ASTRONOMY IN LIPAN (LASS)

NEW YEAR-------NEW THRILLS

2012-01-25T18:36:00.000-06:00

LASS hosted the first observing party of 2012 last Saturday night and it was a booming success. Six regulars and two guest spent the early evening hours looking at Jupiter, Venus, and Orion as well as a host of other nice targets. The Goat Hill Clear Clock site that is nearby indicated that we would have good viewing until about 9 PM and as usual, they were accurate almost to the scary point. Early evening viewing was outstanding so all of us took full advantage of the opportunity.

I had checked the Heavens Above web page for chances to see any of the major satellites and Iridium flares---nothing was going to be available along those lines so I looked at my planetarium program for unusual things that we might want to observe. I didn't see anything special so we just planned on doing the usual Messier things and visiting. After all, visiting is a very major part of the LASS program. Early in the session most of us took a quick look at Jupiter and noticed that only one moon was actually visible. We talked about this for a little while and then went about the task of looking for something else. What we didn't realize was something special was taking place around Jupiter and we weren't even aware of it. At least we hadn't checked it out and we didn't know what was actually going on around the big planet. All of this emphasizes the importance of having a thorough observing plan for every time you go out to look.

Less than an hour into the session someone checked on Jupiter again and made the discovery that one of the moons was just making its appearance from behind/in front of the big red giant. We all gave it a quick look and within a couple of minutes a second moon appeared on the opposite site of the disk. Suddenly we realized that we were seeing something very rare and we began to pay a lot of attention to the proceedings. Within a very short time the fourth moon appeared but it wasn't from behind Jupiter but it appeared almost without warning at a distance from the planet. To sum it up, we went from one moon visible to all four moons visible within a very short time. I noted the time that all this was taking place and the next day consulted my trusty planetarium program for an explanation. Here is what I found.

When we began the observing session shortly after sunset, but before full darkness, we were observing Jupiter with its moon Callisto in all their beauty. Europa was already transiting the face of the planet but since we weren't aware of that we didn't look for it. At 6:29, Ganymede emerged from behind Jupiter and we were lucky enough to be looking at almost the exact time that event occurred. Then at 6:42, Europa completed its transit of the planet and showed itself on the opposite side of Jupiter from Ganymede. It was almost impossible to tell that both moons were not touching the outer rim of Jupiter at the exact same time. From 6:15 to 6:42 we went from only one moon visible to three visible. Then something else happened that we didn't know until the next day when I checked the planetarium program. At 6:55 shadow of Europa began a transit across the face of Jupiter. I will admit that it is very hard to follow one of the moons as it transits the face of the planet but the shadow is fairly easy to detect and follow---that is if you know it is going to cross. By now some of us were getting curious as to the location of the fourth moon and when it might emerge from behind Jupiter. At 7:51 we had our answer but it wasn't exactly what we were thinking. It appeared very quickly as the outer most moon---not even anywhere near the edge of Jupiter. It had not been behind the planet at all but was being eclipsed by Jupiter's shadow. Then as a final event for Jupiter's evening, the shadow of Europa fell off the edge of Jupiter at 9:13 PM. Quite a lot of moon activity for one evening.

What is the moral of this narration you might ask? SIMPLY THIS---if I had looked at the planetarium program in detail I could have been aware that all this Jupiter activity was going to happen. We did see very part except the shadow of Europa but it was by accident only---nothing that we had planned. It was neat to see the events unfold as they happened but it would have been a little more exciting for me if I had been aware of how they were going to appear in my scope. And I always get a special thrill when I watch one of the moon shadows cross the face of Jupiter. We missed that opportunity by not checking and planning. I hope to do better in the future.

Incidentally, we did see some great views of Venus and Orion. Our guest seemed to have a good time and thought they would be coming back again. But just on schedule according to the Goat Hill Clear Clock prediction, the clouds began to move in shortly after 9 and that ended our first observing session for 2012. I am looking forward to many more this year. Hope you can join us for some of them.

EARLY MORNING NIGHT THINGS

2012-01-14T12:14:00.000-06:00

Truthfully, I am not what you would describe as a night owl. Oh I will get up at 3-4 AM to look at a meteor shower or some other once in a night time event but generally speaking if it doesn't happen before midnight it isn't on my radar. Our annual Messier Marathon is another exception but that accounts for most of my late night astro adventures. I have been known to attend an extended star party but even then I seldom make it up all night. But I do appreciate what that early morning look has to offer.

The last few mornings I have been up around 4 AM to check on the temperature in my greenhouse. I always turn the heat on before I go to bed if the weather forecast is below 40 degrees for the night. The reason I choose 40 degrees is my mistrust of the weather forecasters. They generally are within 5 degrees of the low but if it gets below freezing in the greenhouse, I am in deep trouble. So I get up and check just to make sure. It is well worth the effort.

Right now, my night time routine is as follows----around 8 PM I make it out to the greenhouse to turn on the heat if it seems that it will be needed anytime during the night. Venus is so brilliant at that hour that I am sure someone with good eyes could read a book without any other light source. The moon hasn't made it up yet so that makes Venus seem even brighter. In fact, Venus is bright enough to have the same effect as a bright moon. A lot of the dimmer stars are simply washed out. But I glance around and see what there is to see and then make it back inside to watch the late news and get ready for bed. Then around 4 AM I pull on my sweats and trek out to check on the temperature. That's when I really get an eye full of the morning sky. Lately it has seen severe clear at that time of the morning and for some unknown reason ( although I know it is just my imagination) it seems like there is less light pollution. The moon is up by that time and shinning brightly but if I stand in the shadow of the clubhouse the stars just jump out in the clear, crisp sky. The amazing thing is the orientation of the stars and constellations. It has been so long since I have seen them at this time I needed to get my star and planet locator out and get myself orientated. I know that doesn't sound like a guy who really likes to look at the night sky but it is the truth. Even though it has been rather cool these last few mornings, it is easy to forget that and simply concentrate on what I could see. Not so much that I wanted to drag out the old 20 inch Dob at that hour but it does get the juices circulating. I have resorted to taking out the 10X50's binos to look at a few things. I haven't had the bino chair out lately but it seems like this might be a good time to get it ready for use. There is one simple thing that I can't seem to understand about all this---when it gets to be that night for the monthly LASS observing session, the clouds seem to move in, the wind starts to blow and the temperature falls out the bottom of the gage. WHY, WHY,WHY.

Speaking of monthly star parties, January 21st is the date for our 1st gathering of 2012. I want this year to be a more productive time for our club and I encourage all local members to make every effort to come out. Getting together seems to be a shot in the arm for me. It makes me want to find things that I haven't seen in a long time and at the same time I find myself wanting to visit with the other club members to see how their observing sessions have been going. This first meeting after christmas is also a good time to find out what others may have found under the astronomy section of their christmas tree. SEE YOU THE 21st.

WHAT IS GOING ON OUT THERE?

2012-01-12T11:22:00.000-06:00

This rant may be just a little far out for a local astronomy blog but I found the subject very interesting so here it is.

THE AMAZING KEPLER TELESCOPE

Some time ago I wrote an article about the "Kepler" space telescope and what might be found by that fantastic piece of equipment. (See post "How Many Solar Systems Are Out There", January 2010.) Well, it is about time to do an update. At the time I posted that article there was approximately 400 stars in our galaxy that had known "exoplanets". A exoplanet is a planet circling its star in the same way that earth and its friends are orbiting our sun. Since then the number has swelled to over 700 known stars with exoplanets and there are thousands of star candidates that are waiting in the wings to have their own solar systems confirmed by astrophysicists who are studying the available data. In terms of astronomy discoveries and advancements, that is an astounding change in our understanding of our universe. As little as 40 years ago no one knew that there was any other star with a solar system that even resembled ours. Not that any of these new systems are anywhere like ours in their overall makeup but just the fact that we have made these discoveries is amazing.

In terms of how large space really is, think of this. There are roughly 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. If only one in four had four exoplanets that would be 400 billion pieces of something floating around in the space of our Milky Way galaxy. Now that doesn't even count all the asteroids and man made objects that are in our own private solar system. If you really want to get imaginative, think about the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there in the known universe with billions stars in each one and the possibility of exoplanets around all those stars----my goodness we are approaching a number as large as the national debt.

Now before you start salivating about all these things that you can see I need to bring you down to earth---so to speak. No back yard astronomer has even come close to seeing an exoplanet in our Milky Way galaxy much less something that small in a distant galaxy. We can't even break out stars in galaxies other than our own. But the big guys with the fantastic scopes like Kepler and other measuring devices have be able to detect these objects. Now hold on to your pants!!! There are even pictures of these rascals. You read correctly---there are pictures of these exoplanets and even pictures of stars that have more than one exoplanet in orbit around them.
This is one of the very first pictures showing at least two exoplanets orbiting a star simply identified as HR 8799. This star is roughly 5 times as bright as our sun and lies 130 light years from earth. This image was acquired in late 2008 and since then there have been other exoplanets imaged. (double click the image for a larger view) They are out there folks but the sad thing is that even the nearest ones are so far away that there isn't even a remote (at least creditable) theory as to how we might reach them with anything except cameras. It is kinda like a kid in a candy store standing in front of the counter and seeing all that candy and knowing that there is no way any of it is going to get into his mouth---then some generous benefactor comes by and puts down 25 cents just to see the kid grin. Unless some scientific benefactor suddenly comes up with something that hasn't even been thought of, I don't see any space travel outside our small solar system in my lifetime or even the lifetime of my great grandkids. But it is so amazing to know that we humans can learn so much about the universe around us. We may not be able to travel there or to make contact with any other living organism that may exist out there but at least we know that we are very special in all that expanse. I can well remember about 70 years ago when me and my dad would be outside looking at the night sky and I would ask if it would be possible for anyone to go to the moon. His simple response was, "it is not intended for mankind to go to the moon." Well, maybe it was not intended, but someone forgot to tell those who had the foresight to imagine. I'm glad we have folks around us that have that imaginative spirit.

HOW TO AVOID BUYING THE WRONG TELESCOPE

2011-11-28T20:00:00.001-06:00

There are a lot of folks out there that want to buy a home so they can start living the GREAT AMERICAN DREAM. That was one of the first things that Lucy and I did when I finished all the Air Force flying schools and we arrived at our first permanent assignment. It was a modest little home---900 sq ft with an attached garage. Plenty of room for a young couple. Plenty big enough to have company or start a family. It served us very well for four years then we were reassigned to England and we sold the house and all the furniture we had acquired. I won't say that we did a lot of extensive research before we bought the house but we did considered the convenience to the base where I worked, the overall appearance of the neighborhood, the total cost, and the possible resale potential. Looking back some 56 years, we think we did pretty good. We didn't make a lot of money on the resale but the experience we gained throughout the process paid dividends in home purchases we would make in the future.

When I finally discovered my interest in astronomy observing I knew immediately that I wanted a telescope of my own. The possible selections of what to buy were almost endless. Since it was an entirely new hobby to me I wanted to make sure I would stay with it long enough to justify the expense of a telescope and that whatever scope I chose would be something I could and would use. But in reality, you don't know initially if you will develop a longtime interest in the hobby. That puts you in a slight delima at first but in my case there was a viable solution. That solution is what I want to discuss in this article about how to avoid buying the wrong telescope.

The telescope that I was looking thru when I really got "hooked" was a 20 inch DOB that a professional observer from the Mcdonald Observatory at Ft Davis, Tx was using to teach a two night astronomy session to a bunch of folks who were on a activity planned vacation. For those of you that don't know much about scopes, that's a "REALLY BIG ONE". You had to climb up a ladder to look into the eyepiece and the instructor had to continually keep adjusting the scope to keep the desired targets centered. No matter what the difficulty was, the view of the Andromeda galaxy thru that eyepiece was simply mind boggling to me. I knew right then that I wanted a telescope. At the time a scope like that would cost somewhere in the vicinity of $2500/$4000 dollars. A whole lot more than any beginner should even consider investing in a hobby that might or might not be a long lasting one. I needed an avenue to find a scope that I could use that would be both economical and functional. For me that avenue was to begin reading articles in Sky & Telescope magazine and join a local astronomy club. It was a full 1 1/2 years before I made the decision to actually buy a telescope. Not that I had wavered any in my desire to own a scope but for me I wanted it to be one that I could use and actually see the objects of interest in the sky.

The first scope that got my eye was a Meade 4 inch computerized telescope that you could use on a tripod or sit on the top of a table. It was small, easily transported and that computerized mount sure looked inviting to me. I wouldn't have to know very much about the night sky to be able to see things using that baby. At least that is what I had in mind. I must have looked at that scope in a dozen or more telescope shops over the course of that 1 1/2 years. It could be purchased for somewhere around $400 dollars. A 4 inch mirror is a fairly small mirror for a reflector scope and I knew that the larger a telescope mirror was (basically the size of the telescope) the more light it could gather, hence the more potential there was to see more things. I wanted a scope with the largest mirror I could afford to buy. Finally, I set a top price that I felt that I could spend and that opened several more options to me and closed other options. Any type of computerized scope larger than the 4 inch model would be well beyond my dollar allowance so that pretty much ruled out a computerized scope for me. Additionally by this time I had come to realize that for me learning the night sky and how to find objects by manually searching for them (of course aided by charts etc) was a part of the hobby that I wanted to develop. So it was back to the catalogs to find a scope that would meet all those requirements.

I settled on an 8 inch reflector that was on an equatorial mount. I must confess here that my memory does not tell me why I decided on the equatorial mount other than to note that once properly aligned and the target located you can track the target with the simple rotation of a guidance knob on the mount. There are a few other details to observing with an equatorial mount but I won't go into those here. In April 2000 I set down in front of my computer and ordered a Orion 8 inch scope. It cost me about $200 dollars more that the 4 inch would have and about $300 more than a small DOB I was considering. That 8 inch scope served me well for a couple of years and I still have it. However, after a couple of years of observing I decided that a DOB type scope would be more suited to my observing habits. All astro observers fall prey to the "larger scope" syndrome sooner or later and I was no exception. I also discovered that the hobby of star gazing was really something I liked to do so I was willing to spend more money to satisfy myself. It wasn't long until I plunked down about $800 dollars and became the proud owner of a Meade 12.5 inch Dobson scope.

That bigger and better scope for me was still a reflector scope but it was on a Dobson mount. Most often these scopes are simply referred to as "DOBs". For simplicity purposes, think of a DOB as a tube that sits on a lazy susan so you can push and pull it where ever you want to point it with almost no effort. Generally speaking, a DOB with a solid tube to house the mirror is just that---a tube and a base mount. Two pieces and that is it. Because of the simplicity of the design, the scope is much less expensive than any comparable sized scope with a different type mount. It is by far the easiest scope to use because you simply push or pull it toward the desired target. However, you must constantly make small adjustments to the scope because it doesn't track the desired objects automatically. Don't be misled here---with any non computerized mount, regardless of type, you are going to have to know the sky above you if you are ever going to find things to look at.

With all the simplicity of the DOB, there are things that you must consider. Weight and the length of the tube assembly are the major factors. A solid tube 16 inch DOB can easily weigh up to 100 lbs and the base can weigh about 75 lbs. The tube can be 6 feet or longer. Lugging that kind of weight around on an observing site can be a little intimidating. But where there is a will there will always be a way and this is no exception.

Someone with a great vision simply sawed the mirror box off the bottom of the tube, added some lightweight truss bars and put the top cage on the other end and you now have a 3 piece DOB that can be easily disassembled and moved. The limiting weight factor became a mute point and DOBs really got big. Most of these big babies were hand crafted until a couple of years ago when scope manufacturers got their act together and began to mass produce the "truss Dob".

By this time, (about 2008) I was really into the observing thing and the desire for a larger, truss type began to enter my mind. A friend of mine happened to have a 15 incher and offered to trade it to me for my 12.5 incher and a few $$$$ to boot. It was a deal I simply couldn't refuse. That scope was just what the Dr. ordered and it seemed perfect for me. Not to big to move around but big enough to really see and observe deep sky objects. Then it happened again. Another friend offered to trade me a 20 inch Dob for my 15 because the 20 was getting to difficult for him to move around. And the offer was for an even swap!!! The temptation to move up to a large scope without spending more money is worse than offering candy to a baby.

I was now on my fourth scope ( notice that all were DOBs except the very first one). The larger scope proved to be as much more impressive as each one of the previous upgrades I had made but I soon discovered why my "FRIEND" was so eager to trade. I had finally got to the point where I couldn't load and unload the base of the larger scope without someone to help me. But I wasn't about to part with that large scope. I would either have to revert to taking the smaller 8 inch scope I had originally purchased to star parties away from my house or just not take a scope . Neither of these options made me feel very good.

Suddenly out of nowhere my benefactor appeared in shining armour. Lucy stepped up and asked the key question---"WHY DON'T YOU BUY A SECOND DOB THAT YOU CAN EASILY HANDLE AND MOVE EASILY IN THE PICKUP?" How she ever discerned my thoughts I will never know but I am eternally greatful. It isn't often that your spouse offers to let you spend $1000 dollars for a piece of equipment when you already have somewhere in the vicinity of $2500 dollars tied up in a telescope. In addition to the 20 inch scope I now own a very good 12 inch Dob which serves both as a regular at the house but is my standby for carrying to star parties away from home. Remember back in 2000 I was trying to justify spending $650 dollars for that very first scope?

Not everyone will make the moves that I have made and continue to buy larger and larger scopes. You can purchase a very good 8 inch DOB from one of the catalog companies for about $350 dollars and a 10 inch DOB for around $550 dollars. Either of these scopes are very user friendly and are very functional.

Many folks will opt for a very inexpensive scope from a department store or some similar retail outlet to give to a young observer or someone just beginning in astronomy. The idea behind a purchase like this may be to determine if the person will become truly interested in astronomy or if it is just a passing fancy. I understand the thought behind this rational but it will almost always backfire. If the scope mount and the scope itself are made of cheap materials they will probably prove to be more of a hinderance than benefit to your potential astronomy observer. Most of these scopes are less than desirable in overall workmanship and are usually very hard to use. The tripod may be very lightweight and unable to hold the telescope without continual shaking. No matter how good the telescope may be, if the mount it is on is loose and wobbly you will never be able to see very much in the eyepiece. In a majority of scopes of this quality the focus mechanism will never allow you to get a object into good focus because the gearing is not very well machined. It's a lot like a small bolt in a large hole---it just flops around and is never very solid. There will be a lot of "department store" scopes for sale this Christmas season and many of them will be advertised as "computerized". These scopes will sell for something around $99/$350 dollars and are very tempting for the first time buyer. I would never advise you not to purchase one of these scopes. They may be exactly what you want and need. What I would advise you to do is this---visit with someone that owns a scope. Talk to them about the likes and dislikes of their scope. If possible, try using the scope to see how it works for you. Better yet, if possible, visit a astronomy club one night when they are observing. They will likely have several scopes representing all types and sizes. They may not all agree on the one best scope but at least you can get the pros and cons from more than one person. If you decide that observing is the thing you want to do or if someone in your family wants to get into observing, then go out and find yourself a telescope. If you are still undecided and want to investigate still more before you make a purchase, consider buying a good pair of binoculars. There is an untold number of objects than you can observe with binoculars alone. At least if you decide that star gazing isn't for you, the binoculars can be used for a lot of other activities.

TOTAL MOON ECLIPSE DECEMBER 10, 2011

2011-11-17T13:35:00.000-06:00

Well it is true that there will be a total eclipse of the moon on December 10th of this year but unfortunately for us around the LASS site it is going to be a short look. The penumbra stage will begin at 5:33 AM (plus or minus a minute of two) and the moon will set in the west (where else does the moon set?) at about 6:45 AM. The moon will not be in a total eclipse until 8:06 AM. It will already be below the western horizon from our viewing point by that time so we won't see the whole eclipse.
I know that most of you that read this blog know that a lunar (moon) eclipse can only happen during or very near the full moon phase. That is the only time that the earth could possibly be positioned between the Sun and the moon. Technically, it would be possible to have a full lunar eclipse every month but in actually it only happens about twice every year. And even then it isn't visible to everyone. It is a little difficult for me to explain this since I can't easily use my hands to illustrate all the many in's and out's of a lunar eclipse in this blog but a casual glance at the illustration here will give you something to hang onto while I attempt to explain the phenomenon.

Under the conditions shown at the left, the moon is in the full shadow of the earth and therefore is in a full eclipse, at least to folks in some parts of the world. Needless to say, if you can't see the moon at all because it isn't visible to your location during the time that it is in the earth's shadow, you aren't going to see any part of the eclipse. That is the case on the Dec 10th eclipse for us in the Texas area of the U.S. For us, the eclipse begins early in the AM hours of the 10th and it just so happens that the moon will be setting in the west from our viewpoint at that time of the morning. We will be able to see part of the earth's shadow as it covers the moon but only for a short period. If you are lucky enough(?????) to live in Calif you could see the entire eclipse.

Since we have been talking about a "full eclipse", someone might want to know what other kinds of eclipses are there out there? Simply stated, there is either a full eclipse or a partial one. The partial one could be anything just short of the moon being in the full shadow of earth to something as slight as just what we might call a slight brush. What then is the thing that prevents all eclipses from being the full blown thing?

Without trying to get to technical, here is the simple explanation. During its orbit of the sun, the earth follows a path called the "ecliptic". Since the moon is a satellite of earth, it also follows this "ecliptic" with a slight variation. That variation amounts to approximately 5 degrees variance from that of the earth's ecliptic. Looking at the sketch above, you can see that there is an intersecting line between the earth's ecliptic and the moon's orbit around the earth. The point of this intersection is called "Nodes" and there is a northern and a southern node. In order to have any kind of lunar eclipse the moon must be at the northern or southern node and at the same time the earth must be between the moon and the sun. It stands to reason that there is always a shadow effect from the sun/earth relationship ( how else could day and night be possible?) but unless there is some object for that shadow to fall upon we only recognize it as night time. The moon does make this critical shadow alignment on the average of every six (6) months hence a lunar eclipse every six months. Sometimes the alignment isn't always perfect therefore we see only a partial eclipse. Always keep this fact in mind---if your can't see the moon from your vantage point when it goes thru all these gyrations, you will not see the eclipse.

If all of this confuses you just come to one of our LASS observing parties. I can demonstrate the entire process to you in 3 minutes using a couple of balls and a flashlight. If you need a fully scientific explanation, Google "lunar eclipse" and follow the various articles. HAVE FUN

THE CHANGING SKY NEVER ENDS

2011-11-09T11:08:00.000-06:00

From my stand point here at the LASS observing site it does seem like the sky is always changing although it sometimes seems to do so very slowly. It is very much like watching a child grow up. If that child is yours or if you have the opportunity to observe him/her on a regular basis the changes are usually very subtle from day to day or even month to month. But if you don't see that same child for 4 or 5 months or maybe even a year or so, the change is very apparent. A one month baby is very, very different in appearance and actions than a 9 month old.

The sky that we observe doesn't change in the same way that a child might change but if you haven't been outside and looked at the various constellations and other fine objects in a few months you will be rewarded with a complete new set of objects to observe. So much of the time our local star parties last until about 12 PM and anything that graces the night sky after that hour has to wait until the next time we venture out.

I had a great opportunity to look at a lot of objects that I haven't seen in a long time this morning when I got up early to check on the pre-dawn temperature in my greenhouse. As I casually looked at the cool, crisp early morning sky I remembered the recent public star party I attended at Mineral Wells State Park. The moon was about 1st quarter phase and Jupiter was well up in the eastern sky. They made great targets but several folks asked if they could see Saturn and Orion as well. Naturally I responded that we certainly could---if we wanted to wait until about 2AM when they would be rising in the eastern horizon. That put an end to that discussion very quickly. But about 4AM this morning both of those objects were high in the sky and just waiting for me to put my scope on them. Of course I didn't but it won't be very long until both are visible during my normal observing hours.

The thought of all this made me recall the thrill of an all night star party. Most of the time around the LASS site we only attempt to say up all night for the annual Messier Marathon in mid March. Some of the guys venture to Ft Griffin for an all night stand at various times during the year but the last time I did that was during December and I thought I was going to freeze to death. I vowed to never do that again. But if you do want to stay up all night the best time is during the late fall to early spring months. Some of you might question why then? Just think for a minute---there are more hours of darkness during those months hence more time to see things.

Remember the terms "spring/fall equinox and spring/winter solstice"? For astronomy purposes (and mine for simplification) the term "equinox" whether is be spring or fall means that the number of hours of daylight and night are roughly the same. These dates fall in mid March and mid September. On the other hand, the summer solstice is that time when the daylight hours (mid June) are at their maximum and the winter solstice is when the night time hours (mid December) are at their maximum. It stands to reason that you can get in more observing time during the long winter nights than you can during the short summer nights. Just remember---you need to dress for the occasion.

But getting back to my original thought for this rant. I have only been in the observing business since '97 but the simple wonder of the way our view of the sky changes keeps me on my toes for what is coming up next. Maybe you don't forget all the fine details of what you normally see during the four major seasons of the year but I do. Therefore it is always like a new adventure for me. I do admit that I sometimes get a little impatient for the next group of new target to make their appearance but I can usually satisfy that by staying up and observing all night---not that I do that but at least I know that for the most part that is an option. I might even give it a try in a couple of nights.

