SKYWATCHERS
NEWSLETTER OF THE CHINA LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 40 No. 6 June 1, 2003
NEXT MEETING 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 2, 2003
Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California
JUNE 2 MEETING :
In May we talked about QUASARS which are not readily observable, and
in July Geologist Gary Petersen will be taking to us about Venus. In
between, it will be time for another program on observing. Dave
Hollingsworth will lead discussions of two timely observational
topics in June. The first item will be light pollution and positive
ways of dealing with it. The finale will be techniques for locating
objects that are not visible to the naked eye.
DATES TO KEEP IN MIND
Monday, June 2, 2003: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum
in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25. 2003: Deadline for next Skywatchers Newsletter
Friday, June 27, 2003 - Star Party, see below.
Monday, July 7, 2003: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in
Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.
STAR PARTY SCHEDULE FOR THE 2003 SEASON:
Star Parties will be held on the dates listed below. Star Parties
are an activity where members and guests join together to share views
of the skies. If you have a telescope, bring it. If not, come and
look through someone else's. Star parties are held at a site in the
open desert south of Ridgecrest. To reach the star party site from
Ridgecrest, go south on China Lake Boulevard 6.5 miles from its
intersection with Ridgecrest Boulevard. Continue straight across
Highway 395 and you will be on Brown Road (Old Highway 395). Follow
Brown Road as it curves to the right and goes west. After 2.3 miles
there will be a 30-inch orange cone on the left. Turn left and
follow the dirt road marked by 12-inch cones. The CLAS Star party is
0.5 miles along this road. Watch for signs and cones, which will be
put out about a half-hour before viewing starts. Call Carroll Evans
760-375-5681, or Bruce Churchill 760-375-7247, for more information.
Friday, June 27--Signs out at 8:30 p.m., Star viewing at 9:00 p.m.
Friday, July 25--Signs out at 8:30 p.m., Star viewing at 9:00 p.m.
Friday, August 29--Signs out at 8:00 p.m., Star viewing at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, September 26--Signs out at 7:00 p.m., Star viewing at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 24--Signs out at 6:30 p.m., Star viewing at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, November 21--Signs out at 6:30 p.m., Star viewing at 7:00 p.m.
BRIEF ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR FOR JUNE 2003 (David Hollingsworth)
June 3 Mercury at greatest elongation, 240 west of the Sun
in the morning sky.
June 7 First quarter Moon at 1:28 p.m. PDT.
June 14 Full Moon at 4:16 a.m. PDT.
June 21 Last quarter Moon at 7:45 a.m. PDT. Mercury is 0.50 south
(lower right) of Venus. Summer begins at the Solstice, 12:10 p.m.
PDT.
June 29 New Moon at 11:39 a.m. PDT.
OBSERVING IN JUNE 2003 (David Hollingsworth)
On Friday, the 27th, the night of the CLAS star party, the Sun sets
at 20:13 PDT and the end of astronomical twilight is not until 22:04.
So observing of faint objects will start rather late in the evening.
Unless otherwise stated, descriptions that follow are for observing
on the 27th from Ridgecrest.
Planets: Jupiter is getting low in the west, but, due to its
brightness, should still provide good views during the evening
twilight hours of June. Saturn is gone. Mars is rising near
midnight in Aquarius at month's end, just a few degrees northwest of
Uranus, growing to 17" apparent diameter, large enough for surface
features to be seen. Best Mars observing in June is at month's end
in the early morning hours when Mars is at its highest in the
southeast, a little over 300. While observing Mars, look for nearby
Uranus (mag. 5.8) and Neptune (mag. 7.9, in Cap). Venus and Mercury
pair up in the predawn east-northeastern sky for most of June,
Mercury starting out 40 to Venus' right. They form a very close pair
(0.40 apart) on the 21st, before Mercury falls from view.
