| March 1999 | Copyright © 1999 |
| Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 7, at 8 PM at the Poricy Park Nature Center. We will feature a presentation by John Batinsey. |
| S*T*A*R urges you to take part in a letter writing campaign in April to encourage our municipalities to do something about light pollution. You may have seen the articles on light pollution in the Star Ledger or in USA Today. It's time to make a difference here at home, where it will benefit the most. Sample letters will be distributed at the April meeting, and information will be available on our web site. If you are unable to make the meeting or get to the web site, contact Mike Lindner at 732-578-3146 or mikel@att.net. |
| Several members of S*T*A*R have formed an ATM SIG (Amateur Telescope Making Special Interest Group). It is not just about making telescopes, but any type of astronomical equipment (e.g. LED flashlights, mounts, etc.). The SIGs first meeting involved building an observer's chair, and planning renovation of the club's aging loaner scope. If you are interested, or would just like to learn more, contact Mike Lindner at 732-578-3146 or mikel@att.net. |
 | The NJ Star Ledger is running a series of articles on astronomy every Sunday. Pick up a copy! |
| Spring is in the air, and so are galaxies... and star parties! Time to start planning. |
| 4/16-18 David Segelstein and Greg Cantrell are going on a trip out to Cherry Springs State Park, PA. Check out the discussion board or contact David or Greg if interested. |
| 4/16-18, Delmarva Star Gaze, in Queen Anne, MD. Call Lyle Jones at 302-736-9842, or visit http://www.delmarvastargazers.org/. |
| 5/1 StarConn in Middletown, CT. Contact the ASGH, P.O. Box 2271, Hartford, CT 06145, or send e-mail to Scott Tracy at vega154@aol.com. |
| 5/6 Space Day, outside Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. John Glenn will be there. Lots of activities and exhibits. For more information call Devillier Communications at 202-833-8121, or visit Space Day's Web site at http://www.spaceday.com/. |
| 5/16 Northeast Astronomy Forum, at the Holiday Inn in Suffern, NY from 9 AM to 6 PM. Contact Donald Urban, 73 Haring St., Closter, NJ 07624-1709, or call 201-768-6575 in the evening after 6 PM or e-mail donaldurban@juno.com or visit http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/rachome.htm. I'm told this is the place to go for bargains. |
| 6/11-13 Jersey Starquest, Hope, NJ. This is the star party to go to! Contact Greg Cantrell, P.O. Box 2017, Princeton, NJ 08543 or call 732-308-3488 or e-mail cantrell@princeton.edu or visit our own web page or AAAP's web page http://georgenet.net/aaap/starquest.html . |
| 6/11-13 Mason-Dixon Star Party, at Spring Valley County Park in York County, PA. Contact Jeri Jones, 400 Mundis Race Rd., York, PA 17402, or call 717-840-7226 or email jlj276@aol.com or visit http://home1.gte.net/dmdewey/mdsp.html . |
by Penny Fischer
The March meeting was held at the Carl Sandburg Middle School in Old Bridge. This annual midwinter meeting was held in a different venue so that we could enjoy a great planetarium show from Fran Decebis, who runs the program there.
Dan talked briefly this time. The Sunday Star Ledger will start running an astronomy column (once a week) starting on March 14th . Dan spoke about several upcoming star parties in March.
Also noted was the upcoming DelMarva Star Party in Queen Anne, Maryland April 16th-18th and the North East Astronomy Forum in Suffern New York, Sunday May 16th. Speakers at the NEAF will include Carolyn Shoemaker and Todd Gross.
Larry Campbell thanked everyone who helped at his recent star party. The new parts of our web page were noted; we now have a lot of new sections to peruse through for information and pictures. According to Mike Lindner, our webmaster, we've gotten a lot of compliments on the format and the content.
After this news of upcoming events, Fran Decebis gave us a great tour of the sky using the school's planetarium, which has been in use for almost 30 years. Besides running shows for local school systems, the planetarium runs many civic events.
Our nearest planetary neighbors were discussed, as well as some of the brightest and best constellations of the sky. This was a great show for not only the youngsters in the crowd but also the rest of the crew. It was my first time observing this winter without freezing my toes off.
Fran also told us that this will be her last year running the planetarium; she is retiring. Good luck, Fran, and we hope you'll join us now that you have all that free time on your hands!
