San Diego Astronomy Associationdocs.sdaa.org/Newsletters/2009-05.pdf · 2018-01-07 · Coronado to...

San DiegoAstronomy AssociationCelebrating Over 40 Years of Astronomical Outreach

Office (619) 645-8940Observatory (619) 766-9118

http://www.sdaa.orgA Non-Profit Educational Association

P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215

May 2009

SDAA Business MeetingNext meeting will be held at:3838 Camino del Rio North

Suite 300San Diego, CA 92108

May 12th at 7 pmNext Program Meeting

May 20, 2009Mission Trails Regional Park

Visitor and Interpretive Center1 Father Junipero Serra Trail

May 2009, Vol XLVII, Issue 05Published Monthly by the San Diego Astronomy Association75¢ /$8.00 yearIncorporated in California in 19632009 Science and Engineeering Fair..............1Wanted - Astrophotographers.......................1Change at the Fleet............................22010 Banquet Poll............................2Program Meeting..................................2Scout Fair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3San Diego Science Festival............................3Science and Engineering Fair Pictures..........4San Diego Science Fair Pictures..............5Sky Watch.......................................................6April Minutes...................................7May Calendar.......................................8June Calendar ......................................9SDAA Contacts......................................10Almanac........................................11Rendezvous in the Sun..................................12TDS - What’s Been Happening....................15Ocotillo Observations..............................15Messier Marathon.....................................17AISIG Gallery...........................................19The Back Page...........................................20

CONTENTS

2009 Greater Science and Engineering Fair by Bill Quackenbush

The 55th Annual Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair was held from March 31 - April 5, 2009 at the Balboa Park Activity Center. Judging on the student projects occurred on April 1, and the San Diego Astronomy Association was repre-sented as a Professional Society by the following members. Ken Olson, Kin Searcy, Tim Neubert, Rick Imbra, John Restivo and Bill Quackenbush. There were over 750 Projects in many different categories to judge. We all arrived early and met outside the Exhibit hall to discuss our game plan. Once they let us in we stayed together as a group and went to find the first exhibit. Using our deductive powers of reasoning we walked to the closest exhibit first. It was # 289. – “A Photometric Study of Eclipsing Binary Star Systems.” A senior at La Jolla Country Day School named. Peter Blanchard rented scope time in New Mexico over the Internet to observe and image two Binary stars, one in the constellation Andromeda the other in Orion. He then created a light curve to show what occurs to light when one star passes in front of another. His work was very documented and presented. The bar was set really high for the other exhibits at this point. Next we found #729 – “Does the Full Moon Affect Earth’s Seismic Activity?” by an 8th grader at Marshall Middle School Jenna Shine. Her theory and her work were interesting but not up the standards set by Peter’s Exhibit. Lastly we viewed #1033. Spencer Ford, a 7th Grader at Rio Seco, built a cloud chamber to answer his question. “Are There More Cosmic Rays at Higher Altitudes?” This was really well done. How can you beat a homemade cloud chamber? Soon the student’s lunch break was over and they returned to their exhibits. To this point we had been left alone to judge the exhibits. This was my favorite part. We all had a chance to talk to the students and ask them questions about their work. They were all very bright and pleasant to talk with. This only reaffirmed what we saw in their projects. When finished with the students we all met outside to discuss our find-ings. The opinions were unanimous. Peter’s Binary Star project was our First place. Followed by Spencer’s Cosmic Rays, then Jenna’s Full Moon /Seismic Activity. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone and every project in that exhibit was a winner! Additionally, Peter’s Eclipsing Binary Star Exhibit went on to win a sweepstakes prize as the most outstanding project in the entire fair. And if you think Peter’s name seems familiar, he was the club’s 1st place winner 2 years ago. Peter, Spencer and Jenna have all been invited to the May Program Meeting to present their projects to the club, and to receive their awards. We hope you will make time to meet with these students and encourage them in their future endeavors in Astronomy.

Wanted - Astrophotographers Beginning at the May 2009 SDAA program meeting we will be displaying astro-photographs contributed by club members for 15 minutes before the meeting begins. The goal is to display photos contributed by as many members as possible. If you are interested in contributing a photograph for display at the program meeting, please

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San Diego Astronomy Association

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, MAY 2009

send an email with the Subject of “Astrophotographs” to [email protected]. Also, be sure to come early to the SDAA meetings to see the photo slide show.

Change at The R.H. Fleet Centerby John Restivo

The Ruben H Fleet Science Center introduces a new Public Relations Manager. Jeremy Pyle, who has done a remarkable job for both the Fleet Center and the SDAA, announced his resignation to take a new job in Florida. His dedication andhard work was instrumental for events and guest speakers that many of our members have enjoyed. We wish him well in his future endeavors. On April 1st, I had the honor of meeting the new PR manager, Erin Burns. Ms. Burns was very charming and very positive about continuing the great relationship that has been a staple for two organizations sincerely dedicated as a public outreach for science and astronomy. I was impressed that she took notes as I spoke of the SDAA mission and periodic events that are a symbol that both the Fleet Center and ourclub shares. Ms. Burns has worked in public relations as an account manager with a San Diego-based marketing agency, overseeing the company’s Public Relations Department as well as client accounts in hospitality, food and beverage, entertainment, tech-nology and business sectors. She is a graduate of Marymount University and has spent time working with children, making a perfect segue into her new role at the Fleet. Ms. Burns was born in Rome, Italy (this Sicilian likes her already). The travel bug took her early in life through Europe

and Africa and broadened her cultural perspective with the ability to be highly adaptive to changing situations and environ-ments. Today, she takes pleasure in travelling her own backyard of San Diego, experiencing everything from the shores of Coronado to Temecula’s vineyards, having moved here two years ago from Seattle. On behalf of the San Diego Astronomy Association, con-gratulations in your new role, Erin. We wish you success in your position and look forward to working with you.