TIMES ARE CHANGING IN ASTRONOMY

2011-10-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

Several years ago (longer than I like to remember) I was exposed to computers. These computers were the big IBM type that took up an entire room and no one---and I mean no one---except the computer guru was allowed to touch them in any way. This expert would sometimes ask "what can we do for you that might help in your work". Most of us didn't know enough about computers to even tell the guy what we needed. Many years later, Apple introduced the MacIntosh---that small desktop computer with a 9 inch screen and a program that would allow you to draw very basic pictures and a program that would allow you to write a letter or something. I knew they were on to something because the Mac had what is generally referred to as a "graphic interface" with a "mouse" to use as a pointer. I bought one the first year they were available and I have been a Mac user ever since. It is hard to change---especially if there is no other computer product that even compares. But this blog isn't about computers.

It was a lot the same way when I finally discovered the hobby of astronomy. I won't bore you with the details but it took me a long time to finally decide on a telescope and mount to buy. For some reason that escapes me now, I decided on a reflector scope on an equatorial mount. The 8 inch Orion arrived in April 2000 and I stayed with it faithfully until Feb. 2003. That's when my 12.5 inch Meade DOB arrived. I have owned several scopes since then but needless to say, they all have been on Dobson mounts. These scopes are a lot like those first graphic interface computers---you just point them in the general direction of the desired target, make a few small adjustments using a tel-rad or finder scope and presto, there is your target. At least that is the theory. Sometimes, for some unknown reason, it is a little more difficult than that. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

When I began to see some of the "new" computerized scope mounts at star parties I couldn't think of anything good to say about them because I considered their owners to be traitors to the astro observing community. By that I mean they were giving up the old fashioned method of finding things in the sky---namely star hopping etc. to find the desired object. Those guys only had to learn a few alignment stars to set up their "computerized" scopes and then just punch in the desired target in a hand controller. How could any really dedicated observer give in to such juvenile means of finding those difficult clusters and galaxies. They didn't even have to learn the constellations or any other means of navigating the night sky. And besides that, the mounts and motors driving them weren't all that reliable---not to mention the deafening noise those things made as they went from one target to another. It was nothing but plain old unadulterated treason---that was unless I needed some help from my less learned friend to find an object--then I relented just a little bit. I didn't like to admit that these electronic gadgets were actually helping folks find things they wanted to see but that was exactly what was happening. Just like the first computers I encountered, those scopes with their computerized mounts began to improve in quality and I began to notice that a lot of folks that were buying them were having good success and enjoyment in finding objects in the night sky. Maybe there was something good about these scopes and mounts after all.
Needless to say but I am still a dyed-in-the-wool DOB user and that will always be my scope of choice but I must concede that new and different things are coming along in amateur astronomy circles that are bring more new folks into the hobby.

One of those new and amazing things to enliven the astro community is the ability for so many folks to do astro imaging. There isn't a single one of us that hasn't gone goo-goo eyed over some of the images we have seen in those slick astro magazines. You can see detail and colors that we will never be able to see thru the eyepiece. ( I say NEVER with the understanding that whatever we can think of we will eventually find away to do). Just like those first IBM computers I mentioned, if you could get all the tapes to run properly and if there wasn't any holes in the punch card inputs that were in the wrong place, you could get some results. That's the way it was with the first amateur astronomers efforts with astro imaging. If no one accidentally flashed a white light, or kicked the tripod, or a battery didn't fail, or----I think you get the idea. It was difficult to get a good picture. And I haven't even mentioned the large sums of money that was invested to buy very expensive equipment. And would you believe it, just like computers, imaging equipment became more affordable and reliable. No longer is it necessary to set up all that equipment, start the imaging process and then retire to someplace to read or whatever while your camera recorded a 4/5 hour image. You can see the trend at astronomy parties and even in the catalogs of manufactures that sell astro equipment. First there was the eyepiece cameras that allowed you to see a image on an attached TV screen. These were great for gatherings where several folks were trying to see the sky but for some unknown reason they just never seemed to catch on. Then came the very basic black & white imaging cameras that supposedly allowed you to do some rather elementary imaging of the planets. But that little venture into imaging just didn't satisfy the deep craving in some observers to image deep sky objects. Then computers and their ability to "stack" literally 100's of short exposure pictures together to make one very excellent image burst the bubble of spending really big bucks to do imaging came on the scene. In my opinion, that's when imaging became a possibility for the average astro observer. And I don't see any reason not to place that capability in the hands of anyone interested.

So the move goes on. Personally, I do not see me getting into the imaging process other than using my Cannon Rebel Xsi to shoot some pics at the eyepiece but I am willing to concede that astro imaging is making a great impact on the hobby of star gazing. After all, anything (well anything within legal limits) that brings more folks into our hobby is welcomed.

One thing that I see looming on the horizon with an increase in imaging is the competition between those that are strictly visual observers and those that want to do imaging. Even tho the imaging process now is much less restrictive with respect to long exposure times that were required in the past, it still requires a very strict management of external light sources. A laser beam or a short burst of white light from any source can completely destroy a night of imaging. Most folks are acutely aware of this but it has caused some very harsh words and feelings more than once---especially at a large organized star party. Visual observers are adamant about white light but an occasional flash light from opening an auto door or even an accidental flash of the headlight can be tolerated. Not quite so with imagers. And they can be quite vocal about their displeasure. And this is where a little give and take is going to be necessary. This is not normally a problem with local or club star parties. Most attendees are not there to do imaging so very little conflict comes about. But at major star parties there are a lot of folks that are there because the location has very dark skies and it is favorable to imaging. And they want it dark---period.

I don't see an easy solution to this problem. You could segregate the imagers from the visual guys with respect to location on the observing site but that wouldn't solve the problem of an occasional stray light beam or the use of a laser pointer to help guide someone to a desired target. After all, it isn't just the presence of a stray light source, it is the fact that the light will frequently be picked up by the camera and thereby destroying or degrading the intended image. You could hold an "imagers only" star party but if that happened to be at some highly desirable dark site where visual observers might want to gather, that could cause an undesirable conflict.

One solution that is being tried at major star parties is total restriction against any kind of external light source during the hours of darkness. This seems to work for most folks but there is always the occasional "you can't tell me what I can or can't do" person that spoils the apple barrel so to speak. We all could do without this kind of individual. We can also do without that imager that has nothing to say except ********when someone does show a light no matter how unintentionally.

Somehow we must find a way to keep this potential conflict from driving astronomy hobbyist apart. If you have some good ideas, write them as comments to this article or forward them directly to me at my e-mail address. I will try to get them posted for all to read.

2011-10-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

TIANGONG 1
On two different evenings this week Lucy and I have gone out and attempted to view the new earth orbiting satellite (Tiangong 1) which was launched on Sept. 29 by China (PRC). According to all reports, Tiangong should be easily observed with the naked eye but we haven't had even as much as a glance of the new satellite. Tiangong is a fairly large unmanned module which is designed to demonstrate both the capability to get such a large object into earth orbit and to demonstrate the capability to dock with 3 other satellites that will be launched soon. If all goes according to plans, a larger manned modular satellite will be launched sometime during 2020. This manned module is planned to carry 3 astronauts.

THE CENTER OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY
It is getting to be that time of the year when we will not be able to look toward the very center of our galaxy. Fall will bring an end to easy access of all those wonderful star clusters and globulars as well as nebula's that are found along the southern part of our Milky Way. But there are plenty of old friends that will be making the scene and I want to visit every one of them. In fact, now would be an excellent time to visit some of those old nemesis that we can never find during the Messier Marathon---namely M34, M33, M74, and M77 just for starters All of these will be coming up in the eastern sky around 10:30PM and will be in a good position for observing. Locate them and make good notes on how to find them when they are low in the western sky during the marathon. Orion will be coming up during prime viewing hours very soon. Every time you think you have explored every small detail in this constellation you will find something that you haven't seen during all the previous looks. How many of us have actually see the Horsehead nebula in our telescope? In fact, most of our scopes would be straining a little to make out this fine nebula but it is always worth trying. Especially if you have a 20" or better DOB at your disposal.

Draconid Meteor Shower
This will not be a big event for us in the southern US but these high level meteor showers are always worth getting up for and watching. The main part of the Draconid shower will occur during daylight hours in our location but if you want to give it a try, the best time is after midnight Saturday Oct.8. Look to the north and hope for the best. Remember, if you don't look you aren't very likely to see.

INDIAN SUMMER

2011-09-30T23:04:00.000-05:00

Not every one's definition of "Indian Summer" is exactly the same but technically it is a late fall warming trend AFTER an early frost. It isn't a true formal period of time but it has been used in literature and folk stories every since the first white settlers came to America. I have always thought of it as that final reprieve before the harsher days and nights of winter set in. Not that the winters in our neck of the woods is all that severe but at least in the winter you may want to put on your long johns when staying up late at night to star gaze.

Winter in our area offers some very encouraging times to observe things that have been rather elusive during the summer months. One of the first things that comes to my mind is the fact that you can start your evening of observing at some decent hour of the day. Even now in late September and early October the sun disappears around 7:30PM and it is possible to get in some early targets by 8PM. That is a big improvement over the start times of 9:30 or later in the long daylight hours of summer. Even tho the constellations and the many different objects that we look for don't change in an instant there does seem to be a changing of the guard so to speak. I am looking at my set of "Night Sky Observers Guide" and they are divided into two volumes---one basically for the summer and one for the winter. That ought to tell us something.

Starting right now, Jupiter is beginning to rise in the early evening and it will continue to be visible in the night sky thru next April. There is no better time to make it a point to observe this beautiful planet on a regular basis and make notes on the locations of each of the moons. I have added a new link at the left of this page under the heading of "INTERESTING LINKS" entitled "JUPITER MOON POSITIONS". If you click on this link and then select the Jupiter moon java script in the S & T article you will be able to determine the positions, shadows, etc, of all of Jupiters moons for any given date and time. Make good use of this utility to help you know when to be looking at Jupiter to see these amazing events. If you have a computer generated planetarium program you might be able to find a listing of these events on your computer.

Also in very favorable position for the next few months is Comet GARRADD. Currently Garradd is very bright and easily observed with even the smallest of telescopes. Here is a chart for Garradd with the corresponding dates. I had a good look at this comet the other night and it is worth the effort. The tail is not as apparent as others I have seen but it is visible. While you are in the area why not look at M13 in Hercules?

If you haven't seen the super nova in the Pinwheel Galaxy you might have a difficult time determining just which object is actually the super nova. It has dimmed in brightness and at the present time it looks more like any other star in a star crowded field. Just remember---the stars you are seeing are in the Milky Way galaxy---the super nova is actually in the Pinwheel galaxy.

As of today, China has a new unmanned satellite orbiting the earth and it will be something for us to watch as it develops into a manned vehicle capable of carrying at least 3 astronauts. I will be putting out more information about this vehicle and how we can observe it as it becomes available.

Needless to say there are a lot of things going on as fall begins and no doubt more events will unfold as we progress into winter. I just hope for a long and moderate "Indian Summer" before the onset of winter actually begins. There is so much to observe and so little time to get it done.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN ASTRONOMY?

2011-09-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

More than anything else, this rant is a follow on to the previous posting "The Art of Seduction".

When you see the title "WHAT DO YOU SEE IN ASTRONOMY", what is your reaction and thoughts? Some responses would describe the various objects that you can observe using unaided eyesight, binoculars, or a telescope. Some might take the question literally and say something like--"nothing but a bunch of meaningless spots of light". Others might respond by saying " it is absolutely nothing but a waste of time". I think I can just about predict what the overall feeling of a new observer will be toward astronomy when they look thru a scope for the very first time. It is either an expression like "WOW" or " I really can't see what you are talking about or trying to show me". One of the main functions of an astronomy club is to cultivate the "WOW" person and to change the overall thoughts about astronomy that the second example shows.

One major problem with a newbie is getting them to understand that for the most part, your telescope is a very friendly piece of equipment and it is made to be touched and used. It goes without saying that the type of scope you are using will have a lot to do with this learning process. Dobson type scopes are very good for this part of the learning process. What could be easier than just taking hold of the scope near the eyepiece and pushing and pulling on it to keep the target in the viewing field? If your friend accidentally "loses" the target what is wrong with telling them to look thru the finder and see if they can see it there--- centering it under the cross hairs and then looking thru the eyepiece again. With any luck the target will be there and the observer will have already gain confidence that they can use a telescope. A scope with a electronic hand controller might be just a bit more intimidating but if you have patience, they will get the hang of it real quickly. In most cases if you can just get them to understand that probably the worse possible thing they could do is put their fingers on the glass part of the eyepiece you will be OK.

To many times the new visitor will simply wait for you to find a target and then mosey up to the scope for a casual peek. After a couple of these efforts why not point out the Tel-Rad or finder scope on your scope and encourage your new friend to try finding something using these handy devices. Be selective here---don't expect them to find a mag 13 galaxy or something similar. Pick a good bino target that they can likely see in your finder scope. As suggestions why not have them try for M-31, M40, M6, M7, M8, M13, Jupiter, Saturn---I think you get the idea. It has been my experience that once they realize that they can find something without totally depending on you, they will ask for more targets to attempt. There are all sorts of teaching techniques but one of the most effective in the night hours with a telescope is the "hands on" method. Just be prepared to face the fact that you may not get to use your scope the rest of the evening.

While your newbie friend is discovering all the things they can find you could be casually discussing the fact that none of the objects they are seeing are within our SOLAR system. Maybe even reminding them that the planets have no light themselves but they are simply reflecting the light of our star----the Sun. This would not be the time or place for you to go into a detailed discussion on visual astronomy but it is a good time to bring up points of interest and if your visitor wants to know more about a particular subject they will likely ask for a fuller explanation. Remember, at this point you are simply trying to get them off of that "is that all there is" attitude. It is important that you be very observant here---and I don't mean star wise. Listen to what your visitor is saying and what they are asking---they will let you know where their interest lies.

It usually doesn't hurt to have a few unexpected surprises in your bag. If you are fortunate enough, it would be worthwhile to point out a Iridium satellite or maybe even the ISS. Any unexpected meteor flashes will always give life to the party. And finally---make sure everyone knows where the restrooms are located. All that free coffee and ice tea will finally make its way thru the body.

THE ART OF SEDUCTION

2011-07-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

Seduction is the process of deliberately enticing a person to engage.

I have found that no matter what the content of any article is, if you don't grab the reader with the title and the lead paragraph, you are already lost. Sooooo--------I am trying out my theory here. I trust that you are ENGAGED by now and eager to read what follows.

When you have invited someone to a star party that has never really looked at astronomy targets thru a telescope or maybe even binoculars you have to do something or look at something that will really impress them. In my theory there are only three observable targets that will always impress even the most jaundice newbie. In no order of preference those three targets are SATURN, JUPITER, and the MOON. Any one of these will be sufficient to get the usual "WOW" from a first time observer but if you could possibly arrange your observing timing so that you could see at least two of them during one given session, I can almost guarantee you a night of heavenly bliss.

Let me give you some examples. Let's suppose that Saturn is going to be your target of emphasis tonight. Besides the sheer beauty of the planet itself you should be able to give your guest some very interesting details about the planet and even present some challenging tasks to accomplish.

Saturn is one of the five planets that we can easily see without the aid of a telescope or binoculars. Even without the help of a laser pointer you can easily point out Saturn's position in the evening sky. It is always impressive to show your guest what or where they are looking in the sky before, after, and during their time at the eyepiece. A word of caution here---a fledging astronomer might ask you what the other naked eye planets are so make sure you know which ones they are.
You might casually mention that Saturn has at least 60 moons. Then challenge your partner to see how many they think they can see. Some folks claim they can spot 8 moons but even on my very best night I do well to see five.
The rings of Saturn change their angle that we observe them on a 14 year cycle. Right now, they are moving to a better viewing orientation every night and will continue to do so until about 2014 and then they will start their journey back toward a less desirable viewing angle. In the year 2024/2025 the rings will be so flattened with reference to our viewpoint here on earth that they will look like a small black line across the face of the planet.
As a matter of casual conversation you might want to remind your guest that three spacecraft have flown by Saturn and one has been placed into orbit around the beautiful planet. In 2004, the spacecraft Cassini went into orbit around Saturn and gave us some of the most dramatic close up images we could have ever imagined.

I think that by now you have grasp the thrust of my thought. You need to put a little effort into the observing process to make it enticing to anyone who hasn't observed before. In other words, you are trying to SEDUCE THEM---- or maybe a more gentle term would be that you are trying to get them interested in something that they probably haven't been interested in before.

It has been my experience that looking at globular and open clusters will not be the visual experience that will push someone into becoming a astronomy observer. Even getting a very good look at some of the more prominent galaxies will likely get you the cold shoulder and that dreaded response---"you surely aren't going to use that old line to try and pick me up are you?" On the other hand, your guest is there at your invitation and they must have some underlying interest or they wouldn't be there at all. Your job, among other things, is to bring them down the road toward a final interest in astro observing without them even knowing or realizing what is going on. In other words, you are deliberately trying to get them engaged----IN ASTRONOMY. So now is the time to pull out all the reserves and really strut your stuff. Now back to some of the things that I think would help you along that path.

If you happen to be lucky enough to have Jupiter in the sky on that fateful evening there is nothing better to illustrate your ability and knowledge than a good lively discussion of the four major moons of this great planet. Let's outline a few pieces of information that will impress almost anyone.

There are four major moons and they move around Jupiter quickly enough to make a dramatic difference in the way we see them over the period of a few hours and certainly over an entire night. (You are planning this SEDUCTION to be an all night affair aren't you?)
Because of their plane of reference to observers from earth, each one of the four moons will eventually pass either behind or in front of Jupiter. This would be a good time to discuss the possibility of seeing the shadow (or shadows) of a couple of the moons as the pass between earth and the host planet.
It wouldn't hurt to mention that on any given night all four moons might appear on the same side of Jupiter. The next night it might be three and one and the next night two and two. An on some nights you might only observe 3 moons all evening because one of then is either passing in front or behind the planet.
It might be worth your time to remind everyone that none of the planets have any light source of their own. All their light and brightness comes from the Sun and we are just seeing the light reflected from their surfaces.
If you are brave enough you might discuss the "Big Red Spot" but personally I kinda stay away from emphasising that very much because I have extreme problems observing that phenom.

If you haven't made any headway with your guest with all this show of absolute knowledge then your last resort is the MOON. Now let me say right off---you are treading in dangerous waters with this subject.

Right off you are going to be forced to acknowledge that your scope can't see the American flag on the moon or any other paraphernalia let there by the astronauts. This will eventually lead you into a discussion on how much does your telescope magnify---and if you can see into someones window during the daylight (or night) hours.
Next your guest will likely want to know if all the craters are caused by volcanoes or something crashing into the surface. Why aren't all the craters the same size? You get my drift here.
Be careful not to get drawn into an endless discussion on the US Space program (or the lack of a manned capability). You are going to lose this argument no matter which side you take.
Be careful or you might get trapped into trying to explain why a lunar eclipse cannot be seen by everyone if it is dark where they are at the time of the eclipse. This could get to be pretty interesting. You might want to do a little homework on this topic.

I figure that about now you are getting tired of this kind of thinking. But I will venture a guess that the title got your initial attention. Maybe you were even SEDUCED into reading a lot of nonsense in the hopes that it would take a different turn of subject matter farther down the page. Not on this blog!! Go somewhere else for that kind of reading.

HAPPY BLOG READING

TURNING THE LAST PAGE IN A PHASE OF HISTORY

2011-06-24T19:26:00.000-05:00

photo courtesy NASA

Here they are---all decked out and ready for the very last manned near earth flight in our famous shuttle program. After their launch, which is scheduled for July 8, there simply won't be any U.S. manned flight capability. After being a leader in manned space flight ever since John Glenn made the first U.S. manned space flight, the U.S. will be out the near earth flight business. Oh, we will still be sending astronauts to the ISS but they will fly there courtesy of our friends "RUSSIA". And I don't mean free transportation either. Now this does not necessarily need to be the end of our space program---the U.S. is still very active in various other space endeavors that do not involve human crews. There will be countless other unmanned satellites placed into near earth orbit as well as some designed to study the outer realms of our solar system and beyond. NASA is fighting desperately to keep its position of strength in space but money, politics, and other unknown factors has simply shut them out. The proposed mission back to the Moon will likely never see the light of the moon(no pun intended) and plans for manned missions to Mars is so far out that they are not even serious contenders. NASA will survive but not in any form that we have become so used to seeing in achievements and space firsts. Tremendous cost and long lead times are very easily changed at the whelm of whomever is in political power and it is almost impossible to get an administration in power long enough to get a program funded, developed, and launched without so many changes that it is unrecognizable from the original project. But that is what NASA is forced to work with and I am sure they will do the very best they can.

Lately, I have seen several ads for reruns of the movie "Apollo 13". I don't care how much "liberty" Ron Howard may have taken with the movie version, it is one of the most amazing feats that has been accomplished by men and women of the space program. And a very special salute to the crew of that ill fated moon mission.

James A. Lovell, Jr. commander
John L. Swigert, Jr., command module pilot *
Fred W. Haise, Jr. lunar module pilot

These guys are the nearest our space program has ever come to leaving astronauts in unending space. We have lost some other brave souls, but at least their fate was sealed here on the earth.

Truthfully, I don't know if humans will ever make it to any other planet in our solar system of if humans will eventually travel to places within our galaxy. It is beyond even my wildest imagination that humans will ever travel beyond our own galaxy. But with my trusty telescope I can travel there on any clear night and let my thoughts carry me to worlds unknown. What the human mind can envision, humans will eventually achieve.

WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

2011-06-20T14:18:00.000-05:00

Holmes 17P--a comet that made a sudden change in its brightness that members of LASS observed from Ft Griffin in late Dec. 2009.

When I was actively flying in the Air Force, I commonly referred to myself as a pilot. For most purposes that described my work well enough so that folks generally acquainted with the Air Force knew that I wasn't a navigator, mechanic, desk jockey, etc. But in reality, it was a very generic term. Sometimes, if the person was really interested in what I did, they might ask what kind of aircraft I flew. Another generic answer might be---fighters, bombers, transport, tanker, etc. From there someone might even venture to ask you what specific aircraft you actually flew. Now we are getting down to the nitty/gritty. I might answer with the term--F4C or maybe RF4C. There is a ton of difference in the missions that these two aircraft can perform but they are basically the same aircraft.-----EXCEPT----one carries bombs and guns and one ONLY carries cameras. Well, I think you might be getting the point. Even tho I was an AF pilot, I flew a very specific aircraft and I was trained for that very specific mission. As a pilot I could be trained, or qualified, to fly different a aircraft with a different mission, but generally speaking, I would only be qualified in one type of aircraft at any given time.

Enough of a history lesson AF pilots---let's get to the point---in terms of astronomy, what do you call yourself or even better, what are you actually qualified to do? I'll give you some basic hints for what you might want to describe yourself as being, or better yet, what you might want friends and acquaintances to think you are.

The first one might be entitled "astronomer". Go back and read the first paragraph again---that is the same generic term as "pilot". Folks not to well acquainted with the term might think of you as one crazy dude that stays up all hours of the night gazing at the sky. They might consider you a brick or two short of a full load but in general they would think of you as a person that knew his way around the night sky and maybe even capable of calling the name of a few stars. In reality, I think of a person who claims the title of "Astronomer" as one who has been formally trained in the science of astronomy---a person with a college degree in the subject. Some might even want to call that person a "Professional Astronomer". At one time I thought of this individual as someone who actually worked at an observatory or maybe taught astronomy in a classroom. With computers and remotely controlled telescopes, folks working at this level no longer have to spend even one night in a cold dark observatory--they just tell some remote telescope where to look and at what time to look with either visual or other various types of monitoring devices and when the task is completed they have the information transmitted to their comfortable working location for study and analysis. This individual would have all the attributes of the names I will refer to later but I would consider them to be at the top of the heap.

The next term, or name, I want to use is "amateur astronomer". Most folks would think of this guy or gal as one crazy dude who stays up all hours of the light looking at the night sky. Still one or two bricks short of a full load. Do you recognize that description as the same as in the paragraph above? But the folks that work at this level in the field of astronomy are really quite varied. Many have a lot of professional training and many are very highly trained individuals who are extremely dedicated to the study of astronomy. Most of them have a fortune tied up in astronomy observing gear and are quite capable of competing with and often outstripping the professional in the field of new discoveries. They may have a formally outfitted observatory in their backyard or maybe just a very good telescope that they move in and out of a garage or other place of storage. Don't let the word "amateur" fool you here. They may not be making a living using their astronomy talents but they aren't the typical unconcerned, uninformed guy on the street.

Next, I want to address a group of people who are very connected to astronomy and may or may not be very active in looking at the night sky. Again many would classify this person as a crazy dude that stays up until all hours of the night looking at the night sky and is two bricks short of a full load. Notice how that term (my own rendition) keeps popping up when it comes to astronomy? I think the reason so many people don't understand astronomy is because those of us that are involved on any level are not very good at telling others what observing is all about. Incidentally, I call this latest group "backyard observers". Well, how would you go about defining a backyard observer? (we're not talking about someone who observes backyards here).

