RAS News

Newsletter of RAS (Richmond Astronomical Society)
October, 2001

Visit our web site at www.richastro.org

Next meeting--Monday, Oct. 8

Last meeting
by Terry Barker

Ken Wilson brought in his usual star maps and satellite timings, and will also be holding a telescope class on Nov. 10. If you're interested, call the Science Museum. Ken did some observing at Powhatan a few nights ago, under hazy skies, but both he and his wife Betty were able to add some observations to her quest of the Messier Certificate, and Ken his Herschel certificate.

Cindy Bowers is selling Astronomy magazine 2002 calendars. Look for her at the next meeting. These are beautiful calendars and we are selling them for only $6.00.

Several people saw the reentry of the Russian rocket that many people on the east coast also saw.

Ray Moody went to Stellafane this summer, and was treated to a view of the universe through a 36 inch Obsession, as well as someone's 9 inch binoculars. Wow!

Gary Cowardin hosted over 100 people at this month's skywatch. The skies were hazy, but viewing brighter objects was no problem.

Joe Hetmanski was not able to go to this month's Malvern Hill skywatch.

Jim Petty reported that the warehouse due to go up next to the observatory has been delayed until next year. Randy Tatum will be doing observatory training, so if you're not on his list, or want training, give him a call. 282-5227.

Terry Barker was assisted by several members for a skywatch at Camp Comfort in Mechanicsville this month. We had about 60-70 students and adults, and wonderful skies. Everyone had a great time. Thanks to my assistants--Grace Suttle, Jim Petty, Gene Dick, Keith Johnson, and Roger Rigby.

Grace Suttle greeted 5 visitors, including two first time guests--Gordon Morrisette, and David Schoffestall. Welcome!

Sam Bruce reminded us of the upcoming VAAS conference (Oct. 13), and announced that we are hosting the 2002 VAAS convention.

Gary Cowardin brought in his new ETX 60AT telescope, which is completely computerized, and he bought for only $98. I have one myself, as do several other members. It performs exactly as advertised, and is a joy to use, running on batteries, and is so easy to set up.

For the main presentation, we viewed a film, The Runaway Universe.

Georgia Peachgaze
by Eric Shelton

A couple of weeks ago I trekked down to Atlanta for the Peach State Star Gaze, 
where we were using powers even as high as 1000x on NGC 7008, an odd-looking
object in Cygnus that doesn't reveal much detail at low power.  My friend Art
Russell is currently observing globular clusters in M31 - he has about 50 so far - most
of which aren't even discernable at powers less than 500x or so.  There were also
several motorized Dobsonians on the field.  You haven't lived until you've
seen a 24" portable telescope slew to an object and track it!

I'll bring snapshots of the PSSG to the next meeting.  The keynote speaker
was to be Wil Tirion, but since the event was the week of 9/11 he couldn't
make it from The Netherlands.  Next year it will be in the mountains where
GA/NC/TN meet, in a very dark sky, and the speaker will be David Levy.  I
can heartily recommend this event to everybody.  The attendance was over 300
this year, and the new site can handle up to 1000, although I hope it
doesn't go that high.

2002 board nominees

These are the  nominees for the 2002 board. We'll vote on them at the
November meeting. This is a great lineup, with several new members,
and we should have a great 2002.

1. Terry Barker
2. Jim Blowers
3. Cindy Bowers
4. Gary Cowardin
5. Gene Dick
6. Joe Hetmanski
7. Jim Petty
8. John Raymond
9. Grace Suttle
10. David Thomas
11. James (Keith) Johnson
12. Charlotte Talley

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Powhatan observing report
by Tom Kunsitis

Last night (Sept. 6) I took a shot at using the approximately one-hour window between
darkness and moonrise to do some astronomy at Powhatan.  Conditions were
fairly good with a limiting magnitude of about 5.5.  Seeing was the normal
poor for the site.  The dew was enough to be a nuisance but not a major
problem.  There were also some high thin clouds later in the evening.  Only
one pickup truck drove through the observing area under high beams all evening.

I was setup at about 2045 using my 13" Dobsonian.  Since it was going to be
a short evening I concentrated on new objects which I had not seen before.

The first object I found was NGC 6760 which is a globular cluster in
Aquila.  It was an fairly easy object both to find by star hopping and to
see with direct vision.  However, with individual stars of the 16th
magnitude I was unable to resolve it.

Nearby in Aquila I saw the planetary nebula NGC 6741.  This nebula is
bright at 11th magnitude but nearly stellar with a 6" diameter.  I found it
by "blinking" it with a UHC filter.  Even at 250x I was not really able to
clearly see a disk.  The poor seeing at Powhatan results in bloated star
images at high power.  Under better conditions it probably would have
easily shown a disk.

On the other end of the spectrum for planetary nebulae, I also saw NGC 40
in Cepheus.  This planetary nebula is large with a 30" diameter and has a
bright 12th magnitude central star.  The nebula itself is easy to see even
without filtration.  It looks like a picture of planetary nebulae shown in
astronomy books.