2010 Banquet PollMembers, The SDAA Board has begun the search for the 2010 banquet venue, and we need your input. As you know, the 2009 banquet was a success, but with the changing economic times we are receiving feedback from some of the membership that it might be time for a more inexpensive alternative to the traditional full-service sit-down atmosphere. In order to best serve the membership, we need to hear from as many of you as possible, and to do that we created a poll that will appear both on Yahoo and here in the newsletter. Please use the following email ad-dress to submit your vote: mailto:[email protected]. Please vote only once. Based on past history and experience, we came up with the following estimates of cost for some possible alternatives. Please vote for the venue you find most appealing, remember-ing that the banquet is the annual fundraiser for the SDAA and maximum participation is our goal. We will have a guest speaker.

1. $50/person: Sit-down venue, upscale menu – West Coast Formal (similar to 2009)2. $40/person: Downscale sit-down menu/upscale buffet – less formal than #13. $30/person: Buffet style, maybe Hawaiian theme or some-thing4. $20/person: Very casual, perhaps pot-luck

Program Meetingby Michael Vander Vorst

The featured speaker at the SDAA Program Meeting on May 20th is Randol Aikin of California Institute of Technology. He will describe active research in the field of observational cosmology at Caltech. His research focuses on measuring direct evidence for cosmic Inflation - the radical notion that the

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Erin Burns, the new Public Relations Manager at the Fleet. Photo courtesy of John Restivo.



Universe expanded faster than the speed of light for a short period of time immediately after the Big Bang. After describ-ing past observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background that led to the theory of inflation, I will describe the BICEP2 and Spider experiments. These experiments will study the po-larization of the Cosmic Microwave Background with unprece-dented precision, probing direct evidence for inflation. Randol Aikin is a graduate student in physics at the California Institute of Technology under Prof. Sunil Golwala. Please see www.sdaa.org and click on “Program Meet-ings” in the right hand panel for more information about the program. San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) sponsors speak-ers on a wide range of astronomy topics on the third Wednes-day of every month at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center. The program meeting begins at 7:00pm. Each attend-ee receives one free door prize ticket. After announcements and a small amount of business, the audience is treated to the featured presentation. At the close of the meeting the door prizes are presented. The event is open to the public. The Mis-sion Trails Regional Park Visitors Center is at One Fr. Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego CA 92119. Call the park at 619-668-3281 for more information or visit http://www.mtrp.org.

BICEP2

Scout Fairby Kin Searcy

The Scout Fair is a large exposition of scout skills held once per year for the San Diego-Imperial Council. There are also scouts from Mexico, giving it an international flavor. Both Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts participate in the event, held this year in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot. Cubs compete in the district-level Pinewood Derby race with cars that they have constructed. In addition to the derby, scout displays and displays from military, police, fire, forestry, and conservation groups, one popular feature of the Scout Fair is the Merit Badge Midway, where organizations present classes to help scouts earn particular merit badges. At the 2009 Scout Fair, on 18 April, approximately 1400 scouts worked on merit badges of all types during the day. SDAA sponsors the astronomy merit badge at the Scout Fair and works with troops and scouts at other times during the year. At the Scout Fair, the astronomy merit badge is always a big hit because our telescopes are out and the subject material is intrinsically interesting. This year, the skies were clear and Alice Harvey and Brian Staples conducted solar observing with a white light filter and Daystar Ha filter. In addition to the general outreach, SDAA had 60 scouts work the program at our merit badge booth. This number filled all of the slots in our schedule. Kin Searcy did merit badge instruc-tion and Brian Staples conducted a hands-on mirror grinding session. Alice Harvey did extensive outreach for solar observ-ing and talking about astronomy and the SDAA to scouts, lead-ers, and parents. Kati Searcy handled scout processing (blue cards) and did additional outreach. Scouts can only do a partial merit badge at the Scout Fair, because many of the requirements involve observing the night sky and identifying stars, planets, and constellations. We should see groups of scouts at TDS working on the observing potions of their merit badge requirements in the near future. SDAA was represented at other merit badge sessions. SDAA’s Rich Strobel taught knot tying at the Fly-Fishing merit badge booth and Bill Hultman taught Bicycling.

San Diego Science Festival by Bob Austin & Alice Harvey

WOW! The San Diego Science Festival turned out to be a HUGE event. It was reported that there were 50,000-60,000 visitors in Balboa Park, with traffic jams, and tough parking (we heard they were expecting around 15,000). Mike Dietz and Peter Debaan reported it took an hour to find parking followed by a very long walk over to the Federal Lawn where we were

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Science and Engineering Fair PhotosClockwise from Right: Eclipsing Binary Stars by Peter Blanchard. Cosmic Rays by Spencer Ford The judges - from L to R by (Rick Imbra, Tim Neubert, Ken Olson, Kin Searcy, Bill Quackenbush and John Restivo). Full Moon/Seismic

Activity by Jenna Shine. Photos courtesy of Bill Quackenbush.

