Novemb er 2004 Event Horizon Volume 12 Issue 1 member came out for the first time to observe with us! Participants used 10 x 50 binoculars, a 3.5" apo refractor (perfect!) and an 11" SCT to view the blue disks of Neptune and Uranus, dozens of Messier ob jects, double stars and some faint fuzzies known only by NGC number! Saturday evening 2 October there were nine observers at Binbrook with several go-to apo telescopes and two larger dobsonian reflectors offering excellent high-magnification views of double stars. Sagittarius yielded up all of its M ob ject sights in crystal-clear darkness and that alone made the night worthwhile. Wednesday 22 Sept and Saturday 25 September a number of observers out at Binbrook with various telescopes (a few apo refractors among them) trained on the moon with different filter and eyepiece combinations. Monday 20 September six observers, a couple of scopes and a great pair of binoculars cruised the sky from the high ground at Binbrook, lit by the crescent moon and hazy with cirrus clouds until later in the evening. Sunday evening 19 September 9 observers used 5 telescopes from 8 pm for lunar viewing in cloudless, still fall air. There was practice aligning GEM and go-to altaz telescopes, eyepiece swapping, star chart-comparing, constellation identification and after moonset, binoviewing of planetary nebulae and other DSO's. Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Observing Notes by Mike Spicer JOIN US AT BINBROOK ! Join HAA members at Binbrook Conservation Area for an evening of observing from 6:00 pm EST. Bring a lawn chair and binoculars if you don't have a telescope. Mittens, warm coat, toque and even a blanket may be a good idea if you plan to stay late. You can tell your friends and family you saw Orion, the Pleiades and Saturn! Email Observing Director Greg Emery or Mike Spicer, to make sure someone can open up the big gate for you (email address at the bottom of this screen) RECENT OBSERVING EVENTS Thick low cloud threatened to obscure the total Lunar Eclipse on Wednesday night, but that did not deter HAA Chair Glenn Muller and several members who staked out the relative darkness of the gravel parking lot at Bayfront Park in Hamilton, eating Timbits and waiting (im)patiently for the sky to clear. After 11 pm the clouds and haze blew south, the air became very transparent for the totality. About a dozen of us watched the rusty-grey moon framed in stars and high in the south, just below the constellation Aries. Yes, it was cool and windy at times, but worth the wait. A new member (welcome, Matthew!) brought his 8" reflector and recorded digital photos; the rest of us used binoculars. The weekend of 9-10 October offered observers at Binbrook a bonanza of ob jects: Uranus, Neptune, asteroid Vesta, Messier ob jects 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 25, 30, 31, 32, 54, 55, 56, 57, 69, 70, 71, 75, 92, 107 and 110; NGC 891, 6520, 6522, 6569, 6624, 6638, 6642, 6644, 6658, 6723, 6818, 7009 (we saw the rings of the Saturn Nebula!), 7331. Sunday evening 3 October was a spectacular opportunity for observing at Binbrook. One long-time HAA Upcoming events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page Chair's report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page November Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page For Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 3 3 4 Email Reminder notice We send email reminders before each meeting which describes the location, time and topic of the general meeting. If you're not on the list, make sure that you receive your reminder by sending a note to: publicity@ amateurastronomy.org Eye Candy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 NASA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6 Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10 Page 2 Up coming Events Event: MOON MADNESS MARATHON Date: Monday November 15th to Saturday the 20th 7-9PM Lo cation: Hamilton Bayfront Park Admission: Free. Everyone is welcome! Details: Would you like to see the terminator up close? Not the Hollywood franchise, but the line dividing night and day that gives the Moon its phases. Craters, crevices, mountains, and volcanoes stand in sharp relief when at the shadows edge. And, when seen through high-powered telescopes the views rival those seen by the Apollo astronauts. As the Moon moves through its first quarter, November 15th to the 20th, members of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will congregate at Bayfront Park from 7-9pm to explore the features revealed each night. Naturally, the public is invited to this Moon Madness Marathon and details can be found at www.amateurastronomy.org or by calling 905-945-5050. Event: HAA meeting Date: Friday December 10, 2004 7:30PM Lo cation: The Spectator building. Admission: Free. Everyone is welcome! Event Horizon is a publication of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers (HAA). The HAA is an amateur astronomy club dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of astronomy for people of all ages and experience levels. The cost of the subscription is included in the $25 individual or $30 family membership fee for the year. Event Horizon is published a minimum of 10 times a year. HAA Council Hon. Chair . . . . . . . . . . Jim Winger Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Muller Second Chair . . . . . . . . Doug Welch Secretary . . . . . . . Margaret Walton Treasurer . . . . . . . . Cindy Bingham Observing Dir. . . . . . . Greg Emery Publicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail Muller Editor/Web . . . . Anthony Tekatch Membership Dir. Stewart Attlesey Councillor . . . . . . . . Bob Christmas Councillor . . . . . . . . John Gauvreau Councillor . . . . . . . . . . Ann Tekatch Councillor . . . . . . . . Cathy Tekatch Councillor . