Volume 41 No. 12 December 1, 2004 NEXT MEETING 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 6, 2004 Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue, Ridgecrest, California DECEMBER 6 MEETING - SPACE SHIP ONE Projects with a local flavor are always of special interest. At our December meeting C.L.A.S. member Jerry Ott will show us video clips of the voyages of Space Ship One. Space Ship one is in the news for having successfully flown from the Mojave Spaceport, most recently on October 4, the date of our previous meeting. Here is your chance to see more detailed views of the action. DATES TO KEEP IN MIND Monday, December 6, 2004, 7:30 p.m.: Regular monthly meeting, see above. (CLAS Elections will be held) Tuesday, December 21, 2004: Deadline for next Skywatchers Newsletter Monday, January 3, 2005: Regular CLAS Meeting at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, 7:30 p.m. PUBLIC STAR PARTIES WILL RESUME IN MARCH 2005 NOTICE OF ELECTION OF OFFICES Election of the officers of the China Lake Astronomical Society for 2005 will be held at the December meeting. CANADIAN HANDBOOKS AND CALENDARS ARE ON HAND We have an ample supply of the Royal Canadian Astronomical Society's Observers Handbook for 2005, plus their Observer's Calendar. They will be available at the December meeting, or by calling Roger Brower (375-1181) or Carroll Evans (375-5681). These products are invaluable aids to observing, and are $15.00 for the Handbook, and $10.00 for the calendar. THE SKY IN DECEMBER (Roger Brower) 1. Venus remains brilliant in the morning sky and presents a fine view in the east for early risers. 2. During early December, the much dimmer Mars joins Venus in the morning sky. 3. Saturn will rise about 8 p.m. on the 1st. Also, on the 1st, the moon will rise just after Saturn forming a fine pair. 4. Jupiter will rise about 2:30 a.m. on the 1st of December and just after midnight on New Year's Eve. 5. Mercury puts in an appearance during the end of the month and will be just 1.25 degrees from Venus on the 29th. 6. The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of the 13th and 14th. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT Missing, Canon 15X45 image stabilized binoculars, with hard case (1999 purchased). Last known used at Sept 10, 2004 star party. Determined missing just before Nov 12, 2004 star party. Has identifying damage to the battery holder door. $100 reward for the return, or information for the whereabouts and return. Contact Roger Young at 375-4997. REPORT ON THE NOVEMBER STAR PARTY (Roger Brower) Our last star party of the year was held on November 12th. It was a great night for November and there was a great turn out, both in scopes and in interested visitors. There were about 10 or 12 scopes and at least one pair of binoculars. We saw many of the Fall sights as well as some of the Winter ones coming up to the east. Most notable was M1 the Crab nebula in Taurus. Also, viewed were M31. M32, and M110 the Andromeda group. The nice edge-on spiral NGC253 was in great position high in the south for viewing.. All in all this was a great season for viewing, we had very few star parties that had to be canceled this year. Also, the participation was great and we thank all those who brought scopes. LUNAR ECLIPSE LAB AT CERRO COSO COMMUNITY COLLEGE (Alex Shlanta) 27 October 2004 My first look at the Ridgecrest weather forecast yesterday for this evening made me feel discouraged about being able to view the lunar eclipse from Ridgecrest. So, I had contingency plans ready for tonight's Astronomy lab. However, when I looked at the forecast at 3 p.m. this afternoon I thought I saw what looked like a break in the weather for this evening. So, with a bit of apprehension, I went ahead with Experiment #9, Eclipse of the Moon. I am glad I did that. During the eclipse we observed the Moon with five 11 x 70 binoculars, mounted on tripods, most of the time. These were great as we could distinguish the basic shapes and colors. During the totality phase we took a look at the Moon with the 10" Cave reflecting telescope in the big dome and the view was awesome. It was a bit cool (~50 deg F) and windy with the wind averaging about 16 mph. So, when the students weren't observing through the binoculars they went inside the two sheds and large dome in the observatory compound. Richard L'Hommedieu helped me with the set up and take down of the equipment for the evening. We started our observations about 6:15 p.m., the time the Moon appeared over the top of the mountain, to the East of the college, and partial eclipse began. It was