San Diego Science Fair PhotosFacing page. Clockwise from Top Left: Jose shows off the sun, Bob enjoys the

afternoon. Alice explains a solar filter. Mike shows off the SDAA table. Nick explains solar viewing. Rich discusses the view. Photos by John Restivo.



SkyWatch for May, 2009by John Mood

[ Times PDT ] [ * = 1 star = EZ ] [ ** = 2 stars = Moderate ] [ *** = 3 stars = Difficult ]2 degrees = Index finger held at arm’s length.

Fri., 8 May ---- FULL MOON, 9:01 p.m.Sat., 16 May ----PUBLIC STAR PARTY @ Tierra del Sol; once the Moon rises, see mountains, craters & rills at the terminator (where dark changes to light).Sat., 23 May ---- MEMBERS STAR PARTY @ Tierra del Sol. Sun., 24 May ---- NEW MOON, 5:11 a.m.Mon., 25 May ---- SATURN only 0.4 degree from NEPTUNE this morning {see below}.

PLANETS (“The solar system gives us wisdom” ---- Beach Boys):

EVENING:---- MERCURY [ *½ ] appears in the west next to the Pleiades star cluster (M-45) in Taurus the Bull early in the month & then drops from sight by mid-month. SATURN [ * ] is at its best in Leo the Lion with thin rings.

MORNING:---- JUPITER [ * ] is in the western part of Capricornus the Goat, still fairly low for good telescopic observation, but there’s a BONUS as it is only 0.4 degrees from NEPTUNE [ ** ] on the morning of the 25th. URANUS [ * ½ ] is by the eastern fish of Pisces the Fishes. Not far away is much brighter VENUS [ * ]. {Pluto is no longer a planet. See my “SkyWatch for September, 2005” for why.}

OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS: Spring means that the incredible Coma-Virgo cluster of galaxies is available for viewing. More than 100 galaxies are within range of an 8-inch scope, & the sight still raises the hair on the back of one’s neck. As amateur astronomer T. W. Webb, who did not know what all those fuzzy patches were, wrote in 1859, “Few of them are individually interesting; it is the mysterious throng-ing together of these objects, whatever may be their nature, that opens up such a field for curiosity.” Knowing now what they are makes observing members of the galactic cluster even more thrilling.

TIERRA DEL SO LAT = 32º 36’ 48” N ( ± 0.l” ), LONG = 116º 19’ 55” W ( ± 0.1” ), ELEV = 3710’ ( ± 5’ ), at the bathroom, as determined from USGS 7.5 min 1/24000 map. (See my essay on GPS at www.sdaa.org/tds. If you’re already online, go to home page & click on “MORE…” under “Tierra del Sol.”)

Send comments & questions to me by phone (619/225-9639), USPS (4538 Long Branch Av., San Diego, CA 92107) or my e-mail address ([email protected]).

¡HAPPY VIEWING!

Newsletter DeadlineThe deadline to submit articles

for publication is the15th of each month.


SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, MAY 2009Continued on Page 13

San Diego Astronomy AssociationBoard of Directors Meeting Minutes

April 14, 2009 - Unapproved and Subject to Revision

1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 P.M. with the following board members in attendance: Bob Aus-tin, President; Michael Vander Vorst, Vice President; Jose Magsaysay, Treasurer; Edward Rumsey, Recording Secretary; Bill Carlson, Director; Mark Lane, Director; Brian McFarland, Director and David Petit, Director. Associates Bill Griffith, and Brian Staples were in attendance.

2. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the March 10, 2009, board meeting were reviewed and approved (8-0).

3. Priority / Member Business. Mr. Dominic Farina had requested another (third) opportunity to address the board. Again Mr. Farina failed to attend. The board also noted that Mr. Farina had discontinued paying dues and that his membership had lapsed as of 1 October 2008.

4. Treasurer’s Report. March Report was reviewed and approved (8-0) as presented. The April report was approved (8-0) as presented.

5. Membership Report. Net increase last month of seven (7) associates for a new total of 541 members.

6. Site Maintenance Report. Gravel party went very well. Had to increase gravel order 300% and BBQ costs were higher than projected. The site has a number of other priorities that need attention to include; shade structure, observatory roof, and Pro-Dome installation. Board members agreed to expand the list through email.

7. Observatory Report. Have new encoders and will install shortly. Lloyd Johnson of Cuyamaca College will be doing two classes at the site this month. David Devine of USD will bring up two classes also. 8. Private Pad Report. Nothing to report.

9. Star Party/Outreach Report. Central area vas very active with over 2,000 students, parents, and teachers attending our school star parties. Have a library event scheduled for June, and some local groups might call for a star party, as Friends of Cabrillo National Park did last year. The Boy Scout Fair is April 18, and SDAA will man the usual booth in the merit badge midway to start scouts working on the merit badge. If the weather looks clear, SDAA members will be invited to bring equipment for solar viewing. The San Diego Science Festival expected to have 15,000 visitors was a much greater success with some estimates as high as 100,000 attendees. SDAA was very active at the event and need to restock literature (SDAA trifold, membership application, and planisphere).

