wpe4.gif (2039 bytes) RAS News

Newsletter of RAS (Richmond Astronomical Society)
September, 2002

Visit our web site at www.richastro.org

Next meeting--Monday, Sept. 9

Speaker: Grace Suttle
Topic: Unknown, as of press time

Picnic was a blast
by Terry Barker

Guess what? Picnics make it rain! Well, sprinkle, anyway. After literally months of drought, RAS did its part in creating rain for Richmond by proceeding with our annual picnic. A few drops was all we got, but it didn't even cause a slowdown in the party. We had loads of food--Roger Rigby grilled about 50 hot dogs, and we had fried chicken, salad, veggies, barbecued beans, and all kinds of desserts.

A nice sized crowd of about 25-30 made short work of the food, but it remained cloudy, so we weren't able to do any observing.

 

VAAS Oct. 5
by Terry Barker

The VAAS committee has been busy for the past few months planning the VAAS convention, and we have put together a great program. Here's an overview.

Day agenda:

8:30 -- 9:30 am

Registration

9:30 -- 9:45

Welcome, Jim Blowers, RAS president

9:45 – 10:30

Dr. George Spagna, RMC, "C.U.R.T - the Center of the Universe Radio Telescope Project"

10:45 – 11:30

Dr. Robert Rood, UVA, "An Old Dog's Last Hunt: The 140 Foot Radio Telescope and the Helium-3 Saga"

11:45 – 12:30

Dr. Eric Douglass, RAS, "Lunar Geography"

12:30 – 1:30 pm

Lunch--on your own

1:30 – 1:45

VAAS clubs welcome & planning, Terry Barker

2:00 – 3:00

ATM workshop, Joe Hetmanski

2:00 – 3:00

Navigating to Virginia in 1611 with Captain Toby Felgate, Robert Hicks

3:15 -- 4:15

Hunting for Herschels, John Goss (RVAS)

3:15 -- 4:15

Comets and my catalog, Norm Guenther as Charles Messier

4:30 -- 5:30

CCD class, Gary Cowardin

5:30 -- 6:00

Door prizes

Continuous

Dobsonian video

Continuous

Swap table

Afternoon and evening:

6:30 -- 8:00 pm Picnic at Poor Farm Park picnic shelters
8:00 -- ??? Keebler Planetarium observing
8:00 -- ??? Skywatch at Poor Farm Park

And here's some information I have so far about the talks:

Comets and my catalog, A special presentation by Charles Messier (Norm Guenther)
By special arrangement with Norm Guenther and the Richmond Astronomical
Society, Charles Messier has agreed to address this year's convention of
VAAS. As you know, his most lasting contribution to astronomy is the
popular Catalog of Nebulae which he compiled between 1758 and 1781. He
will discuss his catalog and some of his other astronomical work.

Hunting for Herschels, John Goss (RVAS)
Now that you¹ve found all of Messier¹s famous objects, do you want something even more challenging? Are you intimidated by the Herschel 400? Are you overwhelmed at the thought of identifying the numerous dim galaxies of Coma-Virgo? What will your scope reveal of the Herschels? How do you find the dimmest of the dim? If so, please join us for this talk. We will cover star maps and star hopping, Herschel superlatives, record keeping and observing programs, and tackling the dreaded Coma-Virgo region of galaxies.

The Geology of Lunar Basins, Eric Douglass
This talk will emphasize the end-stage structure of lunar basins. Basins form as large, multi-ringed impact structures. This initial form is subsequently modified through volcanic processes, along with the subsidence of volcanic products. Given the relationships between these geologic structures, we can reconstruct a geologic history of the region.

Navigating to Virginia in 1611 with Captain Toby Felgate, Robert Hicks
What was the astronomical basis for navigation at sea during the Age of Exploration? Dr. Robert Hicks of Loxodrome History Consultants has arranged with Captain Toby Felgate, a ship’s master who brought colonists to Jamestown, to demonstrate methods and instruments used for navigation aboard a merchant ship bound for Virginia from England in 1611. In particular, Master Felgate will teach his class of prospective master’s mates how to reckon a ship’s latitude from observations of the sun with a cross-staff. Those who attend this session will observe the height of a simulated sun, reduce the data (1611-style), and obtain latitude. Take the challenge: you might know all about quasars and the Big Bang, but can you find your location at sea?

