SKYWATCHERS NEWSLETTER OF THE CHINA LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Volume 41 No. 5 May 1, 2004 NEXT MEETING 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 3, 2004 Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California MAY 3 MEETING JPL scientist and well known amateur astronomer Steve Edberg will again visit us. This time his topic will be the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM).This is an orbiting interferometer that will link a pair of telescopes to function in unison as a much larger "virtual telescope." One goal is to detect planets of varying sizes -- from huge planets several times the size of Jupiter down to planets about as massive as Earth. It will do this by precisely locating nearby stars and looking for signs of any wobble in their positions, which may indicate that gravity from orbiting planets is tugging at them. In addition, the mission will determine positions and distances to stars with an accuracy several hundred times greater than current technology allows. SIM will open the era of "precision astrophysics." It will permit the construction of a "street map" to our Milky Way galaxy which could lead to breakthrough discoveries in astronomy. The mission will determine the distances to important signposts throughout the Milky Way as well as the motions of nearby galaxies and it can study the activity deep in the cores of external galaxies. All of this will help us expand our understanding of the universe. Stephen J. Edberg has been an active amateur astronomer since 1966 and has worked professionally in the field since 1970. At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1979, he has worked on missions including Galileo and the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby and was a discipline specialist for the International Halley Watch. He is presently System Scientist for the Space Interferometry Mission and Remote Sensing Discipline Scientist for the Cassini Program, working with the Cross-Discipline Target Working Team. He has authored numerous classroom activities designed to bring planetary exploration into the classroom and was a managing editor of the Saturn Educator Guide. His photography, research, instruments, and writing have appeared in professional journals, in popular periodicals, and in several books. He has been honored by the International Astronomical Union with the naming of a minor planet, 3672 Stevedberg, and is a recipient of NASA's Exceptional Service Medal and a JPL Award for Excellence. DATES TO KEEP IN MIND Monday, May 3, 2004: Regular monthly meeting, see above. Wednesday, May 26, 2004; Deadline for next Skywatchers Newsletter Friday, June 18, 2004: Regular star party, see below. Monday, June 7, 2004: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m. STAR PARTY SCHEDULE FOR THE 2004 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, May 21--Signs out at 8:30 p.m., Star viewing at 9:00 p.m. Friday, June 18--Signs out at 8:30 p.m., Star viewing at 9:00 p.m. Friday, July 16--Signs out at 8:30 p.m., Star viewing at 9:00 p.m. Friday, August 13--Signs out at 8:00 p.m., Star viewing at 8:30 p.m. Friday, September 10--Signs out at 7:00 p.m., Star viewing at 8:00 p.m. Friday, October 15--Signs out at 6:30 p.m., Star viewing at 7:00 p.m. Friday, November 12--Signs out at 6:30 p.m., Star viewing at 7:00 p.m. THE SKY IN MAY (Roger Brower) 1. Venus is high in the southwest at the start of the month but by the end of the month it drops almost out of sight. 2. Saturn remains a fine evening object this month but it to will be moving quickly towards the setting sun. 3. Jupiter now appears high in the south at sunset and will provide great evening viewing all month. 4. Mars still shines ever more faintly in the southwest as it to moves slowly toward the sun. 5. Mercury moves to the morning sky and will be visible for a few days in mid May. 6. The big events of the month will be two Comets. The main one is comet C/2001 Q4, which will pass near the beehive cluster on May 14th. Also, Comet C/2002 T7 may also be visible during the month. See guides in Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. REPORT ON THE APRIL STAR PARTY Our April star party was held on Friday the 16th. It was a cloudy, windy day in our valley, and prospects for good viewing were not favorable. But the clouds cleared before sunset, and by 9:30 p.m. the wind was much