partially cloudy during this time. From 6:15 p.m.. until 7:23 p.m. when the total eclipse began we had intermittent viewing when not obscured by clouds. But it was sufficient to see the general movement, through the partial stage, of the Moon toward total eclipse. At mid eclipse at 8:04 pm the Moon appeared to be on a path for clear viewing between the clouds. Also looking around the sky the students could distinguish clearly several key asterisms such as the Square of Pegasus, the Summer Triangle with the Northern Cross, Cassiopeia, and the Teapot. During this time the students viewed the Pleiades and the Andromeda Galaxy with binoculars. On the surface of the moon they were able to see that the top was lighter than the bottom part which had a reddish color. They were also able to distinguish with the binoculars the larger Maria such as Mare Crisium, Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquilitatis, Mare Imbrium, Oceanus Procellarium, and Mare Nubium. With the Cave telescope they were able to see some of the key craters. It was a clear viewing of the Moon coming out of the total eclipse at 8:45 pm until the end of Partial eclipse at 9:54 pm. At that time the penumbral phase commenced. But, by that time the official class time was over and everyone definitely needed to go home to thaw out. AN ANNOUNCEMENT Announcement of the IAYC 2005 IAYC 2005, July 24th - August 13th 41st International Astronomical Youth Camp Z‡vadka nad Hronom, Slovakia The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) 2005 will take place in the Horsk_ Hotel Vrsky, 4 km outside the village of Z‡vadka nad Hronom (1000 inhabitants) in central Slovakia. The house is a mountain hotel in the Low Tatra mountains at an elevation of 700 m above sea level. The closest city is Brezno (20,000 inhabitants) 20 km from the camp house. Larger towns in the area are Poprad at a distance of 60 km and Bansk‡ Bystrica (65km). The IAYC is an international youth camp with participants from about 20 different countries. As a participant you work for three weeks in one of the 8 working groups - together with other young people - on astronomical projects. The projects vary from night-time observations to theoretical problems, depending on your own interests. The working groups will be led by young scientists from the IAYC team. In IAYC 2005 we will offer working groups which study the following topics: The Milky Way, Extragalactic Astronomy, Practical Astronomy, Philosophy of Science, Physics and Chemistry in Astronomy, Digital Signal Processing, Dynamical Simulations, and Rocketry. Apart from the astronomical program, there are many non-astronomical activities such as group games, sport events, singing evenings, hiking tours and an excursion. Since it is an international camp, the camp language is English. You should be able and willing to speak English throughout the camp. It is not necessary to speak English fluently. The accommodation for the IAYC 2005 will be a very pleasant mountain hotel called "Horsk_ Hotel Vrsky". The house offers plenty of space for all participants and working groups. A field close to the house can be used for observations. The remote location of the house promises excellent observing conditions. We will also have our own darkroom. Anyone from 16 to 24 years old and able to communicate in English may participate in the IAYC 2005. The fee for accommodation, full board and the whole program, including the excursion, will be 440 Euro. For interested persons who are in the situation of not being able to pay the Camp fee themselves, a limited number of grants is available. More information is available from our web page at http://www.iayc.org/. You can also order - free of charge - an information booklet including an application form from: Jšrg Dietrich Netzestr. 6 53127 Bonn Germany tel.: +49 228 9024181 e-mail: info@iayc.org 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 - 760-876-5455 (email zearlw@gmail.com) VICE-PRESIDENT - Bruce Churchill - 760-375-7247 (email bchurchill@atsecure.net) SECRETARY - Ted Hodgkinson - 661- 824-2738 (email longeyes@antelecom.net) TREASURER - Roger Brower - 760-375-1181 (email brower@iwvisp.com) 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. SKYWATCHERS Newsletter of the CHINA LAKE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY POST OFFICE BOX 1783 RIDGECREST, CA 93556-1783 NEXT MEETING: 7:30 p.m., MONDAY, December 6, 2004: "SPACE SHIP ONE" AT THE MATURANGO MUSEUM, 100 EAST LAS FLORES AVE. WESTERN AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS WEB SITE CLAS WEB PAGE INDEX OF CLAS NEWSLETTERS