10. Library Report. Still researching a good second hand bookcase.

11. Education Report. Nothing to report.

12. Program Report. Scheduled speakers at program meetings are (Month, Speaker, Affiliation, & Presentation Title): May – Randol Aiken, CIT, Big Inflation; June – Dennis Mamanna, TBD; July – Jerry Hilburn, JPL Solar System Ambassa-dor, TBD; August – Larry Kwano, Astrocamp, Children and Astronomy; September – Jim Tucker, ATK, James Webb Space Telescope; October – Scott Kardel, Palomar Observatory, TBD; November – Gadget Night.

13. NASA Robotic Observatory. Nothing new on the roboscope. We’re still waiting on filters and software from NASA.



SDAA ContactsClub Officers and Directors

President Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174Vice-President Michael [email protected] (858) 755-5846 Vander VorstRecording Secretary Ed Rumsey [email protected] (858) 722-3846Treasurer Jose Magsaysay [email protected] (858) 279-7802Corresponding Secretary Cindy Carpenter [email protected] (619) 465-7988Director Alpha Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485Director Beta Mark Lane [email protected] (951) 679-4060Director Gamma Brian McFarland [email protected] (619) 462-4483Director Delta David Petit [email protected] (858) 395-9593

CommitteesSite Maintenance Bill Quackenbush [email protected] (858) 395-1007Observatory Director Jim Traweek [email protected] (619) 477-7279Private Pads Alice Harvey [email protected] (858) 622-1481Library Jean Naugle [email protected] (858) 273-4088Education Mark Lane [email protected] (951) 679-4060N. County Star Parties Bob Nanz [email protected] (760) 751-3992S. County Star Parties Joshua Johnson [email protected] (619) 741-1058E. County Star Parties Rich Strobel [email protected] (619) 479-3937Central Area Star Parties Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974Camp with the Stars Mike Dietz [email protected] Mark Smith [email protected] (858) 484-0540Membership Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485New Member Mentor Bill Carlson (425) 736-8485Webmaster Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174AISIG Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974Site Acquisition Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059Field Trips Mark Lane [email protected] (951) 506-1429Grants/Fund Raising Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059Merchandising Mike Brindell [email protected] (619) 644-5420Publicity Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059Roboscope Director Kent Richardson [email protected] (858) 268-9943Governing Documents Mark Smith [email protected] (858) 484-0540TDS Network Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485Amateur Telescope Making Peter DeBaan [email protected] (760) 745-0925

Have a great new piece of gear? Read an astronomy-related book that you think others should know about? How about a photograph of an SDAA Member in action? Or are you simply tired of seeing these Boxes in the Newsletter rather than something, well, interesting?

Join the campaign to rid the Newsletter of little boxes by sharing them with the membership. In return for your efforts, you will get your very own by line or pho-tograph credit in addition to the undying gratitude of the Newsletter Editor. Just send your article or picture to [email protected] or [email protected].

SDAA Editorial StaffEditor - Mark [email protected]

Assistant Editor: Craig EwingContributing Writers

Alice Harvey John MoodKin Searcy Ann SchraderBob Austin John RestivoBill QuackenbushMichael Vander Vorst



SUNRISE/SUNSET AND MOONRISE/MOONSET ALMANACDate Sun Rise Sun Set Moon RiseMoon SetMay 1, 2009 – (1st) 5:58 19:27 12:14 1:25May 2, 2009 – Sat – Astronomy Day 5:57 19:27 13:20 2:02May 3, 2009 5:56 19:28 14:25 2:36May 4, 2009 5:55 19:29 15:27 3:06May 5, 2009 5:54 19:29 16:29 3:35May 6, 2009 5:53 19:30 17:30 4:05May 7, 2009 5:52 19:31 18:32 4:37May 8, 2009 – (Full) 5:51 19:32 19:33 5:11May 9, 2009 – Sat – Space Day 5:51 19:32 20:33 5:50May 10, 2009 5:50 19:33 21:30 6:33May 11, 2009 5:49 19:34 22:22 7:22May 12, 2009 5:48 19:35 23:09 8:14May 13, 2009 5:47 19:35 23:49 9:10May 14, 2009 5:47 19:36 10:06May 15, 2009 – Fri 5:46 19:37 0:25 11:03May 16, 2009 – Sat 5:45 19:37 0:57 12:00May 17, 2009 – (3rd) 5:45 19:38 1:26 12:57May 18, 2009 5:44 19:39 1:54 13:54May 19, 2009 5:44 19:39 2:21 14:53May 20, 2009 5:43 19:40 2:50 15:54May 21, 2009 5:42 19:41 3:22 16:59May 22, 2009 – Fri 5:42 19:42 3:57 18:08May 23, 2009 – Sat 5:41 19:42 4:40 19:20May 24, 2009 – (New) 5:41 19:43 5:31 20:30May 25, 2009 – Memorial Day 5:40 19:43 6:31 21:36May 26, 2009 5:40 19:44 7:39 22:33May 27, 2009 5:40 19:45 8:51 23:22May 28, 2009 5:39 19:45 10:03 May 29, 2009 – Fri 5:39 19:46 11:12 0:02May 30, 2009 – Sat 5:39 19:47 12:18 0:37May 31, 2009 5:38 19:47 13:22 1:09

