IN THIS ISSUE
TVS presents
Club news and notes
What's Up
Comet Comments
Bike the Solar System
Membership/app lication
Jay Freeman, noted Bay Area amateur astronomer, will discuss deep-sky observing at the July general meeting. He will emphasize useful procedures, technique s, and observing programs, and aspects of equipment that do not necessarily require large apertures to be effective. Jay says, " Not that owners of giant Dobsons aren't welcome, but I shall stress that deep-sky observing depends on technique and practice, and that almost any instrument will suffi ce to learn how and to gather experience."
He stresses, moreover, the tremendous number of deep-sky objects within the range of even small apertures, provided that the observer is ski lled. He also promises to reference numerous astronomical objects that beginning observers can find with large-aperture telescopes.
Bo ard positio n available Be sure to read
for the information about planning meetings and the board opening.
M2-9, a butt erfly, or bipolar planetary, nebula is known as the Twin Jet Nebula. Ground -based obse rvations of the nebu la's inc rease over tim e sugg est that its lobes formed about 1,200 years ago. M2-9 is located in Ophi ucus, some 2,100 light years away. This Hubble image was capt ured in Augus t, 1997. (Bruce Balick, University of Was hingt on; Vinc ent Icke, Leide n University, The Net herlands; Garrelt Mellema, Sto ckholm University; and HST, W FPC2, NASA.)
New mou nt for club scope
Club members were kept quite busy at the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference held over Memorial Day weekend.
During those few days,
we sold the incomplete binocular telescope pi eces for $1,500 and turned right around to purchase a $3,000 mount and drive for the club scope.
The new equipment is pictured on
.
Our deep appreciation goes to members Rich Combs, Chuck Grant, Alan Gorski, and Jim Nunes for the effort they put into assuring the success of both transact ions. Since the purchase date, Mike Rushford and Chuck Grant have spent many hours analyzing the best way to attac h the new mount to our exis ting tube assembly, and the optimum fi tting to our existing pier.
Rest assured, those who attended RTMC discussed this in detail and called home before the purchase
n
CD #2 has a rollover date of July 6. At that time, the balance will be reduced to $2,0 00 and the difference will be added back into the checking account. This will bring the checking balance back over $3,0 00, preserving the fee-free status of that account.
Please see
for the financial details of the telescope transactions.
During June,
we also paid Mike Rushford $200 as partial reimburs ement for his webcast expenses during the eclipse.
Effecti ve immediately, President Dave Anderson is recruiting a new club secretary. The primary duty of this officer is to attend monthly planning meetings and keep the minutes. He or she is also expected to participate in the discussions affecting all club matters.
Alternat ively,
if you are interested in assuming the newsletter editing resonsibilities,
Alan e Alchorn is willing to move from writing
Prime
Focus
to scrib ing as the replacement
secretary.
The board is considering an investment in desktop publi shing software,
and you would be able to recommend your system of choice.
If either of these openings appeals to you, contact Dave Anderson by e-mail as soon as possible: davidand@home.com
On a related note, planning meetings were change d to the Thursday following the general meeting in an effort to accomm odate board members
President Dave Anderson 510 /661-4249 Vice President Chuck Grant (925) 449-1500 Secretary Vacant position see Club News Treasurer Gene Nassar (925) 462-7843
Board Alane Alchorn Dennis Beckley Rich Combs Rich Green Kathleen Kelley Russ Kirk Dave Rodrigu es Debbie Scherrer Jim Zum stein
Observatory Director Chuck Grant grant@ hooked.net
Meeting Location Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore
1893 N. Vasco Rd. 3/4 mil e north of I-580
E-mai l tvs@hook ed.net
Phil Waide, our school star party coordinator, is scheduling school star parties thoughout this month. Interested members should contact Phil at (925) 455-6039.