An Old Dog's Last Hunt: The 140 Foot Radio Telescope and the Helium-3 Saga, Dr. Robert Rood
At 08:12:20 EDT, 19 July, 1999 the Green Bank 140 Foot Telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory made its last scientific observation, having been given a 12 minute reprieve. To the untrained eye the spectrum resulting from that last 12 minutes of data taken toward the H II region S159 looks like a noise, like most of the other roughly 25,000 12 minute data samples, we have obtained since 1982. Measuring the abundance of the rare light isotope of helium has been a 20 year exercise in battling this noise, since our ``target,'' the 3.5 cm spin-flip line of 3He+ (like the 21 cm H line) is typically 10,000 times weaker than the noise. By accumulating (or integrating) data we can decrease the noise level while the line strength remains the same. Indeed, we can see the 3He+ line in the 11.8 hours of integration acquired toward S159 over the last three nights of the 140 Foot's life. In contrast, a decade ago we often could not detect the
same line with longer integrations toward bright nearby H II regions like the Orion nebula. How did the 140 Foot and our thinking evolved to allow such measurements?

I will describe the last days of a noble instrument and its contributions toward our knowledge of an isotope whose cosmic abundance can set important astrophysical constraints for theories of primordial nucleosynthesis and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. I will also describe what the new Green Bank Telescope might do for the
3-Helium Project and report briefly on our first experience with the GBT.

 

REGISTRATION FORM - VAAS Convention 2002
Saturday, October 5
Randolph Macon College, Ashland, VA, Copley Science Center
Sponsored by Richmond Astronomical Society, Richmond, VA
Please fill out one of these forms prior to attending the convention
Directions to RMC: http://www.rmc.edu/address.html

Mail to: Cindy Bowers -- VAAS 2002                     Pre-registration Deadline:
9415 Laurel Grove Rd                                               Sept. 28—After this date, LATE fees
Mechanicsville, VA 23116 apply

Questions: (804) 748-5689, tbarker @ i2020.net

Make checks payable to: RAS or Richmond Astronomical Society

Name: __________________________________________________ Phone: ________________

Spouse/guests: ___________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________________ State: _________ Zip: ________________

Astronomy Club (if you belong to one): _______________________________________________

Please print your name as you wish

It to appear on your name tag: ______________________________________________________

 

Circle choice

  

Circle choice

  

REGISTRATION FEE

VAAS only

VAAS + picnic

X # of people

Subtotal

LATE VAAS only

LATE VAAS + picnic

X #

LATE Subtotal

Regular adult

$5.00

$8.00

 ___ _____

$6.00

$10.00

 ___ _____

Children (12 and under)

$2.00

$4.00

 ___ _____

$2.00

$5.00

 ___ _____

Students (must have ID)

$3.00

$5.00

 ___ _____

$3.00

$6.00

 ___ _____

Total

 _____   _____

I would like to attend the following workshops: (check as many as you can handle. You may not be able to attend ALL of your choices—it will depend on the scheduling. We’re just trying to gather interest level): 

CCD Imaging  r Charles Messier, Comets & my catalog r
ATM (Amateur Telescope Making)  r Dobsonian video r
Hunting for Herschels  r Evening skywatch r
Renaissance Navigator r Keebler Planetarium observing r

Randolph Macon college is Exit 92 off I-95, about 10 miles north of Richmond. Just follow the signs.

Coming events
by Terry Barker

We have several skywatches and star parties in September.

  • Sept. 6 and 7 at Malvern Hill, and Sept. 12 at Dutch Gap. If you'd like to assist, contact Jim Petty, jimhp@hotmail.com.

  • SMV skywatch on Fri., 9/20.

  • And, of course, the VAAS convention and skywatch, Sat., Oct. 5.

  • The Rappahannock Astronomy Club is hosting a two day star party called the Big Meadows Star Gaze at Big Meadows in the Shenandoah National Park on Friday and Saturday nights, September 6-7.  Full details can be found on their web page at http://www.raclub.org/BMSG/2002/BMSG.html. For details contact  Tom Pendergrass, Rappahannock Astronomy Club.

  • Central Pennsylvania Observers is holding the Black Forest Start Party, also on Sept. 6-7, at Cherry Springs State Park. Details at http://www.bfsp.org/starparty.