This rather loose term fits most of the folks that I have known or met in my connections with astronomy. They probably own a telescope that varies from a typical 100 mm refractor up to and including something along the lines of a 36 inch dobson

DOWN MEMORY LANE

2011-06-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Fall has always been a favorite time of the year for me due to many varied reasons. Summer ends, school starts, the yard grass quits needing to be mowed every week and at least 100 other things that don't come to mind just at this moment. But one thing that I do remember very well is a vacation Lucy and I took in November 1997. We met friends in the state park at Ft. Davis and embarked on a week long adventure that included learning cowboy camp cooking, the history of the military installation at Ft Davis, and an introduction to astronomy which was hosted by a professional observer from the Mc Donald observatory near Ft. Davis. This individual, and I'm ashamed that I don't remember his name, came to the Indian Lodge where we were staying to present lectures on astronomy and the sky in general. Then for two fantastic evenings he brought his 20 inch DOB to the lodge to give everyone interested a hands on look at some of the things he had been telling us about. It was a perfect time of the year, month, week to see some very impressive things in the night sky. I'm not going to bore you with the fact that it is really dark all around the Ft. Davis area, but let's just say the darkness seemed as natural as anything you could ever imagine.

There were 14 individuals in the group and on that first night 3 or 4 decided it wasn't worth the effort to bundle up and go out in the night so we all got a fair amount of time at the eyepiece. Remember, I told you the instructor had a 20 inch DOB. That meant everyone had to climb up a ladder to look into the eyepiece. I don't know if that was really good or bad but it sure cut down on the number of folks that came out the second night and that increased the time that the rest of us had to look. And what an array of objects we had to look at. Here is a list of the major targets we saw both evenings----Andromeda, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. An amazing 5 planet lineup that I will never forget.

There wasn't an experienced observer in the group--except the instructor---so most of us didn't really understand what a privilege we were experiencing. And to make it a little bit worse, objects didn't stay in the eyepiece very long so it was a continual up and down the ladder effort with the instructor going up regularly to re-point the scope. He didn't give us any hints about how to keep the objects centered---as I think back I think it was his was of keeping control of the situation. Naturally the planets were spectacular but when we got to Andromeda, it simply blew most of us away. The instructor had a very good scope and evidently some very good eyepieces because I don't believe I have ever seen Andromeda any better since that night.

Lucy was sick enough both evenings that she didn't go out to observe. But the morning after the second night I announced to her at breakfast that I wanted for us to have a telescope. At first she said "us?" but within the next couple of years she began to come around. In the meantime I read a lot of articles about astronomy and telescopes and even joined a club in an attempt to decide what kind of scope to purchase.
My daughter Cathy and me did a lot of bino observing during those months. In April, 2000 I made my decision. It was going to be a Orion 8 inch reflector with an equatorial mount. I called the Orion sales office and within a week UPS delivered the scope right to my doorstep.

I won't go thru all the assemble process etc but would you believe that Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were still in a very close grouping in the early evening sky? How lucky for a beginning observer to have those bright and easily located????targets in the sky. It made the learning curve of using a equatorial mount a little easier because you could at least see the desired target in the finder scope. I was satisfied with those objects and a smattering of other fairly easy things---M8, M20, M6,and M7 for instance but it didn't take me to long to get the hankering to see if I could actually find something like a galaxy. Besides it was mid May by now and Jupiter and Saturn were below the horizon after sunset. For some unknown reason M104 got my attention so I started setting up my scope in a location that would at least allow me a chance to see it. That didn't happen for several nights but eventually one evening I just happened to get it in the scope. I can't explain the thrill that came over me and I burst into the house to announce what I had found. I only owned a 26mm eyepiece at the time so the view wasn't that outstanding but it was definitely M104. Slowly but surely I became more familiar with the equatorial mount and learned how to use it better.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Nov. 1997 and I have made my was thru a couple of 12 inch Dobs, a 15 inch Dob, and now I am up to a 20 inch Dob. I still own the 8 inch reflector on the equatorial mount but time has damaged the gearing in the mount and it is useless. I did make a small Dob mount and converted the reflector to a "kinda" Dob but it was never completely satisfactory.

winter, spring, summer, and fall are all my favorite times of the year the observe. Each one has its good and bad points but all are worthy of my efforts.

IMPROPER USE OF THE GREEN LASER POINTER

2011-06-09T17:54:00.133-05:00

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

This is exactly the kind of person that will get our lasers declared "ILLEGAL" and removed from the market. We must make sure that we are very careful how we use the lasers so that regulators that have the power to ban their sale and use by unlicensed individuals--- such as amateur astronomers---do not find a way to make them illegal to own. Blatant disregard for safety precautions must not be tolerated by local astro clubs.

For a complete transcript of the Channel 5 report go here.

At the last LASS session I reminded members of the new $11,000 fine that can be levied for pointing a green laser pointer at aircraft. Then just yesterday this news story broke on Channel 5. Why don't we take a few minutes to review the proper and improper use of that great green laser that you have in your bag of tools for observing the night sky.

I refer to the green laser as a "tool" because that is exactly what it is to me. It is not a toy nor is it to be used by folks that do not respect the power that it packs. The lasers that we can legally buy for astronomy use have normally been limited to 5wM. However, for just under $300 you can buy a 1000wM (1M) laser pointer. If you think that the 5wM lasers we normally use are powerful you should look up lasers on the net and get an eyeful (no pun intended). A 1M laser is capable of starting a fire, burning the skin, and even worse. These powerful lasers are completely legal just like owning a 20MM automatic machine gun is legal but likewise they are very dangerous and should never be used at a star party.

For the sake of this discussion I want to limit the field to the 5mW laser that several of us in LASS own. Typically this laser is capable of illuminating something at least 5 miles away. Now I doubt that we could see the laser beam that far away but supposedly someone at that distance could see the light as it touched a wall or some similar object. The beam certainly isn't dangerous at that distance but as close range---anywhere up to probably 25 ft---the beam is capable of doing permanent eye damage. PERMANENT DAMAGE---AS IN BLINDNESS. That means it can't be fixed by glasses or any type of eye specialist. Anything that potentially dangerous needs to be handled with respect and caution.

Let me review a couple of incidents---no matter how innocent they may have been---that I have observed on the LASS observing field.
1. Letting someone who is not aware of the danger of the beam use your laser without first being told how to properly point the beam.
2. Pointing your beam very low over the heads of others as you are showing someone a target that you want to observe.
3. Directing the beam toward nearby trees or buildings as a method of testing the batteries or power of your laser.
4. Directing the beam at any target that is low on the horizon without first making sure that no other observer is between you and the target you are aiming for.

Think of your laser beam as if it were a 45 cal. pistol and you are on the firing range. Never point that pistol anywhere but down range. Always assume that it is loaded and capable of hurting someone nearby. It might be very stressful to me if you pointed that 45 at me even if you told me it wasn't loaded. I might take action that would be very stressful to you. Likewise, don't point that laser at anyone that you don't intend to do bodily harm to. They might want to retaliate in some physical way as well.

The 5wM green lasers that we use around the LASS observing site are totally safe if we use them in a responsible way. The fellow in the video above used his laser in a very dangerous and irresponsible manner. He even had the gall to say he would do it again if aircraft continued to bother him. Maybe we can't be responsible for him but POSSIBLY--JUST POSSIBLY---a $11,000 fine might convince his that he shouldn't use the laser to chase off aircraft that he didn't think should be flying over his house.

READY FOR THE SUMMER

2011-06-05T19:02:00.000-05:00

To say the very least, activity in LASS has been limited over the past 6 months. Personally, I was in Colorado for 3 months during last fall and then weather just seemed to frown on our schedule every time we set out to do a little observing. We did get in one public star party event at the 7R Ranch near Gordon, Tx in April but that is about it. Several members found time to observe in other locations and that kept things alive but there is nothing that takes the place of a down home gathering. Our monthly event was set for Saturday June 4 and we had a very good turnout. The sky was favorable even tho there was a smattering of high thin clouds that obscured parts of the sky most of the evening. What made me feel good about the evening was our turnout of club members. We had 12 regular members and 2 guests.

One of the major observing events was Omega Centuri, one of the finest globular clusters that you could ever want to see. It was low on the southern horizon----when is it not low on the southern horizon?---and we had to move around the observing area to avoid some trees but we did get some very good looks. We didn't get any looks thru telescopes but there were some good binos available. In contrast we also looked a M13---the great hercules globular---which is one of the finest in the northern hemisphere. In my 20 inch DOB it was easy to break out a lot of individual stars in M13. My brother, who is from the Houston area where the light dome is so bright he does well to see the moon, was impressed. He also thought that Mike's go-to scope was really neat. He said that sitting in a chair and looking into the eyepiece is much better than climbing up a ladder to look. I can't imagine what he was referring to. This morning he remarked that he was really impressed with the overall astronomy knowledge that our club members poured out on him. I like that kind of comment--- POUR IT ON GUYS.

During the course of the evening we had the opportunity to observe the Hubble telescope as it passed overhead. Later there was a Iridium satellite with its "flare" and a smattering of other unidentified satellites. There was a "super nova" in the vicvinity of M51 that has been getting a lot of press in astro circles lately and Doug & Russ were able to locate it in the new 18 inch DOB they are sporting around these days. Those two guys have it made. As represenatives of the 3 Rivers organization, they get to "borrow" this fine telescope to use as long as they keep reminding folks of the 3 Rivers organization and its activities. It's one of those "PR" things that has paid off for them and the group that they represent. It is kinda like getting free ice cream for just telling folks how good it tastes.

During some of the slow times of the evening the discussion turned to a couple of major star parties that are coming up in the fall. Namely, Eldorado and Okie-Tx. These events are scheduled so that you could go to both of them if you were so inclined. I know it is a little early to start thinking to seriously about events like that but if you don't start planning now you will likely forget and put something else on your schedule. I probably need to devote a little time to blogging about events like these and trying to help everyone who hasn't attended one understand what goes on and what you might gain be attending one.

Again, if you are reading this blog and are interested in astronomy observing---AND IF YOU AREN'T ASSOCIATED WITH A LOCAL CLUB---get with the program. You might be the very pesron that the club needs to fill a void in its membrship. Remember this---everyone is a contributor---no matter what you may think you know or don't know about observing. You need the club and the club needs you.

THE WORST POSSIBLE TELESCOPE MOUNT

2011-04-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

After participating in a public star party last month I have felt compelled to write a rant on the worse possible telescope mount that has ever been put on the market for newbies to even consider buying. I would even go so far as to say it is not the most favorable mount even for anyone that is not in the imaging end of astronomy. You may already be asking what mount could I possibly be talking about. I am referring to the manually operated and controlled "equatorial mount". The motorized or GPS models of this mount are not included for review or discussion in this article.

This mount is mass marketed to countless numbers of unsuspecting folks that are getting their feet wet for the first time in visual astronomy observing. It is sold with a variety of telescopes ranging from the 60mm refractor to a 8 inch reflector. It usually sits atop a wobbly tripod that would in itself be an embarrassment to any self respecting photographer or astronomer observer. The mount itself is very difficult to properly align and its overall operation defies a simple explanation from even the most ardent users. What is it about this widely sold mount that gets my dander up?

Lets start with the alignment procedure. The secret to initial alignment is getting the mount orientated to north. That sounds simple enough---just point the thing to the north and that will suffice. Well, for most of us that would be true. After all, we have the fine adjustment knobs to turn when we are looking at any given target. That will keep everything centered won't it? Simple answer ---NO. Objects that we observe do not follow a straight line across the sky. Everything moves in a "ARC" as it finds its way across the sky from east to west. That is what the equatorial mount is designed to do----follow a given target along an arc as it is moving across the sky. Manual adjustment knobs allow us to continually "tweak" the mount to keep the target centered. That is if we can remember which one of the manual knobs to turn at the proper time. With precise alignment at the beginning of the sequence we SHOULD only need to adjust the right ascension knob. The "WHAT" knob you are asking? It's the one that keeps moving the mount (and scope) along the desired arc that your target is following. No problem if you have aligned the mount perfectly in the initial procedure or unless you happen to mistakenly move the altitude (declination) knob, which will invariably result in a loss of the target in the eyepiece, then forget which way you moved it and in desperation start turning both the altitude and right ascension knob in a desperate effort to relocate the target. It is at this point that the beginner loses all faith in their ability to find anything. But I digress---this paragraph was about the initial alignment.

The equatorial mount has 3 basic adjustments that must be set to insure proper tracking. First is the latitude setting. This is simple---just set your observing site latitude on the scale indicator and you are set to go. For most of us in Texas, 32 degrees will suffice.
Generally speaking, it is easiest to align the mount to polar north, ie the north star, before the scope is placed on the mount. Without going onto details that are difficult to explain, you need to get the part of the mount that holds the telescope to the mount aligned with the Right Ascension axis of the mount. When this is done and all knobs are tightned, pick up the entire tripod and mount and point them (as best you possibly can) toward the north star (POLARIS). Put the scope on the mount and if you can see Polaris anywhere in the eyepiece you are OK for visual use. For precise tracking a more detailed alignment is required but we are talking about "NEWBIES" here so let's just leave it at this point.

After this delicate alignment procedure comes the task of pointing the scope in the general direction of your intended target. If you have never been exposed to a equatorial mount this can be a very daunting experience. Your first response might be "you just loosen the knobs and turn the scope toward the intended target". Boy are you in for a surprise. Remember, this thing operates on two axis at the same time---and they must be operated in conjunction with each other. After the initial alignment your scope should be pointing toward the north at about a 32 degree angle above the horizon. If you simply loosen the declination knob and rotate the scope toward the south you will see your scope pointing about 32 dergees below the horizon (essentially at the ground dude). While your scope is pointing to the south the ONLY way you can adjust the elevation is to position the mount so that the counterweight shaft is paralled to the ground and then move the scope again on its declination axis. There is absolutely no way to move the scope in a straight line across the sky. It must always move in a motion the follows an arc. Are you confused yet? I haven't even mentioned yet that if your scope happens to be a reflector type you might be standing on your head just to look into the eyepiece. There is an adjustment for this also but for the sake of this argument I hope that you can understand that an equatorial mount is not the easiest mount to use when you are new to astronomy. What is a person to do?

One of the best answers to all this is to visit with a local astronomy club which will likely have members with all types of mounts and scopes. There you can see and experience how the scopes and mounts work and which ones might suit your needs best. The owners of the different pieces of equipment will be able to explain the pros and cons of each type of mount and scope and then you will be able to decide for yourself exactly which is best for you. After all, your objective should be to find and observed the many fine objects that are in our sky---those within our own solar system, within our own galaxy, and even outside our galaxy. Even the most expensive and largest telescope you can afford is useless to you unless you can find objects in the sky that you want to see.

HAPPY OBSERVING.

A NEW LOOK AT MERCURY

2011-04-06T15:50:00.001-05:00

Almost 6 1/2 years ago in August 2004, the Messenger spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a mission to orbit the planet Mercury. On March 11th, 2011 Messenger began orbiting Mercury. It won't be the first space mission to visit Mercury but it will be the first one that was designed to go into orbit around Mercury. Mariner 10 passed by Mercury back in 1970's but it continued on its way to the outer reaches of our solar system. Just in case you are confused as to why it took so long for Messenger to get into orbit around Mercury, here is a small summary of where it has been all this time. As a part of positioning itself to get into orbit, Messenger made 15 orbits of the Sun, a flyby of earth in 2005 and flybys of Venus in 2006 and 2007. The first approach to Mercury was in January 2008 with a second and third flyby in Oct 2008 and Sep 2009. Then on March 11th Messenger fired it braking rockets that would slow it down and put it into a12 hour polar orbit of the planet nearest to our Sun. At its closest point, Messenger will be only 129 miles above the surface of Mercury.

Here is a represenative photo that Messenger has sent back. You will immediately notice that it looks very much like a lunar landscape. In fact, it wouldn't suprise me if some of the naysayers didn't start claiming that these aren't really images of Mercury but are old photos of the moon. I'm not sure what they might hope to gain by making a claim like that but I never quite understand what they are trying to prove most of the time anyway. Messenger will orbit Mercury evey 12 hours and within 3 months it will have imaged all of the planet except a small area near each pole.

Although the surface of Mercury and the Moon may seem similar they are quite different. Mercury has an iron core that makes up 3/4 of the planets radius and about 1/2 it volumn. This heavy metal makeup makes Mercury even more dense than earth. Messenger is just beginning to send back valuable information that will provide scientist plenty of data to assemble over the next few years. The entire planet will be imaged by visual and infrared over the next year to determine its composition, map its physical properties, and measure its magnetic fields.
There is absolutely no possibility of manned missions to Mercury due to its hostile environment but that doesn't mean that knowing everything about this mysterious planet isn't valuable. The scientific team assigned to this mission has promised some answers to many of our questions by early May. Until then, go to this web site for pictures coming back from Messinger.
pictures of Mrecury by Messinger

all images courtesy NASA & JPL

THE REALLY BIG MOON

2011-03-23T22:45:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think we astronomy observers have a hard time explaining some of the more insignificant events that happen and that are of some importance to us as observers but may or may not be of any consequence to the general public. Take the recent event when the moon was at its closest point it has been in several years and the fact that it would appear 14 percent larger than usual. DUH and double DUH. I can't recall how many folks asked me how big the moon would really be and if the fact that it was so close might have been the cause of the earthquake in Japan.

The size of the moon at moon rise is hard to explain other than to say it is an optical illusion and that it is directly related to whatever you might be seeing in the foreground to compare it to. In other words, the moon rising over the open sea might not look quite as large as the same moon rise if it were observed with buildings or trees in the foreground. We all have seen photographs that have been taken that would appear as if you were holding a building or statue in your hand. It all has to do with the perspective and how the camera sees each object. That is essentially how the moon may look as it begins to rise. Something in the foreground that we can see and that we know the relative size of gives us the illusion that the moon is quite a bit larger than it really is. As it get higher in the sky where there is little or nothing to compare it with relative to size, it becomes smaller and smaller. But I defy anyone to show me that the moon is 14 percent larger than it has been before if for no other reason than we can't remember how large it looked the last time it was full. In fact I believe if I told someone that the full moon for the next 6 months (or any other time frame you choose) would look "X" amount larger they would believe it really looked larger to them. But it is an interesting part of astronomy and I think it was worth my time to go out and look even if I couldn't tell the difference.

Now about that question concerning the earthquake in Japan. The question arose because folks are aware that the moon does have a gravitational influence on earth and that the moon is the primary cause of high and low tide in the oceans. The notion behind the question was if the moon had that kind of effect of the ocean could it have enough gravitational effect to cause a earthquake. The simple answer is NO. Earthquakes are caused by the the shifting of the earths surface and as far as science now understands this movement, gravitational pull is not a factor. The principal of the shifting of the earth is not easy to understand and is well beyond the scope of this rant to explain but I would offer one explanation that many of us might understand.

I know that all of you readers watch the weather reports and forecast. In the illustration at the left the warm air is sliding up over the cold air which is heavier and dragging along the earth surface as it moves along. We understand this because we can comprehend and even observe air sliding over or under other air. It suffices here to say that the surface of the earth goes thru the same kinds of processes. Sometimes the earths surface slides under other parts, sometimes it just slides along or against another part and sometimes it simply breaks apart. When these events happen we see the results as earthquakes. It really isn't as simple as all that but it suffices to say that the gravitational tug of the moon DOES NOT have any influence that would cause earthquakes.

So the next time you hear someone say that several of the planets are going to become aligned at some future date and that the earth will be pulled apart and destroyed, just smile and nod and don't worry. It ain't gonna happen. Remember this thought---a little knowledge is dangerous for any of us. But some knowledge is better than none at all.

SPRING BLOOMS ETERNAL

2011-03-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

   Now that the Messier Marathon fever pitch has subsided it is time to turn to a more serious aspect of astronomy observing. Namely, getting all those springtime objects charted and located on the various charts you may be using and then getting them in the very center of the eyepiece. This time of the year is fantastic for observing and we need to take ever opportunity to search out things that we haven't been able to see during the winter months. The nights of cold fingers and fogged up eyepieces is slipping into past memories and for me that is a good thing. I really like the crisp and mostly clear nights of late fall and winter but there is just something about the spring that makes me feel more lively.

   Our old standby, Saturn, is now getting into very favorable position for viewing during most of the hours before midnight (and of course afterwards if you stay up that late). Lest you think that you have seen everything on Saturn that you could possibly see with your equipment---think again. For one, the rings are opening to our view again. Then there is always the challenge of how many of the moons you can actually see. A quick check in Sky & Tel will show you where to look on any given date. I have always found it easier to see something if I have a good indication of exactly where it is located.

   If you are like me, you may not take advantage of all the really dark nights that are available to you. Because of work schedules (wash out my mouth) some of us only try to observe on the one Saturday night that LASS gets together. That schedule is also driven but the phase of the moon. However, if you go out 4-5 days after the full moon phase you will be able to observe in full dark skies until at least midnight and with the passing of each night dark skies prevail even longer into the night. There are in fact almost 20 night that you can observe without interference from the moon's illumination.

   One of the detractors for spring and summer observing is the fact that darkness comes at a much later hour with reference to clock time. Just a month ago we could go out at 6:30PM and it would be dark enough to begin looking but with the summer approaching it will get to the point where it is 9:30PM before it is dark enough to see anything. That translates into a 2:30AM or later quit time and some of us just can't seem to stay up that late anymore. But it is so pleasant outside that a couple more cups of coffee will help us make the grade. Of course if you are needing to get up at 6AM and go to work things may get just a mite sticky.

   Just a couple of hints that might make your evening more enjoyable. Let's take finder scope alignment first. I realize this may be a little elementary but sometimes a slight reminder will make a big difference. To properly align your finder scope you MUST do at least two things. First put in the highest magnifying eyepiece that you can comfortably usein the focus tube. Using a high magnification eyepiece makes for a more precise alignment than a wide view or "surfing" eyepiece. Second point your scope at a stationary target and center that target in the very center of that eyepiece. Then without moving the scope even the slightest bit, make adjustments to your finder until the stationary target falls precisely in the center of the finder or under the crosshairs if your finder is so equipped. Check the alignment by moving the scope off the target and then centering the same or another stationary target under the crosshairs of the finder scope. If the target then falls in the center of your eyepiece you are aligned. If it is off a little you might be able to work with it but it is always best to go thru the procedure again to get the alignment perfect. If you use a tel-rad go thru the same procedure as above to get a good alignment.

   A second alignment you need to make is collimation. That's astro language for saying the mirrors in the scope must be aligned properly for you to get a good look thru the eyepiece. Collimation is a little to complicated to explain in this rant but think of it this way. When you are driving a car it is necessary to align the rear view mirrors with your body location and eyesight for you to be able to see things around your vehicle. Collimation for a telescope means aligning the internal mirrors with one another so that the target you are looking for is reflected directly into the eyepiece. You can see objects without perfect collimation but just like anything else---the better the alignment--- the better the view.

   All scopes do not need to be aligned with these two procedures every time you use them. If you disassemble your scope to move it to your observing site it will likely need some adjustment when you reassemble it. The finder scope will almost always need realignment but depending on your scope type, collimation may not be necessary. Some scopes simply hold their collimation alignment much better than others. A reflector type scope will need to be collimated more that any other type scope. It's just the nature of the beast and the fact that most reflector tubes get jostled around more than other scopes.

   Now that spring is here and you are full of pep and vinegar get out there and do some productive observing. There are plenty of objects to look for and you will be proud of yourself when they appear in your eyepiece. Here's hoping to see you in the dark again soon.

SOME THINGS ARE HARD TO GIVE UP

2011-03-08T22:16:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night will be the last chance we will have to see the shuttle Discovery in the skies over earth. If everything goes as planned, Discovery will recover at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday and when all the final measurements and refurbishing are finished it will be placed on static display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. There are two more shuttle flights scheduled this year, one for Endeavor and one for Atlantis and then it will be the end of the US manned space program for a long time.

The first shuttle mission was flown by Columbia on April 12, 1981. Columbia and its crew was lost on Feb. 1, 2003 during the reentry phase of its 28th mission. When the Atlantis shuttle completes its mission, it will mark 30 years of manned space flight using the shuttle fleet.

There are basically two camps when it comes to manned space flights. One maintains that the US must maintain a manned space presence if for no other reason than to show that we are the leader in space exploration. The other opinion maintains that we should invest our space dollars in unmanned vehicles which are inherently less expensive than manned efforts. There are good arguments for either position but the facts are the US is without a manned space program once the shuttle flights end and there is no real follow on program in the works. It has been my personal experience that $$$ usually win out in the long run.

It always worked that way in the Air Force. During peacetime, the leadership only wanted to buy fighters, bombers and transport aircraft. Reconnaissance aircraft and aircrews were not very high on the priority list. After all, they couldn't shoot guns, drop bombs or transport equipment so what were they good for? But let a combat or even potential combat situation raise its ugly head and everyone was screaming for battlefield intelligence. There was always a shortage of recon aircraft because they weren't purchased due to most of the $$$ being spent on fighters and bombers. Then it was always "balls to the wall" to get aircraft developed and crews trained for the mission.

I also remember that it was absolutely necessary to have a pilot in the air to do reconnaissance because nothing could beat seeing something with real eyeballs (At least all us recon crews thought so). We all die a slow death but look at reconnaissance and fighters now. There are absolutely NO manned reconnaissance units in the AF that flies battlefield missions. All that is done much better with "drones" which can be flying over Afghanistan while being controlled from a building in Nevada. Not a single aircrew is necessary. Not only that but they can carry weapons to attack the target they see. There are still plenty of fighter aircraft but leaders have learned to use unmanned drones for a lot of very critical missions.

So it is with the US space program as far as I can tell. All of us die-hards that thought nothing could be done without an astronaut crew on board are going to finally come over to the understanding that unmanned vehicles can do most of the jobs. If the US is ever going to travel to other planets it will be much less expensive to do most of the work with the unmanned vehicles and save the big $$$ for actual manned missions when everything is ready.