Public star parties are arranged by Jim McIntire, who announces the following events:
Club News and Notes Star Parties
What's Up in July Dave Anderson
| Date (00UT) | R.A. (2000) | Dec | El | Sky | Mag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date (00UT) | R.A. (2000) | Dec | El | Sky | Mag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-01 | 06h21.4m | -50° 44' | 74° | M | 10.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-06 | 06h26.3m | -51° 06' | 74° | M | 10.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-11 | 06h31.2m | -51° 30' | 74° | M | 10.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-16 | 06h36.0m | -51° 57' | 74° | M | 10.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date (00UT) | R.A. (2000) | Dec | El | Sky | Mag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-21 | 06h40.8m | -52° 26' | 75° | M | 10.6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-26 | 06h45.5m | -52° 58' | 75° | M | 10.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 07-31 | 06h50.0m | -53° 33' | 76° | M | 10.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08-05 | 06h54.4m | -54° 10' | 76° | M | 10.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date (00UT) | R.A. (2000) | Dec | El | Sky | Mag |
| 07-01 | 08h28.1m | -39° 23' | 68° | E | 10.3 |
| 07-06 | 08h44.3m | -41° 33' | 69° | E | 10.7 |
| 07-11 | 08h59.8m | -43° 27' | 70° | E | 11.1 |
| 07-16 | 09h14.9m | -45° 11' | 70° | E | 11.5 |
| 07-21 | 09h29.5m | -46° 46' | 70° | E | 11.8 |
| 07-26 | 09h43.7m | -48° 13' | 70° | E | 12.2 |
| 07-31 | 09h57.6m | -49° 35' | 70° | E | 12.5 |
| 08-05 | 10h11.2m | -50° 52' | 70° | E | 12.7 |
| 62.9286 deg.
Eccen: 0.99 5085 1.00 0760 1.0 Orbital Period: ~250 0 years Long Period Long Period Ref: MPC 3073 8 MPC 3073 8 MPEC 1998 -L07 Epoch: 1997 12 18 1998 03 08 1998 05 08 Absol. Mag/"n": -1.0/4.0 4.0/ 4.0 8.0/ 4.0 Comet Comments Don Mac hhol z New mou nt for club scope was made. The new mount is engineered for a 180 -pound assembly, and ours weighs in at 140 pounds.
Your club's $3,0 00 purchased the following gear to upgrade the 17.5-inch scope at the dark sky site.
*
A Parallax HD-200 mount and drive.
At the June planning meeting the board approved Mike and Chuck's request for $200 to purchase materials to complete the ins tallation of our new equipment. First light with the combined new rig may even have occurred by the time you read this newsletter. Check the club website (see page 2) for late-breaking news. Club news and notes and others who stated difficulties with the original Monday scheduling. Surprisingly, attenda nce at the planning meetings has declined since the shift was made.
Please refer to the box at the bottom of meetings! Dave Anderson will conduct an e-mail preference poll to determine a better planning meeting schedule. Board members, and those interested in attending planning meetings should e-mail him with their preferences at: davidand@home.com Planning meetings are held at the First Street Round Table Pizza in Livermore. If this location is inconvenient or unacc eptable, let Dave know.
Slide sets on orderThe board approved an expenditure of approximately $222 to purchase five sets of ASP images for use at public and school star parties. The astrophotos include the solar system and a wide variety of deep sky objects.This selection was chosen so that club presenters could assemble collections specifically useful at schools, or geared to the general public. At the August barbecue, you will have a chance to see these great images for yourself.
Welcome bac k, Bob!Reliable rumor has it that Bob Braddy will shortly return to the US, although probably not to the Bay Area. He has dropped a few hints that we can expect to see him at the Glacier Point Yosemite star party.
(Club news and notes continue on Axe l Mellinger captured this image of scopes set up to enjoy the view from the Whi te Mountains in 1997. Our annual club trip is set for July 23-26.
Club news and notes Address corr ectionPlease make the following corrections to the club roster you received last month.Gene Cross 3999 3 Fremont Blvd., #107 Fremont, CA 945 38-268 6 (510) 490-7686 gene.cross@usa.net
Loaner scopes awa it summer skiesEven with the wonderful turn in the weather, TVS can sti ll offer you a great deal on your choice of loaner scopes. We currently own Dobsonians and Newtonians you can enjoy for next to nothing.Monthly scope rental is available to members in good standing for the bargain pri ce of $15 per month ($5 per month for students under age 18). A $50 good-faith deposit check will be requested at the time of rental. Your check is returned uncashed when you bring the scope back to our next general meeting. Observatory Director and club VP Chuck Grant is our ultimate expert on the capabiliti es of the loaner scopes. Find him at the July general meeting, and you can take one home with you that night.
Future gene ral meetin gs August 14:The famous and delici ous annual summerbarbecue rolls around again next month. Be sure to read next month's newsletter for ins tructions on your culinary contribution to our feast.
September 11 :Pending topic.Octo ber 9:Pending topic.
November 13 :Isabel Hawkins of UC Berkeley. Dr. Hawkinsconducts astronomical research involving the EUVE satellite and chemical abundanc es of the interstellar medium. She is also a strong proponent of astronomy education. December 11: Our holiday potluck.
