starsglow

OAC logo

 starsglow


OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                       NOVEMBER 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 November 9, 2008
M. Jeffery, Secretary                                                                                                                                            
                                                             
Opening
President Jim Saoud called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.     
9 members present, 0 guests

Observing Reports & Past Events

Sky-at-a-Glance

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

Club Activities

Dave Holt and Mark Javit were at Addison Oaks last Saturday for observing.  Different ladders were evaluated and it seems the current one remains the best choice.  It was noted again that some of the deck boards are deteriorating and will soon need repair.    A few bucks and some volunteers should be planned for this fix.

Future
     Tenn Hut      Saturday,  Nov 22nd  8-10pm at the Wint Nature Center                 February 21st  8-10pm
              April 4th   9-11pm
              July 25th   9-11pm
              November 14th   8-10pm
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:

No presentations this month.   Bob Berta has developed one on "Video Astronomy" which we hope to enjoy in the near future.   Terry Coatta also has promised to present a video about the Mars Rovers.

It was announced that PBS is broadcasting a special on astronomy titled "Journey to Palomar" on channel 56.1 in both standard digital and HD on Monday 11/10, repeated early Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. for those who wish to record it.
General Discussion:                                                                                                                                                         
National Geographic has a cover story this month on dark skies,  titled "The End of Night---Why We Need Darkness." Here is a link to the website :     http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/light-pollution/klinkenborg-text
                                                                           
Cranbrook may get involved with Scout programs, some keyed to astronomy.

Nominations for 2009 Officers

o    Treasurer:  Bill Girardin     (nom. by Jim Saoud, 2nd by Dave Holt)
o    Secretary:  Mark Jeffery     (nom. by Bill Girardin, 2nd by Jim Saoud)
o    Vice Pres:  Bob Berta         (nom. by Bill Girardin, 2nd by Jim Saoud)
o    President:  Dave Holt         (nom. by Jim Saoud, 2nd by Bob Berta)
                    John McSorley     (nom. by Dave Holt, 2nd by Bill Girardin)


Adjournment:   8:50 PM
Next Meeting:    Sunday, December 14th, 7:30 pm


For Current MoonPhase click HERE
The Sky-at-a-Glance
by Bill Girardin
  Telescope blink
MOON     
                    FM     Wed, Nov  12  The Frosty or Beaver Moon                                                                                                                                                         LQ      Wed, Nov 19
                    NM    Thur , Nov 27                                                                                                                              
                    FQ      Fri, Dec  5

METEORS:
                   The Taurid Meteor Shower extends from late October through November with radiant near the Pleiades high in the sky starting in                      late evening.   Although averaging only 3 to 5 per hour, a few are brilliant and some fireballs (bolides) may be seen.

PLANETS
                  MERCURY   Not visible after Nov 8
                  VENUS          Dusk,  SW, Mag -4.0, 13 degrees off horizon        
                  MARS           Hidden in the Sun's glare all month  
                  JUPITER       Evening, SW, Mag -2.3, N of Teapot .   Just 2 degrees from Venus on Nov 30, joined by a crescent Moon.
                  SATURN       Dawn, E  Mag 1.0 near the tail of Leo
                  URANUS       In Aquarius
                  NEPTUNE     In Capricornus

            
CONSTELLATION PICKS & HIGHLIGHTS:

     CASSIOPEIA,  The Queen
            Eta - a fine yellow/orange double star nicely viewed in all scopes
            M103 - OC,  Mag 7.4
            NGC 884/869 - The famous Double Cluster,  Mag 3.5, can be viewed in binos and all size scopes
            Gamma -  A popular double star, orange/blue 

     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

     TRIANGULUM,  The Triangle
           M33  The Pinwheel Galaxy, Mag 5.7,  part of the Local Group

     CETUS,  The Whale.   4th largest constellation and among the earliest identified
           Mira - a long period variable star (330 days), the first variable discovered (1596)
           M77 -- Mag 9 spiral galaxy
           

                                                                                                           CETUS

Cetus Map
                                                               
                                                                                 Chart credit:  Chandra X Ray Center via Suite101.com
   

 
        
DSO PICK:
           M77   ( See feature below)
                               

 

                                                                                                                                                             


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

                      

   M77        Spiral Galaxy                                                                                   Distance = 60 Million  LY                                          
M 77 Discovered by Pierre Méchain October 24, 1790, this galaxy was added to the Messier list December 17, 1790.