It is really hard to be objective about any program except the one that you are directly involved with when it comes to $$$ allocation. Just look at our national budget. Everyone has pet projects that simply cannot be touched. Cut "YOUR" projects but leave mine alone!! And don't forget all of us that have "EARNED" those entitlement $$$. When will we ever learn that it is impossible to continually spend more than you have coming in??

MESSIER MARATHON NIGHT

2011-02-20T18:47:00.000-06:00

I think I would be derelict in my duty if I didn't post something about the Messier Marathon's that will be held by most organized astro clubs during the month of March. Almost every club will be sponsoring this all night event at their local observing site. Why March you might ask? Simply stated, March 21st, plus or minus a day or so, is the spring equinox. Meaning that there are approximately the same number of hours of daylight and darkness during that time. In theory at least, that means you can see every part of the sky that is available to us norther hemisphere observers during the hours of darkness and consequently (theoretically that is) you should be able to see every one of the Messier objects in one 24 hour period. Big deal you are probably saying--why would anyone in their right mind want to stay up all night just to see something that they probably have see many times before under more favorable viewing conditions? I suppose you could call the marathon a sort of "passage of rights." There really isn't anything magical about the marathon---it isn't a test of who can and who can't see the most objects nor is it a time to do a detailed study of any given object---although there are slow times during the night that some devote to this activity. It's just a fun night where the only valid bragging right is "just staying up and awake all night" looking at the stars.

In all reality, it is very difficult to actually observe all the objects because some of the very dim ones are right on the western horizon just as it is getting dark enough to see anything. If you don't get lucky, they are below the horizon and gone for the night before you actually see them. And then about 6:30AM when you are trying to get the last ones as they rise in the east the Sun is beginning to make the sky so light that you can't see the stars. But during the middle of the night things are rather leisurely and most of the guys and gals have a lot of stories to swap while they are observing. At the LASS observing site there is always plenty of coffee and snacks to help ward off that temptation to take a short nap---be forewarned here---most short naps turn into the rest of the night naps if you give in to them.

Messier Marathon night is not a particularly good night for the first time visitor. You might feel just a little left out because folks with scopes are devoting their efforts to finding a particular object and then quickly moving to the next one. Not a lot of time to share scope time with others. On the other hand, it is exciting to see a flurry of activity that you might not see during a regular observing session. It has been my personal experience that some of the guys and gals really aren't trying to hard for the Messier objects, they are just browsing the sky like any other night. These folks are always willing to share their scope time.

If you have been observing for any given period of time (days, months, years) and haven't attended a Messier Marathon, let me encourage you to locate a local club and give it a shot. Don't worry about not knowing where to start or where to go to next as the night advances---most clubs will provide listings that will take you thru the night in a planned sequence. All you have to do is find the object. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY ALL NIGHT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO.

WHAT IS A LARGE STAR PARTY ALL ABOUT?

2011-02-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

The other night during the regular LASS observing session the conversation turned to the various star parties that are held on a state wide or even national level. What are these star parties all about and what is the advantage, if any, of attending one of these events? It has been quite a long time since I waxed on this subject so I thought a little information might be of some use to someone out there that is asking themselves if they should attend an event of this type.

To cut immediately to the chase, these events are where folks who are interested in astronomy gather for 3 or 4 nights ( or maybe even longer) and concentrate somewhat on observing. I say "somwhat" because there are a lot of different events that are related to astronomy that are nornally included for the daylight hours. Now to fill out some of the details and activities that actually do take place.

First let's talk about attendance and attendees. Usually the experience level of those attending ranges from the total "newbie" that is trying to get some idea that will help him understand what astronomy observing is all about to the "advanced amatuer". The newbie is likely to show up with a single page sky chart, a set of binoculars and quite possibly a small telescope. AND---a line of questions that would normally choke a horse. But believe it or not, this individual will make many friends and will probably be invited to look thru more scopes than anyone else. Even other not so well seasoned observers will be willing to give this individual some "good" advice. He will likely leave with a good understanding of what kind of scope he wants (if he hasn't already bought one) and a good idea of how much he will be spending for a good quality scope.

At the very opposite end of the spectrum you will see the high $$$ guys that own small mini vans that are dedicated to housing and transporting their very expensive telescopes and more than likely their even more expensive equipment to take pictures like the ones you see in astronomy magazines. Most of these folks have been in the observing game a long time and are no longer doing any visual observing but spend the majority of their time sitting in those vans looking at a computer screen while their remotely controlled scope is taking a picture. They have probably forgotten how to focus a regular telescope. AND---they hate any source of light that might even remotely affect the outcome of that prized image.

Then there are all of those that are somewhere between these two extremes. These are the guys and gals that actually look at the various things in the night sky, ie, stars. galaxies, nebulas, and all sorts of other fine details found within these objects. Some of these folks will be quite experienced and some will be fairly new to observing but all are putting their eye to the eyepiece in an effort to find that extremely faint object or just to look in detail at something that they have never seen from areas where external light puts a big damper on visual observing.

Being in a dark location is one of the major advantages of these big star parties. The "TEXAS" star party is held in a very dark location near Ft Davis, Tx---another one is the "ELDORADO" star party held just north of Sonora, Tx---and the OKIE-TX star party held in the extreme western panhandle of Okla. Certinally you can go to these locations without going to a recognized star party but there is just something about hanging out with a bunch of folks with the main emphasis on astronomy observing (or imaging).

Some of these locations---and these are by no neans the only ones around---have very good facilities for overnight camping and observing and others are a little on the "scant" side. All will have some arrangements for meals and at the better ones there will be lectures that you can attend during at least some of the daylight hours. Most will have some kind of "trading or swap equipment event" and the bigger ones will have vendors of various observing equipment hanging around. Speaking of hours, not everyone stays up all night at these events. You will see the number of active observers decreasing dramatically shortly after midnight and when you wake up in the morning you will gaze out to see a virtual field of telescopes covered and put to rest while awaiting the first stars of the following evening. Some folks will be scurrying around trying to shower and clean up and get to a mid morning breakfast while others will be content to sleep until at least mid afternoon.

During any given night of observing there is plenty of time to wander around throughout the site and visit with others and look thru their scopes. I don't remember ever being refused when I asked to look thru someone's scope. Many sponsors furnish a observing list that covers the sky with targets that go all the way from being "Very easy to Very, Very difficult". You look for what you want to and forget the rest. There are even those folks that take time during the daylight hours to visit the local golf course.

I suppose one of the best ways I could describe a "large star party" is to simply call it a mini vacation with a very defined purpose. I just don't know if everyone that has attended an event like this would necessarily agree with me on exactly what that DEFINED purpose really is!!! I can say this from my personal experience. Once you have attended one of these events you will always be trying to find a way to get away for another one next year.

Why don't you contact your local astronomy club and see what major star parties may be scheduled in your neck of the woods this coming fall. One word of caution---advance resistration may be required because these events are widly attended and there may not be adequate space for everyone. DON'T GET LEFT OUT.

PLANNING YOUR OBSERVING SESSION

2011-02-09T13:42:00.000-06:00

This is the third offering that I am making that I hope will be useful to any new telescope owner/user. If you have understood the basic information that I presented in the first two episodes you are ready for this one.

In the last posting I encouraged you to do several things.

1. find and join, or at least visit, a local astronomy club.

2. obtain some kind of sky chart and use it to learn the constellations that are visible to you on any given night.

3. become familiar enough with the night sky to know the relationships between the various constellations.

4. use some kind of prepared list that will give you some idea what objects are available for you to search out.

When you feel comfortable with the suggestions above, it is time to prepare a list that you want to observe on your next observing opportunity.

Every time you go out to observe you owe it to yourself to have a plan for the evening. By this I mean you should have looked at the charts I talked about and decided what objects you want to locate and observe. It is entirely understandable if you make a plan and go out on several occasions and use the same plan---if for no other reason just to affirm to yourself that you can locate something you have seen before. Don’t worry about always having new things to look for. No matter how many objects you find on any given night you can never exhaust the possibilities. And you can never see everything there is to see in any given target no matter how many different times you visit it. There will always be something new that you overlooked the last time you looked. Learning to study a given target is one of the things that you will develop as you become more and more involved in observing. On the other hand if you look at the same targets over and over again simply because you have learned to locate them , you are shortchanging yourself. That’s a lot like learning to drive and only knowing how to make right hand turns---never learning to make a lefty. You could probably get to where you needed to go--- if you didn’t end up on a dead end street or something.

Let’s take a look at how I would go about making a observing plan for any given evening. For starters, let’s begin by using the “Messier By The Month” list that you can find by clicking on on that title along the left side of this blog or simply clicking here. http://www.observers.org/observing/ Why don’t you click on that list now and then come back to this posting after you have looked at the information presented there. A word of caution here---there is so much information once you get the page open that you may never read another word of this post or any other I might write. And that would be OK with me because I know you would be learning how to use your scope.

For my purposes here, once you have opened the page, try to confine your interest to the topic line entitled “Messier Objects”. By clicking under any given month you will find the Messier objects that are observable during most of the hours that you would be observing (evening darkness + about 4 hours). For instance during February there are 10 objects selected for you to observe. There is a limited description of each target and the constellation in which it is located. That my friend is the beginning of a plan for your observing session. It needs a little flushing out with such things as locating each target on a star chart or other specialized chart used for locating the target. Just knowing what you are looking for and what constellation it is in is only the starting point.

I use and recommend two different guides here. One is Sky & Telescope’s “Pocket Sky Atlas” aka PSA. Just google those words and you will find out all you might want to know about this useful atlas and how you can order one. PSA contains a comprehensive index that includes star names, all plotted deep sky objects sorted by type and separate listings of Caldwell and Messier objects. All of the constellations are outlined in green making it very useful for the beginner to relate to what they are seeing in the sky. Even if you never get beyond observing the objects in these two lists you will find untold nights of wonderful sights. The second guide I recommend for the beginner is Sky & Telescope’s “Sky Atlas 2000.0”. It suffices to say that the latter is somewhat of a big brother to the PSA although it does not have index listings of any sky objects. It might be somewhat easier for some to use because it is made up of 14X18 inch sheets instead of the smaller book sized PSA.

One other set of charts that I find very useful is simply called “The MESSIER OBJECTS”. This is a very details set of charts designed to be use exclusively for locating Messier Objects. It consist of a two page layout for every Messier object detailing the features of the object as well as a very precise finder chart for locating the desired object. When I first began observing I don't know if I would ever been able to located anything without a chart like these. Some folks learn where evey Messier object is by memory but I still use these on various occassions to help me locate what I want to see.

If you visit any LASS observing session you will be able to see and use any of these charts as well as see the observing lists that the club has prepared for the evening. Not all members use the prepared observing list but it is available for those who haven’t prepared a list for themselves.

Knowing what you plan to look for, where it is located in the sky, and a little information about the object will make your observing session much more enjoyable and productive. Even some of you more seasoned observers would enhance your observing session if you did a little more planing before you set up your scope and began searching the friendly skies.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO OBSERVE THE SKY?

2011-02-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

On the surface the title to this rant would seem to be easily answered if it warranted an answer at all. So all of you experienced observers might want to skip todays offering and go on to more productive arenas. But if you are a casual observer or maybe new to the hobby, I think there may be a few things that will prick your interest and hopefully make you more productive and even more important--more interested in the wonders of observing.

In my last post I spent quite a bit of time suggesting how to get your new scope ready to observe and ended by saying that you should get in contact with a local astronomy club to begin you adventure in observing. Today I want to cover some of what I consider to be the very basic pieces of gear you need to acquire if you want to really enjoy your new telescope.

I know that you are already ahead of me and thinking about higher powered eyepieces, barlow lens and all kind of things that will make the object you are looking at seem larger and brighter. If you are in this category, forget all about it and let's get back to the very basic things you need to know. How did you get that object in the eyepiece in the first place? Did you just happen upon it or did someone at the local astronomy club tell you where to look or maybe even put the object in the eyepiece for you? Take the major planets and our moon for instance. Anyone can tell you if the moon is observable on any given night. Just look up and if you see it---it is observable. But how about Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Venus, and Mars? We don't even need to discuss the smaller planets which are more difficult to observe. Where are these objects in the sky and even more important---when are they in the night sky over my location so I can see them?

Most amateur observers do their observing in a 4 hour period of time which begins as soon as it gets dark enough to see the stars and planets. It quite often comes as a surprise to many newbies that not every object in the sky is above the horizon during this 4 hour period of time after darkness sets in. Quite often a new observer, or more likely a visitor at a star party will ask to see Saturn only to be told that it set about an hour before sunset or possibly it won't rise until 3 AM. Yes you read correctly---I said it had "set" or would "rise" at a time that you weren't going to be available to observe. Except for a very few stars and other deep sky objects that are in the vicinity of the north star, aka Polaris, every object has a time that it rises in the east and sets in the west. Those objects in the vicinity of Polaris are visible during all hours of darkness and are referred to as being "circumpolar" and are worthy of a separate discussion.

It becomes apparent then that a little planning on your part is necessary to know what objects you might want to observing during any given observing session. What tools are available that will help you know what to look for and when to look. The most basic tool that I recommend is a sky chart or a planetsphere. Skycharts are available in any astronomy magazine or from many sources on the web. Those printed in magazines are usually for a given 3 month period of time and will show you what is in the sky above your location during certain hours of the night. Those available on the web are frequently updated for a specific date and time. A planetsphere is a chart of the sky that can be set for any given month, day, and time of the night and will show what major stars and constellations are visible to you. But neither of these aids will tell you when the planets are visible from your location. For accurate information about planets I suggest a good astronomy magazine or more likely for most of you, a simple search on the internet. Remember that I am trying to get you acquainted with various sources of information that aren't very expensive and are readily available.

But what about all the other things that you have heard about at star parties like Messier objects, galaxies, star clusters, nebulas, and so on? How do you go about knowing when and where to look for these things? Now we are getting to the meat of observing.

For all pratical purposes, all of the objects in the sky, ie stars, nebulas, galaxies, clusters, constellations etc all stay in the same relative position in the sky---at least during mine and your lifetime. They appear to move during any given night but that is simply due to the rotation of the earth. They DO NOT move in relationship to one another. The only things that move around in relation to the background stars are planets, comets, asteroids, and the moon. Therefore, once you know where a given object is that you want to observe, it will always be found in the same relative location every time. Not necessarily the same point in the sky but in the same relative location to other stars and constellations. The secret then is finding where everything is located.

The sky has been mapped just like the roads and location of various things on the face of the earth. So, you need a "roadmap" of the objects in the sky if you want to locate something. Let's start with the basic things---constellations. A full sky chart is the logical place to start. Like I said above, sky charts can be produced for use on any given date and time but generally they are designed to be used for a entire month or in some instances, all spring, all summer, all fall, and all winter. Their basic purpose is to show you what constellations are in the sky above your location during any given night. But you simply cannot look at a constellation thru a telescope. The view thru your scope is so small and pinpointed that the very best you could expect to see would be ONE star in the constellation. Whoa big fellow---what do I look for if it isn't constellations? How about starting with some star clusters? OK---where are these star clusters then? If yor are at some kind of star party there will be plenty of folks there that can point you to a location using many different aids like a laser pointer or just pointing to a location with their hands. But eventually you are going to want to be able to find things on your own. Now comes the sky map.

If you were traveling to some location in Kansas you weren't familiar with you would look at a road map and get a general idea of the roads to travel, then go to a street map to get to the final address (or maybe just ask someone). Same idea with hunting down the locations for objects in the sky. Find the constellation where the object resides and then move to a more detailed chart to find its position relative to a given star in the constellation. It's not exactly like going two miles down to Avenue B, turning left and go to Maple St, then the third house on the left but the principle is exactly the same. Go to your known reference star, move a few degrees to the lower left and then search the area. But you do have to know how to identify the initial reference star. Most of us can recognize the "big dipper" and possible one of two other constellations but that won't be enough to make you a good observer. Nothing can beat simply getting outside during the night with a star chart and finding your way around the sky. Don't even take the scope out with you. Once you are familiar with several constellations, move on to another area of the sky. Like any other endeavor, every practice session or observing event improves your abilities.

All of this may seen difficult and it might seem a bit intimidating to the beginner. Again I can't stress enough the advantages of joining a local observing group where there will be plenty on "on hands" help with any of the things I have discussed. On the other hand you may be one of those individuals that has purchased a telescope with a "go to" mount. That will certinally simplify your observing task but in some way you will need to learn a smattering about the sky or you won't even be able to align that wonderful new scope. Most "go to" scopes can't find "squat" if you can't tell them where they are to start with.

One final paragraph---where might you find a listing of objects to look for? For starters, look here http://www.observers.org/observing/ This is one of the various observing links that you can find on the left side of this blog page. Check them all out at your convenience. The list that contain the name "Messier" are probably the easiest and the objects listed there are the most frequently looked at things for most amatuers. Certinally you can buy all kinds of astronomy books that have every little detail about every observable object in the sky but I would advise you to hold off on that kind of purchase until you are a little more advanced in the hobby.

One final word of advice that comes to you from my own personal experience. Don't give up if you don't find what you are looking for on the first, second, or even many tries. When you are successful you will be so proud of yourself that you will be ready for the next challegence with the confidence that you can and will find the intended target. And believe me, you can and will find the target.

NEW YEAR--NEW SCOPE--WHAT NOW

2011-01-01T19:15:00.000-06:00

This rant is mostly for those readers that have very little astronomy experience and who found a telescope under the Christmas tree (or nearby). You are probably facing a couple of questions that I hope to answer for you. First and foremost---how do I set this thing up and get all the things aligned so I can see something that I can reognize? Second and very important---how can I get in contact with someone that can help me get started in stargazing?

Let's start out with the first question and go from there. After you have everything out of the box and after you think you have everything put together--slow down and pick up the instruction sheet and start reading. If nothing else happens you can easily tighten something and then try to move or align the scope and suddenly strip a worm gear on something worse without even knowing it. So read the assembly instructions and know what does what to what.

Let's begin with a basic manually controlled scope. If your scope looks like this one your task is easy. All you need to do is set the scope in the mount, insert the widest view eyepiece you have (largest mm number) and point the scope at the sky and focus. That's a rather simple thing to do and baring any major problems with the scope in general you are in business. The next major thing you should do is align the finder scope. To do this, point the scope toward a NON MOVING target (example--a steady light that is quite a distance away) and center the target in the very center of the eyepiece and then without any movenent of the scope tube, look into the finder and make adjustments to the finder as necessary to put the target under the crosshairs or red dot depending on the type finder you are using. Repeat this procedure until the pointer is directly on the target you are looking at in the eyepiece. You can check the accuracy of this alignment by using the finder to point at a selected targe and then looking to see if it is in the eyepiece. If not, go thru the alignment procedure again.

If your scope is on any kind of tripod similar to the one here it can be either a manually controlled or computer controlled scope. If you don't have any electronic pieces then you can follow the procedures above until you get the scope pointing at the target you see in the finder. Just remember, with any manually controlled scope you have to know a little about the sky in order to find things you want to see. A simple sky chart found in most monthy astronomy magazines is a good starting place.

Many of the latest scopes and even many in the lower price ranges have a "GO-TO" mount which when set up and aligned properly will allow you to select targets by simply dialing in a number or name into the handset. I don't think I know anyone under the age of 35 that doesn't understand input devices (telephone, computers, etc) so with a little attention to the set up instructions you should be able to get everything ready to go. One note of caution here---If the very 1st or maybe the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time you go thru the alignment procedure, it must be done when you can see and identify at least a couple of stars. Basically that means it will be dark when you are doing this. BIG NOTE HERE--- get familar with the hand controller and the alignment sequence inside in the light where you can see what you are doing. You can even set the scope up inside and practice moving it in accordance with hand controlles instructions even if you aren't actually pointing it at actual stars. You won't get any kind of useful guidance information at the end of the procedure but at least you will be familar with what you need to be doing. You don't even need a finder scope with this scope but one is usually included. Align the finder scope according to the procedure described above.

The very next thing you are likely to do is put in the highest magnifying eyepiece that you have ( the smaller the "mm" number is the higher the magnification will be) and start trying to find something in the sky. This will likely lead you to getting mad, claiming the scope isn't any good, or some other thing that might immediately dampen your enthuasim for astronomy. Relax, all is not lost and you can still have a good night by following a few simple tips. First and foremost, take out that high magnification eyepiece and put in the lowest power you have (the one with the biggest "mm" on it.) Second, forget about all the pretty pictures you have seen on the net or in magazines. You ARE NOT going to see anything like that unless you happen to be looking at the moon. And even then you are not likely to see things on the moon like you may have see elsewhere. What then can you expect to see?

Let's talk about the planets first. For all pratical purposes you will not be able to see any detail on any of them except Jupiter and Saturn. You can see the phases on Venus (just like the phases on the moon) but don't expect any of these to fill up the eyepiece. It just isn't going to happen. The moon is a good target and you will be able to see a lot of detail on it and if you look at it during its different phases you will find something different everytime you observe. You can easily see the rings of Saturn (with some color) and depending on the seeing conditions you can see some of the moons of Saturn. But they will be just specks of light no matter what size scope you have. Jupiter will yield up its cloud rings and its four prominent moons. As you get better at obseving you might even see the "big red spot" on Jupiter. That's about it for the planets and the earth's moon.

What about other things to look for? At the left from top to bottom is a sampling of a star cluster, two galaxies, and another star custer. Each of these are within the capability of most scopes, even the very small ones---but not in color like you see here. Anytime you are looking thru a

scope, think black and white. With a manually controlled scope it will be a little while before you can expect to find something like this but that is part of the challenge and fun. With a "GO-TO" scope, if you know the idenity of the target you want to see just dial it in and wait. Your scope will find it and center it in the eyepiece for you.

Well, having said all this, what about the 2nd thing I mentioned in the beginning? As soon as possible I recommend that you get in contact with a astronomy club in your local area. If you don't know a local club I suggest you go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ to locate clubs all over the US. Clubs will welcome you into their orginization and there will always be members there who can fill in all the blanks I have left out in this blog.

Here's hoping you and your new scope develop a healthy relationship and that you enjoy many years of obsering the wonders of the universe we live in.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

2010-12-30T22:25:00.003-06:00

There are times when things just seem to come together and it works out to be a good deal for everyone. I think that was exactly what happened to me the other day when out of the blue I got a telephone call from someone I had never met asking if I might be able to help him sell a telescope. I'll admit I was a little skeptical at first because the circumstances surrounding the proposed sale just didn't add up.

Evidently this person had heard of LASS thru some writeup that had appeared in the local newspaper. He made a lot of calls and finally found someone that suggested my name to him. He called me and began to give me a lot of information about a Meade LX90 that he had in his possession that he wanted to sell. After a lengthy conversation I finally suggested that it would be best if he could bring the scope to my house for a personal inspection. He readily agreed and we set up the time. I wanted to have someone else that could confirm the overall status of the scope and circumstances so I called Ben (our resident used scope guru) to arrange for him to be here when the scope arrived.

The scope was reported to have been bought as a Christmas present in 2003 and it had only been out of the box a couple of times. (does that sound like a used car dealer?) In addition to that, the individual who had the scope said it had been given to him by his brother to see if he could sell it. There was a few other questionable details but I think you can get the picture.

When the seller got here we got right down to business of inspecting the scope an trying to verify the details. Right off, he produce the original invoice from Meade and what he was saying about the purchase date checked out. Ben and I got to looking at the scope and the associated eauipment (six plossil eyepieces, a metal carring case for the eyepieces, a barlow, six color filters, and some other items). Everything the seller had told me was there. The scope was in the shipping carton that it came in from Meade and truthfully, everything looked just like new. I couldn't find anything that seemed different from what I had been told.

Before the guy arrived Ben and I both had gone to the Meade web page and priced everything that we thought was in the package. In todays prices it came to just over $2300 dollars. The guy had done some home work because he had done the same thing so he knew what the possible value would have been if someone bought a similar scope from Meade today. Finally we got down to the big question-----how much did he want for the scope? Without blinking an eye he said $1000 dollars. Ben and I thought this was a very good offer but niether of us was in position to buy the scope on the spot. But I think it would have been a very good purchase.

After some small talk I promised to make everyone in LASS aware of the scope. I sent out the notification message that evening. Within a couple of days we had some interest and a day or so later I got an e-mail from the seller telling me he had sold the scope to a neighbor of mine (not yet in our club). I don't know if there were price negotiations but the scope sold.

The moral to this story----good deals are usually found close to home and you have to be ready to make a decision and strike while the iron is hot. What we have here is a satisfied seller and a satisfied buyer. I'm happy that I could be a part of putting the two together.

LUNAR ECLIPSE DEC 2010

2010-12-28T17:47:00.000-06:00

Nothing brings out those "wannabe" astronomer observers any better than a Lunar or Solar eclipse. There are a lot of folks in my community that are aware that visual astronomy is a favorite passtime with me, but with the play that this Lunar eclipse got in all the newspapers and on national TV, the questions about it began to flow in from folks that I never dreamed would have any interest in astronomy. I had a lot of people tell me that they were coming out to the house to watch the eclipse with me but as the time grew near and the night grew longer, some of them backed out. I was surprised at the number of them that told me over the next few days that they had got up sometime during the hours of the eclipse and looked. Some didn't look very long but at least they looked. I guess it hadn't hurt that I had reminded them that we wouldn't see another full eclipse from Texas before 2014.

