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OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                        FEBRUARY 2008                                                        

Gort
Bill  MacIntosh,  Editor



CLUB PRESIDENT:     Jim Saoud  (248-652-1496)                                                             WEBSITES:   www.oaklandastronomy.org   Link                  
                                          Email to Jim Saoud                                                                                                   oakland astronomy@yahoo groups                                                                                                                                                                                               (Messages & Photo Albums)   
                                                                                                                                                                             oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/
                                                                                                                                                                               (Newsletter html site)                                
                                                                                                                                                                            Addison Oaks  Sky Clock  Link

                                                                                                                                                   
LAST MEETING
Minutes from February 10, 2008
M. Jeffery, Secretary                                                                                                                                            
                                                             
Opening
President Jim Saoud called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.     
9 Members present, 0 visitors
 
Past Events Reports
 Observations & Presentations

There were few observation opportunities recently due to weather.

The Sky-at-a-Glance -- by  Bill Girardin
 
MOON     
                  FQ    Wed, Feb 14  
                  FM   Wed, Feb 20---->THE LUNAR ECLIPSE BEGINS AT 8:43pm EST WITH TOTALITY AT 10:01pm
                  LQ    Thu,  Feb 29
                  NM   Fri,   Mar  7      

PLANETS
                  MERCURY  - Dawn in the SE,  Mag -0.5 within 2o of Venus at month end
                  VENUS         - Dawn in the SE,  Mag-4.0 in Sagittarius        
                  MARS          - Evening in the S,  Mag -0.6  near Beta Auriga, growing smaller now as opposition passes
                  JUPITER      - Dawn  in the SE,  Mag -1.9 passing Venus in Sagittarius
                  SATURN      - Evening in the E,  Mag .5 trails behind Regulus   


SELECTED CONSTELLATIONS and DSOs
                  Gemini - The Twins, dominated by bright Castor & Pollux (brothers of Helen of Troy)
                                  Alpha (Castor) is a sextuple star, distance 46 LY
                                  Beta (Pollux), maybe actually brighter, distance 36 LY
                  Cancer -  The Crab, in ancient times marking the Summer Solstice.  Famous for M44 the Beehive Cluster, distance 515 LY
                  Canis Minor - The Little Dog, marked by Procyon (trans "before the dog," distance 11.4 LY)
                  Monoceros -  The Unicorn, traced to the Assyrians, but considered a modern constellation named in 1624, Beta is a 4 star system
                  Canis Major - The Great Dog, once predicted the Flood of the Nile, dominated by brilliant Sirius, the brightest star and the 5th                                           closest star at 8.6 LY.     The M41 OC just south of Sirius was featured in last month's Newsletter.

BINOS
                    M50 OC containing over 100 stars  ( See feature image below)
                  NGC 2244 OC
                  M41 OC

DEEP SKY

                 M67 OC, distance 2700 LY
                 NGC 264 OC, The "Christmas Tree" Cluster


                               

DAVE BAILEY  gave a presentation on objects in the Solar System, covering the following topics:
                The "Pop Culture" members who come up with names like Zena, Buffy, and Gabrielle
               The "Group Professionals" who come up with Latin and Shakespearean names or just numbers like 2007 XYZ


UP COMING EVENTS:
  •  May 2-4   Michiana Star Party, Pottawattamie Wildlife Preserve, Indiana 
  •  May 17,   OAC Swap meet (along with Warren Club) 
  •  2008 Independence Oaks Star Parties                
                    May 10th  9 - 11 pm
                    Aug 23rd   9 - 11 pm
                         Nov 22      8 - 10 pm
    • Great Lakes Star Gaze - Last weekend in September,  Thursday evening through Sunday morning                                             
    OBSERVING NIGHT CONTACTS  - Addison Oaks

                    March 7-8  -  Jim Saoud       248-652-1496
                      

    TREASURY REPORT   -   Bill Girardin

            The Club dues income has been beneficial so far, but major expenses are coming up for insurance.

    OTHER BUSINESS  and General Discussion

          A joint Swap Meet with the Warren Club was tentatively agreed to for May 17 (Sat) 

          
    Adjournment 9:05 p,m.

