november 2002 the sidereal timesthe sidereal times november 2002 page 2 the official newsletter of...

The Sidereal TimesNovember 2002

Page 1The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society

P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-0581 www.taas.org

505/254-8227

The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical SocietyThe Sidereal Times

November 2002

___________________________________________I N S I D E__________________________________________1....Points of Light2....President’s Message3....General Meeting News4....Calendars

6....Minutes of the Board Mtg7....NASA’s Space Place8....GNTO News & Views9..TAAS Reports/Notices

10..Observer’s Page11..Special Interest Groups13..ECTV’s Report14..Pellegrino on GNTO15..Classified Ads

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Points of LightKaren KeeseIf our two great outreach events of September—the 2002

State Fair and the 2002 Night Sky Conference—were asuccess, it is largelydue to the work ofTAAS’s dependablecorps of volunteers.At the Fair onSeptember 21, greatsupport from ChrisChadwick of theDepartment of Gameand Fish, and CraigVencill of the State FairA d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,resulted in oursecuring both exhibit

space in the high-traffic Natural Resources Building andsolar scope space on the lawn next to the KOB Pavilion.Additional support fromNASA/JPL resulted in agenerous donation ofthousands of high-quality, colorfuleducational materials,which we distributed as“Cool Free ScienceStuff”. I estimate we hadover 1,000 visitors comethrough our exhibit, andeach successive wave ofpeople fell upon the freeliterature table likestarving guests at a banquet. Every time I walked out to

the scopes, they weredoing a very briskbusiness also. Thisevent really openedmy eyes to the powerof astronomy outreachand to the high interestlevel among thegeneral public, not justthose who go to starparties – in short,people truly are hungryfor information about

astronomy and are looking for accessible connections to thatinformation.Many thanks to our Fair volunteers inside the hall:• Rebecca Purvis,

Elizabeth Burki, andJudy Stanley, for makingshow-stopping cometsand comet tails• Mark Kroska, forchallenging all ages witha sophisticatedAstronomy-Jeopardycomputer game that heconceptualized andprogrammed• Elaine Kroska, forexplaining theexpanding-universeactivity about 300 times,with tireless grace andgood humor• Pete Eschman andLarry Cash, for ablyanchoring theinformation table andproviding marvelouscomputer slide shows• Nancy Davis, forskilled (and sneaky)shutterbuggingGreat fanfare and our

heartfelt thanks must also go to Brock Parker, Dale Murray,and Chris Wilson for withstanding the blistering sun inorder to give the public views of the very same, with veryknowledgeable commentary all the while (I wase a v e s d ro p p i n g ) .Thanks to GordonPegue for providingmuch-needed relieffor the stalwart solarcrew.Special thanks toBrock Parker andJudy Stanley for theirpriceless advice andexpertise in theplanning stages; theyshaped the success ofthe event, early on.

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Page 2 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society

President’s MessageRay Collins

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There’s an old jazz piece – perhaps by Thelonius Monk – entitledSpringtime can really hang you up the most. For many, perhaps,but I am far more hung up by Falltime. I find myself outsidewaiting, listening ... wondering how long I’ve been holding mybreath while there is no movement and no sound. This is theseason when discussion of cycles and change tends to run heavyon clichés and melancholy, and it is the season when hearing isthe most evocative of the senses, just as smelling rain in summerand piñon wood smoke in winter are defining moments.Whether I am in my classroom or on the roof ministering to theevaporative cooler, I will have the sense that the geese and cranesare near before I am aware that I am listening to them, and I willhear them long before I am able to see them, high and to thewest over the river. Then I realize that I have been hearing forthem. They wheel higher, turning in response to some greatupdraft, and then reestablish the formation that directs themsouthward. If ever in this life I am to recognize an alienintelligence, this must be it. This is my call to be a science fictionwriter.I do not read science fiction. As a genre, there is too much thatis, to my taste, poor science and worse fiction. With limited timeavailable for nonessential reading, I find the task of selectinggood Sci-Fi particularly daunting: there is so much of it, and Ihave no clue to finding the authors who might delight me. Myexperience with the literary advice of friends who read widelyin this area has been poor: I am hard put to describe mypreferences, and our tastes seldom overlap.All of that notwithstanding, I number Ann McCaffery, RobertHeinlein and Madeleine L’Engle within a special niche of myfavorite, most entertaining, writers. Heinlein was my own findin Junior High; McCaffery and L’Engle were selected decadeslater by my young daughters as being more suitable “bedtimeread aloud” companions than poets, my automatic choice. Iremember we were all quite weepy when A Wrinkle in Time cameto an end. If pressed, I suppose I would say that these sciencefiction works have led me to a better understanding of what it isto be human because they describe intelligence in nonhumansin ways that are both subtle and important.I imagine that intelligence must be defined in terms ofknowledge and its transmittal between individuals and acrosstime. If I were to write about an alien race, it would be so easy toproject my human predilection for symbols and words uponthe beings that I invent, and with writers of science fiction it isalmost always all about words. But McCaffery places realimportance on the melodies handed across time in the music ofthe Harpers of Pern. The symbols around which humanpsychology revolves have no meaning to the Heinlein’s Mars-reared Valentine Michael Smith. L’Engle hints at ribosomal DNAas a root knowledge base, and, with the tessaract, constructsknowledge in four dimensions.I watch the cranes and geese and am struck that there must bean intelligence of which each bird is a part, but which belongsonly to the flock as a collective. We consider ourselves to benetworked as a society, but this seems so primitive in comparisonwith those species where to be disconnected is to be destroyed,organism and superorganism alike.I have thought that when we move out among the stars, wemay resemble birds as much as people. There may be a greatadvantage in not carrying the entire gene pool in one vessel, butrather in behaving as a collective of smaller units, moving inaccordance to the higher wisdom of the group. Nesting andbreeding areas will have their astronomical equivalents, thoughwe will have abandoned the cycles of ebb and flow, egress andreturn, in favor of the imperative to move ever outward. Howwill we call out to one another? In terms of energetics, I wonderif the migrating waterfowl over the Rio Grande might not go

