Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California

On August 27, 2003 Mars will be closer to earth that it has been at any time in recorded history. This will be the best time to view surface details of Mars of the next 15 years. Accordingly our August program will be on Observing Mars. This will be an interactive program. If you have advice, tales, or souvenirs of observing Mars please bring them along.

Monday, August 4, 2003: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, August 29, 2003 — Star Party, see below.

Monday, September 8, 2003: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m.

(Note that this meeting is on the second Monday of the month because of the Labor Day weekend)

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, 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.

With the New Moon on the 27^th, the best evening deep sky observing will be on the 19^th through the end of the month. On Friday, the 29^th, the night of the CLAS star party, the Sun sets at 19:22 PDT and the end of astronomical twilight is at 20:52. The Moon, setting soon after at 20:55, should not interfere with deep sky observing.

Planets: Mars is the planet to watch in August--the best Mars observing opportunity we’ll every see. Numerous observing tips are found in the July and August issues of Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. On the 29^th, Mars rises at 19:39 and transits the meridian at 00:54 on the 30^th so best views are still late in the evening. Uranus and Neptune, which also reach their oppositions during August, are both located in same general part of the sky as Mars. So when Mars observing is good, Uranus (blue-green, mag. 5.7) and Neptune (blue, mag. 7.8) observing should also be good. A finder chart for Uranus and Neptune can be found in the August Astronomy magazine or the April issue of S&T.

Binocular and Telescope Highlights: On the meridian in the later half August we find Sagittarius in the south; Hercules, Cygnus, and Lyra overhead; and Draco in the north. Lots of spectacular sights to be found in/near these constellations (e.g., M6 (Butterfly Cluster), M8 (Lagoon Nebula), M20 (Trifid Nebula), M22 (globular cluster), M24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud), M16 (Eagle Nebula), M17 (Swan Nebula), M11 (Wild Duck Cluster), M13 (Hercules Cluster), M57 (Ring Nebula), M27 (Dumbbell Nebula), and NGC6543 (Cats Eye Nebula)). August is a great month to be scanning the Milky Way with binoculars. From Scorpius and Sagittarius in the south, through Cygnus overhead, to Cassiopeia in the northeast, various colorful single and multiple stars, star clusters, and glowing gaseous nebulae can be observed.

CLAS will put on an astronomy program at the Tillie Creek Campground, located on the west side of Lake Isabella near Wofford Heights, on Saturday, August 2. There will be a slide show presentation at 8:30 p.m. followed by viewing though CLAS members’ telescopes from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. Several telescopes are usually needed, as 50 to 100 campers typically attend the program. Anyone wanting to bring a telescope to help with the observing should contact Carroll Evans (375-5681, clevans@ridgenet.net).

CLAS will put on a public star party at the Black Rock Ranger Station heliport on Saturday, August 23 from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Black Rock Ranger Station is located above Kennedy Meadows a couple of miles past the Troy Meadows campground. The altitude of the site is about 8000 feet, and in the past the sky has been very dark and the viewing exceptional. In the past, CLAS members with telescopes have been allowed to continue viewing through their telescopes for as long as desired after the campers have departed, and most of us have car-camped overnight at the heliport. CLAS members wanting to participate should contact Carroll Evans (375-5681, clevans@ridgenet.net).

Our June star party was held on Friday the 27th. Weather conditions were mostly good, but there were smoke traces and a breeze around sunset that hampered viewing somewhat. Jupiter was the showpiece in the western sky during the evening hours. This is a convenient position for observers who like to observe briefly after sunset and then get a long night of sleep. Seasonal objects included the M3 and M51 (Whirlpool) Galaxies in Canes Venatici. In Hercules we saw the large M13 and the smaller M92 clusters. Overhead there was the M57(Ring)Nebula in Lyra and the M27 (Dumbbell) Nebula in Vulpecula. Albireo was found in several telescopes in Cygnus, but the wind interfered with other Cygnus observables. The M44 (Beehive) cluster was seen in Cancer along with the M65 and M66 Galaxies in Leo. There was a clear spot around the Ml 04 (Sombrero) Galaxy in Virgo. The M4 globular cluster and the M6 (Butterfly) and M7 open clusters were seen in Scorpius. On the southern horizon, the M8(Lagoon), MI7(Swan), and M20(Trifid) Nebulae provided interesting images in Sagittarius.

ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION VIA EARL TOWSON

July 18, 2003 - Mars Rover Opportunity Mission Status: NASA's Opportunity spacecraft made its first trajectory correction maneuver, a scheduled operation to fine-tune its Mars-bound trajectory, or flight path. "It looks like a beautiful burn - The thrusters fired correctly. We're on course for putting both spacecraft on Mars." As of 6 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time July 19, Opportunity will have traveled 31.5 million kilometers (19.6 million miles) since its July 7 launch. Spirit, launched on June 10, will have traveled 106.9 million kilometers (66.4 million miles). Spirit completed its first trajectory correction maneuver three weeks ago. Additional information about the project is available from JPL http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer.

AUSTRALIAN OBSERVATORY DESTROYED BY FIRE TO BE REBUILT: In early 2003 bushfires destroyed much of Australia's Stromlo Observatory, including five telescopes and several support buildings. On Sunday, July 13, the Australian National University unveiled plans to rebuild the facilities on Mt Stromlo. In addition to building two new telescopes (including a two-meter robotic telescope), the University will also reconstruct several heritage buildings destroyed in the fire.  http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~brian/press/top.htm

ANCIENT PLANETS: Some 13 billion years ago in a distant cluster of stars, a planet formed. Remarkably it's still there, according to astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope. The confirmation of this ancient world means planets formed very early in the history of our universe--only one or two billion years after the Big Bang itself. Orbiting a pair of burned-out stars in the crowded globular cluster "M4", the planet is too small to see from Earth. Backyard sky watchers can, however, see the star cluster in which it lives. Read today's story for sky maps and more information.
FULL STORY at Ancient Planet

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)

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.