SKYWATCHERS NEWSLETTER OF THE CHINA LAKE ASTONOMICAL SOCIETY Volume 41 No. 6 June 1, 2004 NEXT MEETING 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 7, 2004 Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California JUNE 7 MEETING Geologist Gary Peterson from San Diego State University will pay us a return visit in June. Dr. Peterson has studied the geology of Mars, Venus, Mercury and the Moon as well as Earth. During previous visits he has presented a number of creative interpretations of surface characteristics of Mars and Venus. This year the focus will be on Mercury. Surface images of Mercury are limited to those captured by Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975 revealing a heavily cratered surface. These images will be compared to more plentiful images of the Moon. We will see that there are some surprising differences between the Mercurial and Lunar surfaces. DATES TO KEEP IN MIND Monday, June 7, 2004: Regular monthly meeting, see above. Wednesday, June 30, 2004: Deadline for next Skywatchers Newsletter Friday, June 18, 2004: Regular star party, see below. Monday, July 12, 2004: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m. Note that the July meeting is a week later than normal, because of the Fourth of July holiday. 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, 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. OUTREACH (Carroll Evans) We have again participated in the annual week long campout of Kern River Valley Middle School students. This year was at the Hungry Gulch Campground. The evening of April 29 began with an excellent meal. It helped that a couple of the parents were in the right business. We set up telescopes for an appreciative audience. Thanks to Rich Burdge, Chris Quinnert, and Rick Crockett for bringing their scopes. CLAS also participated in the annual Kern River Valley Biofest. Carroll Evans gave an astronomical slide show to a small but good audience, who were then treated to views of planets and a lot of Moon. THE SKY IN JUNE (Roger Brower) 1. Venus will be the star attraction this month as it makes a rare transit of the sun. This last occurred Dec. 6, 1882. The event happens on June 8th and will be at least partially viewable from most of the Earth. Unfortunately Southern California is not in the viewing area. 2. Saturn remains in the evening sky but will quickly be lost in the sun's glare by the end of the month. 3. Jupiter now appears in the southwest at sunset and will provide early evening viewing all month. 4. Mars still shines ever more faintly in the southwest as it to moves slowly toward the sun. 5. Two Comets, C/2001 Q4(Neat) and C/2002 T7(Linear) remain in the sky. See finder guides in Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. REPORT ON THE MAY STAR PARTY (Bruce Churchill) Our May star party was held on Friday the 21st. The skies were relatively clear, but a stiff wind made viewing less than ideal. The highlight of the evening was Comet NEAT which was barely visible to the naked eye. Under magnification it was larger but no clearer because of the wind Venus was tin crescent in the early evening. Saturn was still in good position in the early evening and the images were good between gusts of wind. Jupiter was also in a good position. We were also able to see a few seasonal objects such as galaxies in Ursa Major, and Leo. M57 (Ring Nebula) was also observed in Lyra. DON BEVIS 1927 - 2004 Don Bevis, a founding member of the China Lake Astronomical Society, passed away a few days ago on May 21. Don will be remembered as a stalwart member of our club in its earlier days. A highlight of each meeting was Don giving us the celestial calendar for the upcoming month. Again in earlier days, Don and Carroll were the C.L.A.S. delegates to the board meetings of the Western Amateur Astronomers. For several years Don taught the Evening High School Class called "Astronomical Instrument Design." It is true that we designed our telescopes, but then we proved the design by grinding the mirrors in the Navy's optics shop, under the watchful eye of our instructor. Let it be said that by the time Don let you quit, you had an excellent mirror. Don is survived by his wife Marion, two children, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. We will all miss him. HELP NEEDED (Carroll Evans) I received this email. Do you have any information about this? Dear Carroll, This is an odd question -- but about 25 years ago, a member of the China Lake Astronomical Society bought a second-hand 12-inch Cave Newtonian -- a observatory model, and a LONG one -- it was at least f/8. It came from Camp Uraniborg, a summer astronomy camp that I attended as a kid. By any chance, do you know who might have bought that telescope -- or even better -- do you know where it is now? Thank you! --John W. Briggs. ************************************* John W. Briggs National Solar Observatory Voice: 505-434-7098 Sunspot, NM 88349 Fax: 505-434-7029 Please let me know, and feel free to contact Mr. Briggs directly. HUMOR & BAD ASTRONOMY: (By way of Earl Towson) Subject: IQ Final test before a person can go to college: The following are all quotes from the science exam of 11 year old's. "H20 is hot water, and C02 is cold water" "To collect fumes of sulfur, hold a deacon over a flame in a test tube" "When you smell an odorless gas, it is probably carbon monoxide" "Water is composed of two gins, Oxygin and Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water." "The moon is a planet just like the earth, only it is even deader." "A super-saturated solution is one that holds more than it can hold." "The tides are a fight between the Earth and moon. All water tends towards the moon, because there is no water in the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight." "Equator: A menagerie lion running around the Earth through Africa." "Planet: A body of Earth surrounded by sky." MARS LANDER BEAGLE 2 WAS TOO RISKY, INQUIRY CONCLUDES: The British Beagle 2 spacecraft designed to search for life on the surface of Mars probably failed because of "programmatic and organizational reasons that led to a significantly higher risk" for the mission, investigators determined. The European Space Agency today released the lessons learned and recommendations for future missions. http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0405/24beagle2report/ 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, June 7, 2004: "The Geology of Mercury" AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM, 100 EAST LAS FLORES AVE. CLAS WEB PAGE INDEX OF CLAS NEWSLETTERS