 

Astronomy magazine renewals
by Cindy Bowers, Treasurer

Hot news from Astronomy magazine--they want their money by the end of Sept., so try to remember to get it to Cindy at the next meeting. A one year renewal is $29.00, and a 2 year renewal is $55.00 (this is new).

 

We need a skywatch coordinator
Terry Barker has left the building

I have been coordinating skywatches for RAS over the last 5-6 years. Schools, Nature Centers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, neighborhood associations, you name it, we've been there. It's been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. And after all, isn't that part of our mission--to make sure that our youth enjoys at least one encounter with the stars? Well, since I'm temporarily working in South Carolina for about the next 10 or so months, there's a big vacancy. Jim Petty has been my right hand man, and we've had a great response from a core group of members. However, Jim can't do it by himself, and we need someone to step up and take of this until I get back to town. It doesn't take that much time, and I try to arrange them Mon.-Thurs., no Fridays or weekends, to interfere with your family life. How about? Send me or Jim Blowers an email. You'll be glad you did it (and so will I).

 

Powhatan report
by Tom Kunsitis, 8/11

I arrived on-site at around 2130.  I was among 5 astronomers and I counted 3 telescopes among us.  While setting up my 13" scope I quickly noticed a frog-hunting party in a small boat on the lake at the site.  They were shining a huge spotlight into the woods around the lake which included the telescope area in the parking lot.  Fortunately they were not having much luck.  At about 2200 they gave up.  At the same time the skies cleared to a
decent limiting magnitude of about 5.0 when looking at Ursa Minor.  The Milky Way was easily visible and the humidity was low enough to provide a rare dew-free night at the site.

I started the night looking for Comet Hoenig (C/2002 O4).  It was in the constellation of Cepheus and not difficult to find at all by star hopping.  It is around 10th magnitude.  I saw it as a fairly large round diffuse glow with no tail.

I did some globular star cluster hunting in Sagittarius.  I saw NGC 6624 which is located less than a degree away from the 3rd magnitude delta Sagittarius.  It was small and bright and showed hints of being resolvable at 150x with averted vision.  I also saw NGC 6717 which is just 2' from the 5th magnitude nu Sagittarius.  This cluster was seen as a tiny faint glow near nu Sagittarius.

I was able to see the open star cluster NGC 7062 in Cygnus.  This star cluster was recently mentioned in the AMASTRO Yahoo group.  It is a small formation of mostly 10th magnitude stars.  I saw approximately 20 uniformly bright stars inside a box of four brighter stars.  According to the AMASTRO account, the cluster is roughly the shape of the Christian fish (icthus) symbol you see on cars.  I was also able to see this but it is not
something that jumps out at you when you first look at it.

I picked up NGC 5866 in Draco.  This 10th magnitude galaxy is the usual entry for M102 in Messier marathons.  It is fairly bright but smaller than most other Messier galaxies.  It is almost edge-on in its presentation.

The last new thing I picked up was the planetary nebula NGC 6742 in Draco.  This object is also known as Abell 50.  It is relatively large with a 30" diameter but it is faint at 13th magnitude.  At 60x I could only see it with averted vision and a UHC filter.  At 150x I could hold it in direct vision only with the UHC filter.  Unfiltered I could only see it with
averted vision at that power.

I did some sightseeing among the showpieces of the sky.  I saw M57, M27, M13, M31, M32, and M110.  I also saw a few good Perseid meteors.  Judging by the reactions of those around me, I missed more than I saw.

At about 0020 I packed up and headed home.

Powhatan report #2
by Bill Dickinson, 8/8

Tuesday night, 8-6-2002 was spectacular! I headed out to Powatan
before sunset and arrived in time for "Magic Hour", the hour just
after sunset, beautiful. I rated the night a 9 out of 10 for
transparency and a 5 out of 10 for seeing. The naked eye limit was
6.2. A slight breeze and temperatures in the upper 60s made for a
comfortable dew free night.

Here are some observations using my 8" f4.5:

NGC 6302      Scorpius      PN      pB, pS, E, Bug Nebula. Small
bright green/blue central shell w/ nebulosity extending southwest
and northeast from center. The southern nebulosity extents further
with a curved end. No central star seen. Best with OIII at 134x.

NGC 6445      Sagittarius      PN      S, pF, lE. The Box Nebula -
appears to be just smaller than nearby NGC 6440. Found at 72x
without filter. At 104x w/ OIII filter, annular with slight
irregular oval shape. Fainter nebulosity covers annular center.
Seems to be a star or bright spot on northeastern portion of ring. 
Star just to the northeast. Central star not visible.