Since there are few bright stars in Cetus, it can be difficult to locate without a computerized scope.   M77 was one of the first recognized spiral galaxies and listed by Lord Rosse as one of 14 "spiral nebulae" in 1850.

It is a Seyfert galaxy with an AGN (Cetus A, a strong radio source).   M77 is estimated to contain about 1 trillion solar masses.

RA              2 : 42.70 (h:m)
DEC        -00 : 01 (deg:m)
Apparent Magnitude:    8.8
Apparent Dimension:    6.9 (arc min)


For more details click link:
http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m077
Image Credit:  R Jay GaBany -- 20" RCOS, SBIG STL-11000   L=630 min, R=150 min, G=90 min, B= 180 min, all 1 x 1  (FULL SIZE CLICK BELOW)
Source details:  http://www.cosmotography.com/images/small_m77.html  
  		            Constellation:  CETUS

 
 


COOL LINK THIS MONTH:

A sometimes whacky but interesting collection of current astronomy news and images

http://www.astroengine.com


                                                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.                               


 
 
Editor's Review:     JOURNEY TO PALOMAR   (PBS Broadcast 11/10/08)

Although presented as a history of the "Great Telescopes" in the 20th Century (Yerkes, Wilson, Palomar), the program is more a biography of George Ellery Hale to whose conception they all owed their existence.    His persistence in wangling funds from wealthy benefactors and determination to succeed made these projects reality.   Hale was a leading advocate for science education, and his work was vital in establishing CalTech and later the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.    

The engineering and technical difficulties in building such precision instruments given the technology of the day is fascinating to watch..  Some prominent astronomers dismissed Hale's Palomar project as impossible.     For example, pouring the glass blank for the 200 inch met with multiple failures (bubbles, cracking, etc.) and they even tried quartz before the Corning Glass Works finally succeeded with Pyrex.

Unfortunately, George Ellery Hale did not live to see his penultimate creation completed on Palomar where the scope bears his name in honor.

The DVD is available from PBS with program history here:   http://www.pbs.org/thejourneytopalomar/
 

                             


ASTRO-FACTOID OF THE MONTH


DID YOU KNOW?  


Diamond Planet



    There could be DIAMOND planets around some stars.    Some astronomers suggest that when intermediate mass planets form around stars with an excess of carbon, then compounds like carbide ceramics can condense out of the gas cloud. Under high pressure, graphite would turn into diamond and could form layers of it many miles thick.

At least, that's the intriguing suggestion of Marc Kuchner of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Sara Seager of MIT. The process could be much the same way as certain meteorites form, the so-called enstatite chondrites in our solar system.

"The chemistry of some meteorites suggests that they could have formed from large quantities of carbon-rich dust.  Some meteorites even contain tiny diamonds," says Kuchner.   "All you have to do is imagine this same mix on a planet scale."

                                                                    Source:    ASTRONOMY,  November 2008,  P. 30

 
 
   

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:  Identify the FACE in the image                                    
                                                    
                  Click HERE for the answer                                     






 

FUNZIES

cow circles



   Credit & Copyright:      T. McCracken
http://www.mchumor.com

        
                                                                 
 
 
 
     
CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH

The Heart Nebula - Cassiopeia
IC 1805
Distance = 7,500 LY
 
 
  Heart Nebula, Berta


Image Credit:    Bob Berta

6" Refractor
15-20 minute exposures, various filters
6 hour total exposure time
Post processing with Maxim DL and PS2


 


  
launch

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:    December 14th,  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
                    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1008.html    OAC Newsletter Oct 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