much farther on less grain if they were to fly in silence. Do theircalls remind one other of their greater purpose, or offer neededencouragement? In this communication, do they recall all of themigrations since the beginning, since the first flock? How dothey look on our upstart species, and on the unsightly andgarishly lit structures, which we have substituted for realcommunities? Do they believe that ours is an experiment thatmust self-correct or face oblivion? Which result would theyfavor?This seems to be taking on the flavor of Douglas Adams’ mice(Earth’s true intelligent life forms) in the The Hitchhiker’s Guideto the Galaxy series. Now I have betrayed that from time to time,I still do read some Sci-Fi, though Adams’ work can hardly becategorized as anything except unique. We simply cannot knowthe thoughts of cranes and geese – or mice – and so we leavethat to fiction writers. If anyone is still reading this, and choosesto write a work of science fiction that expands on the idea of ourspecies taking on more the intelligence of birds when we ventureout among the stars, please be my guest. I might enjoy readingsuch silliness.Some weeks before the Night Sky Conference, one of mynephews made the point that the great thing about light pollutionis that there are no images of shore birds and cute baby sea otterscovered with crude oil (a la Valdez oil spill): our penchant forturning light into day may deprive us all of our priceless heritage,but it remains largely a “victimless crime”. When we turn downthe lights, there will be no Superfund cleanup required to undothe damage. He went on to say that what is wrong with thecause of light pollution is that there are no images of shore birdsand cute baby sea otters covered with crude oil. It is hard to getthe attention of the public without appealing to its heart.Among the great deal I learned at the Night Sky Conferencewas that my nephew was wrong on several counts. Somepopulations of sea turtles and migratory birds are endangeredby light pollution. Meanwhile, the appeal to the public’s intellectcannot help but reach the more emotional matter of recoveringa night sky that so many are hardly aware that they have beenmissing so badly. Lighting which does not pollute is betterlighting from any number of perspectives, and the solution willbe forthcoming when all of those stakeholders are heard inconcert. TAAS is part of a large community of interest, and wehave now been very successful in assuming a leadership rolewithin that community: I could not be more proud of Karenand the large number of TAAS members who worked so hardto make this event a wonderful success.

And the Stars

Perhaps you did not know how bright last night,Especially above your seaside door,Was all the marvelous starlit sky, and woreWhite harmonies of very shining light.Perhaps you did not want to seek the sightOf that remembered rapture any more.—But then at least you must have heard the shoreRoar with reverberant voices thro’ the night.Those stars were lit with longing of my own,And the ocean’s moan was full of my own pain.Yet doubtless it was well for both of usYou did not come, but left me there alone.I hardly ought to see you much again;And stars, we know, are often dangerous.

– Robinson Jeffe.



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TAAS General Meeting News

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October 26, 2002General Meeting

On Saturday, October 26, we will takea walk on the wild side. That is, wewill venture out on the fringes ofscience with our speaker Kendrick(Ken) Frazier, a noted pseudosciencedebunker, a science writer, and theeditor of the international journal TheSkeptical Inquirer: The Magazine forScience and Reason.

For more than 25 years, anorganization of noted scientists,philosophers, science journalists, andothers have investigated paranormal,fringe-science, and pseudoscientificclaims from a critical, scientificviewpoint and published the resultsof their studies in The Skeptical Inquirer.In his lecture entitled “ExaminingPseudoscience: From UFOs to the Faceon Mars”, Mr. Frazier will examine thework of that organization. Mr. Frazierrecently wrote:“Scientists, educators, and everyoneelse concerned about critical thinkingand scientific literacy are at timesconfronted with claims that fascinatethe public but don’t qualify as goodscience. Sometimes the assertions areout-and-out pseudoscience. Everyscience has its fringe in these senses,and astronomy is no exception.Astrologers use some of the languageof astronomy. UFO proponents playon legitimate scientific interest in thepossibilities of extraterrestrialintelligence. The so-called Roswellincident confounds some real eventswith wildly imagined ones. Somepeople have made unfounded claimsabout seeing signs of intelligent life onMars or the moon.”

Mr. Frazier is the author or editor ofnine books. Notable among them are:People of Chaco: A Canyon and ItsCulture; Solar System (for Time-LifeBooks); Our Turbulent Sun; and TheViolent Face of Nature. His science

Karen Keese

articles have appeared in manyperiodicals, and he has been the editorof Science News magazine inWashington, D.C. For the past sixyears, Mr. Frazier has been editor ofSandia Lab News, the employeenewspaper at Sandia, where he hasbeen employed since 1983.

Be with us also on November 23 as wewrap up our 2002 season of generalmeeting lectures with a fascinatingexploration of lightning, presented byPaul Krehbiel of the LangmuirLaboratory for Atmospheric Research.The General Meetings start at 7:00 P.M.and are held at Regener Hall, locatedon UNM’s Main Campus, west ofPopejoy Hall. We welcome anycontributions of baked goods for thesocial hour—yes, sugar and fat AREfood groups! For more information,contact Karen Keese at [email protected] or261-0040.

Highlights of theSeptember 21 Meeting

Neil Goldberg

More than 100 persons attended theSeptember meeting at the LodestarPlanetarium. Dr. Neb Duric, Professorof Physics and Astronomy at UNM,delivered a talk on Cosmic Rays. Hebriefly recounted the history of cosmicrays from their discovery less than 100years ago to the current theories oftheir origin in supernova explosions.He described his own theory derivedfrom research using the VLA locatedright here in New Mexico just downthe road from TAAS’s GNTO!Actually cosmic rays aren’t rays at allbut are charged particles racingthrough space at greater than 99.9%of the speed of light. They are trappedin the magnetic fields of stars(including the Sun), planets and insupernovas. The synchrotron effect,where charged particles (in this caseelectrons) spiral through the magnetic

fields, begins the process where theemitted radiant energy is captured byradio telescopes and studied usingvarious imaging techniques.After Dr. Duric’s talk the movie,“Saving the Night Sky,” narrated byDavid Levy was shown. It is anexcellent overview of the lightpollution problem. This film will beuseful for presenting the lightpollution problem to the generalpublic in a non combative,understandable and informative way.

The evening was capped off by apresentation of the winners of the“AstroImages of New Mexico:Portraits from the Foothills of Space”competition. Each winner will bemailed an award certificate. Thephotographs will be displayed in thefoyer of the Planetarium for twomonths.

Best of ShowJim Gale, “Ranch and North StarTrails”

Land & Sky CategoryFirst Place: James Oese, “Moon &Earth-Shine Effect”Second Place: Jim Gale, “LeonidMeteor Shower & VLA”Honorable Mention: Randall Roberts,“Moon & Moon-Lamp Effect”

Digital CategoryFirst Place: Tom Lynch, “Ghost ofJupiter (NGC 3242)”Second Place: Randall Roberts,“Annular Eclipse of the Sun”Honorable Mention: Tom Lynch,“Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)”

Film and Plate CategoryFirst Place: James Janusz, “NorthAmerican & Pelican Nebulae”Second Place: Rick Thurmond,“Horsehead & Flame Nebulae”Honorable Mention: James Janusz,“Cat’s Paw Nebula & NGC 6334”

The presentation ceremony wasfollowed by a coffee-social hour.



24 25 26 27 28 29 30

• TAAS General Mtg, 7 P.M.

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Astronomical Events & Theories

November 2002

1 2

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

SUN MON WED THU FRI SAT

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

TUE

• UNM

• UNM

• UNM

• UNM

• ATM Workshop 7 P.M., Valley HS


• UNM

• GNTO-CTC• GNTO

• The Sidereal Times Deadline

• GNTO Committee Mtg

• Board Meeting (7 P.M. @ PandA

Bldg.)