I had a very good experience telling my guest how an eclipse comes about. They all knew that it was because the earth came between the Sun and the Moon but most did not know that an eclipse could only happen during a full moon phase. I used a couple of plastic balls on long spindles and a flashlight to illustrate how the moon was covered by the earth's shadow during a full eclipse and partial eclipse. It took a little explaining when they asked if everyone would be able to see the eclipse. Most of them quickly grasped the fact that the moon might not be visible in some areas of the world because it would be daylight when the event took place or the moon might be just rising or setting. I finally ended the discussion by telling them that if anyone could see the moon during the night time hours, they could see the eclipse. They might not see the entire eclipse from start to finish but if they could see the moon, they would see at least part of the eclipse.

A lot of numbers were thrown around about previous and future eclipses and it confused a lot of people. Some reports were misleading in that they gave the impression that the last full eclipse was 372 years ago and another wouldn't occur until 2094. What those reports didn't state clearly enough was that the last full eclipse to happen on December 21st (winter solstice) was 372 years ago and the next full eclipse to happen on winter solstice( Dec 21st) wouldn't happen until 2094. There will be full eclipses before 2094---just not on December 21st.

Since I had the plastic balls and the flashlight available, I gave a short illustration on a solar eclipse. Most were totally unaware that a solar eclipse could happen in Texas and might not be seen everywhere in North America. The aids that I used made it real easy to explain that one. I was also very careful to explain that viewing a solar eclipse could be extremely dangerous if you did not have the proper equipment.

Since the full eclipse occurred shortly after midnight the moon was almost directly overhead from our viewing location. If you haven't experienced it, try pointing a dobson scope at a target that is directly overhead. Not impossible but challenging. I tried to get some pictures but between keeping the scope pointed correctly and the task of holding the camera to the eyepiece, my pictures were less than desirable. Maybe I will be better trained by the time another eclipse comes around.

ANOTHER BIG ASTRONOMY EVENT IN DECEMBER

2010-12-17T16:33:00.000-06:00

We are in the prime location this time to observe a total eclipse of the moon. In fact, the entire north American continent will be able to view the entire eclipse (naturally considering the weather). It has been 3 long years since we have had the opportunity to see a total  eclipse and this one promises to be special for us Texas viewers. As seen from our location, the moon will begin to show some shadowing around 12:30AM of Tuesday morning, Dec 21st. ( I hate it when we say times like this. We should say "00:30AM" on Tuesday) From our particular location, the moon should be almost directly overhead. Now let's go over that timing again----it would be tragic to miss this eclipse just because you looked on the wrong night. Here is the straight skinny on timing.

Get everything you want to use in this observing session set up before midnight on the evening of Dec 20th. Then just stay up until the eclipse happens. That's pretty simple isn't it? The observable part of the eclipse will start happening sometime after midnight and will end around 4AM. The moon will be in full eclipse for about 72 minutes but technically there are 5 phases to a full eclipse.
For all practical purposes, we are interested in only four of these.

One---when partial eclipse begins
Two---when total eclipse begins
Three---when total eclipse ends
Four---when partial eclipse ends
For us, the moon will be in total eclipse from 1:41AM until 2:53AM, Tuesday Dec 21st.

There are a lot of folks out there that have never seen even a partial eclipse of the moon. One of the first questions they will usually ask is "when does it get totally black?" The answer to that question is "NEVER." Maybe a little explaination would be in order here. The shadow of the earth does cover the entire moon during a total eclipse but usually the moon only shows a dark redish color. The major reason for this is the light from the sun gets "bent" around the earth and is difused as it passes thru the earths atmosphere. There is enough of this difused light to keep the moon from becoming totally dark. Depending on a lot of variables, the color of the moon may vary all the way from a beautiful golden hue to a bright red. These variable colors make for some very interesting photo images of the eclipse.

Take this opportunity to get out and observe the total eclipse because the next one that will be visible from the entirity of the US will not happen until April 14, 2014. That's about 4 years from now and no telling what may happen before then.

METEOR SHOWERS

2010-12-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

The last 3 months have been very slow for me as far as astronomy activity goes. I have been away from my home location and even tho I had my trusty 12 inch DOB with me, I didn't have any real good opportunities to use it. Maybe it would be more politically correct to say " I didn't take advantage of the observing opportunities I had". But now I am back home and ready to get with the program.

I started out with getting up at 2 AM and going out to take a look at the Gemini meteor shower Monday night. I didn't see as many as some reports but in 40 minutes I saw 21 meteors. They ranged from the very bright and multicolored ones to the very dim and unimpressive ones. For my money, it was well worth the effort of getting out of a warm bed and dressing for the cold just to see what I did see. The moon had set by the time I went out and there wasn't a cloud to be seen so I had a very good sky to observe.

Meteor showers are always interesting to me. I can remember as a kid laying out in the back yard during the summer months and watching for an occasional meteor. There was always adults out with us kids (quite different from today) and they would tell us some of the old stories about the constellations and if we were lucky, a meteor would pass thru the sky. It was a lot darker in the country skies back then and I think we saw more meteors than we see today. But we never even thought about a meteor shower. Without all the astronomy magazines and the internet we didn't know much about things like that. I think that if we had seen 20+ meteors an hour we would have thought the sky was falling.

As I learn more about these yearly events I can't help but wonder why more folks don't take the time to observe them. I suppose that a lot of folks would say "if you have seen one meteor you have seen them all." I hear that kind of remark quite often as I tell people about stargazing in general. You can show them star clusters and galaxies in the eyepiece and they simply say "is that all there is?" Those galaxies and clusters will be there the next night and the next night but a meteor shower is always a one of a kind event. We now know that there are at least 70+ meteor showers each year but most are very hard to observe because their particles burn very dimly or last for such a short duration that they are unobservable as a shower. Roughly 9 events are categorized as "strong" meaning they are relatively easy to observe.

All meteor showers EXCEPT for the Gemini's are the result of earths orbit passing thru the debris trails of comets that are traveling around our solar system . The debris trail that produces the Gemini shower is the result of an asteroid named 3200 Phaeton. Not much is known about this asteroid or why it is shedding debris particles or even how long it may last. In astronomy terms, a few million years may be considered as "not very long." As earths orbit carries it thru one of these trails the tiny particles heat up due to friction and begin to burn up. What we actually see from earth is the gaseous reflection of this process. As far as the Lenoid and Gemini's are concerned, none of these particles ever reach the ground. Most of these particles are no larger than grains of sand but there are some other things out there that are a lot bigger and a lot harder. These are random particles that are orbiting in our solar system and they may actually make their way all the way to the surface of the earth before being totally consumed. Some are quite large and frequently these meteors (technically called meteorites after they hit the earth) are located by ground searches. These are the kind of objects that are frequently seen, and sometimes photographed, as they make their way to the surface of the earth.

Consider yourself lucky if you see a major meteor because it will be strictly chance. On the other hand, meteor showers are very predictable and are well known in advance. Take advantage of these opportunities and wirness some of the most wondrous demonstrations of beauty in our sky.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SIGN UP

2010-11-17T13:59:00.000-06:00

I think we have had a discussion along this line at some of the regular club meetings but I am not sure if this kind of talk has reached the general public yet. And I'm sure it wouldn't land on a sympathetic ear but it certainly isn't without precedence in our world. You might ask what I am talking about---nuclear war or something? No nothing like that but something that would likely touch every living person on this planet. I'm talking about space travel--ONE WAY SPACE TRAVEL. Before you upchuck your latest meal, lets talk about this subject with an open mind and think why it might be considered as a viable option.

Viable option to what might be your first question. The logical and primary answer to that question would be "space travel where folks go into space and expect to return to earth after some period of time". EXAMPLE---THE ISS PROGRAM. Most folks might say that ONE WAY SPACE TRAVEL is no option at all and anyone that would think of such a trip to outer space might need to see a shrink. But like I said, this kind of travel has precedence in the history of our nation. What references to precedence might I be talking about?

I submit that the very earliest settlers of our nation left their homeland with absolutely no thought or intention of ever having the chance to return home. They had little or no understanding of what to expect in this new adventure except that there were others that were willing to undertake the same trip. Oh, they knew that the new frontier was more hospitable than we think outer space will be but they were leaving everything behind with absolutely no intention or hope of ever returning. Granted they undoubtedly knew that others had made the trip and that they had returned but in all reality, they left and never looked back. Yea, I know there are a lot of holes in this argument. For instance, they had lots of company, they knew they could exist in the new land, they knew that others would be traveling back to the homeland, they knew that others would be following shortly---on the other hand, they didn't have a clue what the hardships would be like. Hostile inhabitants that didn't appreciate their presence, health problems with little or no medically trained people with them, harsh as well as good living conditions. In other words, they didn't expect it to be a family picnic and it wasn't. But they were eager to find new hope for themselves and they were willing to lay their lives on the line to search for that hope. They weren't necessarily sacrificing themselves for the human race but they were willing to risk it all for the chance at a new life.

Let's look at our manned space program from its inception up until today. It has always been high risk and and there has never been a guarantee that even one mission would be successful. And if it wasn't for the great ingenuity of a lot of people on the ground, there would have been more losses than we actually experienced. But there has never been a shortage of men and women that were lined up seeking the opportunity to go into space even with all the uncertainties. And these weren't "crazies", these were leaders and scientist who saw the need for such exploration. Even when they faced the thought of how risky the space program really was, they wanted to go.

But to go into space---to another planet and have absolute no intention or known capability of ever returning to earth--- most folks would say that you would have to be insane. Society just wouldn't stand for it. What would be the purpose of sending humans on a ONE WAY TRIP then? Maybe we need to think that over a little bit.

First, the fiscal cost of sending humans on a one way trip to another planet would save more money than we could ever imagine. But in my mind that would be one of the lesser things to consider. What other possible factors should we consider then?

How about the technical aspects of getting to another planet without even considering the problems of a return mission. I believe that a planned return mission would be even harder to execute than getting there in the first place. And preparing for a return mission would delay any effort to put humans on another planet for an indefinite period of time. Getting there always seems to be less than 1/2 of the effort. I'm not saying that we should never plan for return missions from another planet but it does seem wise to consider ONE WAY TRIPS for the immediate future. One might ask the question, "why all the rush to put a human on another planet"? To me, that's a lot like asking "why all the rush to find a cure for cancer--aids---diabetes---or any number of horrifying diseases you might want to name. Just take your time developing cures and preventative methods and let these diseases kill a few more million folks. That may be OK unless one of those folks is you or someone in your immediate family. I can hear you saying now---"but that does not have anything to do with going to another planet". All I have to say in response is this--- DO YOU BELIEVE THAT HUMANS CAN CONTINUE TO EXIST AND DESTROY THIS PLANET EARTH AT OUR CURRENT RATE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES? Some would say," JUST TAKE YOUR TIME AND ALL THIS WILL GET SORTED OUT AT SOME FUTURE DATE". My response to this argument is this---anytime we have the capability to make advancements----especially in the realm of space travel---we need to get with the program. NUFF SAID.

What kinds of people should we consider for a ONE WAY TRIP? Some would immediately say "send old folks, they won't have long to live anyway". We don't need people that are past their prime in our space programs. We need young , healthy folks with bright minds and a spirit of adventure. Young scientist as well as non scientist who are more than willing to be pioneers in space. Where do we find these folks? The same places we found the astronauts that have populated our currant space programs. Just put out the word and establish your qualifications and stand back. They will be there in greater numbers that you could ever imagine.

And who knows---maybe those who would go with no hope of ever returning to earth might be surprised to find out that before their life in space is ended a return to earth capability has been developed. The sad ending to this scenario might be that they would say "no thanks, I wouldn't return to that place for anything".

This isn't meant to be a definitive argument for ONE WAY SPACE TRAVEL but hopefully it will give you a chance to think about it before our next regular observing session. Get your arguments---either for or against ready. I, for one, am looking forward to our December meeting.

THE EFFECTS OF FAMILY & WEATHER ON OBSERVING

2010-10-30T11:51:00.000-05:00

When you are a senior adult like me it is very easy to forget the effects of family and family members have on your observing activities. Normally, when I am at home the only other family member I need to consider is my wife Lucy. Her daily schedule is very much aligned with mine so it is a rare occasion when there is a conflict with our activities. Now we are visiting my son's family in Estes Park, Co and there are four more people to work into a schedule. First comes the high school activities of the two boys. One is in Jr. High and the other is in High School. Both are heavily involved in sports. Immediately, that takes a big chunk out of the available nights that are available for me to take the scope outside. Of course there are the nights when the games are away and if the weather is bad we don't go but then if the weather is bad then there isn't much chance for observing. Are you beginning to get the picture?

Next comes the adult social calendar. We haven't had the privilege of living near one of our kids and their family in several years. Then add in the fact that we are in a vacation location and a vacation mode and you begin to see another obstacle coming into play. There are a certain number of evenings that must be dedicated to going out to eat or going over to the house to have a meal in. Now you know that anyone in their right mind is not going to turn down a chance to have a dinner at a good local eatery. When you consider that a large part of the activities at Estes Park is directed to the tourist trade you will come to the conclusion that there is bound to be plenty of places to eat out. And you would be correct in that assumption. So now you begin to see problem # two.

The next obstacle is a combination of two associated events. Viewing the animals and trying to get a perfect picture is an endeavor of everyone in Estes Park including all the natives. This is the time of the year that the elk population comes down from the high country and the mating (RUT) season begins. There are so many elk within the Rocky Mountain National Park that you could completely wear out a good camera taking pictures and probably never take a picture of the same animal. In the city itself it is easy to see a herd of 50 or more on the golf course, in a parking lot, or just crossing the road. These fellows have learned that they are protected here and that traffic will stop for them as they make their way throughout town. In the park, when an individual or herd is sighted, the vehicles start to line up along the road and almost immediately a park ranger will appear to try to keep people from running over each other. The herds in the park begin to migrate to the open areas about 5:30 in the evening and that's when the folks start to gather in the favorite viewing sites. There are a lot of other animals to try to see besides elk but they are the most sought after.

The second part of this event is the weather. Maybe not what you may be thinking---but the changing from summer to fall in the mountain areas is just mind boggling. The Aspen begin to show the change first as their leaves begin to change from green to a brilliant yellow. There aren't many hardwood trees here so the predominant color is yellow. So now you are trying to get that perfect elk picture as they stroll thru the changing Aspens. A challenge but not impossible. When you throw in an early snow that turns the tops of the high mountains from brown to white, you might begin to see this part of the distraction to observing. And I haven't even mentioned the fact that it get kinda cool in the evenings after the sun goes down. It is routinely below freezing every night now and even with adequate clothing, I am just not physiologically equipped to stay out in the cold to look at the sky.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Back home in Texas my most detracting event to observing is some special show on TV. There are times when I don't want to go out because of the weather but that is about it. No social events or ball games to contend with. Well maybe that last statement isn't completely true. We do have local high school basketball teams and in a community like Lipan you don't need to have a family member playing to go to the game.

Like I have always said--SET YOUR PRIORITIES WHERE YOUR MAIN INTEREST IS. AND ABOVE ALL, NEVER LET WORK INTERFERE WITH STARGAZING.

Comet Hartley 2 plus

2010-10-08T16:29:00.005-05:00

Comet Hartley 2 is all the rage this month. In case you have been sleeping under a rock, Hartley 2 is very easily found in the vicinity of Cassiopeia the next few nights. Hartley 2 is not yet visible with the naked eye but it is very easily found with binoculars or any small telescope. You can find pictures and other information at this Sky & Tel page. Hartley 2 isn't as impressive as Holmes 17P was in Oct 2007 when that comet reached a magnitude of about 2.0. Holmes was easily visible to the naked eye and its spectacular overnight explosion to such brightness was a once in a lifetime experience for most modern day observers.

Comets are more of a regular visitor to our skies than most observers realized a few short years ago. If your remember, our friend "MESSIER" was primarily searching for comets when he began cataloging so many of the clusters and galaxies we routinely observe today. I hesitate to think about how many comets he might have found if he could have used the equipment we have available today. I suppose that is why so many amateur astronomers discover so many new asteroids, comets, and other sky objects today. They have equipment that is equivalent to professional level stuff. Even my 12 inch DOB can see so much more than telescopes of Messier's time---I just don't have the dedication that he had to search the skies with an endless vigilance to fine those difficult targets. That's why I am so appreciative of observers of all times that are willing to devote the hours and hours of searching the skies and cataloging their finds so that I can enjoy the fruits of their efforts on any given clear night.

So take the time to go out and observe comet Hartley 2 in the next few days. It will be an experience that will not come by again soon. Oh, I am sure there will be other bright comets but don't let a single one pass if you can help it. After all, Halley's comet won't be coming around again in mine and your lifetime.

THE JUPITER EFFECT

2010-09-19T18:17:00.007-05:00

When you are hosting a public star party it is always good to have either the moon, Jupiter, or Saturn visible in the sky. Of all the possible things that people are interested in, these three objects will dominate the the question period most of the time. They are all easy to see in the telescope and there is no end to the things that you can tell your audience about them. Although most amateur astronomers will enjoy looking at various star clusters and maybe some galaxies, visitors at the star parties are usually not very impressed with these objects. Especially if they have been looking at the pretty pictures in astronomy and other magazines. Showing them a very dim galaxy that is a prized object to you simply because you have been able to find it usually won't impress them very much. And your personal ego will likely fall well below your chin when you show them a small dim globular cluster only to have them say " is that little fuzzy ball what you are talking about?" But when you are showing them Jupiter or Saturn and the rings and moons they are usually impressed with your efforts no matter what size your telescope may be.

Well guys, we are in luck for the next couple of months. Jupiter is rising in the east early in the prime viewing time an there is a lot of special things going on with this planet this year. For starters, the southern most ring is for all practical purposes none existent at the present time. Now telling someone about something that they can't see may not be the most impressive topic you can talk about, but it is very interesting to note because it doesn't happen every year or so. It also just happens that Jupiter is passing as close to earth as it has passed in more than 20 years. This fact will give you a chance to explain the various orbits of the planets and how the distances between them is constantly changing. And since it is at a close range, relatively speaking, it would be a good time to explain the paths of Jupiter's major moons and how it is possible to see the shadows and even the moons themselves as they pass between us as observers and the face of the planet. Then there is always the Big Red Spot. Since Jupiter rotates on a 10 hours schedule, it might not be possible to see the spot on any given night but it is certainly a worthwhile topic to talk about.

With all the publicity about asteroids and possibly other objects hitting Jupiter lately, it might be worth your time to talk about the amazing things that amateur astronomers have discovered in the last few years. It might be worth while to explain the difference between what we call "visual observing and imaging and electronic observing." Nothing to detailed here just an explanation in what one might see versus what can be seen with imagery or maybe infrared work.

But for the next couple of months Jupiter should be the primary emphasis. Take time to remind yourself and your visitors about the huge size of this planet, its composition, its retrograde movements, and anything else you might want to talk about. A side effect of all this is the fact that you will make yourself more aware of a lot of facts about this fascinating planet. Above all, try to involve any visitors you might have in the observation process. You never know, they might be the next member of our club or the next person to get their own telescope.

The NIght Sky Really Is Darker

2010-09-13T21:16:00.006-05:00

From my vantage point here in the Rocky Mountains 8000ft above sea level and shielded from the bright lights of most big cities, the sky is really darker. But I need to tell you right off, the nights are definitely cooler too. As I look over the sky from my vantage point on the back porch, things are just about perfect. In fact, I think we should schedule a LASS overnighter from here in the near future. We probably should make it an overnighter because it takes about 12 hours of steady driving to get here from our home location. It would probably take up most of your kitchen passes for the next several months Oh well---

To be truthful, I haven't unpacked the big 12 inch DOB yet because we are staying in temporary quarters until the 20th. But the permanent house we will be staying in has a good front porch location. Looks to the east and right over a high mountain. Don't have to worry about anything below 45 degrees elevation. I'm sure you have seen the news reports about the fires near Boulder but that hasn't bothers us here at Estes Park at all even thought we are only about 35-40 miles north of Boulder. They are a little more critical of the air quality here tho--they almost cancelled the high school football game last Friday because of smoke in the air and frankly,I couldn't even tell there was any smoke. Guess I am to used to the Texas Ozone smog.

When we arrived at the house where we are currently staying one of the first things I saw was a 5 inch Celestron Nexstar sitting in the music room. No one even had he slightest idea how to set it up or operate it. I found the on/off switch and was pleasantly surprised to see the hand controller spring into life. It didn't take much surfing on the net to find a complete operator manuel and I was on my way. I haven't had it outside yet but that will probably happen tomorrow night. Talk about a handy grab and go scope--it looks to be perfect.

Also found out that there is an active astronomy group here and there is an observatory and planetarium at the local high school. I looked at the monthly schedule and it ended on the first week of September. I wonder if they are trying to tell me something? But I have been reassured that there are some hardy soles that do observing after that date. I did bring winter observing gear with me just for that eventuality. Now I just need to get out and meet some fellow observers.

PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER CLARIFICATION

2010-08-05T10:19:00.012-05:00

One of the LASS club members called my hand on the best time to observe the Perseids meteor shower so I thought a little or at least an intelligent discussion might be in order. So here we go:

Not all observers will agree on my terminology but for my purposes when I use the term "in the morning hours of XXX day" I am referring to the time from 00:01 AM until noon of that day. For example-----the morning of 12 August would be any time from 00:01 AM on the 12th until noon of that same day. In addition, if I were to say the best viewing time is from 10 PM on August 11th thru 5 AM August 12th I would be telling you to go out and look during the evening hours of the 11th and continue observing into the early morning of the 12th. I REFER YOU TO MY PREVIOUS POST WHERE I SAY THE TIME OF GREATEST PERSEIDS ACTIVITY WILL BE ON THE EVENING OF AUGUST 11TH AND INTO THE MORNING OF AUGUST 12TH. THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE.

Having said this, I have noted several web sites that are quite confusing about the way they refer to the nights of greatest potential activity for the Perseids. Some simply say---the night of Aug 12 and 13th. To me that would mean the evening hours of Aug 12th and the evening hours of August 13th. Luckily for those who would like to observe the Perseids this year it won't make that much difference. The intensity will be about the same for 2 or 3 nights around August 12th. So you will be OK if you go out during those dates.

Why the all this tirade about the dates then? Try this one on for size if you are still reading this stuff and wondering what difference it would make. Suppose someone told you the moon was going to eclipse on August 12th. Big deal you say---what time on August 12th? The answer they give will tell you if you need to stay up late on August 11th and into the morning hours of the 12th or if you can catch the event in the evening hours of the 12th. Of course if you really want to throw a fly into the ointment, start reading a article in an astro magazine and they begin to use a term "UTC or maybe GMT or Zulu" time. It might help to say right off that these last three terms all refer to the exact same time and can be used interchangeably. They refer to the time at the zero meridian that just happens to run thru Greenwich England. This time is the standard for referencing all the other times that we use so that we all will know exactly what time and date we are actually talking about. HOPEFULLY!! for example, at 23:59:59 zulu it will be July 15 but in one second at 00:00:00 zulu it will be July 16. JUST KEEP THIS IN MIND BECAUSE WE WILL REFER TO IT LATER.

But it really isn't all that easy. There is that thing called the 24 hr clock or sometimes referred to as military time. So what time and date is it in Dallas if I tell you the date & time is 22:00 Zulu, July 15. To convert to local time (CST ) you would subtract 6 hours from zulu time. That would make it 16:00 on July 15. Of course if it is daylight savings time the conversion is minus 5 hours---which would make it 17:00 on July 15. In day to day talk that would be either 4 or 5 PM on the 15th. That's easy enough isn't it? But suppose I told you it was 03:00 Zulu on July 15. What would be the time & date in Dallas then? Using the formula of minus 6 hrs for CST we would come up with 21:00 local or 9Pm on JULY 14TH. Since it isn't always easy to visualize subtracting a larger number from a smaller one, just add 2400 to the smaller number before subtracting. (2400+0300=2700-0600=2100) .

THAT'S ALL FINE AND GOOD BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CROSS THE "INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE" WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE 180 DEGREE MERIDIAN IN THE PACIFIC. The time doesn't necessarily change (there is some variation due to time zones in the Pacific) but the date does. Suddenly 11AM on July 15 becomes 11AM on July 16th. WOW, how does that happen? A couple paragraphs above I said that the date changed at 23;59:59 Zulu. There is a fine distinction here that you may not have noticed. I said the date changed--not the time. A simple explanation---in England the date changes on a given hour---everywhere else the date changes at the stroke of midnight. When it is noon in England, it is midnight in the Pacific---if the date doesn't change the world will come to an end. (smile)

Now the ultimate problem. Your brother is in Perth Australia and his birthday is July 22nd. They are having a birthday party for him at 3:30 local Perth time. You are in Dallas. What time would you call him to wish him Happy Birthday while he is at the party celebrating? Read my next post to see if we both come up with the same time to call.

Before you go bonkers with this go to this web page http://www.timeanddate.com/ which will solve all of these time and date problems. There is even a section dealing with astronomy that shows the rise and setting times for the moon & sun and a lot of other good astronomy info. This is a good page to bookmark to help you with date and time conversions.

Incidentally, the best times to observe the Perseids meteor shower is about 09:00 zulu on the 12th and 13th of August. That is somewhere around 3 AM on both the 12 & 13th.