Date Sun Rise Sun Set Moon Rise Moon SetJun 1, 2009 5:38 19:48 14:23 1:38Jun 2, 2009 5:38 19:48 15:24 2:08Jun 3, 2009 5:38 19:49 16:24 2:38Jun 4, 2009 5:37 19:49 17:25 3:12Jun 5, 2009 – Fri 5:37 19:50 18:25 3:48Jun 6, 2009 – Sat 5:37 19:50 19:22 4:30Jun 7, 2009 – (Full) 5:37 19:51 20:16 5:16Jun 8, 2009 5:37 19:51 21:05 6:08Jun 9, 2009 5:37 19:52 21:47 7:02Jun 10, 2009 5:37 19:52 22:25 7:59Jun 11, 2009 5:37 19:53 22:58 8:56Jun 12, 2009 – Fri 5:37 19:53 23:27 9:52Jun 13, 2009 – Sat 5:37 19:53 23:55 10:48Jun 14, 2009 – Flag Day 5:37 19:54 11:44Jun 15, 2009 – (3rd) 5:37 19:54 0:22 12:41Jun 16, 2009 5:37 19:54 0:49 13:39Jun 17, 2009 5:37 19:55 1:18 14:41Jun 18, 2009 5:37 19:55 1:51 15:46Jun 19, 2009 – Fri 5:37 19:55 2:29 16:55Jun 20, 2009 – Sat – SUMMER SOLSTICE 5:38 19:55 3:15 18:06Jun 21, 2009 – Father’s Day 5:38 19:56 4:10 19:15Jun 22, 2009 – (New) 5:38 19:56 5:15 20:18Jun 23, 2009 5:38 19:56 6:28 21:12Jun 24, 2009 5:39 19:56 7:43 21:57Jun 25, 2009 5:39 19:56 8:56 22:36Jun 26, 2009 – Fri 5:39 19:56 10:06 23:09Jun 27, 2009 – Sat 5:39 19:56 11:12 23:40Jun 28, 2009 5:40 19:56 12:16 Jun 29, 2009 – (1st) 5:40 19:56 13:18 0:10Jun 30, 2009 5:41 19:56 14:19 0:41

Continued from Page 3set up. Five of us were set up by 9:00 am and were able to park within 50 feet of our scopes. By 9:30 am, the crowds started filing in to the park and, because of our location, we were the first exhibit that people literally ran into before going on into the rest of the Festival if they entered the Park from Presi-dent’s Way. Lines at all the scopes were 15+ deep all day long and if it weren’t for those members that showed up to help (with-out scopes) who could give us a break, no one would have been able to get in time for a sandwich for lunch. Rick Imbra saw that we were lacking someone to cover the info table we had setup and jumped in to help at that location passing out literature and answering questions about the SDAA. It seemed he was busier than we were at the scopes! John Restivo also helped at the table as well as by taking pictures of the event, talking with visitors, and giving some of us a break to get a bite to eat or use the restroom. Ralph Petrozello and Tom Herman


came by in mid-afternoon and also helped out at the scopes. Around 4:00pm some of us lost the Sun in the trees in the west and switched over to the Moon which had cleared the trees in the east. The Festival ended at 6:00pm and the park emptied as quickly as it filled up in the morning. There were a few stragglers who filtered through till about 8:30pm when we decided to call it quits. The event coordinator came over as we were packing up and said that they are looking ahead to next year and would work harder to try to get us at our “usual” loca-tion over by the Natural History Museum now that she knows what we do and what a huge success our attendance was. Our final estimation is that we gave views of the Sun, the Moon and Saturn to between 5000 and 6000 kids and parents. We have no idea how many came through the info table, but almost all of the literature that had been brought was given out, including a stack of membership applications. It was a very fulfilling and exhausting day. Thanks to Nick Marilao, Jose Magsaysay, Rich Strobel, Alice Harvey, Bob Austin, Rick Imbra,



Ken Olsen, John Restivo, Peter Debaan, Mike Dietz, David Petit, Ralph Petrozello and Tom Herman for making our presence at this first San Diego Science Festival and the IYA’s 100 hours of Astronomy a huge success! (Sorry if we missed someone, as it truly was a busy day!) As a footnote, the day after the Festival, we received the fol-lowing email from the Festival organizer, Larry Block:

Dear Bob, Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!! for participating in the Inaugural Science Festival. We finished our Inaugural Science Festival with BANG at the Expo Day in Balboa Park. The news reported this morning that over 100,000 people (a bit more than our first-year goal of 15,000) attended our Science EXPO Day in Balboa Park bringing the tally for the whole month to above 200,000 attendees. The police actually CLOSED Balboa Park. There was a five mile line of cars trying to exit off the Freeway to come to the event. The attached picture says it all. Science is alive and well in San Diego. THANKS AGAIN!

Best regards. Larry Bock

Editor’s Note: I had to cut the following article, especially the Itinerary, WAY down. I have always wanted to see a total eclipse and, if I weren’t putting two kids through college at the moment, I would be seriously investigating this one. For a full itinerary, please see http://eclipse-tour2009.homestead.com/.

