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OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                       FEBRUARY  2009                                                       


Gort
Bill  MacIntosh,  Editor



CLUB PRESIDENT:     Dave Holt  (248-674-1950)                                                              WEBSITES:   www.oaklandastronomy.org   Link              
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                                                                                                                                                                            oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/
                                                                                                                                                                               (Newsletter html site)                                
                                                                                                                                                                            Addison Oaks  Sky Clock  Link

                                                                                                                                                   
LAST MEETING
Minutes from February 8, 2009
M. Jeffery, Secretary                                                                                                                                            
                                                             
Opening
President Dave Holt called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.   Printed agenda provided.    
8 members present, 2 visitors:   Karen McLaren & Hank Sorensen were introduced.

Past Events:
Presidents Meeting Jan 30th -  Dave Holt and Bob Berta attended from OAC, along with representatives from other area clubs (Ford, Warren, etc.).  A project to assist the scouts in building a permanent Observing Pad is being pursued, as well as other joint activities.   Other possibilities:  Family Picnic; Swap Meet.    Also discussed were plans for an Astronomy Day function on May 2.   OAC can provide Solar viewing from 1-4 pm.   There are also plans for another inter-club presentation at Cranbrook, more details to be announced later.

 Observing Reports:
Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) & 144P (Kushida) are currently visible.    Weather continues to discourage observing at Addison Oaks.

Sirius B is at its maximum separation from Sirius A (7 arcsecs), but it is still extremely difficult to see.

Introduction of visitors:
Karen is a writer and interested in all aspects of the Natural World.   Hank is a retiree with a long interest in Astronomy who would like to get more involved now that he has the time.   Neither owns a telescope at this point.   At Karen's request, club members each provided a thumbnail bio as an introduction.

 Sky-at-a-Glance

Bill Girardin distributed SkyMaps  and gave the presentation.  ( See Below)     
Club Activities

               TennHut                                                              
                                  February 21st  8-10pm
                                  April 4th   9-10pm
                                  July 25th   9-11pm
                                  November 14th   8-10pm

Observing Night Contacts  -  Addison Oaks Site
These are nights for public and member viewing with the Club 17.5" scope available.   Designated members below should be contacted to meet at the site and open the gate to the observing area. 

Contact for:      
                               Feb   20            Jim Saoud             248-652-1496
                          Feb  27 & 28     Dave Holt           248-674-1950
                          Mar 20 & 21     John McSorley   248-879-4630
                          Mar 27 & 28     Dave Holt
Business Meeting:

· Bill Girardin gave the financial report.   2009 dues receipts have the Club's cash flow currently in balance.   

Presentations:
     Bill MacIntosh circulated a copy of National Geographic from November 2008 with a cover story on why we need dark skies.   The article link was published in the newsletter previously, and can be found HERE.

      Bob Berta displayed a large format color image of the Heart Nebula he had framed, and gave a quick explanation of how the post-processing of images can be enhanced with the layering techniques of modern software.    Bob also showed a picture of the Sun (actually two pictures combined – one of the edge and one of the surface).  The Sun is very quiet these days.  The experts are split – they say the Sun is either going to be exceptionally active or exceptionally quiet this Sun cycle.


General Discussion:    

      The club is seeking someone to set up and organize presentations for the group and the public.    Interested volunteers should contact Dave Holt.
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                             
             

Adjournment:   9:15 PM
Next Meeting:    Sunday, March 8th, 7:30 pm


For Current MoonPhase click HERE
The Sky-at-a-Glance
by Bill Girardin
  Telescope blink
MOON                                                                             CALENDAR
                    FM   Mon, Feb  9                           9  Feb, Penumbral eclipse of the Moon
                    LQ    Mon, Feb 16                         13 Feb, Mercury at greatest elongation in the morning
                    NM  Tue, Feb 24                           16 Feb, Comet Lulin 3 degrees from Spica
                    FQ    Tue, Mar  3                           24 Feb, Comet Lulin 2 degrees from Saturn  
                                                                            24 Feb, Transit of Titan across Saturn begins 6 a.m.                                                                                                                                                      

COMETS:   (Click Links for Finder Charts & Details)

                   Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)visible in morning sky near Spica, 8th Mag.   A one-time visitor from the Oort Cloud, it                                                    will never return again.