In the January 1999 Spectrogram's ``Notes for December'' section we inadvertently left out the ``Scope-N-Tell'' scopes. We actually had two very unique home made scopes that night. Paul Gonzalez brought his 8`` Alice telescope, and Rob Teeter brought his rebuilt 8'' Orion dob. Apologies to both Paul and Rob for the oversight.
For anyone who hasn't seen an Alice scope it is essentially a dobsonian, but with a very low rocker box housing the mirror, and two small ``truss'' tubes going up one side supporting a flat board that holds the focuser and spider. The ``tubeless'' design and exposed optics make it look very interesting, but stray light can be a problem, which is why Paul mounted a baffle on the secondary holder opposite the focuser. Paul built his scope himself, out of an old desk, if I remember correctly.
Rob sent in a description of his scope (which was a gentle reminder that it had been overlooked), and I've included his words here.
The more important specifics on my scope are that it was the 1998 Stellafane winner in the Junior category and also won first place over at the Mason-Dixon star party in York, PA back in June 1998. Furthermore, it started it's 'life' as an 8" f/6 Orion Dobsonian in July 1996 and stayed that way until February 1997 when we decided it was time to rebuild (the only item left from Orion is the primary mirror).
We used a few new ideas for the scope also. The first being the ability for the base to break down into four separate parts (the ground board and base board together, the front board and the two side boards). When together, the base is as solid as any rigid dobsonian, but is only held together by two hand screws and a two window latches.
Secondly, the tube can be positioned for better eyepiece angling and more importantly to offset weight from heavier eyepieces (an idea that has exploded of late; at one time I was the only guy around with it).
Lastly, we added a 3" square muffin fan, but it is held in place by springs to dampen any vibrations from getting to the mirror (I have spoken to some people who have encountered vibrations from a fan). The scope has traveled many hundreds of miles and has brought my a multitude of pleasures.
It's truly my workhorse scope...until our 12.5" f/5.6 Dobsonian is finished!
By John Phillip Sousa/Jon U. Bell
[Sung to the tune of "The Stars and Stripes Forever"]
The stars shine in red, white and blue
And in brown and in orange and yellow;
The white and the blue stars are hot,
And the brown, red and orange are not.
The yellow stars you may have guessed,
Aren't as hot or as cold as the rest;
The yellow stars shine out the best!
They're not too hot, they're not too cold
They're in the middle.
The stars that you see in the sky
Are all round or oblate in the middle,
The stars can be big or quite small...
And those black holes aren't hardly there at all!
White dwarfs are as small as the earth
And pulsars are the size of a city;
But big stars are immense in their girth
Like Betelgeuse, they are a billion miles across!
Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me,
Or Buy A Friendly Guy Khaki Menswear!
Oh Boy, A Fat Giant Klingon Monster,
On Bobsleds A Frost Gives Ken Migraines -
Out Back Are Five Green Kegs Mellowing,
Orbit Back After Facing Green Killer Martians;
On Bajor A Ferengi Gets Killed Mercilessly,
& Only Britons Are For Going Kilt Mooning!
by Greg Cantrell
Last month we talked about the arrival of spring and discovered that the Earth's axis of rotation, a line drawn through the Earth from pole to pole, is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees from the Earth's orbital plane. We also found that the Earth's spin is stable and keeps the axis pointed toward the same spot in the sky, but only over short periods of time. When examined over longer time periods, we find that the axis of rotation wobbles much like a spinning top. From our Earth-bound perspective, this causes the celestial pole to trace a circle against the sky, one that takes almost 26,000 years to complete. The following drawing depicts this effect, known as precession.
The north celestial pole now points at the star Polaris, but in 13,000 years it will point at the star Vega. Simultaneously, the position of the vernal, or spring, equinox slowly shifts by about one zodiacal constellation each 2000 years. Now it is moving from Pisces to Aquarius. This shift has been heralded as the movement through different ages of the cosmos, hence the "Age of Aquarius." This shift causes a slow shift in the seasons (roughly 1 day/70 years). Thirteen hundred years from now, if there were no calendar correction for leap days, leap seconds, etc. we would start winter (the sun at its apparent southernmost place in the sky, the shortest period of daylight) on June 21st rather than December 21st.