• GNTO Training

• Thanksgiving Day

•New Moon @13:35

• First Quarter @ 13:52

• Full Moon @18:35

• Last Quarter @ 08:46

Planet Rise / Set (11/15/2002)Mercury 06:42/16:55 Saturn 19:11/09:27Venus 04:57/15:41 Uranus 12:56/23:45Mars 03:57/15:23 Neptune 11:58/22:19Jupiter 22:59/12:37 Pluto 08:08/18:58

11/1 06:29/17:1511/15 06:42/17:0311/30 06:57/16:53

Sunrise/Sunset

• School Star Party Griegos

Elementary

• Stars in theFoothills 7P.M.@Elena Gallegos

According to the November 2002 issueof Astronomy magazine the Leonidmeteor shower has a chance for highstorm rates this year. There ishowever, a near full moon which willinterfere with the sighting of a largenumber of fainter meteors.David Asher and Rob McNaught ofthe Dutch Meteor Society favor a peakaround November 19 at 3:36 A.M.MST, which is good for Americanobservers. Another researcher, whotracks the debris left by passages ofcomet Swift-tuttle, Peter Brown,predicts an earlier peak on November18 at 8:50 P.M. MST. This predictionfavors European observers. Earthpasses closest to the comet’s orbit onNovember 17 at 1:00 P.M. MST. The

timing of this event favors bothAustralia and Asia.

•Leonid Meteor Shower

•Leonid Meteor Shower

Photo by Hisatoshi Ogimoto

In an article in the September 30 issueof Time magazine, Leon Jaroffdiscusses a study which indicates thatthe Earth may have at one time hadrings, not unlike those of Saturn.Toward the end of the Eocene epoch,35 million years ago, Earth’s primitiveinhabitants endured a cold period thatlasted 100,000 years. Two scientists,

writing in the Journal of GeophysicalResearch have proposed the possibilitythat our planet was once encircled byrings created by a glancing blow froman asteroid.Peter Fawcett of the University of NewMexico and Mark Boslough of theSandia National Laboratory speculatethat a large asteroid hit the Earth atan oblique angle and plowed acrossthe surface for some distance beforericocheting away. In the process, thetheory goes, it sprayed molten andvaporized Earth and asteroid chunksinto space, where some pieces wentinto orbit and eventually formed anopaque ring.“Like the rings of Saturn, this ring casta shadow over the tropics, drasticallyaffecting the global climate”, suggestsBoslough.

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NotesTAAS = The Albuquerque AstronomicalSociety. Hotline 254-TAAS (8227)GNTO = General Nathan TwiningObservatory - premium observing night.GNTO-CTC = Must confirm with GNTODirector - Pete Eschman ([email protected], or873-1517). Check TAAS-L listserv forinformationGNTO Training = GNTO observing andtrainingUNM = University of New MexicoObservatory. Call the TAAS hotline @254-8227, or the UNM hotline @ 277-1446 toconfirm, or [email protected] = Albuquerque Coffee ShopAstronomers. Contact Sammy forinformation or visit www.taas.org and selectsidewalk astronomyATM = Amateur Telescope Making. CallMichael Pendley for information @ 296-0549,or [email protected] = UNM Physics and Astronomy.Corner of Lomas and Yale.

TAAS General Meeting

October 26, Saturday, 20027P.M.

Subject:

ExaminingPseudoscience:

From UFOs to theFace on Mars

Speaker:

Kendrick Frazier

ATM WorkshopRay Collins/Mike Pendley

[email protected] Amateur Telescope Making workshopmeets the first and third Wednesdays ofeach month at Valley High School, 1505Candelaria—the north side of Candelaria,just west of 12th street. The meetings beginat 7 P.M. and are in Building E, Room #3.

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December 2002

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

SUN MON WED THU FRI SAT

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

TUE

• UNM

• UNM

• UNM

• UNM

29 30 31



• The Sidereal Times Deadline

• GNTO Committee Mtg

• GNTO-CTC• GNTO

• Board Meeting (7 P.M. @ PandA

Bldg.)

• TAAS Pot Luck

•New Moon @00:35

• First Quarter @ 08:49

• Full Moon @12:11

Planet Rise / Set (12/15/2002)Mercury 08:26/17:57 Saturn 17:04/07:19Venus 03:33/14:28 Uranus 11:00/21:51Mars 03:32/14:18 Neptune 10:03/20:24Jupiter 21:03/10:40 Pluto 06:15/17:04

12/1 06:58/16:5312/15 07:09/16:5412/30 07:15/17:06

Sunrise/Sunset

• GNTO• Last Quarter @ 17:31

• School Star Party Collet Park Elementary

• Stars in theFoothills 7P.M.@Elena Gallegos



Minutes of the Board of Directors MeetingDavid Blair ❖

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Minutes of The AlbuquerqueAstronomical Society Board ofDirectors meeting, 19 September 2002,Physics and Astronomy Building, TheUniversity of New Mexico:President Ray Collins called toorder the Board of Directors at 7:21P.M. Attending members were thepresident, Karen Keese (vicepresident), David Blair (secretary),Larry Cash, Pete Eschman, NeilGoldberg, and Dan Richey.Members Dave Brown (treasurer),Eric Bucheit, Barry Spletzer, JudyStanley, and Chris Wilson wereabsent. Society member BarryGordon was also present.Minutes of the 22 August meetingwere accepted withoutamendments.

Treasurer’s ReportDave Brown submitted a writtenreport in absentia: As of September6, 2002, total funds on depositstood at $14,089.43; TAAS generalfund, $4,648.56; GNTO generalfund, $3,930.41; GNTO long-termfund, $710.00; GNTO capitalimprovements, $2,243.37; GNTOtotal funds, $6,883.78; educationfund, $1,645.49; Explorer Post 110fund, $66.99; dark sky fund,$264.36; Broline fund, $500.00.

RetrospectAbout 70 attended the August 24general meeting featuring Dr.Rhian Jones, curator of UNM’sInstitute of Meteoritics.About 30 attended GNTOtraining/observing on September7 despite unfavorable weather.Also September 7, TAAS set up atable at the monthly Lodestarprogram; attendance was notfavorable.Sixty to 100 people attended the

Oak Flat Star Party September 14.Broken cloudiness allowedreasonably good viewing.

ProspectTAAS planned a table at the StateFair September 21. Karen plannedset-up at 8 A.M. with publicadmission to begin at 9 A.M.UNM astronomy professor NebDuric is the scheduled speaker forthe September 21 General Meeting,which is to take place at theLodeStar Astronomy Center.Laurel Ladwig, LodeStar ’splanetarium manager is to followwith a short program. The meetingis to conclude with the opening ofthe TAAS/LodeStarastrophotography exhibit “Astro-Images of New Mexico: Portraitsfrom the Foothills of Space.”Karen reported that the Night SkyConference is on track forSeptember 28, to be held at UNM’sDane Smith Hall.The Placitas Star Party is plannedfor the evening of the same day.GNTO “call to confirm” andviewing for October 4 and 5respectively were canceled since alarge contingent of TAAS membersplanned to attend the Okie-Tex StarParty. However, an equinox picnicwill be held at GNTO on Oct. 12.Sammy Lockwood is conducting aStar Party at Elena Gallegos PicnicGrounds on Nov. 1, a trial balloonrather than an official TAAS event.