SPACE SHUTTLE DISPOSITION

2010-07-25T15:37:00.012-05:00

I found this little bit of information in a government proposal (sometimes called legislation) outlining a lot of things for NASA to be doing in the upcoming months and years. Regardless of all the other things NASA will be directed to do, the disposition of the remaining shuttle vehicles will become a reality very soon. Instead of just saying " locate any surviving vehicles in a good place where they can be maintained and where the public can see them," the following verbose wording is what is being proposed.

QUOTE

Upon the termination of the Space Shuttle Program as provided in section 602, the Administrator shall decommission any remaining Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles according to established safety and historic preservation procedures prior to their designation as surplus government property. The orbiter vehicles shall be made available and located for display and maintenance through a competitive procedure established pursuant to the disposition plan developed under section 613(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(a).

UNQUOTE

Listen up guys and gals of LASS. We need to get our act together and put in our application for one of the remaining shuttles. I would even be willing to donate a space down along Addison Road where we could mount it on a pedestal for display. I know for a fact that there are at least 100+ automobiles that pass by that spot every day---and probably a lot more during the night hours when I am asleep. We could put our LASS banner down there and everything. I'll bet we could get one of the area TV stations to give us a little air time. THINK POSITIVE---Someone will get them for display----why not LASS?

ON ANOTHER SUBJECT---THE PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER

Get ready for a great Perseids meteor shower on the evening of August 11th and into the morning of August 12th. Actually, the Perseids are visible over a longer period of time but the peak period of activity falls on this night.

The source of the Perseid meteor shower is actually debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Every year, the earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet and the earth's atmosphere is bombarded by what is popularly known as "falling stars or shooting stars."

The meteors are bright and you won't have any trouble identifying one when you see it. Actually, the particles are very small, more like the size of a grain of sand. The high temperatures generated when they burn make them appear to be much larger.

Any meteor shower is best observed using your naked eye. They appear so suddenly and move so fast it is almost impossible to see them using binoculars. For maximum chances of seeing the Perseids, position yourself on a reclining chair of some kind with your feet pointing toward the northeast. Keep your eyes and head on a swivel and enjoy the sights. The maximum activity for the night will be in the early morning hours of the 12th.

NEW ASTRONOMY COURSE BEING OFFERED

2010-07-08T20:12:00.003-05:00

Here at the LASS home base we are setting the wheels into motion to develop a new astronomy observers course. This course will offer both lecture type events as well as on site observing and will be taught on an unregulated schedule. This will be a "Pay for Attendance" course and the fee will be required before each individual session begins. The anticipated fee is totally dependent of the number of individuals signing up and will relate somehow to the hours spent in the class as well as the actual observing activity. The planned duration will be open ended at this time but I expect to set a definite ending date very soon. This course will be entitled "Astronomy 808"---I'm tired of that old "Astronomy 101" moniker. Informally, it will be known as the "Bottom of the Clouds" study.

The primary objective will be to check the sky to determine if there are clouds in the vicinity and a secondary objective will be to determine if there is any remote possibility that the sky will clear enough before midnight to allow visual observing. This course will not attempt to address the issue of sufficient sky clarity to do photographic work.

During the course of study participants will learn to identify the major types of clouds to include estimating the base of the cloud as well as the tops. Sufficient time will be made available to do triangulation work in estimating the above values. Participants will learn to identify lightning---both air to air as well as air to ground and ground to air. Students will learn to estimate the distance to a lightning strike by counting and using a secret formula to determine the distance to the last observed strike. Hand calculators will not be permitted during this activity. Prepared charts will be available to each student for entering the above data and determining when the observer should move to a safe indoor location.

Lecture periods will cover such topics as selecting the weather channel on TV and in some instances (if participants have such devices) learning how to check the weather data on hand held internet devices. Extensive and intense instruction will be available emphasizing the folly of believing anything a professional weather forecaster might say. Students will learn to make their own individual forecast based solely on their infield observations and in some instances the radar echoes from the weather channel.

It is not the intent of this course to provide weather data for the community as a whole but to provide information to each participating observer that will allow them to make a intelligent decision as to whether or not to venture out to the LASS observing site on any given evening. The information learned in the course of instruction is not intended to provide a forecast for any future date but is intended to be for the immediate time frame (2-4 hours from actual observation).

Upon successful completion of at least 4 different attempts to actually observe and forecast the cloud cover and weather conditions on a scheduled LASS observing night each participant will be awarded a certificate of completion regardless of the correctness of their forecast. Individuals names will be posted in the LASS clubhouse under the title DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE--ASTRONOMY 808.

FT GRIFFIN HISTORICAL SITE

2010-07-05T16:20:00.006-05:00

Several members of LASS are planning on traveling to the Ft Griffin Historical Site for a weekend observing session on July 9-10. If you are not familiar to the Ft G. area, they have made it a priority to attract astronomy observers and have greatly improved their facilities along those lines. The park headquarters and the historic site are on the west side of highway 283 that goes between Albany and Throckmorton. There are now camping facilities right on the field where the observers set up their telescopes.

One of the major reasons so many observers like the Ft G. area is the dark skies. I like to think that it is fairly dark at the regular LASS site but believe me, Ft G. is much, much darker. If you are new to astronomy observing you might not appreciate the advantages of dark skies but once you have looked at the sky from a dark site you will understand. You will instantly be able to see objects with your naked eye that you have never seen before. Then when you begin to look for objects with your telescope you will be amazed.

Finding a site where you can set up your observing equipment is not always as easy as you might think. If you don't own a piece of property where the glow from nearby lights doesn't interfere with with your ability to see the night sky then you are dependent on public parks or private sites where you are welcome. Observing with telescopes does not require a lot of support from the site being utilized even tho many telescopes and computer devices require electrical power. Most observers that own equipment that does require electrical power of some kind have batteries etc to meet their needs. If you want to observe for a entire night, it is handy to have some kind of space that can accommodate a tent or something similar to relax in during the slow parts of the night. It helps if there are restroom facilities also. Strange as it might seem, observers welcome guest but at some time during the night most will want a period when they can devote their entire attention to searching out targets that are of particular interest to them. After all, the primary objective is to see things that you can't see from your backyard in the city.

Most club sponsored monthly star parties begin at dusk and end when everyone decides it is time to go home for the night ---usually somewhere around midnight. When you go for a one or two night event the opportunity to see so many additional targets during one night greatly increases. If the weather cooperates and you are observing during the dark period of the moon, it just seems to get darker and the "seeing" just seems to get better during those "wee" hours of the morning. The chatter among those participating seems to die down a little and some serious observing gets done. If you have never participated in any kind of all night observing event why not think about attending one that your club sponsors. Or better yet---sponsor your own all night event. Personally I recommend the spring, summer, or fall time of the year---I thought I was going to freeze during the last LASS outing in December 2009.

Moon Eclipse June 26, 2010

2010-06-26T20:38:00.004-05:00

This is what the moon looked like from my vantage point about half way thru the eclipse. The image is from a hand held Canon Rebel camera, 300mm lens, f250@5.6, ISO 400.

I had gone out at 4:45 to get into position to view the pass of the ISS at 5:02. Like all of the ISS flybys, it was right on time and I watched the pass for four minutes. Then it was time to get ready to observe the partial eclipse of the moon.

The sky was very favorable for both the ISS and the moon event. Very few thin clouds visible at different parts of the sky but nothing to interfere with my objectives.

Over the course of the eclipse I took about 50 pictures using just about every f stop from 50 to 1000. Aperture remained constant at 5.6 setting. As an afterthought, I should have set up my 8 inch telescope and tried to get some pictures thru the eyepiece. Getting up at 4;30 AM doesn't make my mind operate quite as fast as it should. Truthfully, I considered setting up that combination the evening before but I haven't had a lot of success with that method. I can get pictures but the focus is never very good.

For anyone that is interested, the ISS will be making four visible passes on Jun 27th.

1. 3:54 am---look to the north

2.5:28 am---look to the WNW

3.20:18 pm---look to the SSW

4.21:54 pm---look to the WNW

Partial Eclipse Early Saturday AM

2010-06-25T10:31:00.005-05:00

The last moon eclipse visible to most of us was in Feb 2008 but that is about to change. Tomorrow morning (Saturday Jun 26th) you can see a partial eclipse beginning shortly after 4 AM. The moon will be setting in the west as the eclipse occurs but if you are up to getting out of bed that early it will likely be worth the effort.

If you can't make it up for this one, we will have a very good full moon eclipse in December of this year. Make your plans today for this one.

The mountains are getting crowded

2010-06-22T21:09:00.017-05:00

I received my new issue of Sky & Tel today and one of the first articles to catch my eye was the one by Warren Keller entitled " Amateur Astronomy's Southwestern Frontier". Not only did I enjoy the article but I had the pleasure of visiting the exact area in the fall of 2003. The primary occasion was put into place by the fact that we were helping friends in Albuquerque celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We had made plans to visit Alamogordo and Cloudcroft and that area on the return trip. I also wanted to check out the general area for the White Sands star party which is held in the White Sands National Monument area. I had been stationed at Biggs AFB in El Paso in 1963 and we had visited in the area but I hadn't developed my enthusiasm for astronomy at that time. We were mainly interested in taking the kids to the mountains to camp and play in the snow. But that is a entirely different story.

After the anniversary celebration we headed south toward Alamogordo and Holloman AFB. One of the perks of being retired from the Air Force is the welcome mat is always out at any military installation and the quarters are always very nice and inexpensive. Holloman AFB may be out in the middle of the New Mexico no-where but the base is really nice. On the way down we drove by "Trinity Site" where the U.S. tested its very first atomic explosion. It is a pretty barren site but what would you expect of a location where a nuclear weapon was detonated. Alamorgordo has a small rocket/space museum and naturally we visited that area. Then it was time to head up the mountain to Cloudcroft. I was very glad we were not pulling our RV because the climb was very rapid and the road was as wiggley as any I have ever seen. Cloudcroft has never been anything but a tourist location and they certinally cater to that kind of trade. At the time we were there there was very little community interest in amateur astronomy but the National Solar Observatory and Apache Point Observatory is nearby at Sunspot N.M. Other than a visitor information center and a gift shop there isn't anything that would encourage you to set up your scope and observe. In fact, there isn't a good location for private observing anywhere around Sunspot. There are very few folks around and the telescopes are all dedicated to observing solar activity and digital sky surveys.

After looking around Sunspot for a few minutes, and that's about all the time you need because most of the scopes are restricted and there just isn't any thing for the amateur astronomer to investigate, we headed down a rather dusty mountain road called N.M. 130 that looked more like a route to some ranch than anything else. We eventually ended up at Weeds N.M. That brings me to the major part of my story. Weeds has a population of about 20 people but it also has some of the most prestine skies in the U.S. It hasn't made it to the big time yet but amateur astronomers as beginning to flock to the area in search of sites to set up their own private observatory. In fact, the Sacramento Mountain Astronomy Park has be established since we visited there. It is owned by Chris Traher and he likes to lease observing sites to anyone interested in setting up a private observatory instead of selling the property outright.

From Weeds we made our way over to Mayhill and a little known bed and breakfast site known as New Mexico Skies that catered entirely to astro observing. The site is owned and operated by Mike and Lynn Rice and they are very protective of the property. To put it mildly, if you aren't involved with observing you are not warmly welcomed at their location. Check out the Rices offerings at http://www.nmskies.com/.

Things have changed over the last few years and folks who know and understand real estate as well as excellent astronomy conditions are beginning to develop the area. Tom Simstad is one of those who has purchased mountain top land and is developing 100 acres of mountain space that is dedicated to astronomy folks. See Toms offering at http://www.nmsouthernskies.com/. Toms location which is adjacent to the Rices bed & breakfast site does not have facilities and telescopes available like the Rices but he hopes to sell small acerage lots to folks who will build their own private observatories in what is known as one of the worlds "top 10 stargazing spots".

I guess this is one time that I can say that I was there before it became so well known. Personally I think I would have made the names a little different but they all seem to be good friends in their little enclave. This entire area is a little off the main path to anywhere but it would be well worth making a special effort to visit and stay with the Rices. You really should check out the links above and see what amateur astronomy is doing in the way of setting up observing enclaves.

THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

2010-06-21T15:40:00.007-05:00

Well fellow stargazers tonight will be about the shortest number of night time hours you will have to gaze at the skies this year. Another way of putting it---today has the longest number of daylight hours for the year 2010.

I made the mistake of writing on this blog a couple of years ago about this phenomenon and in doing so I made the statement that the days were getting longer. Someone took that to mean that there was more hours and minutes in what we commonly refer to as one day and they wanted an explanation. The usage of the term "day" is like a lot of other words in the English language. Its meaning is defined by the intention that the user is trying to convey. Its user could be referring to a 24 hour day---meaning all of one day or maybe only that part of the 24 hours that the sun shines. It isn't all that confusing---you just have to be in tune with what the persons using the term is trying to tell you. Let me just say this up front--- for this blog today, one day consist of approximately 24 hours and those 24 hours are divided into hours of darkness and hours of sunlight which varies in accordance with the tilt of the earth and its orbit around our sun. Now, lets put some definitions to those hours and see if we can make anything meaningful from this rant.

The two terms that I want to define and illustrate are SOLSTICE and EQUINOX. Since it is summer and since it is the longest time of daylight hours in the northern hemisphere, lets start of with solstice.

You can't properly explain solstice until you put a modifying word with it. That term then becomes either a summer solstice or a winter solstice. Isn't that neat? Summer solstice is the day with the longest amount of sunlight available and winter solstice is the day with the least amount of sunlight available. Today, June 21, is what we in the northern hemisphere refer to as the summer solstice. Technically, it is when the tilt of the earth in the northern hemisphere is +23.5 degrees relative to the sun. Wow, that's not hard to comprehend is it? But think for just a moment---when the northern hemisphere is stilted 23.5 degrees toward the sun the tilt of the earth in the southern hemisphere is 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Isn't it neat how all this works out? When we in the northern hemisphere are experiencing summer solstice folks in the southern hemisphere are experiencing winter solstice. And come about Dec 20/23rd, the northern folks will be experiencing winter solstice and those southerners will be enjoying their summer solstice. Did you notice that I gave a variation of dates that the winter solstice would occur? Why did I do that?

If everything in this old world were perfect we wouldn't have things like that happen. We like numbers in whole---not fractions. (Well maybe not always---gasoline prices are always x.xx.9---never just a round number) The same is true for the number of days that make up a year. We normally think of 365 days and we correct it every four years with a year that is 366 days long---commonly called "leap year". The actual measurement of a year is 365.242199 days. That last .242199 part of a day makes the solstices vary slightly from year to year. But don't let that worry you very much--if you just stick to June 21st and Dec 21st you will be right more times than you are wrong.

Well enough on solstices---how about equinox? By now you have probably figured out that there are two equinoxes--that is two times of the year when the daylight hours and the night time hours are exactly the same. Those calendar dates are usually Mar 21st and Sep 21st. You should recognize Mar 21st because that is about the time that we try to have our annual Messier Marathon. Since we observe here at LASS on a Saturday evening the date may not be exactly on the equinox. The phase of the moon will also cause a variation in the actual date Messier Marathon is scheduled. You might be inclined to ask why we don't have Messier Marathons in Sep and that is a valid question. Simply stated, all of the objects in the Messier catalog are observable in the northern hemisphere. During the Sep equinox, some of those Messier objects will not be observable due to the earths tilt. Clubs do however schedule modified marathons during Sep and they substitute a few southern objects of those that can't be seen in the northern latitudes.

If all this techno stuff is to confusing for you just keep this in mind. The seasons of the year are Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Each of the seasons is roughly 91 days long. There are some minor variations but for us country folks, a 91 day season will work just fine. Remember, today, June 21st is the first day of summer---it is also the day with the longest amount of daylight hours BUT is is not normally the hottest day of the year. That day usually falls sometime in late July or early August. Enjoy the summer and try to stay cool. Keep in mind that Fall can only be 91 days away with the promise of cool , clear nights. Don't even think about winter.

LASS HOSTS SUMMER PICNIC

2010-06-15T14:53:00.004-05:00

I won't say this is a tradition---at least not yet but it is beginning to take on that kind of atmosphere. Traditions usually take a little longer to develop but give us time.

This past Saturday, the membership of LASS and a few invited guest met at the local observing site in Lipan for the annual picnic/cookout. This event, hosted by the LASS club membership, is starting to make a reputation for itself. The word seems to get around and folks show up from all areas surrounding Lipan. I think a lot of these folks have some background in "Baptist" upbringings ( Baptist are known for "meeting & eating") because when it comes time for the "eating meetings", we always have a good turnout.

Things officially got underway around 7PM when I started the charcoal grill. Lucy had 32 hamburger patties ready and when everything was just right I started the first batch. There were already eager mouths standing around waiting for the first burgers to come of the grill. Everything else needed to make the burgers complete was already on the table so as soon as the first patties were done, burger building specialist began to stack up their plates. There was plenty of shade in the yard and it didn't take very long to get everyone a burger and a seat at the tables. When the burgers were finished there was plenty of chocolate chip cake and peach cobbler for dessert.

It only took a few minutes to clean up the area after the meal and what had been a picnic area rapidly turned into a yard full of telescopes. For once in a long time the weather cooperated (except for a brisk wind) and we all began to watch the evening stars make their appearance. I always enjoy that phase of observing. First the really bright stars begin to appear and then the constellations began to take on their familiar form and before you really know it the sky is in full bloom. Saturn was almost overhead and it gathered most of the early looks but it wasn't long until many other very interesting objects made their way into the eyepieces. For some unknown reason most of the really objectionable bright lights in the area were turned off so it was a reasonably dark sky for us.

Due to transportation problems, Russ was not able to bring Mr T out for the evening but we had plenty of other scopes to enjoy. Danny Arthur really strutted his stuff using my 20 inch Dob. It was made even better than usual because even tho Russ didn't have Mr T, he did have some very,very good 2 inch eyepieces is his pocket and they found their way into the focuser of the 20. The addition of those eyepieces made the big scope the center of attraction and the views were simply outstanding.

We all enjoyed seeing some things that we either hadn't seen before or maybe something that we hadn't seen in a long time. A walk up the southern sky starting with M6 & M7 was a lot of fun and we also looked at some very good objects that aren't in the regular Messier routine.

However, nature always takes its toll and around 1 AM the energy level began to wear thin and folks began to think about that big soft bed at home. It was around 2 AM before the last piece of equipment got loaded and on its way home. As everyone began to depart there was talk about "next month" and the anticipation of another night as good as this one. I am already starting to think about what I want to look for that night. See you at the July meeting.

HAVE YOU SPOTTED PLUTO?

2010-06-08T17:08:00.002-05:00

When it comes to observing the planets I usually stay with Saturn and Jupiter. I will look at Venus and if the opportunity presents itself I take in Mercury. Mars was a favorite a few years back when it made its closest approach ever recorded to earth but now it is only a small red dot that you can point out to visiting observers. I have seen Neptune and Uranus in the eyepiece of friends telescopes but never in my own telescope. I have NEVER seen Pluto. Whether you want to call it a planet or not is not important to me at this time---I simply have never seen it. As a matter of fact, I have never tried to find it in my telescopes. But let me tell you this---at almost every star party I have been a part of someone has asked me to show them Pluto. I don't waver here---I simply tell them I think it is beyond my capability. Maybe in reality it isn't but it would take me the entire evening to get anywhere near where I thought that small object might be.

Well, that may change for some of us in the month of June and July. As it turns out, this may be one of the best years in the 249 year orbit period of Pluto for amateur astronomers to see this pint sized object. There are times during this period when Pluto gets out of the glare of a star studded Milky Way and crosses some very dark areas of the sky. That is when we have the best opportunity to see this little rock. The moon will be hidden during part of the time when Pluto is most likely to be see crossing one of these darker areas so that will be a added boost.

For a detailed sky chart with times and dates, look at the July issue of S & T pp 60.

520 Days in Isolation

2010-06-03T16:27:00.006-05:00

The Russians have announced an experiment where six men will spend 520 days in an enclosed capsule that is only 550 cubic feet in size. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before a real mission to Mars comes about somewhere around 25 years from now and this is one of the first experiments to start the never ending project. One of the major experiments involve keeping astronauts in a very close environment for those long periods of time. Of course it isn't as bad as it might seem. The first 250 days represents the time it will take to travel to the red planet. Then there will be a 30 day break where the astronauts simulate walking around and investigation the planet. Then back inside. (they are never actually outside a confined space they are just taking a virtual walk on the planet). Then 240 days representing the trip home/

The one major thing that cannot be simulated on this mission is that of weightlessness. There is lot of evidence from astronauts on the ISS that the breakdown of the bone and muscle tissue is significant. I don't have a clue how they are going to deal with this problem.

All of the astronauts are men. One of the men is a newly married individual (just weeks) and his wife is already starting to have reservations. It was a conscious decision not to include women in this experiment. As one Russian astronaut said on Russian TV, "It is better for the crew to be same-sex, no one has abolished the basic instinct yet."

I know that experiments like this must be carried out before we actually buckle astronauts into a space capsule but I am also reminded of the Arizona Biosphere experiment a few years back. They had a lot of room and could move around easily in the dome. Those folks did not get along for the first or second mission. They formed small groups and frequently had disagreements with one another. The first group did stay approximately one year in the enclosure. Overall that experiment was a dismal failure but it wasn't entirely because of the folks inside the biosphere. It will be very interesting to see how these fellow astronauts react to one another.

Incidentally there is a provision for any one or more of the astronauts to be removed from the experiment before the end of the 520 day time frame. If someone goes completely biserk his fellow astronauts can consider that he has died and they can open the hatch and chuck him into outer space. Bon Voyage.

THAT SINKING FEELING

2010-06-01T15:54:00.002-05:00

I know that all of you have had bad dreams that involved something bad happening to some--part--or all of your observing equipment. Maybe something that can be easily taken care of---like a small greasy fingerprint on your favorite eyepiece lens or maybe something more disastrous. Surely you have had more than dreams and have actually experienced one or more of these unfortunate events. I HAVE .

When I went to the Fossil Rim event last month I discovered that somehow, somewhere I had lost the set screw that held my eyepieces securely in the focuser. That has happened to me before so I don't have any excuse. I know to tighten down all loose screws before I transport my scope. When I first began to observe I had a checklist to follow to make sure I had all the things covered that needed to be done. That is a habit that I learned in the Air Force. We had a checklist and we followed it exactly for every flight no matter how many times you had performed the preflight or start engines procedure. Believe me it will save your b---- when you don't even realize it. I don't think that transporting a telescope or setting it up requires a checklist but it does help to have a routine that will help prevent forgetting items and doing stupid things.

After I came home from Fossil Rim the other night I left the scope in the pickup for a couple of days because I wasn't going to use it or the truck for a few days and that seemed like a likely place to store the scope temporarily. Then sure enough there came a time when I needed to use the truck and I had to set the scope and all the gear out and put it where I usually keep it. No big deal---the procedure is the same if I do it immediately after returning from a star party of if I wait a few days. It's the amount of time that you have to devote to the operation that is usually different. And that is where I made my mistake.

I use a home made stand to keep the scope on while it is not being used. That leaves the regular base free for me to move outside and then carry the tube out. A simple one person operation. In my haste I didn't get the tube securely placed on the temporary mount and that's when bad things jumped out and bit me. The beautiful almost new tube slid through the mounts and banged itself against one of the braces. Take my word for it, a cardboard sona tube can take a lot more abuse than a shiny metal tube. When I recovered enough to assess the damage I discovered it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Just a nice little crease in the siding of the tube right in front of the bearings. I suppose my pride was hurt much worse than the tube. I decided to leave everything just the way it was for the time being---I needed a little time to think about what I might do. It was evident that whatever the damage was it wouldn't affect the performance of the scope. I let that fact soothe my nerves for a few days.

No matter what, I knew that I would eventually want to see if I could do anything to make the tube look better. ( Actually I doubt that anyone would ever notice unless I told them to look for the crease). I thought about how auto collision places sometime try to "pop" out hail dents and that seemed like a good technique to me. I placed the tube in the sunlight for a couple of hours to heat it up and then I placed it on a soft foam mattress with the crease down. Then it was time to "pop" the dent out. I took a rubber mallet and reached down the tube and gently tapped against the crease. To my great surprise it "popped" out---at least most of it did. I decided that whatever part of the crease that was left would just have to stay. The finish on the tube wasn't even damaged so rather than do something that might be worse than the original damage, I decided it was time to quit.

I know that when anything we have is new we are very careful with it. Then as it gets older we decide to modify it and we drill holds in it and do all sorts of things to make it more functional. But just like new cars---until it gets that first "ding" I want my scopes to stay in perfect condition. My scope now has its first "ding" but I still plan to handle it very carefully and thoughtful. Simply said--I DON'T LIKE DINGS.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

2010-05-27T19:43:00.003-05:00

Recently I had a friend send me a note about a tracking mount for a dobson type telescope base. This kind of base has been around for quite a long time but didn't seem to catch on very well. Most folks that own scopes with dobson type bases are old vintage observers ( or maybe new observers that are trying to get the most bang for the buck) and they pride themselves in their ability to navigate the sky and find the targets they want to observe. We are willing to put up with the constant readjusting of the scope to keep the desired target centered. Especially at star parties where it is a necessary thing to keep the target centered as each visitor looks into the eyepiece. Sometimes due to my inattention a visitor will remark "I don't see anything" reminding me in a not to gentle way that I have neglected to check the eyepiece to insure the target is actually visible. But basically I still cling to my code of ethics about needing to know the sky.

