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OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                       OCTOBER 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)   
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                                                                                                                                                                               (Newsletter html site)                                
                                                                                                                                                                            Addison Oaks  Sky Clock  Link 

                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                   
LAST MEETING
Minutes from October 12, 2008
M. Jeffery, Secretary                                                                                                                                            
                                                             
Opening
President Jim Saoud called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.     
9 members present, 0 guests

 Sky-at-a-Glance

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

Over a dozen OAC members attended the Great Lakes Star Gaze in Gladwin to enjoy dark skies on a hilltop.   Bob Berta's stunning image of the Rosette Nebula took First Prize in the Astrophoto contest.  CONGRATS BOB !   It was agreed that Jim Ehlers' classic cassegrain scope was the most impressive for visual observers, capable of magnifications up to 800X without losing contrast on such targets as the Blinking Eye nebula.

Future
                    Nov 22nd  8-10pm at the Wint Nature Center    
Observing Night Contacts  -  Addison Oaks 

Contact for:      
                          
                          Nov 21         John McSorley      248 879 4630  
                          Nov 28-29    Dave Holt              248 674 1950

Business Meeting:

· Bill Girardin gave the financial report.   All income so far this year has been from dues.   Most expenses have been for insurance and association fees.    Although the Club's cash flow is currently negative, it is felt this will improve later in the year as 2009 dues are collected.     The OAC account is being transferred to a different bank to reduce fees.

Presentations:

Mark Jeffery circulated an iron meteorite specimen from Russia (Eastern Siberia) thought to have originated from the Sikhote fireball of 2-12-1947.    Original size of the impactor is estimated to be about 70 tons.

General Discussion:                                                                                                                                                      Mark Jeffery inquired about progress on an alternative to the long aluminum step ladder at the Addison Oaks site---something with deeper steps and more stable.   Dave Holt said he is working on something that may be suitable if it fits in the dog house.   The issue will continue to be investigated.

Mark Jeffery also asked about the orange marker cones or signs for the Addison Oaks site to help guests find their way across the field in the dark.    Jim Saoud said he is trying to find something suitable.

Bill MacIntosh reported the Addison Oaks Sky Clock is now displaying the Club Logo as a sponsor with a link to our webpage. (Click on the link at the top of the newsletter to check it out.)     

Bill Lomaka discussed dates and location for Scout events, perhaps in April or May 2009.                                          
                                                                           


Adjournment:   9:10 PM
Next Meeting:    Sunday, November 9th, 7:30 pm


For Current MoonPhase click HERE
The Sky-at-a-Glance
by Bill Girardin
  Telescope blink
MOON     
                    FM     Tue, Oct 14  The Hunter's Moon                                                                                                                                                      
                    LQ      Tue, Oct 21
                    NM     Tue, Oct 28                                                                                                                              
                    FQ      Wed, Nov 5

METEORS:
                   The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks the morning of October 21, but moonlight will interfere with viewing

PLANETS
                  MERCURY   Dusk,  W,  Mag .2, reaches greatest elongation on Oct 22
                  VENUS          Dusk,  SW, Mag -4.0, 13 degrees off horizon        
                  MARS           Mostly hidden in the Sun's glare all month  
                  JUPITER       Evening, SW, Mag -2.3, N of Teapot
                  SATURN       Dawn, E  Mag 1.0
                  URANUS       In Aquarius
                  NEPTUNE     In Capricornus

            
CONSTELLATION PICKS & HIGHLIGHTS:

     CASSIOPEIA,  The Queen
            M52  OC,  Mag 7
            NGC7789, OC  Mag 6.7

     LACERTA- The Lizard, founded in 1687
           Open Cluster 7243,  Mag 8, Dist 2800 LY, West of Alpha, contains about 40 stars
           Open Cluster 7209   Mag 9, Dist 2900 LY,  Border of Cygnus

    ANDROMEDA,  The Princess
           M31 Galaxy,  Mag 3.4, distance est 2.2 million LY, the only naked eye galaxy.
           M32 Galaxy,  Mag 8.1
           M110 Galaxy,  Mag 8.1