NGC 6563      Sagittarius      PN      pF, pS, R. Found with 9mm
about 1/4 deg east of two bright stars (6.2 mag and 7.1 mag).  At
134x w/ OIII filter this PN appeared round with no central darkening
and no central star.

M10      Ophiuchus      GB      pB, pL, R. Very symmetrical globular
with several chains of stars streaming from center. Gradually
brighter center w/ many stars resolved across the entire globular at
72x. Visible in 9x50 finder. Perhaps the finest of all the Ophiuchi
M Globs.

M9      Ophiuchus      GB      pB, pS, R, Gradually brighter toward
center w/ many outer stars resolved at 72x. Visible in 9x50 finder.

M12      Ophiuchus      GB      pB, pL, R. Mostly resolved, odd
appearance as many of the outer stars are brighter than the center
core. At 72x. Visible in 9x50 finder.

M14      Ophiuchus      GB      pF, pL, R. Very dull, very gradually
brighter toward center. Only a few outer stars resolved at 72x.

M19      Ophiuchus      GB      pB, pL, vlE, Gradually brighter
toward center w/ the outer 1/3 of stars resolved at 72x. This glob
has a oval appearance. Visible in 9x50 finder.

M62      Ophiuchus      GB      pB, pL, R, Quickly brighter toward
center w/ only a few stars resolved at 72x. Southwestern portion
seems brightest. Brighter core than M 19 and M 9. EZ in 9x50 finder.

M94      Canes Venatici       GX  B, pL, R, w/ a large bright core
surrounded by a pB nebulosity at 104x. EZ to spot in 9x50 finder.

M106      Canes Venatici       GX      B, pL, pmE, at 104x, oval in shape
gradually brighter toward stellar nucleus. Some vF nebulosity
extends north and south with a pF star or HII region on northern
side. Some dark structure visible w/ adverted vision. Observed in
west about 20 deg above horizon. Visible in 9x50 finder.

M107      Ophiuchus      GB      pF, pS, R. gradually brighter center
w/ no stars resolved. Faintest of all the Ophiuchi M Globs.

NGC 4346      Canes Venatici       GX      F,S, lE oval shape, seems to
have star involved near nucleus. 104x

NGC 4485      Canes Venatici       GX      pF, pS, lE. Oval w/ no
nucleus. NGC 4490 in the same FOV at 104x. Very nice pair.

NGC 4490      Canes Venatici       GX      pB, pL, vE w/ stellar
nucleus. Three times larger than its neighbor NGC 4485 in the same
FOV at 104x. Very nice pair.

M8      Sagittarius      GN      vB, vL, pE. Lagoon Nebula - at 104x
and UHC filter. Segmented into 5 sections by dark riffs. NGC 6530,
the bright open cluster in the same fov added to the beauty of this
object. At 59x w/ UHC filter at, 1.4 deg FOV. Nebulosity stretches
for almost a deg with the brightest portion at the western end
wedged between prominent V shaped dark lanes pointing east to NGC
6530. Just east of the cluster lies a pB star that is surrounded by
pF nebulosity with a dark riff running between it and the cluster.
While M 8 is an impressive object unfiltered the UHC filter really
improves the contrast and reveals structure not visible otherwise
visible. 

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Dues Renewal Form

Your RAS 2002 membership subscription is now due, if you haven't paid yours. 
Please furnish the following information to the treasurer:

Cindy Bowers
9415 Laurel Grove Rd
Mechanicsville, VA 23116

Name: ________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________

________________________________________________

Phone: _______________ (h) _________________ (w)

Email: _____________________________________________

 

Regular membership
 

($30.00)

_____________

Observatory membership

($10.00)

_____________

Astronomy renewal 

($29.00)

_____________

Sky & Tel renewal 

($29.95)

_____________

Total:

_____________

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 Jim Blowers, (804) 748-5689, or Terry Barker, tbarker@i2020.net.

Board presentation months

The months that have been assigned for presentations by the board for 2002 are:

Jan:

Jim P.

May:

Gary

Sep.

Grace

Feb:

Keith

Jun:

Terry

Oct:

Charlotte

Mar:

Dave

Jul:

Eric

Nov:

Joe

Apr:

Jim B.

Aug:

John

Dec:

Cindy

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