As you have read numerous times on this blog, I am of the old school where it is part of astronomy 101 to know something about the sky and to be able to at least get the scope pointed in the right direction. My major piece of accessorized equipment has been the Tel-Rad finder with its associated charts that help me to locate objects. My techniques follows this protocol--- Get the general target location in the Tel-Rad-----move to the finder for a more definitive aim point and finally on to the eyepiece. But old dogs can learn new tricks---especially when all the guys on the block have left you groveling in their dust. I have in fact purchased a new 12 inch scope on a dobson mount that features a device that will allow you to select a target and then follow arrows that point you in the direction that you need to move the tube in order to get the desired target into the field of view of the eyepiece. (provided of course that you have set everything up correctly and made a good two star alignment. You do have to know and identify at least two stars that are visible during the alignment process ) Now mind you, I don't depend on this new fangled piece of equipment all the time but I will admit that it is rather handy at times. It doesn't solve the problem of constantly having to adjust the tube to keep the target centered but it does help find something when everything else seems to fail.

Speaking of having to constantly adjust the tube brings me to the subject that I started off to talk about. Namely a motorized dobson tracking base. Today I received my July issue of Sky & Tel and in the same week I got the latest Orion catalog. Both were touting the newest Orion dobson type telescopes with the motorized tracking base. Now here is the delima---when Orion has these things for sale, other suppliers will soon have them in their offerings. They will become common place and not specialized devices that only a few folks own. Newbie observers coming into astronomy will be exposed to these new devices and it won't be very long until no one can remember ever having to know anything about the sky in order to observe. How disgusting for an old dog. Never mind the addition of a lot of folks entering into the hobby that would never even try to observe if they had to learn something about the sky first. But wait a minute---isn't that one of the major objectives---to get and keep new folks in the hobby? Maybe these new devices aren't meant to show us old dogs new tricks but the help folks that would otherwise give up. It could be that advancing technology is a good thing.

Yep---I can just see it now. New observers out there having a good time and thinking this is really fun. Maybe something like folks now that carry a cell phone with them everywhere and never even think about the fact that there was a time when you were lucky to have a telephone in your home---even with five other people on your party line. Yea I know--I have a cell phone too---BUT---I only talk on the darn thing. I don't send text messages or pictures or e-mail with it. Who ever thought of that anyway? I think his name was Dick Tracy. It is a sign of the times isn't it?

A BEAUTIFUL AND FITTING LAST FLIGHT

2010-05-26T10:06:00.007-05:00

image by NASA

It is in the history books. Atlantis made its final landing this morning and will be retired from active service. It will likely be prepared for an emergency recovery mission for the last mission that NASA has scheduled but never in the history of the shuttle flights has a shuttle recovery mission been attempted.

For some reason that remains a mystery to me, NASA keeps talking about preparing Atlantis for a possible rescue mission for the last mission which will be flown by Endeavor. There doesn't seem to be a problem with Endeavor but I suppose NASA wants to end the shuttle saga with all possible bases covered. However, NASA has never denied that they would like to fly Atlantis one more time after the announced shut off date for all shuttle missions. It would be a good talking point if the shuttle were already prepared to deploy although the desired mission launch date would be sometime in mid 2011.

Sometimes I wonder why I devote so much time to shuttle and other space missions since this is generally supposed to be an astronomy blog. It is one thing to look at the natural occurring things in space,--- ie stars, nebula, galaxies, and the like but that doesn't always translate into space flying interest. Hubble is a space satellite but it is more than remotely connected with the study of the cosmos. The same could be said for numerous other satellites out there. I suppose that once humans leave this old earth and move into orbit they become a part of astronomy. At least for me they do. Humans have walked on the surface of the moon and that is prime astronomy territory. And if this old earth holds together long enough I expect to be looking toward Mars where humans will eventually be gathering.

When folks have a high interest in any subject and they can't participate directly, they find ways to be a part of that activity in many ways. Looking at so many of the objects in space with telescopes helps fill that interest for me. Even the writers of planetarium programs we use on our computers have recognized that need. Instead of just flat surfaces with diagrams of constellations and such, most programs offer animated action that makes us think we are right out there in space. You can view objects from different locations in space just as if you were out there. You can even take space rides around the cosmos with some programs. And you never have to worry that your spacecraft might have sustained damage on launch from earth.

The unofficial title for the kind of observing I do is "visual observing". I simply look at what is out there that I can see and leave it at that. However, I will admit that sometimes I allow my mind to drift a little and I imagine that I am on a space mission to some distant and uncharted destination. It is really hard for me to draw a definitive line between astronomy and space flight on occasions like that. And if I choose to write about space flight on a astronomy blog---that just the breaks of the game.

THINGS WE ALL LOVE

2010-05-24T16:58:00.010-05:00

There is nothing that will stir the juices of a astro observer more than a picnic or cookout just before a night of observing. Not even the thought of getting mayonnaise on a favorite eyepiece will deter the enthusiast from a juicy slab of brisket or a piece of fried chicken. So if your taste buds are starting to act up and the saliva is beginning to run down the sides of your mouth you are a candidate for the LASS picnic which is coming up during June.

This year the protocol will be just a little different than it has been in the past. Usually we have limited our invitations to the hard core members and their special guest but that is changing. If you read this blog and are within driving distance of Lipan, you are invited. There are however some limitations. First, it is not just a freebie--nothing is these days. It will cost you $5.00 per head to get anything to eat. And don't think you can say you don't intend to eat because the food will be so good and tempting that you won't be able to resist. Second, you need to let me know if you plan to attend. It is a little awkward to have food prepared for 20 folks and then have 40 show up. Some of us older folks might get pushed to the back of the line and not get anything to eat. If you say your are coming and don't, shame on you but I will be able to put your share in the fridge and eat it at some future date.

Now to the observing activity. Once the food has been consumed and the paper plates placed in the garbage, it will be just about dark enough to start observing. If you have been to one of our outings before, you know the routine. Simply stake out your spot on the grass and set up your gear. There are absolutely no reserved spots---stake it out and it is yours. Naturally you couldn't pick out a bad place unless you decided to set up inside the building. If you do that we will know you are a newbie and someone will give you a little help. I usually have some sort of observing plan available but it seldom gets used---most folks know what they want to look for when they get here. Don't worry about this---there will be plenty of free advice on what is interesting to search out---your main problem will be deciding which suggestions appeal to you and your talents.

Now for some of the minor technical details.

DATE------- SATURDAY, JUNE 12TH

TIME-------7:00PM START TIME

LOCATION---1180 ADDISON RD, LIPAN, TX

MENU-----BURGERS AND FIXINGS (subject to last minute changes)

THIS IS A NON ALCOHOL/DRUG GROUP SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

DOWN TO THE FINAL TWO

2010-05-14T20:57:00.017-05:00

I have been consumed with all the NBA playoffs and now they are down to the final four. It seems like we hear a lot about the final four this time of year, but have you thought about the final two? Shuttle Atlantis lifted off Friday afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center for its last mission---although it will be outfitted for a emergency standby rescue mission to support the launch of Discovery and Endeavor. After todays launch there are only two scheduled shuttle mission remaining. Can you remember the first shuttle launch?

On April 12th, 1981 shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center with Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen at the controls. The mission only lasted two days and the shuttle recovered at Edwards AFB. There has been a lot of "earth" under the shuttle fleet since then and we have almost come to the point where we consider a launch and recovery as routine. But we all can remember the tragic failures---we lost Challenger during launch and Columbia during recovery. All crew members on those two flights were lost and will forever be remembered for their contributions to the human space program. Both losses almost ended the shuttle program but it did survive those mechanical failures. The remaining shuttles will not survive the current budget constraints. NASA has been give new marching directions with respect to near earth manned flights and only two shuttle missions remain on the launch schedule. It has been a rocky but rewarding ride and for one, I am looking forward to movement further out into space. Probably initially with unmanned missions but when the time comes we will once again have astronauts aboard a vehicle of some kind who will be blazing the trail to uncharted territory. There is no doubt in my mind that humans will eventually travel to and live on planets other than earth.

I don't always like to be faced with the challenges of living in tomorrows world but I sure would like to be facing the prospect of deep space travel. We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first flight of a powered aircraft during 2003 and the first manned space flight was made by a Russian astronaut on April 12, 1961. Exactly 20 years after that flight the United States put our first space shuttle into orbit. The world has been languishing around with any further manned space travel development since that 1981 launch but I believe it will come. International cooperation at any level is difficult to achieve and the prestige of being the first nation in the development of a major space movement will probably keep nations from joining together to develop a meaningful manned space program. There was a time when this competition was a driving force that encouraged nations to venture into space but now the sheer cost of space development seems to crowd out that competitive spirit. Space has always been a long range development endeavor but we seemed to have outgrown that idea--we now want instant development in space programs in the same way we have become addicted to instant gratification and most of the other areas of our lives. You just can't have it both ways.

WHAT TO DO IN MAY

2010-05-01T15:53:00.014-05:00

The end of April wasn't a very good time to observe deep sky objects because our moon was shinning brightly most of the last few days of the month and the first week of May. But for all practical purposes, the moon is out of the picture until sometime late in the 3rd week of May so let's talk about what you might want to look for.

In the planet category, Venus, Mars, and Saturn are all in good positions to observe. Venus will be setting before midnight, Mars will last until about 1AM and Saturn will be an all night adventure. Mercury was around a couple of weeks earlier but if you really want to see it again this month it will have to be as the morning event and pretty early at that.

The rings of Saturn are almost invisible this month but that makes it a little easier to hunt down at least five of the known 62 moons. Some folks claim they can routinely find 8 of the moons but shoot for at least 5 and if you observe that many you can just keep on trucking. Knowing where to search is a challenge in itself but Sky & Tel magazine always has a chart that will help you locate the positions of the 5 most likely ones you will see.

Towards the end of the month Venus will have a very pronounced showing of its quarter phase and Mars is just trudging along. It will be in one of its retrograde motions but unless you have a good system of keeping track of where it was in relation to the background stars you might not even notice. You could try for Pluto (the minor planet) but even if you could find it there isn't much to see. Just bragging rights here.

May is considered to be "galaxy month" by a lot of observers because of the favorable positioning of the Virgo Cluster. Normally most of us think we are doing great if we can locate and identify the Messier objects in Virgo but there are so many more galaxies in that area worth investigating. There is a special grouping called "Markarian's Chain" that is anchored by M84 that is very interesting and challenging. For a very thorough discussion and charts on this area go to http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/SWDeepVirgo.pdf It will take a 10 inch or better scope to find most of these galaxies but when you see them it will be well worth the effort.

When you have exhausted all the galaxies in Virgo, slip over into the Coma Berenices area. Beginning on page 65 of the May issue of S&T, Sue French has an excellent article on this area. By the time you have finished will all these it will be June and time for a new set of fine astronomy targets to begin searching out. But just in case you are very good and lucky, flip over to page 68 and read Ken Hewitt-White's article about galaxies in Bootes. It isn't quite so crowded there but there is plenty to search out.

It wouldn't hurt to make a list of the Messier and NGC numbers of all the ones you would like to view so you can look them up on the charts when you are ready to observe. Be sure to note the magnitude of these targets because some of them that look really good in the magazine pictures are about 15/16 mag. Those are probably beyond my capability at this time. Good Hunting.

THE AIR FORCE MINI SHUTTLE

2010-04-26T20:28:00.010-05:00

No doubt you are aware that the USAF launched a unmanned space shuttle of sorts the other morning. The official terminology for the vehicle is the X-37B but that's about all anyone really knows about it and any mission that it might be able to perform.

I think this vehicle was originally a part of a NASA program where they mated two of the original shuttles and got this miniature thing. It probably has something to do with DNA but I'm not sure. It looks like a scaled down version of the original shuttle but it doesn't carry astronauts. This probably didn't fit the needs of NASA so they shuffled it off to the Air Force because it has wings and it can be maneuvered (very limited) and hopefully landed on a airstrip and relaunched again. Without a doubt the AF wouldn't want the Navy or Army to manage a vehicle like this. After all, it does fly.

If you read a lot of the comments on this thing you will quickly find out if you are a Republican or Democrat because most of the folks fall into one of two categories concerning this vehicle and there is no middle ground. You either think it is the greatest thing since ice cream or that it is just another wasteful fancy of NASA and the military. No middle of the road or compromises here. Either thumbs up or thumbs down.

For instance, it is a unmanned vehicle. For all those folks that don't think it is worth the money to make space vehicles that have as one of their main purposes to transport people into space---either near earth orbit or even to some other planet---this is just what the Dr. ordered. But it doesn't appear that the X-37B is designed to go anywhere except in near earth orbit so what are we gaining here? The Air Force says it will demonstrate our capability to launch, orbit and recover a vehicle---DUH---haven't we done that enough times to figure it can be done---either with or without astronauts on board. Almost everything is programed by computer and even the landing is a pre-programed event. No human hands at the console flying this thing with a joystick. Of course it can stay aloft 270 days circling the earth like an unmanned ISS before it has to demonstrate it can be landed without a astronaut on board.

The Air Force is claiming that this first mission is a secret one----I suppose that if it doesn't measure up to whatever it is supposed to do we won't ever know the difference. Rumor has it that they are ready to order a second one if this one does prove to be worthy. I suspect that the main thing that needs to be kept secret about this whole thing is the fact that NASA couldn't afford it in their budget so they slipped it off into the Air Force budget. There is more than one way to spend a taxpayer dollar these days.

Regardless of what you think of the vehicle or its mission, the entire thing was developed and kept pretty much under the radar so to speak. In fact, it was planned for it to be launched from the cargo bay of one of the shuttle missions but the loss of Columbia put that part of the mission on hold. Not much else was known about the X-37B until a few months ago when news began to surface that it was ready to be launched on the top of an Atlas V rocket. Since the X-37B is so much smaller than a full sized shuttle, the large external fuel tanks are not required to get it into low earth orbit.

No matter what you may think about it, the X-37B is a reality and it was already in orbit before most of us even knew of its existence. Now if we can just make it drop a bomb or shoot a gun it will have some purpose.

images courtesy NASA & AF

SCOUTS BY THE HUNDREDS

2010-04-11T20:36:00.008-05:00

I joined five other amateur astronomer observers at the Worth Scout site located on the Brazos river just north of Palo Pinto the other night to provide an astronomy program for 100+ Boy Scouts and their adult sponsors. Have you ever seen 100+ scouts all full of vim, vigor, and vitality in one place? No wonder that the armed forces like them young. They have more energy than any nuclear weapon you could ever imagine. Lucky for us , it was the end of a long day for the scouts and some of them were just to tired to have much interest in looking at the stars. But the ones that did visit with us were really a joy to talk and visit with. They were eager to learn and some already had a pretty good knowledge of the sky around them.

It had been totally overcast in the area from daylight until about 4PM and I was already telling myself that it was going to be a bust for the evening. But almost as if on cue the clouds began to give way and by the time I needed to start making my way to the observing site it was almost totally clear. As far as the sky condition were concerned, they only got better as the evening progressed. The wind was a little problem for Mr T but Russ and Doug managed. They were expecting us at the scout outing but no one had given much thought to what we might need in the way of site location etc. We finally decided on a large open space that I would describe as a open assembly area and began setting up our gear. All the scouts were at a mandatory program down near the river which was quite a distance from our location so we were able to get everything ready before any of them arrived.

It was about 9:45PM and already dark when the boys were released to come to the observing area and it appeared that a lot of them simply didn't know we were there for them. Maybe that was fortunate for us with telescopes and for those that did find us because there was plenty of time at the eyepiece for all who were interested. It is hard to know numbers in the dark because you really don't know if there are a lot of folks or a just few that keep coming around and around. I know that the activity at my scope was steady and there was plenty of time to talk about what we were observing. Naturally someone wanted to see Pluto and I had to confess that I had never see that MINOR PLANET in my scope. They were satisfied with that and we went on to Mars and Saturn which were in very good locations for observing. I used a 32mm eyepiece in my 12 inch dob to show a lot of folks the m81/m82 galaxies. Both were visible at one time in the eyepiece and I was able to give the observers a good visual comparison of a "face on" and a "side view" galaxy. Naturally, Saturn was a treat for everyone because it has so much color and such a different look than the other planets. It would have been perfect if we could have seen Jupiter and its moons but it just wasn't the time for that. We had a good night pointing out several of the more prominent constellations with the laser pointers. I had some prepared charts that I showed them before I pointed to the actual constellation so it made it easy to follow my outline traces in the sky.

All good things must come to an end and around 11:30 we were down to one or two late night owls and they were getting a little sluggish so we started shutting it down. It had been a good night for me and from the words that were passing around as we packed everything away it was a good one for the rest of the gang. After the drive home I slipped into bed around 1 AM. From then until the time I awoke at 7AM the sky had gone from perfectly clear to a light drizzle. Sometimes the weather decides to cooperate. I hope it is as cooperative on the 17th for our regular LASS observing night.

A TIME FOR EVERYONE

2010-04-03T16:32:00.005-05:00

There are times of the year that are special for almost everyone. For some, summer is the time when you go on vacation, and do all sorts of outside activities. It measures the end of a long dreary period that is often referred to as winter. Now winter is the favorite of an awful lot of folks. They like the snow and cold, building a fire in the fireplace and that sort of thing. After dealing with summer and winter, there are two other recognized seasons of the year that get the attention of just about everyone. Fall is that time of the year when thoughts turn toward going back to school, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dog days of summer are gone and it is comfortable to go outside in the evening without a jacket for warmth. The daylight time begins to get shorter and the hours that are available for astronomy observing begin to increase. But spring is the time of the year that gets my attention. Gone are all those nights when the stars are bright and clear but the outside temperature is so cool that it only takes me about 30 minutes to get all I need for the evening. Yes, I realize that the bugs will soon be a problem and the mosquitoes will be buzzing but a good insect repellant will take care of all that. I just seem to have more energy in the summer for getting out and doing astro type events. I don't really mind waiting until 9:30+ to start observing because all that time prior to actually getting my eye to the eyepiece can be used to visit and make preparations. For me, an evening without some preparation is an evening that isn't very productive. If you never do any more planning other than reading the monthly activities that are routinely presented in Sky & Tel magazine you are somewhat prepared. And believe me, some of those targets that Sue French talks about are not necessarily pushovers.

I am acutely aware that if you spend most of your observing time during one season of the year you may never see some things so don't misunderstand me here. I guess that if I really take a long hard look at each of the various seasons, I really don't have a favorite time of the year to observe. I just like the change as it quietly moves along and things slowly become viewable in the "nominal" viewing hours.

At the LASS site, observing toward the western horizon presents less problems than all of the other directions. Less light pollution, a reasonable horizon, and a few other things. But everything in that direction has been in the eyepiece over the past 3+ months and is "old hat" stuff. All the new objects are rising in the east---the very direction where the sky glow from the DFW metroplex is the greatest. Everyone is straining to see each new target as it rises from all that mess and it almost seems like a ritual trying to be the first to sight a long lost object. Of course in the matter of a couple of weeks it will be a little higher in the sky at those early observing hours and we can all see it will ease. Within a month it will be at least 45 degrees above the horizon at dusk and it will get easier and easier to find and observe. Then like all the other favorites, it will eventually start settling in the west and will no longer be the item of interest but will in itself be "old hat".

So that's the way it is in astronomy---being the early bird for each newly rising target, doing a little more detailed study as it gets higher in the sky and out of the haze, and finally, doing some really detailed observing as those "old hat" objects make their was into the fading oblivion of the western sky for yet another year. Ain't visual observing fun?

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE

2010-03-26T20:10:00.003-05:00

I feel compelled to write a note on the blog this week if for no other reason than today is my birthday. Don't get excited---I am not about to tell you my birth year but it suffices to say that I should know better than to get down on the ground to look through a scope unless there is someone nearby to assist me in getting back on my feet. That's one good thing about the night---no one can see me crawling around to find something to hold on to that will help me get back to a vertical position on my feet. It just isn't dignified to do that sort of thing no matter what your age is.

Now all this leads me to another reason why I always recommend a dobson type telescope. Yea, I know that there really isn't a dobson type scope---it's just a reflector scope on a dobson mount---but you guys understand the terminology. Most of the things that I try to observe with my dob are within the 35 to 80 degree range above the horizon. For the most part that allows me to either stand in a reasonably comfortable position as I put my eye to the eye piece or at the very most, use a small ladder. Every so often someone will ask me to point my scope at a target that is almost vertical. Have you ever tried to hug a fat barreled telescope and point it at a target that is almost totally overhead? You can't figure out if you need to move the scope to the right or left or if you need to move it in a vertical plane. I usually just fess up and say " I can't get into position to point my scope at things directly overhead. Why don't we wait until it is farther over into the western horizon?" The truth of the matter is I just can't get into a position that allows me to look vertically alongside the tube to get a first guess alignment.

Now don't get me wrong---all dobson mounted scopes are not equal. Take the small 4.5 inch dob. It is so small you have to get on your knees most of the time just to look into the eyepiece. Of course you can put it on a table to correct the height problem but then most tables that you would put it on force you out away from the scope to the point where you can't easily look into the eyepiece. Part of that could be because of the girth of the observer. If the shoe fits---wear it.

On the other hand there are the really big dob mounted scopes that require you to be on a ladder to look into the eyepiece. That isn't to bad if the ladder is sturdy enough to hold a 250+ person without the possibility of physical danger. And it helps if it has a handrail which allows the observer to steady himself as he grope for the eyepiece. I am reminded that I own a scope that falls into this category. But man the view is terrific when you do get everything lined up.

Why don't we take a look at a couple of almost perfect sized dobs? Yea, I am talking about the 10 to 15 inch models. Now I realize that I may be a tad taller than some of the folks I associate with but a scope in this range will fit most observers. For those low to the horizon targets most folks can bend over at the waist and look directly into the eyepiece---for the targets that are a little higher in the sky, it is almost a natural standing position. There may be a time when a one step ladder is required but those are fairly easy to navigate---providing they have that ever valuable extension near the top to steady yourself with. A lot of the time you can sit comfortably in a chair and see everything you want to see. Yep, scopes this size are almost perfect. And besides that, my 12 inch dob will fit perfectly in the back seat of my pickup. Anything larger would have to be a truss mount but those aren't to shabby either.

Now I am not so vane as to think that some of you might have a different opinion about which scope is the best. That's a lot like the girl you are dating or that you are married to. You had better tell everyone that she is the the finest---after all, she is your choice not mine. But down deep, I know that mine is the best.

Some of you readers might have some heartburn with my assessment but remember---it is my birthday and that should give me some special privileges. Maybe you can give an opinion on your next birthday.

Developers Welcome

2010-03-15T20:06:00.007-05:00

During the marathon the other night it came to my attention that there is a very urgent need for someone to invent a new device for pointing a telescope. We had telescopes on equatorial mounts, dob mounts, fork mounts and go-to mounts. Except for the go-to mount there was always a need to point the telescope in the general direction of the object to be observed before any attempt is made to look into the eyepiece to actually see what you wanted to observe. The device to get this process underway is generally referred to as a finder scope. Now let me be the first to tell you that all finder scopes are not created equal. For instance, there is the straight thru, inverted image finder which confuses my mind to no end. To use this kind of finder, I must turn the charts upside down so that I can correlate what I see on the chart to what I might see in the finder. That isn't to awfully bad unless I need to read something on the charts. Some improvement to this kind of finder was finally developed and the scope was modified so that when you looked thru it the image you saw was orientated in the same way as the chart you were using--- ie, something like looking thru a pirates spyglass---things were actually right side up. Technically, this is called a straight thru--correct image finder. But using either of the devices is one of the most awkward things I have ever tried to do. You must lay your head down along the barrel of the telescope in a sideways manner and try to get you eye aligned in some gosh awful way with the finder in order to see thru the finder and then make some sort of educated guess as to whether you are aiming at the desired star field or not. Most of the time in my case, I am not even close enough to locate major stars in the desired star field. Oh well, back to looking up the barrel of the tube again and getting a little closer this time.

Then came the great development---namely the right angle--correct image finder. (They do make a right angle--inverted image version but why waste my time?) Now this is really a great device since you look into it from the side in the same way you look into your eyepiece on most reflector type telescopes. However, even with this greatly improved finder you do need to get it pointed to the general direction of the intended star field before you can effectively use this device. Back to the old "cheek alongside the telescope barrel" technique to even get the finder in the general area of the intended target. Eureka!!! someone invented the tel-rad finder that will help you get a better handle on the initial alignment and from there you can transition to the regular finder---regardless of its particular orientation. But this handy tool has some shortcomings of its own. For one, the brightness of the reticle will often make it difficult to see the intended alignment star. There is a adjustment capability on the brightness of the reticle that helps some but then some alignment stars are so dim that you simply can't see them no matter how dim the reticle setting may be. And the fact that the tel-rad has absolutely no magnification factor makes it difficult to use unless there is a fairly bright alignment star somewhere in the field of view. It also requires a "cheek alongside the scope barrel" contortion to see thru it. In defense of the tel-rad, if it weren't for the one on my telescope to help me with the initial alignment I doubt if I would ever see anything except maybe the moon.

