily visible.  I was able to see the Solis Lacus which
joins it without too much trouble.  The polar caps were not well presented
for viewing but I did catch the edge of the southern cap.  On the northern
end of Mars I was able to see the Mare Boreum.  The place names are based
on a map I found at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/marswatch/marsnom.html.

I took a shot at seeing Mars' two moons based on predictions of the Guide 6
computer program.  I tried to put Mars outside of the field of view but did
not have any success seeing Phobos or Diemos.

I generally do not spend a lot of time looking at planets, so when I can
identify surface details on Mars I feel it is an accomplishment.  The trick
is to sit and look at Mars for long periods of time and wait for the
atmosphere to momentarily settle.  Several times while I was looking at
Mars it would snap into clear view for a fraction of second or so.

Powhatan report
by Tom Kunsitis

I arrived on site at about 9:10 PM an setup.  It was a moderately hazy
night with significant dew.  The limiting magnitude was about 4.5 at the
best where I was able to see all of the main Little Dipper stars of Ursa
Minor.  The seeing was the usual poor for the area.  I had the site to
myself.  Another astronomer arrived at 11:00 PM just as it was clouding up
so he did not setup a scope.

By about 10:00 PM it was dark enough to do some astronomy.  I was able to
pick up seven galaxies in Ursa Major for the first time.  These galaxies
are in two groups.  The first group consists of NGC 3898, 3982, 3990, and
3998, while the other group is made up of NGC  3610, 3613, and 3642.  All
of these galaxies are 11th magnitude with the exception of NGC 3990 which
is 13th magnitude.  All were easily seen in my 13 inch scope with no
trouble.  Most have stellar nuclei.  All seven of them are inside the bowl
of the Big Dipper so there is no trouble locating them.  There were also
several other galaxies in the area which would have been easy on a better
night.

At 11:00 PM it was clouding up just as the moon was about to rise.  I did
get a quick look at Mars.  It presented a large disk but the usual bad
seeing at Powhatan prevented seeing any but the most obvious surface details.

I saw one of the more significant firefly displays I have seen in a long
time.  I was also visited by a low flying cicada early in the evening.  The
sounds of the frogs, owls, and whippoorwills made a nice contrast to the
loud music of the revelers who were down the road.  This time they were far
enough away as to not be a nuisance.

I packed up and left at about 11:20 PM.

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ALCON 2000

Book sale
by Cindy Bowers

Kalmbach Publishing Co. (Astronomy Magazine) is liquidating their remaining inventory of astronomy books. The 70% discount in pricing for the following books is in effect until July 31, 2001 or until quantities are sold out. The Richmond Astronomical Society has purchased one each of these books, and they will be available for members to read through our library. If you would like to purchase any of these books, please bring a check to the next meeting made out to R.A.S. If you cannot attend the meeting, send a check to Cindy Bowers, 9415 Laurel Grove Rd., Mechanicsville, VA 23116 by July 10. I will bring the RAS’s set of the books to the next meeting.

If you have questions, contact Cindy Bowers, Treasurer, R.A.S.

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Calendar

Calendar created by ImpactSoft

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Dues Renewal Form

Your RAS 2001 membership subscription is now overdue, if you haven't paid yours.

Please furnish the following information to the treasurer:

Name: ________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________

________________________________________________

Phone: _______________ (h) _________________ (w)

Email: _____________________________________________

Amount:

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Contact information

All meetings are the second Monday of the month, at the Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad St. For more information, contact Terry Barker, 379-8175, or tbarker@i2020.net.

Board presentation months

The months that have been assigned for presentations by the board for 2001 are:

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