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Spicer PO Box 65578 Dundas, ON L9H 6Y6 (905) 575-5433 Subscription Offer for Memb ers Members of the club are eligible for a discount on Sky & Telescope Magazine subscriptions. The regular annual rate is $49.95 (U.S.). HAA members pay only $39.95 (U.S.). Contact Ann Tekatch for information on how to sign up; tekatch@ sympatico.ca 905-575-5433 Domain Name and Web hosting for the Hamilton Amatuer Astronomy club supplied by Axess Communications Corporate and Residential DSL and Web Hosting http://www.axess.com support@axess.com Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 3 Chair's Report by Glenn Muller Well, the results are in and it appears that the HAA has claimed Silver in the Gemini Imaging Contest Olympics. In fact, both our proposals were runners-up for time on the GMOS and MegaPrime cameras. Details on the chosen targets will be posted when available but, in the meantime, our congratulations go to the Quebec and Alberta clubs that submitted them. It was a lot of fun and even though we didn't win at least we were consistent. Speaking of consistent images, our own Bob Christmas captured yet another one on his recent trip to Spectacle Lake Lodge. If you haven't visited Bob's gallery on our website lately, his new shot of Orion's Sword and Nebula is certainly worth logging on for. Of course, my infrequent trips to Flamboro Downs continue to prove that I rarely pick a winner - but that never stops me from making predictions. For the October 27th morning show of 900 CHML I crawled onto that limb to forecast clear skies for the evening's lunar eclipse. By 9:30pm, however, the clouds sat heavy on the branch where I'd perched my credibility. Still, the handful that gathered to observe at Bayfront Park had optimistically brought an 8" Newtonian and several pairs of binoculars, including my own mounted on a mirror box. While the Moon teased just enough to maintain interest, a steady wind continued to keep our hopes up. With only fleeting glimpses of the shadow, its progress was dramatically enhanced by the intervals between. Just before totality, however, my exoneration came complete as the cumulus crumbled to reveal a jaw-dropping, copper-tinged, lunar landscape. Once the transparency improved, eyes became glued to eyepieces. Stable on their platform, my 10x50's resolved with sharp relief the coloured contours and shaded terrain. I took that in for several moments then expanded my view to the immediate stars in Pisces. Bee-like, the swarm of tiny glinting chips from light years away accentuated three-dimensional Space with their apparent closeness to the hive. It was hard to tear away from that burnished copper disc but the rare sight was one that had to be shared. Normally, an event like this would have brought Van Morrison's Moondance to mind, but on this night a proverb by A. Nonymus seemed more appropriate for it was he (or she) that said "Don't be afraid to Glenn invites your comments on these topics or any aspect of the club. He can be reached via chair@amateurastronomy. org go out on a limb ­ for that is where the fruit is". Novemb er Sky by Greg Emery Assuming there are clear skies to be had, November is the early start of some nice Winter viewing. On those rare November nights we can get clean and crisp skies ( with the corresponding cold temperatures). The moon is new on November 12 and full on the th of the month. Planets in the evening sky are 26 Uranus and Neptune in the constellations Aquarius and Capricornus, respectively. Neptune sets at approximately 22:00 (Local) on November 20, 2004. Much later in the night ( or early in the morning for you morning people) we have Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mars to behold. Saturn rises with Gemini around 21:00, and should be in good viewing position by 01:30 earlier in the month and by 00:00 in late November early December. Jupiter and Venus where in conjunction in the first week of November and are still relatively close together in the constellation Virgo. Mars also lies in Virgo, east of Venus. On November 22, 2004 around 05:00 to 06:00 Jupiter and Venus will be about 10 north-northeast of Spica ( ­ Virgo) while Jupiter is about 12 West of Spica. The three will form a nice triangle of bright ob jects. There are a host of Deep Sky Ob jects to view. Several beautiful open clusters can be seen M44 (Beehive or Praespe) in Cancer, M45 (Pleiades) in Taurus and the Double Cluster in Perseus. M31/32/110 in Andromeda is in good viewing position. For those of you with a small/medium sized telescope and a large imagination M33 in Triangulum is a nice galaxy to view. However, Orion the Hunter is out and about. Regardless of my intentions or target list, I personally end up playing in Orion. The sight of M42 in even a small scope is wonderous. I will personally plan to not touch my telescope or plan to go out observing for the month of November, that hopefully will guarantee clear skies for the rest of you. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 4 Telescop es for sale Celestron CR-150-HD 6 I have a Celestron CR-150-HD 6 (6" refracting telescope). As a result of poor eyesight I no longer can use my telescope and it has been sitting here unused for a couple of years. Some of the features on this telescope are: telrad, it can hold 1 1/2" and 2" eye pieces, has a 9x50 finder scope. Still have the original boxes. I paid well over $2,000 for it and I'm open to any reasonable offers. This telescope is in mint condition. Colin (905) 524-9887 Hamilton, Ontario EyeCandy Meade LX200 I am interested in selling a Meade LX200 (10") telescope (electronic version). It includes a 26mm eyepiece, star diagonal, tripod and carrying case. It has a 65,000ob ject database. The original price was $4499.00 (purchased from Khan Scope Centre in Toronto). It has seldom been used as my circumstances were such that I was unable to find the time to seek locations away from light pollution. As such it is in excellent condition. I am asking $2900, but this is negotiable- within limits. If interested or for further information I can be contacted by e-mail at nap48@yahoo.com or by telephone at (450) 267-0710. As I am hearing impaired please ask for Stella or leave a phone number where you can be reached. The Hamilton Amateur Astronomers invited everyone to catch the Halloween Moon (Lunar eclipse) at Bayfront Park on October 27th. Photo by Glenn Muller. amateurastronomy.org Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 5 Orion's Sword Photo by Bob Christmas Aurora from November 7 by Bob Botts October 2004 Lunar eclipse photo by Lou Darcie October 2004 Lunar eclipse photo by Matthew Rosato October 2004 Lunar eclipse photo by Bob Botts Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 6 A Summer Vacation Tracking Down UFOs by Diane K. Fisher Erin Schumacher's summer job for NASA was to look for UFOs. Erin is a 16-year-old high school student from Redondo Beach, California, attending the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Carson. She was one of ten students selected to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena as part of the Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program, or SHARP. But is studying UFOs a useful kind of NASA research? Well, it is when they are "unidentified flashing ob jects" that appear in certain images of Earth from space. Erin worked with scientists on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) pro ject to track down these mysterious features. MISR is one of five instruments onboard the Earth-orbiting Terra satellite. MISR's nine separate cameras all point downward at different angles, each camera in turn taking a picture of the same piece of Earth as the satellite passes overhead. Viewing the same scene through the atmosphere at different angles gives far more information about the aerosols, pollution, and water vapor in the air than a single view would give. Ground features may also look slightly or dramatically different from one viewing angle to another. Erin's job was to carefully examine the pictures looking for any flashes of light that might be visible from just one of the nine angles. Such flashes are caused by sunlight bouncing off very reflective surfaces and can be seen if a camera is pointed at just the right angle to catch them. Because the satellite data contain precise locations for each pixel in the images, Erin could figure out exactly where a flashing ob ject on the ground should be. Her job was then to figure out exactly what it was that made the flash-in particular, to see if she could distinguish man-made ob jects from natural ones. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Two cameras on MISR made these images of the same part of the Mojave Desert. The camera pointed at an angle of 26 forward saw the flashes from two solar electric power generating stations. These objects are nearly invisible at the other angle. When Erin began working at JPL, scientists on the MISR pro ject had already identified two large flashes out in the middle of the Mo jave Desert in Southern California. These turned out to be from solar power generating stations. Soon, Erin began finding flashes all over the place. She learned how to apply her math knowledge to figuring out how the ob jects would have to be oriented in order to be seen by a particular MISR camera. One time, she and a team of MISR scientists and students went on a field trip to the exact locations of some flashes, where they found greenhouses, large warehouses with corrugated metal roofs, a glass-enclosed shopping mall, and a solar-paneled barn. For some flashes, they could find nothing at all. Those remain "UFOs" to this day! Learn more about SHARP at www.nasasharp.com and Earth science applications of MISR at www- misr. jpl.nasa.gov Kids can do an online MISR crossword at spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/misr_xword/ misr_xword1.shtml This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Council meetings All club members are welcome to attend the council meetings. Contact info@amateurastronomy.org for details. amateurastronomy.org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amilton Amateur Astronomers Memb ership Renewal Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Memb ership Renewal Novemb er 1, 2004 - October 31, 2005 Name: Address: City: Postal Code: Phone: E-mail: Type of Membership: Individual ($25 Cdn/year) Family ($30 Cdn/year) Royal ($50 Cdn/year)* Friend ($100 Cdn/year)* Patron ($250 Cdn/year)* Voluntary Donation $ * These levels of membership confer the same rights and privileges as a Family membership. We greatly appreciate the additional financial support our members provide by signing up as a Royal, Friend or Patron. All membership dues are eligible for tax receipts. Total: $ Please make cheque payable to: Hamilton Amateur Astronomers P.O. Box 65578 Dundas, Ontario L9H 6Y6 CANADA Membership renewals are due November 1. Sunday Monday December 2004 Tuesday 1 8 15 22 29 For observing info, Rob Roy 692-3245, Greg Emery greg.emery@mohawkcollege.ca, or Mike Spicer at DeBeneEsse2001@aol.com http://amateurastronomy.org/events.php Wednesday 2 9 16 23 30 17 Christmas Eve Thursday 3 10 Friday Saturday 6 Moon appears close to Jupiter 7 HAA Generall Meeting at HAA Genera Meeting at the Spectator building the Spectator building Geminids meteor shower Geminids meteor shower 13 Geminids meteor shower 14 20 Winter Solstice (shortest day of the year) 21 27 28 New Year's Eve November 2004 12345 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 January 2005 6 13 2 20 9 27 16 23 30 3 10 17 24 31 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 1 8 15 22 29