In Sagittarius I saw both the open cluster NGC 6520 and the dark nebula
Barnard 86.  Since the dark nebula is on the south edge of the star cluster
it is fairly conspicuous.  The cluster itself is impressive with a lot of
bright stars in a 6' diameter field.

The last thing I picked up was NGC 6703 which is a galaxy in Lyra.  This
galaxy is fairly bright at 11th magnitude but is only 2' in
diameter.  However, it was not particularly hard to see.  I was not able to
see its smaller, fainter companion NGC 6702 before a rising waning gibbous
moon cleared the horizon and ended my observing session.

At about 2200 I packed up and headed home.

I arrived on-site (Sept 15) at about 2100.  I was one of three astronomers there.  We
had two 8" computer-controlled catadioptic telescopes and my low-tech 13"
Dobsonian.  Conditions were good from a transparency standpoint.  I
estimated a limiting magnitude of approximately 6.0.  M31 was easily
visible to the naked eye.  Seeing was no worse than usual.  The southeast
and northwest skies were blocked by persistent cloud banks.  What was in
between was left in the clear.  Dewing was again a nuisance but not as much
as the previous week.

I was able to find NGC 6702 which is the companion galaxy in Lyra in the
same field with NGC 6703.  I had seen 6703 on my previous Powhatan trip but
a moonrise prevented me from seeing its fainter companion.  NGC 6702 is
about a magnitude fainter than NGC 6703.  However, it is very small which
makes it more difficult to see.

I also picked up NGC 6751 in Aquila.  This planetary nebula is located in
the "tail" of Aquila the eagle and is well placed for star hopping.  It
presents a small 20" diameter disk.  I was not able to see the
irregularities is the disk reported by other observers.  As with other
planetary nebulae, my UHC filter makes it much easier to see.

The last new object I saw was NGC 6866 in Cygnus.  This open cluster is
located in a rich milky way area but is still well detached from the
background.  It is located in one of the "wings" of Cygnus.  It is a fairly
compact cluster with a lot of 10th magnitude and fainter stars.

I also visited some of the old favorites such as M57, M13, and M31.

I used to regard airplanes as a nuisance while observing.  However, last
evening I was glad to see them flying again.

At about 2300 I packed up and headed home.

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Comet photos
by Ken Wilson

The latest photos from Deep Space 1's encounter with Comet Boreally on Saturday are now
on-line at:

http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1/images.html

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Magazine renewals
by Cindy Bowers

ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE RENEWALS

If you would like to order ASTRONOMY magazine through the club, you can receive a substantial discount. The price is $29.00 per year.

I have to send in a check to ASTRONOMY for all renewals/new subscriptions by October 31. Astronomy offers this discount once a year. If you do not meet the October 31 deadline, then you cannot receive the magazine at a discount.

Please send me a check or bring it to the next meeting in October. MAKE ALL CHECKS OUT TO R.A.S. OR RICHMOND ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. Do not write the check to me, Astronomy, or Kalmbach Publishing.

Contact: Cindy Bowers, 9415 Laurel Grove Rd., Mechanicsville, VA 23116 (746-4825) if you have questions.

SKY AND TELESCOPE RENEWALS

When you receive your renewal notice from Sky and Telescope, do not throw it in the trash. Send the renewal notice, the postage paid envelope, and a check written to RAS for $29.95 to Cindy Bowers. I will then write a check to S&T and send in your renewal request.

I have ordered and received 25 2002 calendars from Astronomy magazine. The cost is $6.00 which is half of the normal price. If you would like one, contact Cindy Bowers at the next meeting.

VAAS convention, 2001
by Terry Barker

Hopefully, many of you have registered for the Oct. 13 VAAS convention in Roanoke. Don't count on getting motel roms at the last minute, however, because it turns out there's a NASCAR event and Va. Tech football game that same weekend, so rooms are hard to come by.

Fan Mt. star party
by Randy Tatum

Just got confirmation of a Fan Mt. star party on Saturday, Oct. 20, from Susan Bender (Charlottesville club). She indicated that the gates will open at 6:00 pm. For those of you who don't know, Fan Mt. is home to two large UVA telescopes (30 and 40 inch). It is also an excellent dark sky site, so people bring their own telescopes and do observing right outside the observatories. This will be a joint event with the Charlottesville club.

East Coast Star Party

This annual event is held in Coinjock, NC, which is located just this side of Nags Head. You can get more information at http://groups.hamptonroads.com/pages1.cfm?page_id=7474.

Visiting author to appear
by Pam Lunsden, Science Instructional Specialist

Chesterfield County Science Department is very excited about having Marcia Bartusiak, author of Einstein's Unfinished Symphony, to speak at Clover Hill High School on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m. This is a forum type presentation, where the author will speak for about 45 minutes and then a panel will lead further discussion with the author. The panel will consist of one student, one teacher, and several field experts. 

Editor's note--Dr. George Spagna, of Randolph-Macon College, will be one of the panelists.

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Calendar

Calendar created by ImpactSoft

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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:

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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