GNTO CommitteePete reported that the committeemet on September 12. He thankedD. C. Dean for donation of a 17-inch flat-screen monitor.Pete reiterated the need for acentralized system of accountingfor and acknowledging non-cash

donations. Ray and Neil will lookinto the matter.John Sefick has asked for return ofa C-14 mount, donated to theSociety some time, for the purposeof supporting a platform for near-Earth asteroid studies. The Boardagreed to this request, noting thatthe equipment has never been usedby the Society.A work party is planned forOctober 10-13 to accomplish roofwork and lay a cement porch forthe main observatory building.The Committee is also consideringan additional storage structure forGNTO, but feels a comprehensivesite plan should be addressed first.The Committee intends to set up ameeting with Campbell Farmsconcerning lighting of theirplanned facility in ValenciaCounty.

MembershipNeil reported that he has sent outten letters to lapsed members. Hewill try this approach for threemonths and then assess whether itis worthwhile.

Other BusinessDavid reported that no suitablenights had occurred for assessmentof the Semilla site. He set a newwindow of October 6 throughOctober 10 for assessing the site.Ray suggested that it may beadvisable to proceed with the leasefor the site soon, even if a observingsession has not yet been possible.Ray is also pursuing membershipfor the annual Awards andNominating Committees.The Board adjourned at 8:38 P.M.


Page 7The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society❖

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From Brobdingnag toLilliput:

My Travels Through 30Years of the Space

Program

By Diane K. Fisher

In the early 70s, as a minor characterin the Apollo Program, I worked in theVehicle Assembly Building at KSC.

Stepping into the VAB, I felt like theincredible shrinking woman. Thespace inside accommodated six 45-story office towers with vast openspaces to spare. In the vertical spacesbetween the office towers, the 363-foothigh Saturn Vs were assembled.

From my third floor office in onetower, I often delivered documents tohigher floors in other towers. Betweenriding the stomach-dropping glasselevators and dashing across to othertowers on narrow, open catwalks atthe 28th or 44th floor levels, I soon

overcame my fear of heights.

On these excursions, I would see theSaturn Vs come together in the 500-foot high bays. After hundreds ofengineers and technicians had toiledaround the clock for months, themorning of high-bay rollout wouldarrive. Slowly, the CrawlerTransporter would bear forth theMobile Launch Platform and themajestic Saturn V rocket. The morningsun reflecting off its gleaming whiteform would take my breath away.

The last Apollo mission was 30 yearsago. As the Apollo program ended,some thought human missions to theMoon, Mars, and beyond wouldcontinue apace. Though they didn’tcontinue, the Apollo program remainsa single, large step in our technologicalevolution as a species. It is a greattribute to the intelligence, ingenuity,and dedication of the peopleresponsible for the Apollo missions

The Saturn V and Mobile Launch Platformare carried to the launch pad on the CrawlerTransporter. Notice the tiny humans below

the platform.

The Vehicle Assembly Building at KennedySpace Center, completed in 1965 for the

Apollo Moon Program.

that they were so successful and thedisasters so few. NASA’s programtoday continues to build on thetechnological and managerial legacybequeathed us by Apollo.

And just where are we now? Amongits other tasks, the International SpaceStation is teaching people to live inspace for long periods. Robotic spacemissions are studying issues like landuse and global warming anddiscovering the wonders of theuniverse, its history, and our place init. With humanity’s many otherpressing needs, such quests must bedone efficiently.

Part of NASA’s mission is to developthe technologies to do cost-effectivelywhat has never been done before atall. NASA’s New MillenniumProgram develops and validates newtechnologies for space. Missions suchas Deep Space 1 and Earth Observing1 carry and test multiple newtechnologies (such as ion propulsionand advanced imaging instruments)previously untried in space. And,unlike the Saturn V, the ultimate gas-guzzling muscle car of the 70s, thenew technologies must be the “zeroemission” vehicles of the 21st century-small, efficient, and capable beyondanything done before.

Many of the New Millenniumtechnologies are described for adultsat nmp.nasa.gov and for children atThe Space Place, spaceplace.nasa.gov.

Diane K. Fisher is the developer and writerfor The Space Place web site.

This article was provided by the JetPropulsion Laboratory, CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, under a contractwith the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration.



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GNTO News & ViewsPeter Eschman

Our observing session on September7th was clouded out, but over 14 folksshowed up anyway. We enjoyed aseries of lively discussions in thecomfort of the Ortega Building. Thehighlight of the evening was a verygenerous donation from D.C. Dean, anew TAAS member. D.C. donated awonderful new 17” flat screen monitorfor use on the computer we carry intothe Ortega Building for CCD workand image presentations. Of course,we tested the new equipment rightaway, and the results were great. Thenew flat screen is easier to transport,and it presents a much larger andeasier to read screen for the peoplegathered around the computer. Thiswill be a big plus for CCD imagingsessions, training sessions and anynecessary computer presentations.Thanks D.C!

I had prepared a cardboard boxprototype for the new lock box that wewill use to store the C-11 andLosmandy mount in the main domebuilding. We tried the prototype andsettled on a final location for the lockbox, which will be placed on thecounter just inside the computer roomof the main dome. Jim and Ann Cox,of Artistry of Iron, have agreed to helpwith the construction of the new lockbox, which we hope to have installedsoon.

Our GNTO committee meeting wasSeptember 12th, with Karen Keese,Mark Kroska, Larry Cash, Ray Collins,Dale Murray and Gordon Pegueattending. Dale donated a nicePentium Laptop computer for use inGNTO outreach events. I later addedadditional memory and a larger harddrive, and the laptop was used verysuccessfully at our State Fairpresentation. Thanks to Dale, we nowhave another tool to help us promoteGNTO by displaying various slidepresentations and softwaredemonstrations. The committee alsowants to thank D.C. Dean, for hisgenerous donation of the new 17” flatscreen monitor for use at GNTO.

We discussed maintenance needs at

the observatory. Our largest task isreplacement of the roof decking on themain dome building. The first part ofthe renovation will includeconstruction of a small porch roof overthe concrete slab on the south side ofthe dome, so that we can relocate thesolar panels in this area. The roofwork is needed because of rottensections of roof decking, as well aspersistent leaks in some areas. Weplan to do the replacement in sections,starting with the southern roof section.At the time of the committee meetingwe had scheduled some work effortsto begin this process. Subsequentscheduling conflicts have caused us topostpone this work effort, which willbe rescheduled in the near future.