Rendezvous in the SunView a total eclipse of our sun in

Sichuan Province, Chinaby Ann Schrader

A chance meeting turns into a world adventure… Phila McDaniel began studying art history in 1951. She attended Pepperdine University and in her first year, along with her usual courses, was Chemistry Lab. On day one of her first chemistry course, the (handsome) chemistry teacher announced he was available for tutoring after class. Phila was the only one that showed up. As I recall my parents telling me this story, I think the exact words my father used were, “Then I said to her, forget the homework… Let’s go out for a drink!” And a 58-year marriage was born; then three children. My father has a minor in astronomy, and so do I. I followed right in his footsteps. My father, a Carl Sagan fan, used to drive us all out to the Southern California desert in the middle of the night to see what I call “treats in the sky”. I have very fond memories of being awakened at 3:00am to go outside in the

backyard and see whatever it was that my father was so excited about viewing that night, through his extra large very expensive 8 ft. long telescope. It is no wonder that I also became fascinated with our sky. The story of how my parents became tour operators is also a unique one. When I was six years old I was awakened one night by hearing my puppy whining in our downstairs bathroom. My father had put him in there so that he would not run out of the house while our two front doors were standing wide open. I crept down the stairway, and out onto our front porch. I looked outside and saw a tow truck bringing my mother’s smashed up van into our driveway. My father turned around and said, “Mom is okay. She’s in the hospital but she will be fine. Go back to bed.” My mother had been hit head-on by a drunk driver and had broken her back. She took a sabbatical after having back surgery and was recovering at home one day when all of us chil-dren decided to do things we should not be doing. My mother was disturbed by a neighbor who had come to our door upset that my brother had just shot out his living room window with a bb gun. After the neighbor left, my mother sat on the stairs and started crying. Just then my father walked in. He said two words that sent my mother into a near nervous breakdown: “What’s wrong?” My mother kept sobbing and my father said, “I’ll be right back” and quickly ran back out the door. We were all puzzled. He came home with two plane tickets in his hand and said, “What you need is a trip around the world. That will cure you. Take your best girlfriend and go.” My mother left two weeks later with her best friend and the next summer, applied for a


A successful day at the Science Fest. Photo courtesy of Larry Bock.




14. Radio Telescope. Not an item discussed – no minutes – tabled.

15. AISIG Report. The April meeting is back at MTRP and it will be a gadget night. April 18 is a beginner’s night at TDS to assist beginning imagers to use their equipment and I have targeted the May meeting as a “beginner’s choice” to cover tech-niques and issues that arise from the nights at TDS.

16. Governing Documents Report. Targeting a comprehensive rewrite for a special meeting in the May time frame.

17. Newsletter Report. April mail merge was delayed and addresses were not provided for an earlier than 4/9/09 mailing from Florida – thus the late delivery. May newsletter will be held back about a week and we will be back on track by June. 18. Website Report. Nothing to report.

19. Banquet Committee Report. Brian McFarland will craft and issue a poll on yahoo poll and in the newsletter on the sub-ject to obtain cost and format preferences from the membership.

20. Old Business. North 40 Development Charter review was deferred to the next meeting.

21. New Business. a. Neighbor Dogs @ TDS: Board reviewed recent posts, usage regulations, and opted to post. The Board will cre-ate signs for posting at TDS that describe the hazards of wildlife, stray dogs, etc., to included emergency and animal control phone numbers.b. David Petit presented six exceptional ideas for improvement. David will begin incorporating them into the busi-ness of SDAA.

22. Adjournment. There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned (8-0) at 8:51 PM.


Kodak Grant to be one of the first Americans allowed to visit China after they reopened their doors to the public. She received the grant and was amazed at the beauty of the Far East. The next year, my mother took a few of her friends with her, and when they returned they told their other friends what a great trip they had. East-West Tours was formed out of friendships, and a way for my parents to make a little extra money during their sum-mers off teaching with no salary during those months. Word of mouth turned out to be our only form of advertising. My mother continued to study the art and culture of Asia, eventu-ally getting her Masters of Fine Arts and becoming a published Asian Scholar, as well as guest curator for several museum shows featuring ancient textiles, costumes, ornaments and jewelry that she collected from rarely seen tribal groups in China and Tibet back in 1985. My mother is now our country’s leading expert in her field of study. Due to her fine relationships with Chinese Government Officials and wholesale travel agents, East-West

Tours has become the only company in the United States to be able to receive permits to visit autonomous regions of China and Tibet which are marked “Closed to Tourism”. I be-came the company’s owner and incorporated the business in 2003. I have been working since then to expand our horizons while still keeping in sync with my parents vision of having a small unique travel company that gives personalized service to small groups while educating the tour participants on the subject at hand. In March of this year, my mother was invited to an exclu-sive party given by the Directors Circle of a museum in San Diego. At that party, she met a man who asked her if she

had planned any trips to view the Total Solar Eclipse which will happen on July 22, 2009 and can be viewed from certain regions within China. My mother replied, “Yes, we will take

a small group of people to witness this (weather permit-ting).” That night my parents informed me that there is now a perfect opportunity to use my knowledge of the stars and



SDAA at the Scout FairClockwise from Top Left: Alice explains the program to an Adult Leader. Brian teaches mirror grinding. Kin explains the phases of the Moon. Photos by Alice Harvey and Kin

Searcy.