Seeking Edwa rd Hillyer and othersClarence Funk, past president of Central Valley Astronomers, is looking for Edward Hillyer. Clarence writes, "He purchased a 6-inch refractor from me a few years ago and I have some more scopes to sell. I need to get rid of them for the widow of a friend of mine." Clarence reports the following instruments for sale: * 8-inch approx. f/8 reflector on a very sturdy mount, excellent scope, great drive. * 6-inch approx. f/10 reflector, also a great scope. * 10-inch Cassegrain that needs to be fini shed. * 3-inch refractor, excellent scope. * 4-inch refractor, excellent scope.All the above scopes, plus many more, were made by Glenn Reavis. He ground and polis hed the mirrors, made the mounts from patterns he developed for himself and had them cast at a local foundary, after which he finished them on his 12-inch heavy duty lathe. He was a perfectioni st and if anything wasn't absolutely perfect to his standards, he redid it or destroyed it and began anew. If Edward, or any other club member, is interested in these instrument s, that individual should contact: Clarence Funk 5790 E. Tarpey Drive Fresno, CA 937 27-727 1 cfunk@q nis.net
Stella 200 0 2.0 availabl eStella 2000 is new astronomical PC software that runs in all 32-bi t flavors of Windows. Like a virtual observatory, it simulates the stars in their courses, as seen from Earth. It includes an observing log, live ephemeris, realisti c sky projections in real time, location browser, and search capability that includes planets, comets, 15,500 stars, and deep-sky objects.Viewers can advanc e, retard, or animate the simulation's clock by years, months, days, or minutes of either sidereal or solar time. Stella builds upon its precursor, Coeli Electric Planisphere, to provide such effects as scintillati on, refraction, extinction, and precession in point-source, spotlight, or the new photoplate display mode. For more details and pri cing in formation, point your browser to http://www.sci.fi/~elk/stella.htm. Stella r Sel ler What's up in July (Continued from page 3) Some Deep Sky Objects
M5 One of the best globular clusters,
in Serpens (Caput).
PlanetsMercury Very low in west-northwest after sunset around mid-month. Venus Lost in morning twilight.Mars Very low in east-northeast before sunris e.
Jupiter Rises in late evening;
south in morning sky.
Uranus Up nearly all night.
Messier and Caldwell objectsDra C6 (Cat's Eye Neb.)Her M92 (globular cluster) Lyr M57 (Ring Neb.) Oph M9, M14, M19, M62 (globular clusters) Sct M11 (Wild Duck Cluster), M26 (open cluster) Ser M16 (Eagle Neb.) Sgr M8 (Lagoon Neb.), M17 (Swan or Omega Neb.), M20 (Tri fi d Neb.), M18, M21, M23, M25 (open clusters), M22, M28, M54, M69, M70 (globular clusters), M24 (star cloud) Sco M6 (Butterfly Cluster), M7 (open cluster), C69 (Bug Neb.) Anno uncing the int erplan etary bicy cle ri de Follow the orbits of planetary explorers through the "World's Largest Model of the Solar System" on July 25-26 in Peoria, IL. This ride is sponsored by Illi nois Valley Wheelm'n, Lakeview Museum of Arts & Sciences, Peoria Astronomical Society, Peoria Academ y of Sciences, and Fri ends of the Rock Island Trail. Saturday July 25: "Century" rid e to Pluto with shorterroutes to selected Jovian planets. Sunday, July 26: Tour the inner solar system from Mercuryto Jupiter or Satu rn. Depending on your planetary destination, there are options for riders of all ages and abiliti es. For example: Jupiter - Satu rn - Jupiter (Rock Island Trail) 1.4 billion miles (10 mi) Sun-Merc ury-Venus-Earth-Ma rs-Jupiter-Saturn-S un 3.9 billion miles (27 mi) Jupiter - Neptune - Jupiter (Rock Island Trail) 6.4 billion miles (45 mi) Sun - Pluto - Sun (city, trail, county roads) 13 billion miles (90 mi) Century option into the Kuiper Comet Belt 14 Billi on miles (10 0mi)
Brag ging rightsWho else can say they've cycled to Pluto? Consider the reversal of the aging process: Since ride speeds will be in excess of the speed of light (186,000 miles /second), there are relativisti c impli cations. Some observers predict that riders may return younger than when they started. The planets span 60 miles of Central Illi nois, with comets spread around the world.For more information contact: sls@bradley.bradley.edu 309 -686-7000 For a cyberspace tour of the World's Largest Model of the Solar System, visit: http://www.bradley.edu/las/ phy/solar_system.html
Prime Focus Tri-Valley Stargazers Newsletter P.O. Box 2476 Livermore, CA 94551
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