We felt that a new structure might beneeded at GNTO. This structurewould serve as a storage facility anda more secure operational setting forthe C-11 and Losmandy equipment.Before considering any newstructures, the committee feels that weneed to create a long-range master siteplan. This long-range site plan wouldconsider issues of electrical and dataconnectivity, as well as landscapingand would plan for the most beneficialuse of our observing site area.

The final meeting topic involved eventscheduling. Because of conflicts withother major star parties, includingChaco, Enchanted Skies, City of Rocksand Okie-Tex, we decided to cancelthe October 4-5th GNTO event. Wealso cancelled the October 17th GNTOcommittee meeting because ofscheduling conflicts. We decidedagainst scheduling any Friday Call toConfirm events for next year, becausewe had such a low interest in theseevents this year. We have only had afew Fridays when anyone expressedinterest in attending, but each time wehad difficulty arranging for a key-holder to go to GNTO. For next year,we will simply post a message to ourTAAS-L listserv, which will leteveryone know that someone isplanning to be at GNTO on the Fridayof the new moon weekend.

Speaking of GNTO key-holders, whoare they? The current key-holder listincludes Dave Brown, Larry Cash, RayCollins, Pete Eschman, Linda Hixon,Karen Keese, Mark Kroska, DaleMurray, Gordon Pegue, GeorgePellegrino, and Mike Pendley. Key-holder duties include attendingperiodic GNTO committee meetings,helping with GNTO training sessions,working to promote the use of GNTO,and helping to shoulder the load of thework efforts at the observatory.

Our fund raising drive for the C-11and Losmandy equipment is nearingour goal. We need to raise $900 tofinish paying for the new equipment.Please consider helping us with thepurchase of this equipment, which isa major improvement for visual orCCD astronomy at GNTO. The C-11optical tube is quite well suited to ourST-9E CCD camera, and the GoTocapability of the Losmandy mountmakes it fun to use for all applications.

The next events at GNTO areobserving sessions on November 1stand 2nd, with the 1st designated as aFriday Call to Confirm event. TheSaturday event on the 2nd is a regularobserving event. A bit further out onour schedule, is the November 30thtraining date, when we will beoffering instruction on all three levelsof equipment use. I will have moreinformation about our training plansin the next newsletter edition, but besure to mark this date on yourcalendar now.

GNTO committee meetings are opento all interested TAAS members andour next scheduled meeting isNovember 14th. As usual, this date isa Thursday, one week before the TAASgeneral meeting. We meet at 6:30 P.M.at the Village Inn restaurant on SanMateo just north of Academy. If youhave questions about access andavailability of GNTO, please contactme (Pete Eschman, [email protected],home phone: 873-1517, work phone:277-0020.) I hope to see you soon atour observatory.



UNM ReportJay Harden, UNM Campus

Observatory [email protected]

TAAS Reports/Notices❖

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Dave Brown, [email protected]

Monthly Membership Report(September, 2002)

Membership Current Past Change Month Month

Regular 216 211 5Family 62 61 1Educational 17 22 -5Total Paid 295 294 1Honorary 4 4 0Complimentary 11 11 0Total Members 310 309 1

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Donations to TAASTAAS General Fund: State FairOutreach & Robert Williams.

TAAS GNTO for Sefick Equipment:Larry Cash & Anonymous

Membership Services

• Membership Inquiries• Events Information• Volunteer Opportunities

PO Box 50581 Albuquerque, NM87181-0581

Contact Neil Goldberg at

• Membership Dues•Magazine Subscriptions•Address/E-mail Changes

Contact Dave Brown at

[email protected]/798-1958

for:

for:

[email protected]/275-9126

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Location, Location, Location

• Chaco Canyon• 6185' elevation Latitude Longitude 36˚ 01' 50"N 107˚ 54' 36"W

36.03˚ -107.91˚ 36˚ 1.83' -107˚ 54.60'

• Oak Flat• 7680' elevation Latitude Longitude 34˚ 59' 48"N 106˚ 19' 17"W

34.99˚ -106.32˚ 34˚ 59.80' -106˚ 19.28'

• UNM Campus Observatory• 5180' elevaton Latitude Longitude 35˚ 5' 29"N 106˚ 37' 17"W

35.09˚ -106.62˚ 35˚ 5.48' -106˚ 37.29'

To convert from Degrees, Minutes,Seconds:Divide seconds by 60, then add minutes,then divide by 60 again.For security reasons, GNTO location isavailable by request only, so pleasecontact Pete Eschman for GNTOinformation.

Courtesty Pete Eschman

Isleta Elementary SchoolStar Party

Isleta Elementary School is holdingtwo star parties on October 18th andOctober 25th from 7 - 10 P.M. Theschool is in need of docents withtelescopes. Your participation wouldbe greatly appreciated! A concretepad will be provided for set-up, andPNM has agreed to turn off the lights.Refreshments will be served. Forfurther information contact RobertJojola at the school at 869-2321 or 489-4084. See map below for directions.

30 Aug: Cloudy at sundown. Mostlyclear by 9:30. We had 12 viewers.Docents: Ray, Frank, Keith, Becky,Mard, & Jay.6 Sept: Some clouds. We had maybe15 viewers. Docents: Ray, Becky, Jim,Mickey, & Jay.13 Sept: Lots of clouds. We had 5viewers. Docents: Brock, Marc, Elaine,& Jay. We did have two bright spots.Dr. McGraw was one of the viewers.He gave us a short talk on nebulas.John, any time you want to talk to usagain, you are welcome. Just atsundown Brock drove up pulling atrailer that would haul at least threehorses.He dropped the tail gate andthere was his new 30" telescope. It is abeauty.20 Sept: Finally, a clear night. The bestin months. We had 25 viewers.Docents: Ray, Marc, Elaine, Brock, &Jay.27 Sept: Very cloudy with a breeze. Wehad a few viewers who didn’t seemuch, so they left. It cleared uparound 9:30. Docents: Becky, Marc, &Jay. Starting around 10:00, Marc and Ihad a nice private star party.4 Oct: Fairly good viewing. We had35 - 40 viewers. I could not keep count.We had a science class from UNM.Some of them were there beforesundown. They were very interestedand asked a multitude of questions.Docents: Becky, Marc, Mickey, Judy B,Dale, & Jay.

Definition of the Month

Look-back time - The finite speed oflight means that objects are seen asthey were at some time prior to theobserver’s time in observation. ThusT, the look-back time, is T=d/c, where dis the distance to the observed object,and c is the speed of light.

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Observer’s PageFrom the Ivory Basement

2. Imagining imagingBarry Spletzer

In the last installment, I examined how a pinhole forms a crudeimage. One glaring omission was that I never really explainedwhat an image is. In a way, we all know what an image is. It’ssomething we see that’s not really there. A perfect image foolsour eyes into thinking that it’s real. It’s sort of an optical illusion.In astronomy, an image is a replica of a distant object. Tounderstand telescopes, optics, and all that stuff, requires a precisedefinition of an image. Looking at the moon through a telescope,it appears to be right in front of us. We have somehow captureda distant object in our telescope.

