OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                                       April 2009

• The Independence Oaks Spring Star Party on April 4 had about 25 guests.  OAC had 4 scopes setup for viewing.  SkyMaps were distributed,  prominent  stars and constellations were laser-pointer identified and a donation jar was placed.   Targets offered included the Moon, Saturn, Orion Nebula and a globular cluster (M3).    The sky was moderately clear, the temps were reasonable and the event concluded successfully, despite competition from the basketball game.    See photos below.
• 100 Hours of Astronomy, April 2-5 - The Warren Club was highly involved in this event.   We will await their report.
• On Friday, 3/20  Three members (John, Carlos and Walt) gathered at the Addison Oaks site for an observing session.   Access was OK at the present, but can be muddy and trecherous in the Spring.
  

•  2009 Independence Oaks Star Parties dates, all on Saturdays at the Wint Nature Center.  Mark your calendar.      
  

• Astronomy Day 2009 -  May 2 at Cranbrook.   OAC is offering solar scope viewing from 1 to 4 pm.
  

• Stephen Edberg will offer a inter-club presentation on “Exoplanets” -  May 15th at Cranbrook.  Tickets can be reserved on-line HERE.    Early reservations are strongly suggested, as the auditorium only seats 200 and the program last year was sold out.
  

• NOTE:  Next meeting moved up to May 3rd due to Mothers' Day.  

• AN INVITATION has been extended to our club from the KALAMAZOO Astronomical Society (KAS) to join them on May 30 for their Astronomy Day event.    The program includes presentations by actor Michael Francis who will bring Galileo to life in his one man show The Starry Messenger.    Another highlight will be an appearance by Dr. Phil Plait who will have a book signing (Bad Astronomy and Death From the Skies) and a keynote presentation at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.   Click link for details:   http://astroday.kasonline.org/

• Michiana Star Party, (Click Link) May 29-31 at the Potawatomi Wildlife Park, Tippecanoe, Indiana.    

 From  this  to  this ===>

               John McSorley brought an equatorial mount he acquired at WalMart.   It appears to be a copy of a
             Celestron/Orion EQ1 and comes with extendable stainless steel legs, slo-mo controls, setting circles, a shaft to                      attach a  motor drive, and most importantly it has a Vixen-type saddle to accomodate the standard dovetail on
             most brands of scopes.   The compact mount is ideal for smaller instruments.   Cost:  $80

                             

                        

 

MOON                                                                             CALENDAR                   FQ    Thu, Apr 2                                 13 April, waning Moon very close to Antares, occultation viewable in Hawaii                     FM   Thu, Apr 9                                 16-24 April, Mercury at least 10 degrees above western horizon, favorable viewing                   LQ    Fri,  Apr 17                                19 April, crescent Moon 1-3 degrees upper right of Jupiter                   NM  Fri,  Apr 24                                22 April, Moon occults Venus low in E in twilight dawn                                                                               28 April - May 1, Mercury in center of the Pleiades, 45 minutes after sunset                                                                                                                                                       METEORS:                 The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on April 22, best viewing between 1-4 a.m.   Average 20 per hour.  Sometimes more.                                                         PLANETS                   MERCURY   West at sunset.  Mag 0, joining the Pleiades at month's end                      VENUS          East at sunrise                           MARS           Morning, ESE,  before sunrise                    JUPITER       SE before sunrise                   SATURN       Visible most all night at Mag 0.5 in southern Leo under the hindquarters.  Titan transit 4/13 before dawn.                   URANUS       Mostlt unviewable this month  in light of dawn                   NEPTUNE     Just 2 degrees from Jupiter at Mag 7.9 by month's end              CONSTELLATION PICKS & HIGHLIGHTS:      URSA MAJOR - The Great Bear             Galaxy combo M81 & M82, visible together in wide field scopes, Mag 7.0                                    CANCER - The Crab             Zeta - Multiple star, Mag 5 & 7, center-west side of constellation at 52 LY             M55 - Beehive Cluster,  Mag 6.3, 74 visible stars at 515 LY             M67 - OC, Mag 7.0, about 65 stars at 2700 LY       LEO - The Lion            Alpha (Regulus) Mag 1.4, in handle of sickle at 69 LY            M65-66 galaxies, Mag 9.7, center of underbelly spirals         BOOTES -  The Herdsman, one of the most ancient constellations known             Arcturus (Alpha) is 4th brightest star, a red giant, distance 36.7LY             Home to many fine double stars for amateur scopes             Tau Bootes made history in 2007 as the first star observed to flip its magnetic field       VIRGO -  The Maiden             Spica (Alpha) is the 16th brightest star, mag 0.98, distance 262 LY             Home to the Virgo cluster of galaxies             The Sun spends more time in Virgo than in any other constellation of the zodiac, entering on September 21 and not leaving until                              November 1.                                                                                                                                                          Map to M82 & M82                                                                       Chart credit:  http://www.space-talk.com/ForumE/showthread.php3?threadid=4050       DSO PICK:               M81/82 -  See Feature Below