                   Comet Kushida visible at Mag 10.7  

                                             

PLANETS
                  MERCURY   Morning, SE,  Mag 0.0   Greatest elongation (12 degrees) on February 13
                  VENUS          Dusk,  SW, Mag  -4.6,  30 degrees from Sunset        
                  MARS           Morning, ESE, Mag 1.3, low at dawn around February 17  
                  JUPITER       Evening, WSW, Mag  0.9, N of  Sagittarius
                  SATURN       SSE  Mag 0.9 near the tail of Leo, beginning retrograde, rings narrowing
                  URANUS       In Aquarius
                  NEPTUNE     In Capricornus

            
CONSTELLATION PICKS & HIGHLIGHTS:

     LYNX -  Created in 1687 by Johannes Hevelius to fill in the area SW of Ursa Major.   But there's not much of interest in there.
            
     GEMINI - The Twins
             M35 OC,  Mag 5,  2800 LY distant near the W edge of Gemini, containing about 120 stars
             Alpha (Castor) is strangely the second brightest star in Gemini,  Mag 1.6, Dist=46 LY, possibly a sextuple star.
             Beta (Pollux) is the brightest,  Mag 1.1, Dist=11.4 LY
              
    CANIS MAJOR - The Great Dog
            Alpha (Sirius), Mag -1.5,  8.8 LY distant (fifth closest star), rising predicted the Nile flood and the New Year
             ---- Sirius is a double star ---- how many have actually observed Sirius B, its white dwarf companion ??
            M41, OC,  Mag 6,  about 50 stars just S of Sirius 

    CANIS MINOR - The Little Dog
            Procyon dominates, a white dwarf double star, Mag 0.4,  Dist = 11.4 LY.   Name translates as "before the dog."

    PUPPIS - Translates as the poop deck of a ship.   It was originally part of a larger constellation called Argo Navis.
            M46 & 47 Open Clusters,  Mag 6.1 & 4.4,  9 deg E of Sirius and nice bino targets
            M93, OC,   Mag 6.2,  S of M46 & 47.

    MONOCEROS - The Unicorn.   Created in 1624 by Jakob Bartsch, has origins traced back to Assyrians as a mythical creature.
            M50 Open Cluster.   N of Sirius,  Mag 6, easily picked up in binos and small scopes.  ( See Feature Below)
            NGC 2264 - Chrismas Tree Cluster
MONOCEROS
Monoceros
             
                                                        Chart Credit:   http://www.backyard-astro.com/focusonarchive/monoceros/monoceros.html    

  

DSO PICK:
              M50 -  See Feature Below      
                               

  

                                                                                                                                                             


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

                      

  M50   - Open Cluster (NGC 2323)                                                                         Distance = 3,200 LY                                          
M50
 Open cluster Messier 50 is a pretty and considerably bright object located in a rich part of stars and nebulae in constellation Monoceros, near its border to Canis Major.

 This cluster was discovered on April 5, 1772 by Charles Messier , but possibly G.D. Cassini had already discovered it before 1711, according to a report by his son, Jacques Cassini , in his book of 1740, Elements of Astronomy.

 Estimated to contain about 200 stars and about 20 LY in overall diameter.
Right Ascension 07 : 03.2 (h:m)
Declination -08 : 20 (deg:m)
Distance 3.2 (kly)
Visual Brightness 5.9 (mag)
Apparent Dimension 16.0 (arc min)
More details - Click Link:
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/m/m050.html    

Image Credit:  S. Kohle, T. Credner,  NASA/APOD  

            Constellation:  MONOCEROS

 
 


COOL LINK THIS MONTH:

 3-D  EARTH SCREENSAVER
 
Enjoy a view of the Earth like the astronauts do.   Zoom in and rotate the Globe.
Download free detailed maps and check the weather anywhere in the world.
Alot of fun to use, and it's FREE
 


                                                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.                               

                    


ASTRO-FACTOID OF THE MONTH


DID YOU KNOW?  
OBSS



 Origins Billion Star Survey (OBSS) is an astrometric satellite designed to determine with unprecedented accuracy the positions, distances, and motions of a billion stars within our galaxy. It is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO ) and several other institutions. OBSS will measure stellar positions to less than 10 micro arcseconds. (To put this angle in perspective, the width of a typical strand of human hair would subtend 10 microarcseconds if you were viewing it from a distance of 650-900 miles .)

Image credit and more info:  http://ad.usno.navy.mil/OBSS/MainFrame.html
 
   
   

PERSPECTIVES


Beautiful..............uh...........what is it  ?


What is it?



                                 Nope, it doesn't have a Messier number                                        
                                                                 No, it's not the reflection of your iris in a scope eyepiece
                                                                 Yeah, this month it IS a Hubble image                                                
                                                                 HINT:  It's only 88 LY away in Coma Berenices                               
                                                    
                Click HERE for the answer                                     






 

FUNZIES


pluto downsized
 
Cartoon snagged from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100145890
 

Click link above for the humorous Pluto story by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
 
and check out the video below where he's interviewed by Jon Stewart  - hilarious !
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=216998&title=neil-degrasse-tyson

                   
                                                                 
 
 
 
     
CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH

 Heart-of-the-Heart Nebula
Cassiopeia
IC 1805
Distance = 7,500 LY

  
Heart of Heart

Image by Bob Berta - 6" Refractor

This is a "close up" of the nebula center.   The completed mosaic was published
in the November 08 newsletter.   It is reproduced below for comparison.