So you may be asking "what is the solution"? Here it is --plain and simple. I need a straight thru--correct image finder scope that has a reticle like a tel-rad that is mounted on a extension that holds it at least 6 inches away from the scope tube so that I can easily position my eye over the viewing end. It needs to be mounted on the side of the scope barrel (not on the top of the barrel) and far enough behind the regular eyepiece so it doesn't interfere with looking thru the eyepiece. Now if it could be developed so that the viewing end could be flipped up into a "right angle--correct image" position that you could look into from the side similar to a regular right angle-correct image finder after the initial alignment it would solve a number of problems for me personally. Besides being very easy to use, a device like that would also be handy for kids and unknowing adults to grab hold of when trying to look into the eyepiece.

There was a time when I thought that star parties were only for looking at the stars and other celestial objects but the other night convinced me that they are valuable for evaluating equipment and understanding the need for more advanced equipment and observing techniques. I trust that some of you will take advantage of the "slow" times at some of our outings and come up with some useful equipment improvements such as I have outlined above.

If any of you readers are mechanically inclined, I think this would be a big seller. But remember--it is my idea so I would have to get royalties on anything you developed. If you are truly interested and can't follow all the details I have set out above, contact me and I will send you a fully illustrated drawing of what I have in mind. No fair taking my ideas and trying to convert them into something of your own.

TWO NIGHTS---TWO STAR PARTIES

2010-03-14T19:07:00.003-05:00

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A PREVIEW TO GET YOU IN THE MOOD FOR THE REAL THING.

LASS had the opportunity to participate in a public star party sponsored by Tarleton University at the Tarleton observatory east of Stephenville Friday evening. It served as a good warm up for the LASS Messier Marathon the following night at the LASS observation site. There were 6 LASS scopes at the Tarleton event and several other attendees who are associated with our club. It was as near to a perfect viewing night as anyone could hope for especially since there have been so many dismal evenings over the past 3-4 months. I estimate that there were at least 30 visitors at the observatory including a baby of about 5 months old who brought his parents to the outing.

The following evening 20 folks showed up for the annual LASS Messier Marathon. It was another almost perfect evening for observing. There was 11 telescopes on the field and it made for a good situation because everyone was in close proximity to one another but it was not crowded to the point that everyone couldn't have their own space. In fact, I think we could have easily supported at least 5 more scopes before we would have had to spread out to other parts of the yard.

Things got underway as soon as the sun set and you could begin to make out stars in the western sky. The evening always begins with a burst of activity as observers scramble to get the 4 or 5 objects that must be seen within the first hour of observing time before they get so low in the western sky that they can't be seen. Then it is back to a more sane pace during the early evening hours as participants begin to get used to the better seeing conditions as the night sky darkens and the stars and other objects begin to stand out against the darkness of the night. It was what I describe as a "severe clear" evening with little or no wind to hamper the steadiness of the scopes. Everyone that wanted an observing list had one available so there was no delay in getting down to business. Scopes varied from a 4.5 inch dobson to a mighty 20 inch dobson and everything in between. One of the newest versions that showed up was a Orion 12 inch truss mount type scope. Phil Adams was the proud owner of this newest version and it attracted a lot of attention from everyone. Also represented were 2 large aperture reflectors on equatorial mounts. Naturally there were the usual assortment of cassigrain scopes which rounded out the variety of scopes. I don't remember seeing a single refractor type scope all evening.

There was a lot of observing going on besides the Messier objects. If you have never attended an event like this, you would be amazed how much time the is to look for targets other than the Messiers. It is also amazing that Charles Messier missed some of the finest objects that are so obvious and often right next to some of his objects. But then it is also amazing that anyone would be able to locate so many beautiful objects by doing a survey of the sky looking for those ever elusive comets. In the course of the evening we were treated to seeing one of the comets that is currently visible. Another highlight of the evening was a perfectly timed and located Iridium flare that did its thing for us. Those are a thing of beauty as they suddenly bloom into a very bright satellite and then dim back into oblivion. It is a rear occasion when one happens to be visible on the very night of a scheduled star party.

By about 3:30 AM the evening began to take its toll and the number of scopes and their owners began to dwindle. Only 2 hardy soles actually made it until the sun made its appearance and ever brightening skies made it impossible to finish observing the last of the Messiers. By the time I got up from a very short night of rest the last person, namely Scot, was packing up the last of his equipment and preparing to face a new day. As I rounded up the remains of the cookies and sandwiches it was obvious that no one went thru the evening hungry.

As I scoured the observing site for lost articles---hoping to find at least one high value Nagler eyepiece--- all I found was a pair of eyeglasses which thru some miracle had not been stepped on and broken. It is always amazing how everyone almost always seems to get home with their own eyepieces after sharing them around throughout the night with their observing buddies. Maybe it is just a mark of the hobby---share whatever equipment you have but never leave the site with something that belongs to a friend.

As a direct result of LASS members telling their observing friends about our marathon, we added at least 5 new members to our ever growing numbers. If you read this blog and are in the near vicinity of Lipan.Texas, we invite you to check us out and consider being a part of an ever growing friendly bunch of folks that really enjoy each others company and varying observing skills. Check out the links on this blog page to see more about LASS.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PLAYERS GONE?

2010-03-09T19:13:00.004-06:00

Winter has really done a job on my astronomy activities. Some of the members that belong to LASS may have to wear identifying name tags because we haven't been together as a club in such a long time. But as of today (Tuesday) things are looking up for the Saturday night Messier Marathon. As for me, I am ready. I have all the list made up and ready to hand out and the coffee will be plentiful and hot. The only real thing I am worried about is the dreadful humidity. It has been so wet around these parts for the last month that ducks and geese on their way back north are landing in the open fields thinking they are ponds. I even had to help one neighbor get his cow out of a bog around the hay feeder. She had simply bogged down while standing there munching on the hay. He told me yesterday that he had got his truck and hay bale mover stuck while trying to feed in a different location.

Personally, I have diverted a lot of my attention to the Lipan Boys Basketball team over the last month. They won the district handily and did OK in the area playoffs. At the regional playoff at Abilene they defeated one of the favorites by a score of 51 to 50 with a field goal in the last 10 seconds of play. But it wasn't to be in the finals. After leading by 8 points late in the 4th quarter, they faded and lost to a very good team from Lenorah/Grady. Now it's time to look to next year.

It is such a beautiful clear night outside at this very moment that I must leave this post and go out and do a little practicing for the Marathon. I don't plan on staying out all night but some of those dim fuzzies may just get in the middle of my eyepiece during the next couple of hours. Hope you are getting the spider webs off your equipment and ready for Saturday night. See you then.

Earthquakes

2010-03-02T15:20:00.005-06:00

This old earth is plagued by a number of problems we call "nature phenomena" or something similar. To give title to a few just think of these----earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, winter, summer---just use your imagination. Other than moving to another planet, there doesn't seem to be much that humans can do about these naturally occurring events. We learn to build stronger structures and to locate them on high ground but in the final analysis, we are destined to endure these events as long as we exist on the planet earth. That is not to say that if we were on another planet there wouldn't be some naturally occurring event that is particular to that planet that we couldn't control. This thought brings me to my rant for the day.

It is reported by NASA officials that the recent earthquake in Chile may have altered the rotation of the earth and shortened the length of the days. Now don't panic---these things have happened as a result of other huge earthquakes and we have never noticed any difference but those guys that measure things in really small quantities keep records of such things. When I read this report I couldn't help but think back to my younger day when I wondered about such things as upsetting the overall balance of earth. For instance---how about when two atomic bombs were exploded at the end of WWII or on the Bikini atoll. Wouldn't that seem to be enough force to alter something? I have wondered if building so many big cities and the concentration of so much steel and concrete in a given area might upset the balance. After all, when you place a small lead weight on the rim of a automobile wheel it makes it roll smoothly or conversely if it is placed in the wrong place the tire is unbalanced and it bumps all over the place. How about the rising of the ocean levels---supposing that global warming will melt all the ice in the northern and southern poles---wouldn't that make a difference in the balance of the earth? These to me are real important subjects and I for one think that our government ought to form a congressional committee to study this phenomena. That might give them something to do besides think up ways to increase the taxes on all of our citizens that are willing to work for a living and giving those tax dollars to folks who think that working is below their entitlements. I did exercise my right as a US citizen to vote today but I will admit the choices weren't as discerning as I would like. I think the only solution is to run for congress and then I can vote myself and my cronies a raise when I want to---I can exempt myself and my cronies from all those insane things that I think is best for those who I represent and last but not least, I could travel the world on junkets at the expense of my electorate so that I can find other ways to exploit them. Yea, I think that concentrating all those folks in Washington is a greater threat to the future of this old planet than all of the earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc that we could ever measure. NASA, can you measure that?

GOING FOR THE SMALL STUFF

2010-02-23T08:08:00.006-06:00

About a week ago, during one of those rare nights when the seeing was good and the humidity was low, Ben called and wanted to come over and try to find a very dim asteroid. Both of us and I am sure most of you, have been lamenting the string of lousy observing nights we have had lately. WELLLL, the string of good nights didn't last long but that one night was perfect. Of course the regular observing area here at the house was water soaked but the graveled driveway was plenty firm and the building blocked out most of the obtrusive sky glow from the metroplex area so what more could we ask for? Ben arrived shortly before full sunset---he had intended to get here earlier but was delayed because he stopped along the way to take some photos of the day old moon which was in the vicinity of Jupiter. By the time he arrived I had rolled the big Dob outside and had completed the laser collimation check. We were both anxious to give the scope a good check so Ben immediately went to M41 in Canis Major. It was impressive but let me just say this---that was the last easy thing Ben chose for us to look at during the entire evening. And I suspect the only reason we got to look at M41 was because it was in the vicinity of the asteroid Ben wanted us to find. I keep referring to "us finding" but truthfully, Ben did most of the finding and I was primarily a very eager learner.

To start off with, Ben told me that the asteroid we were going to search for was somewhere in the vicinity of mag 16. Now you guys know me---anything over a 9.5 is a challenge to my ability and even then it has to be very near a easily identifiably star or other object. But this asteroid didn't fit in that category at all. Of course Ben kept saying "we just start here at Sirius and go over to this star"----well you get the picture. He was using some charts that he had brought along that showed mag 12-14 stars as objects as big as the end of a pencil eraser!!! Every time Ben would go over to the table to consult these "charts" I would swing the scope over to M42 because I could definitely see that in brilliant detail. I mentioned to Ben that some of the guys had reported seeing the horsehead nebula thru Mr T while we were at Ft Griffin and he promised we would look for it later.

According to Ben, if you are going to look for a very dim object the first thing you need to do is determine if you can see or anything that is near its magnitude. That was the purpose of using the 20 inch scope. Ben wasn't able to "see" down to the required mag with his 16 incher. We began by taking those charts that had the pencil eraser size dots on them---they represented stars with a mag somewhere in the vicinity of 12+. If we could see them then we would go on to the really tough stuff. I neglected to say exactly how we got into the area of the asteroid target but that is another story. Suffice to say that Ben star hopped over there using some stars that I thought were in themselves rather difficult to find. We had already put the 32 and 26 mm eyepieces back in the carrying cases and were using the 14.5 mm as the primary eyepiece. The field of view was so small that I could barely get to the eyepiece to look at the starfield Ben was telling me to see before it was out of the picture. Believe me when I say that it takes a very small amount of pressure on the scope to move things around a lot in that field of view.

Well, I finally got to where it didn't seem to difficult to keep things centered with the 14.5 mm so we began the process of determining what the limiting magnitude was for us and the scope that evening. That brought us back to those pencil erasure size charts. There were star patterns on those charts that looked about like what I normally associate with a star chart for Orion or the Big Dipper. Ben would tell me to look for the bright star somewhere in the field of view and then look at some "o'clock" position for a smaller, dimmer star. I mean now we are looking at mag 13+ stars and calling them bright. We finally determined that we could see a mag 15.8 star and that was about it. Can you imagine saying that the limiting mag for tonight is 15.8 mag?

For the night we were observing, the mag of the asteroid---remember what we set out to do was observe the asteroid, was about 16. We had been at all this other stuff for a couple of hours already and now we were ready to locate the asteroid. Out came the charts with the asteroid track and timing on it. With a little interpretation, Ben determined exactly where to search and the hunt began. After a lot of eye squinting, averted vision, and imagination, we concluded that we could in fact see the asteroid. AMAZING. But you know the drill for confirming an asteroid sighting---you must come back at a later time and find it again and confirm that it has move in relation to the background field of stars. So we whiled away a hour of so looking in the constellation Orion. Not M42 mind you, but some neat little doubles and other things. Ben finally decided to show me the horsehead. Great---I just knew this would be a snap compared to what we had been doing. Think again brother---the horsehead is never a snap visually. Having had some practice in finding and identifying some rather dim stars, finding the area of the horsehead was a piece of cake---for Ben. We had a very good chart to use and I could easily tell that the scope was pointed to the location where the horsehead was supposed to be but it just was beyond my visual capability to pick it out. Finally I decided that I could see one darker part of the nebula and Ben assured me that I was in fact seeing the horsehead. I sure am glad there are some good astro photos of that area to show me what it actually looks like.

But enough of the easy stuff. Now it was time to go back to the asteroid and confirm its movement. I was truly amazed how quickly we were able to locate the exact star field. Ben had determined that the asteroid should be on the opposite side of a particular referenced star so that is where we started looking. It didn't take very long to see---either imagined or actual---that there was something where we calculated the asteroid should be. But we couldn't be absolutely positive. How can one ever be absolutely positive about a mag 16 object that moves in relation to the background stars? Well here is how Ben confirmed our find. By carefully noting and plotting the first and last locations on his chart and later confirming the predicted location on astronomy software we were as positive as anyone could be that we had actually observed the asteroid.

It was a truly amazing night for me. I learned that I could star hop using some very dim stars if I had the proper charts and that I could actually navigate using these stars. Now don't get all excited---Ben did not convert me to a asteroid hunter but he did show me what dedication and determination can do. BTW, I forgot to mention we were using 4.8mm and 9mm eyepieces to do all the final determinations. I have never been able to effectively use an eyepiece of that mm for anything before.

SOME FOLKS TAKE THIS HOBBY SERIOUSLY

2010-02-10T09:29:00.005-06:00

I can only speak for myself with any sense of knowing what I am talking about but I believe that most of the people I know that are doing anything that could be described as astronomy observing are doing it just for the fun and fellowship. All of us like to pursue the hobby in various ways---some for the pure visual effect of seeing any and all of the many objects in our sky---some for the quest of being able to actually find difficult objects---and some for unknown reasons. I would have to consider those that are into imaging to be a little more dedicated but it might be that they just have a lot of extra dollars to plow into the purchase of highly sophisticated equipment. But somewhere out there on the fringe of amateur and semi-professional lies the dedicated individual that sets his/her sights on a long time project and sticks with it until the task is completed.

LASS has the privilege on having at least one of that kind of individual in its midst. There are several members that have set their sights on completing what we call the Messier Objects list. This in itself is no small task and when completed there isn't a large reward waiting---just your name on a obscure listing somewhere that not many people ever look at. Parallel to this accomplishment is attempting to complete the Caldwell object list, the Hershel 400 list and a lot more that I probably have never heard about. I know for a fact that none of us who are confined to observing in the northern hemisphere can complete the Caldwell list because some of those targets are in the southern hemisphere and well below our line of sight.

Out there somewhere is a select and dedicated group of observers that have set their sights on observing the first 1,000 named minor planets. It is my understanding that these same 1,000 minor planets are also called asteroids. Now observing an asteroid is a very difficult thing to do. If for no other reason, they are always very dim and since they are always moving against the background stars, their position is never easy to locate. As it is explained to me, you must locate the asteroid in a known star field and it is recognizable because there isn't supposed to be anything where it is located. (that in itself is next to impossible for me). Then to be positive that you have located and identified the object you have to come back an hour or two later and confirm that it has actually moved in relationship to the background stars. (if all this techno info isn't correct just grant me writers latitude in trying to explain the technique). What I am trying to convey is the extreme difficulty involved in locating and observing these dudes. Couple all that with weather problems, mag 14 and above, star pattern recognition, and I think you will have a handle on the situation. Now add in the fact that there are 1,000 of these practically non existent objects and it is easy to see what a feat of dedication and devotion to the task it takes.

Well, we have in our midst one Ben Hudgens who is within 17 of completing the task. Ben has been at this task of observing asteroids for most of his observing career which spans over 30+ years. There hasn’t been a single observing night at the LASS site that Ben hasn’t had at least one asteroid to observe--and he always encourages and challenges the rest of us to give it a try. On almost every good observing night Ben will roll out one his trusty scopes (he has had many of various aperture and mount styles) and try for the asteroid that is in good position that night. That takes dedication and a sincere desire to do something that not many observers even attempt to do.

Well, it seems that an asteroid that is very elusive in terms of astronomy observation is moving into favorable position this summer. That object is known as 878 Mildred. This asteroid was discovered many years ago by an observer using one of the scopes at Mt Wilson observatory but for some unknown reason it was “lost” and remained so for several years. About 1991 it was relocated and a good, predictable orbit was calculated. Now observers know where to look for this very dim asteroid but knowing where to look doesn’t always produce visual results. For most of the time 878 is in the 18/19 mag range but due to its elliptical orbit it will brighten to about 16 magnitude later this summer. That fact is generating a lot of excitement within the ranks of those guys that do this kind of visual observing.

Now these asteroid hunting guys are few and far between but they maintain fairly close contact with one another. Ben has a friend in this group that only lacks this same 878 Mildred asteroid to complete the 1,000 list. Because of the difficulty in visually observing 878 Mildred, one of their "buddies" posted an online request to see if anyone with a very large telescope would help them in their quest for this object. The response was simply overwhelming. Professionals from more than one major observatory including Kitt Peak and Mt Wilson responded saying that scopes at these observatories would be made available to assist in the visual observation of 878 Mildred. Even though these agencies volunteered to make scopes available, these scopes aren’t always available for “free” use. Scheduling must compete with professional observers and window time frames are very limited so the situation isn’t as rosy as it might seem. At this writing, plans are in the very early stages for Ben and his friend Roger Harvey (the guy that only needs this one to complete 1,000) to team up with Prof. Pilcher of Illinois College and they will use the 32" Tectron dob at Rainwater Observatory which is located at French Camp, Mississippi. Because of scope availability at French Camp, several nights will be available to the trio making their chances of seeing the asteroid a little higher. The scheduled dates are in August of this year.

We here at LASS may be a "dog-eared" bunch of old guys and gals but there is one in our midst that makes the rest of us stand up and say thanks for helping us with such "easy" targets as the Messier group. In the middle of the night we all become equals in our own sight and it is only when we come into the daylight of astro observing that we realize that there are some really skilled and dedicated ones in our group. Hang in there Ben, we all appreciate having you as a fellow observer.

NOW LET THE DEBATES BEGIN

2010-02-08T19:11:00.004-06:00

No, I'm not talking about the political debate although the subject at hand will have it's political overtones. I'm talking about the debates over the state of affairs that the U.S. will be in if the proposed axing of human space flight is implemented. Already there are folks lining up their support for the continuation of the human space program, namely the development of the Orion capsule and SOME kind of rocket to launch the capsule. Lockheed is very vocal about their ability to have the Orion capsule ready for launch by 2013----but there isn't any firm proposals for a rocket to launch it. A lot of folks think the Aries launch vehicle has been doomed to failure for a long time---even before the proposed budget cuts which would do away with the entire Constellation program. Someone will win and someone will lose---I just pray that we don't get some kind of half a---ed program that won't be worth the continued investment in time and money.

I was surprised and pleased with the various comments I got in response to the previous rant I wrote which indicated that the budget crunch was coming. I gather that most of the respondents feel like we need to get on with robotic exploration of space until such time as we feel it is necessary to move colonies of folks to some of the outer planets or their moons. Low earth orbit and return to the moon with humans seemed to be a distant second to other means of space exploration and development. Especially for the NASA crowd. Thanks for reading and commenting guys. Now all we can do is sit back and watch the fireworks from a distance.

THE SHOE DROPS MONDAY

2010-01-29T09:23:00.004-06:00

Like most things in Washington the news about the cancellation of the Constellation project is front page news today. Sources close to the presidents budget proposals say that there will be no funds for the moon mission which was set to place humans to the moon by 2020. The majority of these funds are being diverted to extend the International Space Station instead. Simply stated, "there just isn't enough money to do both projects". The formal announcement is expected Monday when the presidents budget is presented to congress. It has been a well known fact that the Constellation program was terribly underfunded to begin with and there was no way the program could meet its original date. It is sad that $9 billion has already been poured into the development of various components of the program but that is the trend in government programs. I remind you of the huge atom collider program which was started in east Texas only to be cancelled after a different administration concluded that it was not going to be cost effective.

But the fight isn't over yet. Congressmen from the states that will be unfavorably affected by the change of direction for NASA will fight to the bitter end to restore funding. This too is a ongoing fact in the decision making system of our federal government. In the overall scheme of things, that is the job of the senators and representatives from every state. They are elected to look out for the affairs of their individual districts and states at the national level. That in itself is the main ingredient for "pork barrel" spending. You rub my back and I will rub yours without very much consideration as to whether it is good for the nation as a whole or not. Many times the military forces have indicated that they didn't want or need a particular weapons systems but------congress bought the system anyway because the manufacturing facility was in their district and it meant jobs and security. Not to mention the good publicity for the next election.

NASA is in a very difficult position no matter how you look at it. They do not have one single program that does not require a very long lead time to develop and deploy. Very few government administrations remain in control of the decision making process as long as it takes to develop and deploy any given NASA program. If the next elected administration does not agree with the funding policies of the previous, they simply cut the funds---no matter how much has been invested. At this point in time I cannot think of one single individual or corporate entity that operates on that premise. In an economy where one must be responsible for making a profit, long range plans must be carefully developed and followed. I'm not saying that private organizations never make mistakes or that they never change their direction but they certainly don't seem to be as willie-nilly about mid course changes as the national government. Agencies such as NASA probably couldn't exist in the private sector because of the huge financial demands. Maybe we don't need to be the world leader in everything but we could do a better job of focusing on those projects that we do decide to develop.

I doubt if the federal government needs to bear all the blame. NASA has a very hard time getting their priorities straight as well. The way they handle spending contracts is hard to describe. Cost never seems to enter the picture--just get something started and we will try to get funding later. That is always a disaster in progress. I doubt that any astronaut would be proud to say "I am going to the moon on the lowest contract bid for this shuttle" but I think they could do better than they do.

I don't have very many good answers for these problems. The one that I would suggest has proven to be impossible for any previous administrations to do very well. It is very simple---get off the partisan bandwagon and start looking out for the good of the nation. One possible solution might be a third party electorate. At least that would go a long way toward ending democrat/republican gridlock. I never have been able to understand why it is that if you are a democrat, nothing a republican can do or say is good for the nation. The same goes in the other direction as well.

I am acutely aware that the financial situation in our nation is critical at this point. I believe it is partly that way because we refuse to allow people to determine their own ways and means to get the job done. Someone is always attempting to regulate--unionize,--redistribute--or otherwise run the lives of individuals. Government should govern---not dictate.

Well maybe I got a little carried away with this NASA redirection thing. I just hope that in 10/15 years down the road we don't get another big change in direction. In the mid 90's NASA went thru a similar change of direction that cost billions in changed plans and programs. As of Monday, NASA will not have any form of human space program in the works beyond what is being done today. We certainly won't be a world leader in this arena for a long time to come.

LARGEST FULL MOON IN 2010

2010-01-28T18:36:00.014-06:00

If the weather cooperates, we will be able to witness the largest full moon for the year of 2010 this Friday, Jan. 29th. Aww come on---you don't mean to tell me that the moon is bigger sometimes than it is at others. Yep, that is what I am saying---at least I am saying it appears to be bigger. In reality it seems to be bigger because it will be at Perigee during this full moon phase. Apogee---Perigee---what is all this none sense?

Well we all know that the moon does not make a perfect circle when it orbits earth. For that matter, neither do any of the planets make perfect circle orbits around the sun but that is another story. So if the orbit isn't round then what does it look like? In simple terms, it might look something like an egg or football with the earth a little offset from center. When it is at its nearest point to earth during the orbit, the terminology is Perigee. When it is at the farthest point of the orbit, it is called Apogee. And it just so happens that during the full moon this Friday night the moon will be very near Perigee. The points of Apogee and Perigee do not always coincide with the full moon phase so that is why it is worthwhile to look this Friday. For all practical purposes, the moon will appear to be 14% larger than it usually does at the full moon phase. We all understand the optical illusion about the moon looking bigger when it is near the horizon--ie at the time it rises as a full or near full moon. But now it will seem to be enormous---especially if you position yourself to observe it with buildings or trees in the foreground to give added perspective.

But that isn't all of the story. Our old faithful friend Mars will be in the mix also. Now don't go bannas on me here--Mars will be at the closest point it will be during the period 2008 thru 2014. Some of you will remember that Mars was as close as it has ever been recorded (read-- known to be in the past 60,ooo years according to astronomy calculations) during 2003 when it was only 56 million kilometers from earth. During Fridays event Mars will be about twice that far away but it will be in the same part of the sky as the moon. This should be the perfect time to put to rest all those rumors that Mars would look as big as the moon. It never has been and it never will be. It will in fact look like a small orange star in comparison to the moon. It will travel the same path as the moon throughout the night so look and compare all night long. While you are looking watch for the brightest star in our sky, namely Sirius, which will be in the same sector of the sky with Mars all week long. Compare its brightness to the planet Mars.

Like I said at the beginning---all this will take place on Friday Jan. 29. We may or may not be able to see this event due to weather but it is worth a try.