Under the StarsTDS – What’s Been Happening

by Alice Harvey Just as last month was a mix of decent weekends and damp ones, this one looked to be the same. March 21st was potentially a wonderful night, with a waning crescent moon not rising until almost 5:00am. The weather early in the week was beautiful, and then right on cue, a storm came in for the weekend. Bob Roth and I were scheduled to host, and again were clouded and fogged out – second time in a row for us! And of course, once the storm passed through the week following was exquisite. Oh well … at least it’s not officially winter anymore (the equinox having occurred on March 20th). March 28th brought a thin crescent just two days after the new moon that set just before 10:00pm. It also brought the annual Messier Marathon. After last year’s perfect conditions, there was much anticipation as to what the conditions would be this year. Kin Searcy and Ed Rumsey headed up the event in their traditional marvelous fashion, encouraging everyone to at least give it a try even if not really “going for it”. We started out with the public pads absolutely full and a number of guests as well. Bob Roth and Brian Staples hosted the club scope, and Bob finally had a good night! (In addition, he got 21 Messier objects, mostly with binoculars). But the clouds finally closed the Marathon down about 11:00pm. The club scope held out until about midnight, and had a steady stream of guests all evening long.

The weekend of April 4th was a busy one. The San Diego Science Festival was held in Balboa Park during the day, and SDAA participated with solar viewing. We stayed at the park until about 8:30pm, and I know everyone who had been there (including me!) was way too tired to even consider TDS (not to mention was a waxing gibbous moon which wasn’t going to set until after 4:00am.). April 11th brought us Easter weekend and a moon just two days past full, so TDS was quite as far as I know. Friday and Saturday were cloudy everywhere, while Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. What will the end of April and beginning of May bring? Who knows – but make some time and join me out at TDS as long as the weather is good. I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Ocotillo Observationsby John Mood

[ My wife and I cannot handle the cold at TDS in the winter, so we view in the desert from a small trailer at the north edge of Ocotillo, complete with pier for our 8” SC cope. 400 feet eleva-tion but NO light pollution. ]

Ocotillo observations have been cancelled due to back opera-tion. I trust they will resume before too long.

John Mood’s sketches and notes on Comet Lulin that I was unable to get to print last month. Not all observations come with a full color CCD image!




Kunming Observatory Telescope

my business skills to create something incredible for twenty lucky people. I got right on it. I called up my friend at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona and found out the perfect location to view this incredible event. My friend at the Lowell has appointed one of their scientists as the tour leader. I contacted my wholesaler in China and got a low quote on the trip, including the airfare. We are going to “Shangri-La”. After an early morning breakfast at sunrise on the day of the eclipse, we will take a nature walk to a plateau which will give us optimum viewing (weather permitting). I have hired a Buddhist monk to chant during the eclipse and have planned an outdoor campfire with stargazing the night before. I have purchased high quality eclipse viewers for every tour member. The full trip itinerary is:July 14 Day 1 – Depart from Los Angeles International Airport for Guangzhou, China with a connecting flight to Kunming. July 15 Day 2 – In flight. Lose a day crossing the International Date Line.July 16 Day 3 – Arrive in Guangzhou and transfer to Kunming. You will have approximately 1 hour of leisure time in the Guangzhou Airport before boarding. Chinese lunch in the five star Park Garden Hotel’s dining room. After check in, you are at leisure until dinner at a Ch’ing dynasty mansion within walking distance of the hotel. July 17 Day 4 – Morning visit to the Stone Forest with lunch there. Walk or take the small tram around the edges of the forest with several stops. Visit to the Academy of Sciences and the new radio telescope at

the observatory. July 18 Day 5 – Morning in Kunming and then transfer to Chengdu. Accommodations in Chengdu are at the Tibet Hotel. Leisure time to ex-plore Chengdu. Traders come from long distances and usually carry very fine old pieces for sale. Your National Guide can help you translate and can give advice on the authenticity of items for sale, as well as help you in bargaining for the best price.July 19 Day 6 – Day excursion to the Giant Panda Research Center. Visit Remin Park to visit a beautiful old teahouse there. After dinner, enjoy a formal Sichuan Opera Show featuring what the Chinese call “magic face mask changes” during the performance. July 20 Day 7 – Drive to Leshan and check in at the five star Emei Shan Grand Hotel. We will be staying in the No. 5 Building, which is supplied with natural hot springs. Summer is the most ideal time to visit Mt. Emei Shan, one of the four sacred mountains of China. Afternoon at leisure to explore.

Mt. Emei and the Emei Shan Temple at Summit.

July 21 Day 8 –Hike or take a cable car to the summit of Mt. Emei Shan for a picnic lunch and a tour of the monastery. Monkeys are on the trail. Tonight we will have an early evening dinner at a nearby local restau-rant before we go out for a campfire on the mountain for stargazing. Chinese beer included.July 22 Day 9 – Day of the eclipse. Get up just before sunrise and hope



for a clear day. We will have an early morning breakfast in the hotel dining room and then hike to the nearest plateau on Mt. Emei Shan for the most unobstructed impressive view. The eclipse should happen at about 9:20 am and in this area it should be at least 4 minutes long. Every tour member will receive an eclipse viewer. A Buddhist friend of ours will chant during the eclipse. After the eclipse, we descend the mountain and go into Leshan town just 6 km from the base. After lunch and a rest, we will see the gigantic statue of the huge Buddha (Da Fo) carved into a cliff. One can descend a staircase to the base where 100 men can stand on the foot of the Buddha. We will have a group photo taken here, then we will take a late afternoon drive to Dazu.July 23 Day 10 – Short drive to view the carvings in a canyon. We will have lunch and then a late afternoon departure for Chongqing on the banks of the mighty Yangtze River. You are at leisure today in Chongq-ing, now one of the largest cities in all of China. Explore the city and enjoy your time here. Tonight we will have a special Farewell Banquet. July 24 Day 11 – After breakfast we pack up and prepare for our af-ternoon flight to Guangzhou where we will connect with our international flight to Los Angeles. I feel so fortunate to be able to offer this. I love what I do, and have the best people in the world to go to when I have questions – my parents, whom I love and admire. They have shown me that success is not just having a good career, it is also that you get the chance to do your job with a passion something you love. For more information about small group travel, please contact Ann Shrader, Owner of East-West Tours, Inc. at (951) 704-2384 or on the web at www.eastwesttours.net.