Heart Nebula

 
Bob's notes for the top image:
This is what I call the Heart of the Heart Nebula. It was originally just a test shot I did before the mosaic of the entire Nebula I previously showed everyone. It is a single 15 minute exposure through each of the RGB filters and a 30 minute shot through a Ha filter that was used for the Luminance. Since I didn't combine multiple images it isn't as noise free as I would like...but the purpose of doing this picture was to experiment with Photo Shop LAYERS to bring out detail and enhance it. It is amazing how much you can "tease" out of a picture with Photo Shop. The telescope was my A&M 152mm f8 refractor at f8 with SBIG STL 6303e camera. The widest part of the picture is about 1.3 degrees FOV.  It was taken at the 2008 GAZE.
 



Berta & Scope

FOR SALE:

Items forwarded from the Warren Club Newsletter
FOR SALE: Orion Skyquest xT8, 8” Dobsonian Telescope,
1200 mm; f/5.9, crayford
style focuser that accepts 2”
and 1.25” eyepieces. Comes
with Object Locator. Enjoy fully
computerized object capability.
Also comes with Sirius Lenses;
25 mm plossl and 10 mm plossl,
9x50 right angle finder, and the
Orion Lasermate Deluxe Collimator.
Bought in April 2008. Still under warranty until
April, ’09. Asking price: $550 or best offer. Contact
John Kosmo at 586-427-6014 
FOR SALE: Discovery PDHQ Dobsonian Telescope,       
12.5”, f5, (94% pyrex mirror reflectivity), 1 1/4”, 2”
Crayford focuser, Base plus 2x2’ Platform, 12v antidew
system, Telrad Reflex Sight, Aluminum foam lined
lens case, Meade lenses: 40 mm super wide, 32 mm
super plossl, 8.8 mm ultra wide, 12.4 mm super plossl,
4.7 mm super plossl, 2x “shorty” Barlow. Sirius
Lenses: 25 mm plossl, 17 mm plossl, 10 mm plossl.
Filters: 1 1/4” 13%, 25% Moon, 1 1/4” variable polarizer
(moon), 1 1/4”, 2” Oxygen III, 1 1/4” Narrow
Band, 1 1/4” Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, 2” Fine Focus
Adapter, Orion Collimating Cheshire, Orion LaserMate
Collimator, Red Beam Flashlight, Desert Storm “Aluminum”Cover, Transporting Dolly. Initial Purchase Price:
$3500. Asking Price: $1900. Contact Al McDonald,
248 -343-1643.




Members are encouraged to join the Club's Yahoo Group
for messages, photo posting and more.

Click to join OaklandAstronomy

Click to join OaklandAstronomy

 
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CLUB DUES 

Membership is $35 annually
If you are unable to make the next meeting and wish to support OAC
with your 2009 dues, you can mail your check payable to

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


NEXT MEETING:    March 8th,  2009       7:30 PM
           
                                                                        
.

 Links to other club sites:

Warren Astronomical Society (WAS)
Seven Ponds Astronomy Club
Ford Astronomy Club
GLAAC


Editor's Note:   Newsletters can be saved locally by right-clicking, then select Save Webpage Complete


2009 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

                  http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0109.html       OAC Newsletter Jan 2009






2008 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
 
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0108.html    OAC Newsletter Jan 2008  
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0208.html    OAC Newsletter Feb 2008
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0308.html     OAC Newsletter Mar 2008
    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0408.html     OAC Newsletter Apr 2008
     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0508.html    OAC Newsletter May 2008
     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0608.html    OAC Newsletter June 2008
    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0708.html    OAC Newsletter July 2008
    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0808.html    OAC Newsletter Aug 2008
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0908.html    OAC Newsletter Sept 2008
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1008.html    OAC Newsletter Oct 2008
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1108.html    OAC Newsletter Nov 2008
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1208.html    OAC Newsletter Dec 2008





2007 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0607.html    OAC Newsletter June 2007
http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0707.html    OAC Newsletter July 2007
http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0807.html    OAC Newsletter Aug 2007
http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0907.html    OAC Newsletter Sep 2007
http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1007.html    OAC Newsletter Oct 2007
 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1107.html    OAC Newsletter Nov 2007
 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1207.html    OAC Newsletter Dec 2007




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 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