Our eyes manage to form pictures of our surroundings. It’simportant to understand the type of input (light patterns) neededto make these pictures. Start by considering the light from asingle star. Light is emitted uniformly in all directions. The leftside of the Figure 1 shows this. With a straight line of stars (nextportion of the figure) we get a real mess. Somehow we processthis mess to get our view of the world. The third portion of thefigure includes an observer’s eye (this could be any opticaldevice) and only the light rays that reach the eye. After all, thisis the only portion of the light that our eyes use. Each starcontributes a small bundle of rays to the total light we see, buteach bundle comes to the eye at a slightly different angle.

Figure 1: From objects to images

In the far right part of the figure, I have drawn exactly the samepattern of light rays entering the eye, but the light does notoriginate from a row of stars but from elsewhere. The origin ofthe rays is not shown and is not important, all that is importantis that the rays converge to point and then spread out again.This makes a pattern of light entering our eye identical to thelight from the stars. Because the light we see is the same in bothcases, our eye cannot tell the difference between the two. Thefocal point where each ray bundle converges to a single point iswhere each of the stars appears to be.

In short, an image of an object is a collection of light rays thatmimics the light coming from an actual object. This is the crucialpoint. Light from each point in the sky reaches us from a slightlydifferent angle. The bottom line is that, if we can produce apattern with light emanating from a line of focal points, wecannot tell the difference between this pattern and a row of stars.This is the most basic definition of an image.

One final point, astronomical objects are so far away that the

light rays from a point are parallel to each other when reach us.In the figure, I drew diverging rays. Both parallel and divergingrays can form images. The difference in how we perceive themis how our eye adapts to make a focused picture. Parallel raysare perceived and focused as an object far away. The more steeplythe rays diverge the closer our eyes need to focus to focus theimage. If the rays diverge to steeply, the object becomes too closeto focus. This fact is important in telescope design.

Hopefully, by now you have an idea of what really makes up animage. With that information it is a pretty short jump to explainsome of the important properties of a telescope. In order to makean image, a telescope accepts parallel rays coming from a distantpoint and concentrates them to a single focal point. After passingthrough this point the rays diverge giving the necessaryconditions of a point image. Similarly, parallel rays from differentobjects (and the thus entering from different angles) must beconcentrated at other locations so that the pattern of pointsmatches that in the sky. A telescope forms an image by doingjust that.

Before getting into image formation, one final principle isneeded. This is the rule for how light reflects from a mirror. Therule is that a line perpendicular to the surface of the mirror bisectsthe angle between the incoming ray and reflected ray. This isshown in Figure 2. I have drawn a curved mirror surface andshown how light rays are reflected at two different points. Theimportant fact is that the angle measured from the incomingray to the perpendicular is equal to the angle measured fromthe reflected ray to the perpendicular.

Figure 2: Reflection from a curved mirror

Apply this principle to the telescope mirror. The Figure 3 showsa curved mirror with parallel rays coming in that reflect off themirror surface and converge to a focal point. The rays continuepast the focal point diverging, thus making a point image. Atthe point were each ray strikes the mirror, I have drawn theperpendicular as a dotted line. The incoming rays that are fartherfrom the center of the mirror must be directed inward morestrongly than the central rays. This means that, towards the edge,

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Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

TAAS School ProgramsStart October 29

Join us this month as TAAS’s 2002 -2003 Educational Outreach Programkicks-off on October 29, with bigchanges on tap, including a newdirector and some major programrevisions. All TAAS members arehighly encouraged to help out at these,our most important star parties.Bosque School, near Montano andCoors NW, will host our first party on

October 29 at 7P.M. As usual, docentsare needed for scopes and demos. Joinus, for the most rewarding part ofbeing an amateur astronomer: Sharingit with kids! For directions, a map, andlast minute details, visit www.taas.orgAs a result of personal andprofessional circumstances, JudyStanley has decided to step down asTAAS Education Liaison, after leadingthe program for several years. Judypromises to stay-on and help with theschool parties, and has asked me,Sammy Lockwood, to serve as TAASEducation Liaison for at least the restof the year.Some changes from past years:1) Our school parties may be canceledin the event of bad weather. If thathappens, I will notify our docents viae-mail, web page, and the TAAS

Hotline by 6P.M. on the night of theevent. We will not try to hold anindoor only event in bad weather.Many of us have sacrificed our freetime on cloudy evenings, only toarrive at empty schools. Clouded-outschools will likely be offered a “ScopesOnly” party later in the year.2) I would like to initiate some majorchanges in the way that our Starlab(portable Planetarium) is used. Ourpast starlab program involved a rapid-fire series of short demonstrations,that often could not accommodateeveryone who came to see, andusually left our starlab docentexhausted.For this year, I am stressing thatschools use the starlab during regularschool hours before we arrive with thefull star party at night. Because ofmy new work schedule I am availablefor these daytime programs, but Icould use some help. (Please contactme). Because there will be more timeavailable during the day, I think thatwe can offer a better product for thekids with this new approach. JudyStanley is also offering to trainteachers to use the starlab, and willloan the equipment (for a refundabledeposit) to the schools before our starparty.3) I am, therefore, NOT guaranteeingthat the Starlab will be availableduring the star party. IF we havedocents, parent volunteers, and spaceto run the starlab during a star party,then we will use it.4) I’d like to continue the slide shows,spectral analysis demo, and cometmaking demos, at our star parties,since these are so enjoyable to do andwe usually have plenty of volunteersto do them. I’d also like to staff amembership table at each party.There will be plenty of opportunity forevery TAAS member to get involved,and get these kids looking up. Therejust isn’t a better way to get involvedin TAAS. Join Us!

2002 - 2003 TAASSchool Star Party Schedule

All School Star Parties are from 7-9P.M

“Scopes - Only” parties will be addedto the schedule, as they are booked.At least 2 more parties will be booked,and posted later. Visit www.taas.orgfor more details.