Binocular and Telescope Highlights: By the end of astronomical
twilight on the 27th, galaxies in Leo (e.g., M65 and M66), Virgo
(e.g., M84, M86, M87, and M 104), and Coma Berenices (e.g., M64--the
Blackeye Galaxy--and NGC 4565-the Spindle Galaxy) and globular
clusters M3 (CVn) and M53 (Com) can be seen in the west. Notable
globular clusters M5 (Ser) and M4 (Sco) are found high and low,
respectively, in the south. High in the east are found globular
clusters M13 (the Hercules Cluster) and M92. Midway up from the
eastern horizon are found the well-known Dumbbell (M27) and Ring
(M57) Nebulae. About midway between these two nebulae is the blue
and gold double, Albireo. About 5 south of Albireo is the Coathanger
Cluster (Cr 399, a.k.a. Brocchi's Cluster). Another colorful double
is alpha Herculis, located near the border between Hercules and
Ophiuchus. In the northwest, grouped around the now sinking Big
Dipper, are found galaxies M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy), M101, M81, and
M82 and planetary nebula M97 (Owl Nebula).
APRIL STAR PARTY REPORT (Bruce Churchill)
Our April star party was held on Friday the twenty-fifth. The sky
was quite clear, but a moderate wind made our observations less than
ideal. Jupiter and Saturn were the highlights of the early evening.
Both provided exciting views with different scopes and lenses.
Seasonal deep sky objects included in M81, M82(Exploding galaxy), and
M101 (Pinwheel galaxy) in Ursa Major. M3, M51(Whirlpool Galaxy), and
M63(Sunflower galaxy) in seen in nearby Canes Venatici. M49 and
M104(Sombrero Galaxy) were looking good in Virgo. M65 and M66 are an
interesting pair in Leo
OUTREACH PROGRAM MAY 1, 2003
David Hollingsworth and Carroll Evans went to Camp 3 on the Kern
River and presented an astronomical program to students from the
Kern Valley Middle School. The program was presented in spite of
complete overcast and a bit of rain. The students had lots of
questions, and enjoyed the presentation. Our thanks also to those
CLAS members who would have set up telescopes had it been clear.
MORE OUTREACH
The annual Kern Regional Biofest was held on April 26, 2003. Kiran
Mehra took his Televue TV-85 refractor, with the club's hydrogen
alpha filter, to Circle Park in Kernville. From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. he showed images of the Sun and its prominences to the public.
The prominences were quite visible at 46 power. The refractor was
piggy-backed on Kiran's Celestron N11 with its Baader white light
filter. The Celestron was used to provide images of sunspots, thus
two views of the Sun as a reward for standing in line once.
In the evening, at the South Fork School, Roger Brower presented a
slide show, and telescopes were used to provide as good a view as
possible under less than ideal sky conditions.
Two weeks after the Biofest, Kiran took the same telescope setup to
River Park in Kernville, for the Rotary Club's Car Show and Picnic.
SUMMER OUTREACH FOR THE FOREST SERVICE
We will most probably do lectures and telescope viewing at Tillie
Creek campground and Black Rock Ranger Station again this summer, but
plans have not yet jelled.
PUBLIC VIEWING AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM OBSERVATORY (Carroll L. Evans Jr.)
On May 8 CLAS members operated the Maturango Museum's observatory,
with its 8" Meade LX-200, in the first of a series of occasional
Thursday evening open houses. This was also opening night for the
Desert Empire Fair's Spring Festival. Traditionally, Fair opening
means wind, and this evening was no exception. Attendance at both
events suffered. Two Maturango Museum members showed up, based on
the premise that there would not be much competition for viewing.
The next viewing is scheduled for June 5.
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON
Thursday evening May 15 residents of the Indian Wells Valley (along
with the rest of the hemisphere) were treated to a total eclipse of
the Moon. The usual copper color was visible, but not to the extent
sometimes seen.
CHECK OUT THIS URL ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Robert Richards, our Philadelphia correspondent, suggests
http://www.digitalglobe.com
Follow the Image Archive link for spectacular views of the earth from space.
BLANK SPACE IN THIS NEWSLETTER
See, there is room for your contribution! As I have said before,
this is a club newsletter, so feel free to contribute. Email
submissions are preferred, but any written means of communication
will be gratefully received. Even oral communication can be handled.
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--TREASURER - Carroll Evans (email clevans@ridgenet.net)
NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Carroll Evans Jr. - 760-375-5681 (email
clevans@ridgenet.net)
WESTERN AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS WEB SITE
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
NEXT MEETING: 7:30 p.m., MONDAY, June 2, 2003 - "OBSERVING"
AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM, 100 EAST LAS FLORES AVE
CLAS WEB PAGE