Messier Marathonby Kin Searcy

The SDAA 2009 Messier Marathon started well, with the public pads full and many first time participants. Spirit was excellent and the participants got off to a good start with Ed Rumsey’s delicious cookies and Alice Harvey’s extraordinary cheeses. TDS looked great after the last work party. We had

students from Grossmont College working on observing as-signments and extra credit work. Brian Staples and Bob Roth were manning the club observatory and making the visitors feel very welcome. The weather is always the story for the Messier Mara-thon, and this year the weather forecast threatened wind. By nightfall, the wind was not an issue and the marathon started with excellent seeing. The dob crowd was seeing all 6 stars in the Trapezium with good separation. However, the sky glow over San Diego was very bright and that, combined with the crescent moon, made finding the early objects very difficult It was even hard to find M31 in the glare. Those who checked the afternoon weather and Clear Sky Clock knew that the mara-thonners were in for a problem. By 8:30 a strong line of clouds was evident to the West, and by 11 most people were packing up. The full Messier Marathon was impossible and the mouse footmen came early for the Cinderella Marathon. Although the weather was a problem, this was another great SDAA event. This Messier Marathon is all about learning the sky and helping others to observe. SDAA did this very well. This year’s marathon was a difficult event for beginners who need more time. For example, M79 was lost in the advancing clouds fairly early. Nevertheless, the experienced observers and the new participants did well for their level of experience and conditions. Here are the results:Experienced Observers: Bob Austin - 67 Alice Harvey - 35 Rick Imbra - 26 Bob Roth - 21, mostly with binocularsFirst Timers: Bob and Bernie Affeldt - 18 Andra Hansen - 17 Gary and James Letchinger - 11 Mike Rumsey - 25 Ron Tindall - 19 Richard and Matthew Zay - 10

A full crowd at the Messier Marathon. Photo Courtesy of Alice Harvey.



AISIG Gallery

How about a Jim Thommes gallery - Jim produced this nice image of the Owl Nebula (M97) (Page 18, bottom) with an Artemis 285 on a C8 mounted on a Losmandy G11 mount. He also took these wide field images of the galaxies in Virgo (below) and Coma (Page 18, top) with a Canon 350D (Baader ACF modification) on a Zenithstar 66 refractor mounted on a Celestron AS-GT mount.

THE BACK PAGESan Diego Astronomy AssociationP.O. Box 23215San Diego, CA 92193-3215(619) 645-8940VOL XLVII Issue 05, May 2009

Published Monthly by the San Diego Astronomy AssociationSubscription $8.00/year, Single Issue 75¢

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 3489SAN DIEGO, CA.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATIONSend dues and renewals to P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193. Include any renewal cards from Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, or Odyssey magazine in which you wish to continue your subscription. The expiration date shown on your newsletter’s mailing label is the only notice that your membership in SDAA will expire. Dues are $50 for Contributing Memberships; $30 for Basic Membership; $50.00 for Private Pads; $5 for each Family membership. In addition to the club dues the annual rates for magazines available at the club discount are: Sky & Telescope $32.95, Astronomy $34, Sky Watch $6.99, and Odyssey $25.46. Make checks payable to S.D. Astronomy Assn. PLEASE DO NOT send renewals directly to Sky Publishing. They return them to us for processing.

For Sale Takahashi Sky-90 II APO Fluorite 500mm f5.6 Refractor and clamshell. $1395. I purchased the Sky-90 to do widefield imaging, and along came the FSQ-85, so I never used the Sky-90. The scope is in good collimation. I recently tested collimation visually using an artificial star and also with CCDin-spector using my CCD camera. With the artificial star, the scope showed nice concentric rings to my eye. CCDinspector gave a collimation error of only 8.3 arcseconds on a star field, very good. The optics are clean with just a little dust. The tube is pristine with no scratches. It looks as if the scope has hardly been used. I’m including a clamshell in mint condition. Included are the SKY-90, clamshell tube holder, 2 inch adapter, 1.25 inch adapter, end caps, a copy of the manual, and the original Takahashi triple boxed shipping cartons. If interested please call Michael Vander Vorst at 619.987.5846 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

Pentax XL Eyepieces. 10.5mm, 14mm, and 21mm. Excellent Condition. $180 each or Best Offer. Contact Charlie Wells (619-465-2356) after 4pm.

San Diego Astronomy Associationdocs.sdaa.org/Newsletters/2009-05.pdf · 2018-01-07 · Coronado to...

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Transcript of San Diego Astronomy Associationdocs.sdaa.org/Newsletters/2009-05.pdf · 2018-01-07 · Coronado to...