October 29 - Bosque SchoolNovember 12 - Griegos Elem.December 10 - Collet Park Elem.(tentative)January 14 - Hoover Middle SchoolFebruary 12 - Monte Vista Elem.February 25 - Manzano Day SchoolMarch 11 - James Monroe MiddleSchool (Tentative)April 8 - Truman Middle School

Stars in the FoothillsBegins November 1

The Albuquerque AstronomicalSociety has teamed with the City ofAlbuquerque, Open Spaces Division,for a new star party called Stars in theFoothills, a series of public star partiesunder the conveniently close, semi-dark skies of the Elena Gallegospreserve in far NE Albuquerque.Although the city lights ofAlbuquerque will be (spectacularly)present, the lighting in the immediatearea of Elena Gallegos is really quitegood, and should offer good views ofbright objects.The entrance to Elena Gallegos(Simms Park Rd), is clearly marked onTramway Blvd, about 1/10 mile northof Academy Blvd. From Tramway,follow Simms Park Rd about a mile tothe park gatehouse, and then followthe signs to Stars in the Foothills.Docents are asked to arrive by 6:30

Con’t page 12

Sammy Lockwood

Educational

Outreach

Sammy Lockwood

Starsin theFoothills

TAAS

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Stars in the Foothills con’tP.M. for set-up. Tell the gate guardthat you are with TAAS, because thestandard $2 Elena Gallegos Parkingfee will be waived for docents. Areasfor docent parking and scope set-upwill be clearly marked, and will beseparate from public parking tominimize headlight glare. The ElenaGallegos facilities include pit stylerestrooms (similar to Oak Flat), butno electricity or water.Viewing for Stars in the Foothills is

from 7-9 P.M., and is entirelydependent on the weather. Cloudsor gusty winds may cause the eventto be canceled. If this happens, thecancellation will be announced by 6P.M. on the day of the event via e-mail, web site, and the TAASHotline.TAAS and the City of Albuquerquecurrently plan for star parties atElena Gallegos on 11/1 and 12/6,with likely plans for more. The cityis also interested in holding starparties under the darker skies ofPetroglyph Park on the west side.If you would like to join us for thisexciting new series, or for moreinformation, please contact SammyLockwood at 275-0258 [email protected]

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Points of Light con’t

Dane Smith Hall was humming onSeptember 28 as our Night SkyConference drew about 60 attendees. Iam still astonished at the caliber of thespeakers who said “Yes, I’ll do it!” Mytwo favorite memories of the conferencewill be Chad Moore and Dan Duriscoedisplaying their spectacular fish-eyeimages of the night sky taken at avariety of National Parks, and lightingordinance veterans Richard Kuska andKurt Anderson giving the despairingRobert Romero a rallying pep talk afterhe revealed that the clock had run outon the recommendations to the Cityfrom the Albuquerque Night SkyProtection Task Force and that theywere “back to square one”.Blessings upon the houses of the cadreof volunteers who showed up at anunspeakable 6:30 AM to help set upexhibits, the registration area, thespeakers’ lunchroom, and theaudiovisual equipment, or who stayedlate to help with clean-up. They are: JimBrockway, Dan Richey, Elizabeth Burki,Judy Stanley, Mark Kroska, PeteEschman, Chris Wilson, Larry Cash,Nancy Davis, David Blair, and DeeFriesen. If I forgot anyone, forgive me—I was a bit bleary-eyed.Special thanks to Dan Richey fordesigning a very professionalconference invitation, to Neil Goldbergfor securing the participation of PNMand several lighting vendors, to DavidBlair for deft moderation of thediscussion panel, to Ray Collins fordisplaying his usual wit and flair as ourM.C., to Larry Cash for videotaping the P

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conference, to Nancy Davis forresearching and creating a great local-restaurant handout, to Carl Frisch forlaboring on the conference folder-stuffing assembly line, and especiallyto the Conference Committeemembers (Ray, Pete, Chris, Judy andNeil) who stepped up to the plate onthis project, and met regularly tobrainstorm and plan.Tirelessness. Generosity. Spirit.Camaraderie. Inspiration. Humor.Supportiveness. These are thequalities embodied by TAASvolunteers. Catch their act firsthand.Get involved!

Observer’s Page con’t❖ ❖

the mirror surface must be more tilted toward the center. This gives the classic concaveshape of a telescope mirror.

Figure 3: A concave mirror focusing parallel rays

Concentrating light to a single point, atelescope mirror constructs an image of anobject point-by-point. A properly shapedmirror directs the light from each star to asingle point. This, with the relatively largesize of the mirror (compared to our pupils)produces a bright, sharp image, unlike thepinhole’s dim, fuzzy image.

Next time, I’ll look at the properties of theimage and delve into refraction throughlenses instead of just reflection.

Blinded by the Light - David Penasa

Blueprint for Success - Panel Discussion



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ECTV’s Report On The Recent

TAAS Conference...09/28/02Mitch Battros, Earth Changes TV

The theme of The AlbuquerqueAstronomical Society (TAAS) was“Light Pollution”. It is becoming a fastconcern of many in the field ofastronomy. A vivid and alarmingvisual presentation was given byChad Moore and Dan Duriscoe. Bothare with the U.S. National ParkService. Chad Moore, whose Master’sDegree is in Earth Science, is stationedat Pinnacles National Monument. DanDuriscoe who is also an EarthScientist, is stationed at SequoiaNational Park and Kings CanyonNational Park. They have teamed upto produce the first “data base”showing how even the darkest skiesin the world are rapidly becomingencroached by urban lighting.In my personal interview with bothDan and Chad, I asked what thedangers or repercussions may be topeople. Their answer indicated it ismostly related to aesthetics. Theymade the point of how important it isto most individuals to be able to seenature (and space) in its most pristineconditions. Dan Duriscoe made astatement that is hard to argue. Hesaid “isn’t that why you go to anational park in the first place. Tointeract with nature that strikes a cordwith our most primal instincts andneeds.” I replied to Dan with a strongaffirmative...YES!. I believe aestheticsare very important. It gives pleasureand comfort and maybe evenbelonging.Chad Moore and Dan Duriscoe’sground breaking research has takenthem around the nation, to some of themost remote area’s in the world. Theyhave collected a series of seamlessphotographs showing the precisevariations of artificial lightinterference. These fields of assortedlight structures are known as “LightDomes”. Scientist from around theworld are using their collected dataformulating the basis of a world-widefield study known as the “Night SkyTeam”.But wait, is that all there is to a newfield of study called “Light Pollution”?The answer is no. In my interviewwith Dr. Steve Gregory - Physicist,Astronomer and Professor at theUniversity of New Mexico states, “It

is also showing to affect humans andanimals as well. Dr. Gregory is theAssociate Director of UNM’s Instituteof Astrophysics and Director ofCapilla Peak Observatory in theManzano Mountains.Dr. Gregory asserts the following; “Weare all on a natural cycle. Research hasshown that birds as well as animalshave been thrown off their habitualpatterns due to light pollution. In thelarger metropolitan areas, sequencedphotography shows there is no longer“night and day”. It is light all thetime.” Dr. Gregory went on to say thatmany of our major observatories areno longer useful due to their proximityto developed areas.What a sad revelation to discover. It ismy belief that such an occurrencecould very well be contributing tomental health issues. Perhaps mooddisorders such as depression,hyperactivity, or chronic fatigue can bedirectly attributed to the interferenceof natural rhythm patterns. This issuch a new and cutting edge field ofresearch, no one knows for certain justwhat the ramifications of lightpollution are causing.I was fascinated to hear Dr. SteveGregory’s statement that much of thesubjective variability of photographstaken to measure light encroachment,is due to charged particles such as‘Aurora’s’. Yes, this is to say that theSun and its activity has been shownto affect telescope visibility to thenight sky. Geomagnetic storms,CME’s, Solar Flares, Magnetic FieldShifts all play a part, in the way ofcharges particles, and on our abilityto monitor the skies.I had the great pleasure to meet andinterview Dr. Kurt Anderson. He is aprofessor of Astronomy at NewMexico State University. He is anastrophysicist and past-President ofthe New Mexico Academy of Science.Dr. Anderson is also Director ofApache Point Observatory nearSunspot, New Mexico. With Dr.Anderson’s background, I could nothelp but ask about asteroids, comets,and minor planets. My question was“Does this new field of studyregarding ‘light pollution’, have aneffect on astronomers ability todiscover or track asteroids andcomets”? Dr. Anderson: “Yes. I can sayit mostly affects our ability to track ordiscover comets, more than asteroids.Comets have distinct light crystals thatare often described as ‘tails’. Whereas