Last month I also promised that we would venture into a part of the night sky filled with Lions and Bears. And so we have done (see attached chart). For Polaris, the North Star, is found in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. According to some Greek legends, Ursa Minor depicts Arcas, the son of Collisto, a beautiful maiden who had been ravished by the god Zeus. When Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, learned of his desire for the maiden, she turned both Collisto and her son Arcas into bears. To protect them from harm, Zeus place placed the bears into the night sky, Arcas as Ursa Minor and Collisto as Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
Though Ursa Minor was not described as a constellation until about 600 BC, Ursa Major is no doubt one of the oldest and most recognized constellations in the night sky. Recognition of the Great Bear was not limited to early Europe. Certain Native American tribes also saw a bear in these stars, though they described the bear as being pursued by three hunters, the stars now known as Alkaid, Mizar, and Alioth. Mizar has a faint but readily seen companion star that the Native Americans saw as a pot brought along for cooking the bear. The chase was thought to last from spring to fall, when the hunters were finally able to shoot the bear with their arrows. The bear's blood would then fall to the Earth, coloring the leaves of autumn.
Ursa Minor's seven brightest stars form the asterism known as the Big Dipper. (An asterism is an easily recognizable pattern of stars within a constellation.) Also known as the Plough, the Wain, or the Wagon, the Big Dipper has been noted in poems and shown in paintings. Early Anglo-Saxons associated the Wagon, or Wain, with the legend of King Arthur and saw these stars as a sort of celestial Camelot. Early Britons were reminded of a plough by this asterism and saw the bowl as a plough blade, while the handle stars were described as horses. Early Egyptians saw the dipper stars as the thigh of a bull. To ancient Chinese, this pattern was known as Tseih Sing, the government.
This pattern is also seen in Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, and it is known to many as the Little Dipper. This recognition is apparently a modern one, though, as it does not appear in ancient tales.
We'll continue exploring this area of the sky next month, as we go hunting for Lions. Until then, clear skies!
(Note: I'd like to express my appreciation to Dr. Jerry Bieber, of Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, for granting me permission to use his drawing depicting precession. You can visit Dr. Bobber's web site at http://inst.santafe.cc.fl.us/~jbieber .)
By Joe Cascella
It has been a long time dream of many S*T*A*R members that our society would be able to develop an astronomical observatory. Over the years, plans have been drawn, sites considered, and even some money raised. The Monmouth County Park System was lobbied, and even the Jenny Jump site (UACNJ) considered. But the proposals never really got off the ground.
In recent months, several S*T*A*R members have met with representatives of Poricy Park. And there seems to be an interest, a real interest, in allowing S*T*A*R to develop an observatory at the park. The discussions have gone well. So it now would be proper to redirect our attention back to our own membership. For if an observatory at Poricy Park is to become a reality, numerous issues must be addressed, including, but not limited to, the following:
So you see, there is quite a bit of work to do to turn the idea into reality. In the next two months, leading up to S*T*A*R's annual business meeting in June, we will need your thoughts on these, and other issues. We also need you to consider in what areas we will be able to count on you to assist. Prior to a survey in next months SPECTROGRAM , if you have thoughts you would like to share, please e-mail Joe Cascella at jcascella@monmouth.com
[The following is a series of excerpts from our on-line discussion board -- Ed.].
David Segelstein writes:
``Clouds held off until after midnight!
Greg Cantrell, Mike Lindner, Drew and Andy Zangle, Charles Kirby, Steve Walters, and David Segelstein brought a total of 45.5" of aperture out to Coyle for a Messier Marathon. Steve claimed 71, Mike got a truly verified 58, Andy got some and got more used to finding faint fuzzies, Drew found several objects and got some sleep, Charles got frustrated without his new Astrophysics there, Greg got some astronomica obscura, and David got some mediocre exposures.
By the time the clouds arrived, Mike was just pointing his scope and finding galaxies `right where they're supposed to be' amazingly. This guy's gonna be a galaxy man, I can tell. Stephan's Quintet is not far off.
It was a fine half night, and if the clouds had held off, I'm sure there would have been two completed marathons. But as it was, all went home happy.''
Steve Walters writes:
``...71 will have to be my best effort for this year. Last year was better (101 of 110) but it was still a really fun time.
By the way, Mike L. is to be commended on finding all the galaxies in Virgo on his first Marathon! He did it all by starhopping and this is no small feat. Great job, Mike!''
Mike Lindner writes:
``My final count (looking at my notes) is 58 objects. I got there later than I intended, and started with my el-cheapo binoculars while the scope cooled. I was apparently the first person to find M31 this way, although I couldn't find it in my scope until David gave me a hand. Once I knew where it was I could find it again and again.