                                               
    NEXT MEETING:   MARCH 9,  7:30 PM

                                                                                                                                                                 
    FEBRUARY LUNAR ECLIPSE INFO

    This link was posted on the Warren Club Yahoo message board
    by Guy Maxim.   It is presented here for OAC---click on the word below:

    Eclipse



    eclipse





    DSO OF THE MONTH
     From Sky-at-a-Glance

                          

       M  50   OPEN CLUSTER   (NGC 2323)                                                            Distance = 3,200  LY                                          
    M 50 Located near the border with Canis Major, M50 is  readily picked up in binos and finderscopes.   The cluster is comprised of about 200 stars extending over 20 LY.

    Logged by Messier on April 5, 1772,      it may have been discovered originally by Cassini before 1711.    Containing many colorful contrasting stars, this pretty cluster is worth visiting with all types of equipment.

    RA       07 : 03.2 (h:m)
    DEC   -08 : 20 (deg:m)
    Apparent Mag    5.9
    Apparent Size    16 arc min

    Click the link below for more details:

    (Source:  http://seds.org/MESSIER/m/m050.html)
    Image Credit: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970128.html                                             Constellation:   MONOCEROS

       



                                                    ADVERTORIAL
                                              (CLUB PROMOTION)

    Woven patches with the Club logo are available for only $3 bucks in two styles, button loop and stitch/iron on.
           		  SEE DAVE HOLT TO GET 'EM.                               


    FEBRUARY ASTRO-MILESTONES

    Feb 18th - Pluto discovered, 1930


    Feb 25th - Galileo's Birthday,  1564


    ASTRO-FACTOID OF THE MONTH


    DID YOU KNOW?  


    MARCH is Messier Marathon Month.    Messier's objects are not distributed evenly across the sky, so a window exists in March  when observers can see all 109 objects in a single night.    The "window" opens March 17 and closes     April 3.

    Working on the premise that the object has to be at an altitude of 2 degrees to be seen, it begins when M30 is high enough to be seen in a dark morning sky.   Early in the evening, the limiting object is spiral galaxy M74.   These criteria are based on a 33 degree North latitude and get more favorable as you observe farther south.
    Source:  Michael Bakich, ASTRONOMY magazine, March 2007
     

     
     

    PERSPECTIVES

    Number of stars within 12.5 LY = 33

     nearest stars
    Credit:   atlasoftheuniverse.com



     
                                    See this link to  have fun zooming your way through the Universe:  http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/

       


    FUNZIES



    amateur hubble
       

                                                                                 Credit:  http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/space/hubble.html    
     
     
     
         
    CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH


    It's Winter and ORION season once again, so here's a shot of another DSO in that constellation.  
      Often over-shadowed by its nearby more famous neighbor The Horsehead,  NGC 2024 is located near
    Zeta Orionis (Alnitak), the Easternmost star in Orion's belt.
     
     
    THE FLAME NEBULA  (NGC  2024)                                                                                Distance =  1,500  LY

     
    Flame Neb McSorley
    Image Credit:    John McSorley

                                                    Notes:  114 mm Newt, DSI PRO II, March 2007 at Addison Oaks 




    launch

    CLUB DUES FOR 2008

    Membership fees ($35) become due in January each year.
    If you are unable to make the next meeting and wish to support OAC
    with your 2008 dues, you can mail your check payable to

    OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB
    600 Shelley Dr
    Rochester Hills, MI  48307-4237


    NEXT MEETING:   MARCH 9,  2008       7:30 PM
               
                                                                            
    .

    ASTRONOMY TECHNOLOGY TODAY

    Astronomy Technology Today  - A new startup magazine for equipment geeks features reviews, specs and images from both users and distributers.   They are offering subscriptions for $18 per year.  
    Details on their website:   http://www.astronomytechnologytoday.com/

    2007 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
    Oakland Astronomy Club Newsletters are on the Web as Public Domain and may be freely accessed, linked-to or referenced by anyone.
    However, certain images and articles are copyrighted material and such acknowledgements and credits are are given whenever known.
    Opinions in signed articles are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Editor or the OAC.


    Orbiting



     
     
         

    Submit Club news, astro-photos, equipment sale/trades to the editor:

    Bill MacIntosh
    nightwinger2004@yahoo.com