                                                                                                        CASSEOPEIA  
Cassiopeia Map
                                                                 For a larger and clickable image of this map that will take you to 
                                                                                         DSO pics arrowed, go HERE
   
 
     PEGASUS,  The Winged Horse, the Great Square
           NGC7331 Galaxy,  Mag 9.5 NW of Beta
           NGC7320 Galaxy group, known as Stephan's quintet

     PISCES,  The fish
           Alpha is also called Alrisha (Arabic for knot)
           Circlet Asterism, S of Pegasus square
    
DSO PICK:
           NGC 7789   ( See feature below)
                               

 

                                                                                                                                                             


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

                      

   NGC 7889        Open Cluster                                                                          Distance = 7,000 LY                                          
NGC 7789 Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, this beauty is readily picked up in binos (see chart above).

The cluster is estimated to contain over 1000 stars and spans a whopping 40 LY.      Many are thought to be billions of years old and may have already entered the red-giant phase.

It is one of several really nice targets in Cassiopeia that are rewarding views for amateur scopes.

RA          23 : 57.0 (h:m)
DEC      +56 : 44 (deg:m)
Visual Brightness:    Mag  6.7
Apparent Dimension:   16 (arc min)



For more details click link:
 http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n7789.html
 
Image Credit:  Stuart Heggie, 80mm Orion Refractor  
Image details:  http://www.astrofoto.ca/stuartheggie/ccd_photos/NGC7789_RGB_ED80.html  
  		            Constellation:  CASSIOPEIA

 
 


COOL LINK THIS MONTH:

A whole LOT of NASA pics, conveniently organized on one site.

NASA PICS


Thanks to Guy Maxim for this link


                                                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.                               



RECENT EVENTS

The GREAT LAKES STAR GAZE VI

Images courtesy of Jon Blum
 
 
                                
 
                    Kevin Keyes, John McSorley, Mark Javit & Dave Holt                                                                   A most unusual DOB
     
 
oac at glsg6 glsg6 DOB



CRANBROOK PRESENTATION
Friday, October 17, 2008
Well over 100 local amateur astronomers and interested guests attended Dr. Paul Goldsmith's  presentation titled "The Road to Stardom in the Milky Way," which focused on the role of molecular clouds in star formation.      Key to this on-going process appears to be molecular Hydrogen (H2) of which there is a great abundance in the galaxy amounting to billions of solar-mass equivalent.     

                              Packed auditorium at Cranbrook                                                                          Dr. Goldsmith and Bob Berta                                                                                                                                                            
cranbrook paul&bob


          This program was the first Multi-Club sponsored event of its kind in the region., and Cranbrook's future support depended on its success.    
Many thanks to all area clubs  !!


ASTRO-FACTOID OF THE MONTH


DID YOU KNOW?  

    How many Supernovae explode in the Universe each second?     Astronomers estimate about 7 supernovae occur every millenium in a galaxy that shines as bright as 10 billion suns.    So, combining data that projects the total number of galaxies in the observable Universe,   that works out to about 40 supernovae exploding somewhere every second !!!
     Of course, light from most of these events won't reach Earth for billions of years, if ever......

                                                                                       Source:     ASTRONOMY,  October 2008,  P. 72
 
 
   

PERSPECTIVES


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


what is it



                                       Nope, it doesn't have a Messier number                                        
                        No, it's not a Hubble image                                           
                              HINT:  It has a NAME, besides an NGC number                  
                                                    
                  Click HERE for the answer                                     






 

FUNZIES

shuttlewash



   Credit & Copyright:    Jim Bertram
Used with permission from the artist

  

   
     
                                                                 
 
 
 
     
CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH

Comet Hale-Bopp Against the Milky Way
 
  Hale Bopp


Image Credit:    Don DeNatale


 


  
launch

CLUB DUES 

Membership is $35 annually
If you are unable to make the next meeting and wish to support OAC
with your 2008-09 dues, you can mail your check payable to

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


NEXT MEETING:    November 9th,  2008       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



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





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