less. The result was a much better night than anyone could have expected, but a relatively small number of viewers were on hand. The planetary attractions of the evening were Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn were particularly impressive. Seasonal objects included M97 (Owl Nebula) and M101 (Pinwheel galaxy) in Ursa Major. In nearby Canes Venatici, we saw the M3 globular cluster, M51 (Whirlpool), and M63 (Sunflower galaxy). Closer to the zenith, M65 and M66 were impressive in Leo. The M44 (Beehive) was seen in Cancer. Those of us who came and hoped for good weather were rewarded. FUTURE OUTREACH We have again been invited to participate in the annual week long campout of Kern River Valley Middle School students. We don't have to spend the week, but we will bring our telescopes the evening of Thursday April 29. Please contact Carroll Evans for details if you can join us. DESERT SUNSET STAR PARTY - MAY 13 - 16, 2004 The 2004 Desert Sunset Star Party will be held at the Caballo Loco Ranch, about 11.5 miles south of Three Points, AZ, on Rt. 286, and then east for 8 miles. This RV ranch is in a secluded area of Arizona with dark skies. The Sierrita Mountains block the light dome of Tucson. The domes of Kitt Peak are in clear view to the west. The DSSP begins on Thursday night and runs through Saturday night. We will have a speaker on both Friday and Saturday evenings along with door prize giveaways. Registration information is posted on the DSSP website - http://chartmarker.tripod.com/sunset.htm Pat and Arleen Heimann - Chart Markers and More GREEN LASER POINTERS Green laser pointers are available at the low price of $70.00 each, if purchased by CLAS in quantities of ten. CLAS ordered, received, and distributed an initial order of fifteen. A second group of ten has been received. Contact Roger Brower at 760-375-1181 to see if any have not yet been sold. HANDBOOKS AND CALENDARS FOR 2004 ARE STILL AVAILABLE. The Royal Canadian Astronomical Society of Canada publishes both the Observer's Handbook and the Observer's Calendar. They have been received, and we will hold the price at $15.00 and $10.00. They will be available at the April meeting, or by arrangement with Roger Brower at 760-375-1181 or email brower@iwvisp.com. ASTRONOMY NEWS, COURTESY OF EARL TOWSON SPACE ENGINEERING & MISSION STATUS: SOHO SEES ITS 750TH COMET: The joint European/NASA SOHO solar observatory spacecraft has discovered its 750th comet. The finding was made by the German amateur astronomer Sebastian Honig, one of the most successful SOHO comet-hunters. It was a part of the Kreutz family of "sungrazing" comets, which usually evaporate in the hot solar atmosphere. http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0404/11sohocomet/ FOR YOUR INTEREST Hello astronomers! I would like to inform you that we recently created a website about the transit of Venus : www.venus2004.org. This website is a part of www.futura-sciences.com ( website created by voluntary, who received many awards. Futura-Sciences is visited by 15000 people per day and is supported by many scientists ). Venus2004 has been created to inform people using news, files, security advises.... But we are also doing a very important action to gather observers to calculate the astronomical unit. A contact section http://www.venus2004.org/en/calculs.php is already open! Register for this international adventure! We would be happy if you would help us promoting our action to calculate the astronomical unit! We are open to any partnership proposal. Best regards, Olivier POCH VŽnus2004.org Coordinateur Univers Au coeur de la science! 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 $49.00 per year Membership with Sky and Telescope magazine $53.00 per year Membership with both S & T and Astronomy $82.00 per year Send your check to: Roger Brower, Treasurer, China Lake Astronomical Society, P.O. Box 1783, Ridgecrest, CA 93556. PRESIDENT - Earl Wilson - (email zearlw@hotmail.com) VICE-PRESIDENT - Bruce Churchill - 760-375-7247 (email bchurchill@atsecure.net) SECRETARY - Ted Hodgkinson - 661- 824-2738 (email longeyes@antelecom.net) TREASURER - 760-375-1181 (email brower@iwvisp.com) 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, May 3, 2004: Steve Edberg "Space Interferometry Mission" AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM, 100 EAST LAS FLORES AVE. CLAS WEB PAGE INDEX OF CLAS NEWSLETTERS