SKYWATCHERS
NEWSLETTER OF THE CHINA LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Volume 39 No. 12        December 1, 2002

NEXT MEETING 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 2, 2002
Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California


DECEMBER 2 MEETING-ANDROMEDA
Andromeda is well positioned in the early evening sky this time of 
year, so it is a good time to talk about observing it.  We will 
discuss how to find the Andromeda galaxy, M31, with the naked eye. 
We'll also talk about how to find and observe nearby companions M32, 
M33 and M110.  We'll see what you can observe with different 
apertures and powers.

Last month's program on Observing Basics ran over out time limit. 
Because there was so much interest, we are scheduling a sequel when 
David Hollingsworth and Joe Bergeron are both available again in 
February.


DATES TO KEEP IN MIND
Monday, December 2, 2002:  Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango 
Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, December 23, 2002:  Deadline for next Skywatchers Newsletter
Monday, January 6, 2003: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum 
in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.
The next star party will be in March 2003.


BRIEF ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER 2002 (David Hollingsworth)
Dec 4           New Moon.
Dec 6           Venus at greatest brilliancy (mag. -4.7).
Dec 11          First quarter Moon.
Dec 14          Geminid meteor shower peaks.
Dec 19          Full Moon.
Dec 21          Winter Solstice at 5:14 p.m. PST.
Dec 25          Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation (200)
Dec 26          Last quarter Moon.


OBSERVING IN DECEMBER 2002 (David Hollingsworth)
With the new Moon on the 4th, the best deep sky observing will be 
from 27 Nov through 8 Dec and again from 26 Dec through 4 Jan 2003. 
Though there is no scheduled public star party in December, there are 
many so many fine early-winter observing highlights that you 
shouldn't let the cold weather stop you.  Get out your down jackets, 
wool hats, and gloves!
Meteor Showers: The Geminid meteor shower peaks at about 1 a.m. PST 
on the 14th.  As opposed to the rather high Full Moon that made most 
of the Leonids invisible in this past Nov, the 0.75 phase waxing 
gibbous Moon will be only a few degrees above the western horizon 
when the Geminids peak.  The Geminids are known to provide many 
bright streaks and trails visible in binoculars.
Planets:  Saturn is at opposition on 17 Dec and its ring system is 
tilted at its maximum toward us.  Astronomy magazine reports that it 
will appear bigger and brighter than at any time in the past 30 
years.  So look long and often.  Saturn will be high enough 
throughout December for good observing by 8 or 9 p.m.  Jupiter won't 
be high enough for good views until late in the evening in December. 
Venus and Mars can be seen side by side in the morning sky all month. 
The waning crescent Moon joins Venus and Mars in a 30 field of view 
early the morning of 1 Dec.  By month's end Venus's phase has grown 
from 0.22 to 0.44.
Binocular and Telescope Highlights: In Andromeda, high in the west, 
are NGC 7662 (the Blue Snowball planetary nebula) and M 31(the 
Andromeda Galaxy).  In Sculptor, low in the south, is NGC 253 (the 
Sculptor Galaxy).  High in the south, near zenith, in Triangulum, is 
M 33 (the Pinwheel Galaxy).  In the east, you'll find the Pleiades (M 
45), the Hyades, and M 1 (the Crab Nebula) in Taurus, and open 
clusters M 36, 37, and 38 in Auriga.  (M 1, which lies just a couple 
of degrees west of Saturn at the start of the month, lies only 17' 
west of Saturn by month's end.  Saturn appears to move through the 
Crab Nebula the 3rd through the 5th of January.  Observing this 
merger in one telescope field of view should be a challenge worth 
attempting.)  Finally, high in the north, in Perseus, lies the Double 
Cluster (NGC 869/884).  At the end of a string of stars about 20 in 
length, arcing away from the Double Cluster to the northwest, lies 
the 10 wide open cluster Stock 2.  See if you can see the "Muscle 
Man" in Stock 2.
Comets:  None this month.
Consult your star charts, computer programs, magazines, and 
observer's handbooks for other observing suggestions.


IMPORTANT NOTICE
The China Lake Astronomical Society elections will be held at the 
December 2 meeting.  Please consider being an officer.


REPORT ON THE NOVEMBER STAR PARTY-Bruce Churchill
Our November star party was held on Friday the second.  Despite some 
daytime cloudiness, we had very clear observing conditions when the 
sun set.  A few remnants of the summer sky were located early.  The 
M101 (Pinwheel) galaxy was low on the horizon in Ursa Major.  In 
Cygnus, the Beta star, Albireo is a beautiful blue and gold double. 
NGC  7000, the North American Nebula, and the huge Veil Nebula were 
also seen.  Andromeda is high in the evening these nights.  Therein, 
we saw M31, our nearest neighbor galaxy, M32, and M110.  We also saw 
Gamma Andromeda, the blue and gold double start that resembles 
Albireo.  M33 was observed in nearby Triangulum.  M76, the Little 
Dumbbell Nebula was found in Perseus, and to the south we saw NGC 
7009, the Saturn Nebula, and NGC 7923, the Helix Nebula, in Aquarius.


OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
On Saturday November 9 the Maturango Museum Observatory was operated 
for the public by Chuck Morgan and Roger Brower.  It was a very windy 
day, and the event had actually been called off,  but the weather got 
better, and Roger and Chuck were the hosts to about 30 members of the 
public.


NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED
This is the club newsletter, and members' participation is 
encouraged.  Email submission is preferred, but even markings on 
stone tablets will be transcribed.


OBSERVER'S HANDBOOKS AND CALENDARS ARE HERE
The Royal Canadian Astronomical Society Observer's Handbooks and 
Observer's Calendars for 2003 have arrived.  You can arrange for your 
copy by calling Carroll Evans at 760-375-5681 or sending an email to 
clevans@ridgenet.net.  We are selling the handbooks for $15.00 and 
the calendars for $10.00.  These items together make an excellent way 
to plan your astronomical activities for the coming year.  We have a 
few more than last year, but supplies are still limited, so order 
quickly.


DESERT SUNSET STAR PARTY, MAY 1-4, 2003
The Desert Sunset Star Party (DSSP) is one of the newest amateur 
astronomer star parties in the US, scheduled for May 1-4, 2003 at the 
Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, AZ.   Additional information 
and registration forms are now on our website. 
http://chartmarker.tripod.com/sunset.htm  
We invite you all to come and enjoy the dark southern Arizona skies and the 
many attractions in this area.

In the late afternoons as we wait for dinner, we will have a few of 
the seasoned amateurs and professionals demonstrating specialized 
techniques.  We will have a swap meet on Saturday afternoon followed 
by a contest for your homemade innovative astronomy gadget.

After dinner, attendees can listen to speakers at the amphitheater 
while we wait for the sun to set. We still have openings for speakers 
- please contact us if you are interested. We should have a good 
selection of door prizes donated from some local businesses and other 
vendors we have contacted in our star party travels.

During the days, we are encouraging attendees to visit places like 
Kitt Peak, the UA Mirror Lab and Flandrau Planetarium, the Pima Air 
and Space Museum and Titan Missile Silo, and of course the many 
non-astronomy
related sites such as the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Old Tombstone 
and much more.  Check our Day Trip links for details. (If you plan to 
tour Kartchner Caverns (advanced registration is required for this 
very
popular tour) you can access the Cavern tours through our Day Trip links.)

Chart Markers and More
Pat and Arleen Heimann
http://chartmarker.tripod.com


"NAME THE ROVERS" CONTEST
NASA has selected The Planetary Society and LEGO to run a contest for 
K-12 students in U.S. schools to select names for the twin Mars 
Exploration Rovers.  The Grand Prize winner's entry will be used to 
name the Mars Rovers. In addition, the Grand Prize includes a 
4-day/3-night expenses paid trip for four to witness the launch of 
the newly named rover at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This opportunity ends on January 31, 2003

For more information on how to enter these and other Red Rover Goes 
to Mars contests and activities go to:
http://www.redrovergoestomars.org/contests.html


HOW WERE THE LEONIDS FOR YOU?
What did you do to view the recent Leonid shower?  Did you look from 
your back yard?  Did you go to a dark place?  Did you photograph 
them?  Did you see any?  Let me, the editor, know what you did, and I 
will publish your comments.


MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION!
Basic CLAS dues are $20.00 per year, which includes the Skywatchers 
Newsletter.  As a benefit of membership you may also receive 
Astronomy Magazine and/or Sky and Telescope Magazine. The fee 
schedule is as follows:

        Basic membership        $20.00 per year
        Membership with Astronomy magazine      $44.00 per year
        Membership with Sky and Telescope magazine      $50.00 per year
        Membership with both S & T and Astronomy        $74.00 per year

Send your check to: Carroll Evans, Treasurer, China Lake Astronomical 
Society, P.O. Box 1783, Ridgecrest, CA 93556.

        PRESIDENT - Roger Brower - 760-375-1181 (email brower@iwvisp.com)
        VICE-PRESIDENT - Bruce Churchill - 760-375-7247  (email
bchurchill@atsecure.net)
        SECRETARY - Don Bell - 760-371-7739
        TREASURER - Carroll Evans (email clevans@ridgenet.net)
        NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Carroll Evans Jr. - 760-375-5681  (email 
clevans@ridgenet.net)

WESTERN AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS WEB SITE  
http://www.waa.av.org/


Meetings of the China Lake Astronomical Society are held at the 
Maturango Museum at 7:30 p.m. on the first Monday evening of each 
month, except when the first Monday is a holiday.



SKYWATCHERS
Newsletter of the
CHINA LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
POST OFFICE BOX 1783
RIDGECREST, CA 93556-1783


DEC MEETING: 7:30 p.m., MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2002  - "ANDROMEDA"
THE OBSERVER'S HANDBOOKS AND CALENDARS ARE HERE, SEE INSIDE
AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM, 100 EAST LAS  FLORES AVE.
CLAS WEB PAGE