Skipped a bunch of the early objects, as the sky was too bright, and they were setting. Greg leant me his Machholz book (which was the one Steve was using), but I was more used to the Pennington book, having read through it a few times.
I was having Incredible luck just pointing the scope with the finder and having the objects appear right there without further searching. Then I got to Coma Berenices, and spent a backbreaking 3/4 hour finding nothing! Skipped the Coma objects, figuring to come back later. Just made it through the Virgo cluster (13 galaxies, no waiting ) when the clouds rolled on in.
The highlights were (according to my mostly illegible notes):
M42/43 - Wow! Never seen this much detail from any other site! Many swirls and streamers visible.
M78 - Could also make out NGC2064, 2067, and 2071 in same field.
M37 - Beautifully defined. Popped in 2x barlow and it seemed I could make out every individual star! Almost 3-D looking!
M65/66 - Also saw NGC3628 in same field. Greg tells me it is mag 9.5.
M51 - WOW!! Popped in 2x barlow and could easily see the spirals. Lots of detail visible, even in smaller companion NGC5195!
To anyone who's never tried it, this messier marathon stuff is FUN! Try it next year!''
Penny Fischer writes:
``The best thing about a Messier is it forces you to hunt and hunt relatively in an efficient order, and it just shows what can be done when you are truly organized with a plan of action.
I used Robert Garfinkle's Messier Marathon guideline in his `Star Hopping' book. He uses starhopping techniques as he does in the rest of the book to find the objects, and he does hop from object to object.
For the second year in a row, I could NOT find Andromeda, not hide nor hair, despite the most extensive looking. I dunno if it's the conditions here or the sunset, but it was nowhere to be found. I tried everything.''
Andy Zangle writes:
``I got about 20 objects and found some `faint fuzzies' for the first time. My son Drew spent the time practicing with the ETX to point where he wanted it before sleeping. He found two or three objects and had a god time. Today, Drew never stopped talking about the night especially the helicopter that kept getting closer with each repetition!''
David Segestein writes:
``I find it really terrific watching people get involved, and then grow into good observers (people who can really go out there with a plan and find stuff they've never seen before). Andy did really well. And I was impressed that Mike was able to find every Messier object in the Virgo mess. [lest I get a big head, I must admit that although I could find all the objects in Virgo, I couldn't find Virgo itself without help. Likewise for several other constellations - Ed.] Even Drew was learning the constellations and watching satellites. It was cool. One other fun thing was watching Greg. Last year I remember him spending about a half hour looking for and then finally finding M101. He asked me whether he should subject himself to that torture again, cause he sort of wanted to see it from Coyle. I said he should do it. He pointed his scope, and found it immediately.
Great night. I even got a couple of mediocre pictures. Suffice it to say that I am still learning this stuff. Photography is hard.
Greg Cantrell writes:
``Had a really great night Friday. I didn't participate in the Marathon, but had an excellent time just being out under the stars with a group of friends. Between all the oohs and aahs coming from Mike, and David dancing with joy over finally being able to do some photography, it was a blast.
We were first treated to a stunning view of the Moon, Venus, and Saturn, all grouped together in the western sky. As darkness fell, the sky was so clear that I spent a good deal of time just standing there, admiring the view.
When I got down to observing, I decided to work my way through part of the `overlooked objects' book that I borrowed from Dan. (should have been there, Dan, you would have been proud!).
My observing list included: NGC 2281 - broken heart cluster NGC 4656 - fish hook galaxy NGC 2392 - eskimo nebula NGC 2841 - a spiral galaxy in Ursa Major NGC 2420 - a small open cluster near the eskimo nebular (recommend this one...nice little cluster) NGC 2141, NGC 2169, and NGC 2194 - open clusters in Orion's club
And of course, I spent some time with the Messier's
M3, 51, 63, 94, 106 in Canes Venatici M81 & 82 and M101 in Ursa Major (found M101 on my first attempt!) M95, 96, and 105 in Leo M53 and 64 in Coma Berenices (caught a glimpse of the black eye!) M104 in Virgo (dust lane visible).
Finally, I had taken the obligatory look at M13, and was searching for NGC 6207 (a small galaxy found near the cluster), when the sky went blank in my eyepiece. The clouds had arrived.
David, Mike, and I tried to wait them out, but finally packed it in around 2:00 am.
Great night...need more of these!''
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