This famous pair is readily observed together in one FOV with amateur scopes, although apertures of 8" or larger are required to see structure. Discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774, M81 was added to the Messier list in 1781.   The two galaxies have been in a gravitational go-around for at least 1 billion years, possibly triggering massive starburst activity in M82. A Spanish amateur astronomer discovered a supernova in M81 back in 1993. Right Ascension 09 : 55.6 (h:m) Declination +69 : 04 (deg:m) Distance 12000 (kly) Visual Brightness 6.9 (mag) Apparent Dimension 21x10 (arc min) More details - Click Link: http://seds.org/messier/m/m081.html

Image Credit:  Monastier di Treviso, 19/02/09,  6" Meade Schmidt-Newtonian                            Details:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/zio81/3375763230/ BONUS IMAGE:   For an APOD view of this pair, click HERE

Constellation:  URSA MAJOR

 

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Star Party at Independence Oaks, 4/4/09

OAC had 4 scopes set up for observing---2 refractors, a Mak and a Newt.    SkyMaps with the club website address were distributed and a donation jar was placed for contributions. Approximately 25 guests were offered views of various targets, including Saturn, M3 Glob, Orion Nebula and the Moon.   Lasers pointed out Polaris, major Constellation patterns and the location of Saturn in Leo. The Wint Nature Center staff also provided an indoor planetarium show, an astronomy craft and snack treats. The temps were moderate and the sky remained clear up until around 11:30 pm.

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COOL LINK THIS MONTH:

ASTRONOMY ANIMATIONS
 
Enjoy animations of key Astronomy events with explanatory text.
Fun to use and a good educational tool as well.

(Thanks to Jon Blum for the above link)

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DID YOU KNOW?  

Image credit:  APOD
Click link above for larger image

SATURN'S edge-on rings are providing astronomers unprecidented opportunites to watch the planet's moon transits with modern equipment.    In the Hubble image above are pictured from left,  Enceladus (and shadow), Dione (and shadow) and Titan (shadow moved off image).   Amateurs too have been able to capture remarkable transit images.   For an actual photographic animation of a Titan transit taken through a CELESTRON 11"  scope, click HERE.

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PERSPECTIVES

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



Image credit:   NASA/Cassini

                                                                 Yup, it's Saturn of course                                        

                                                                 In fact, it's Saturn eclipsing the Sun
                                                                 Now---TEST your observing skills
                                                                 Look carefully at this image....very carefully....very, very carefully
                                                                 Especially on the left side between the rings around 10 o'clock  
                                                                 No.....averted vision will not help    
                                                                 Do you see that little blue dot ?
                                                                 Nope, it's not a moon
                                                                 It's EARTH !!

                                                          TRULY AN AMAZING PERSPECTIVE, HUH  ?                 

                                                                 

                   

(Editor is in Saturnian mood this month)

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FUNZIES

Credit:  Jack Kramer
Lake County Astronomical Society

                

                                                                 

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CLUB MEMBER ARTICLE OF THE MONTH

by Walter Fielek

I put some more time in on the Light
Pollution Road Maps, making a set going
from the Continental USA down to the
Great Lakes Region, Michigan, the Lower
Peninsul broken down to NW, NE, SW,
SE and some more (road) detail is areas
closer to Detroit.
 
On the larger scale maps, I didn't put
as much effort into carefully adjusting
the scale between the road map and
light pollution map overlay. The colors
are the same as used on the clear sky
clock pages.  You really don't need to
know that though, you can tell as you
get a way from the cities, which color
means another step towards darker
skies.
 
I have a resources URL for the club at
http://doubleyoutube.info/OAC/
 
There's also my personal version of the
Clear Sky Map for Addison Oaks. I still
get confused without the Legend, thus
I cut the extra off the official page so
I can see the legend without having to
manipulate the scroll bar.

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FOR SALE:

Items forwarded from the Warren Club Newsletter

FOR SALE:  This is a 8 or 9 year old Celestron Starhopper 6" Dob. I've used it up at our cottage for years and its given me many years of enjoyment. I am including a 25mm plossl eyepiece and a Red dot laser star spotter. I am the original owner and am selling it because I recently upgraded to a bigger scope. I am asking $300 but will take any reasonable offer. Call John 586-726-0741

WANTED: Spidervane for 6" Criterion Dynascope. My name is Gary Klein, I am a former member of WAS. I am getting back into observing and photographing Celestial objects. On dusting off my 6" Criterion Dynascope, I found some damage to the tube. I began disassembling the finder scope and secondary mirror and spider. I ended up twisting off one of the mounting studs for the spider. It is beyond repair. I have unsuccessfully been on a search for a direct replacement of the spider. The secondary mirror is fine. It is a straight 4 legged spider. Contact Gary at: (586) 247- 2460 Thanks. Gary K.

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

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

2009 Officers

                                                                             President          Dave Holt           dave_holt@yahoo.com

                                                                             Vice President  Bob Berta           biker123@att.net

                                                                             Treasurer         Bill Girardin        bggirardin@sbcglobal.net

                                                                             Secretary         Mark Jeffery      jefamily@wowway.com

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NEXT MEETING:    May 3rd,  2009       7:30 PM

           
                                                                        

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Links to other club sites:

Astronomy in Michigan  NEW
Warren Astronomical Society (WAS)
Seven Ponds Astronomy Club
Ford Astronomy Club

GLAAC

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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                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0209.html       OAC Newsletter Feb 2009                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0309.html       OAC Newsletter Mar 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

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