asteroids, are dark solid structuresoften made of metals such as nickeland iron.Of course I also could not help myselfbut to ask Dr. Anderson about NASA’sstatement of only being able to trackabout 10% of current NEO’s (nearearth orbits) or NEA’s (near earthasteroids). I was curious if “lightpollution” was part of the problem.The answer was “yes”. It appears solarsystem activity (outside of Earth), doesindeed play an important role in liferight here in our own back yard.Dr. Kurt Anderson reminds us a “darksky is a national resource and animportant scientific resource and wellworth preserving”. ECTV has beeninvited to Apache Point Observatoryas a special guest of Dr. Anderson.Thank you!In my interview with David Penasa -Director of Electrical Engineering atBPLW and Architectural Engineer, heskillfully outlines five major areas oflight pollution. 1) Sky glow - destroysmankind’s view of the universe (anational heritage). 2) Light trespass -someone’s outdoor lightingencroaches on our property. 3) Glare -blinds us and reduces visibility (Glareis never good). 4) Clutter - trashes thenighttime environment (causesconfusion as well). 5) Energy waste -costs us over $1.5B/yr (est.) in USAalone.David Penasa’s contribution to theconference was from an engineeringand architectural point of view. Davidbelieves an initiation of State andFederal codes could apply to lighting.Just as there are federal buildingcodes, there should be a city or stateordinance regulating the type orpower of lighting. There already existzoning ordinances in most cities, andsome cities like Albuquerque, havelighting regulations already in place.A point was made that this new fieldof “Light Pollution”, suggest it is likea slowly warming pot of water. Ifyou’re in the pot, you may not noticethe temperature rising until it is toolate and begins to boil. David Penasasummarizes by saying “Lightpollution is any adverse effect of man-made light used in the nightenvironment”. Perhaps someonecould turn off the stove burner, andlet the water cool down.A side note:For those of you who believe any

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governing body such as NASA couldhide or suppress news of somethingnew or odd coming from space, Iwould say wake up and smell thecoffee. There are simply too many“like-minded” amateur astronomerswith their telescopes pointed to theskies who simply could not becontrolled. For you Planet-Xenthusiast (and a few freaks), I assureyou if any form of a celestial orbwhatsoever, was to enter the range ofsome very powerful telescopes, NASAmay be the last to know. I stake myreputation on it. (Mitch Battros).Unless you have met the quality ofscientist (both amateur andprofessional) as I have outlined in thisreport, and you wish to conveystatements of so-called RussianScientist, or anyone else, I will expectexceptional evidence to back up yourclaims. Otherwise my response toyour chatter will simply be “No ThankYou”.Next Saturday October 5th, I havebeen invited to join TAAS at ChacoCanyon where we will have access tothe Chaco Canyon Observatory whichincludes a domed platform mounted24" reflector telescope. What else canI say!A Special Offer To All TAAS MembersI would like to extend this “free” offerto all the members of TAAS, and tothose who attended September 28th“Night Sky Conference”. There isabsolutely no obligation of any kind.It is just my way of saying ‘thank you’.Go to the following link and completethe form. You will be able to selectyour own user name and password.The script is case sensitive so be sureand write down exactly how you placeyour user name and password. Whencompleted, you will have full accessto ECTV’s site. Also, be sure and puta check in the small square at top ofform page noting you have agreed tothe terms and conditions.Link: http://www.earthchangestv.com/amform.htmWelcome aboard!

ECTV Report con’t A speech deliveredAugust 10th, 2002

The 10th anniversary of thefounding of

The General Nathan Twining

Observatory

The story of The General NathanTwining Observatory is the story of awife who made a suggestion, a manwho offered his heart, a 9 year-old boywho did a drawing, the generosity ofa hero’s son and, last but certainly notleast, the collective dream of a groupof men and women.It all began in the early 1980’s whenWilma Isengard made a suggestion toher ailing husband. She was deeplytroubled by his inability to climb theladder needed to enjoy his telescope.When the wooden structureprotecting it had, with the passage oftime, become a hazard to bothtelescope and owner alike, Wilmaquietly proposed Bill donate his 16inch Cave Astrola Telescopes to thelocal astronomy club.After weeks of deliberation, Billcontacted the AlbuquerqueAstronomers (the original name of ourorganization) and offered: “Build anobservatory, a secure building and thetelescope is yours.”At a meeting on January 10th, 1986, itwas announced that the plans to buildan observatory were stalled.As fate would have it, that very night,a new member sat and listened to thedilemma. With a background inbuilding organizations and raisingfunds, a five-year plan was conceived.“It’s only a matter of time”, he utteredto whoever would listen.A junior member named Michael Fisk,then only 9 years old, listened andasked if he could help. For a while,he was the only one who offered hissupport. He offered to research anddesign the building; he said he couldcome up with a drawing and he did.That we stand in the shadow of thatbuilding today is a testament toMichaels’s resolve to help and the

genius he brought to the cause.The building would have to be locatednot too far, not too close, and not toohard to get to. And then there were thequestions on everyone’s minds; Whatdid an observatory require? Flat land?A peak? Who could we ask? Whowould know?During dinner with Dr. ClydeTombaugh, the mysteries of sightingan observatory were explained.Armed with a handful of knowledgeand a bundle of dreams, the selectionwas made. Through his wisdom andgenerosity, the son of the late GeneralNathan Faragut Twining shared thelegacy of one of America’s manyunsung heroes and donated 4 acres ofland.The members of this organization whoerected a structure on that landperformed no small feat! Raisingmoney, securing permits, insurance,licenses and inspections were but asmall part of the effort. Every drop ofwater; every brick, beam and nail;every tool; every length of rebar,pound of sand and cement had to behauled out here. The task seemedendless. Fighting the extremes of heatand cold, wind and dryness, the workprogressed.The wives who made the sandwichesor joined in the construction; thechildren who didn’t get to play ballwith their dads or go the zoo on thoseweekends . . . all made a contribution.The General Nathan TwiningObservatory is not the effort of oneman or even one group of people. Thisobservatory is a living, evolving entitythat exists because the community thatgave it life cared. It exists because thedreamers dreamed and we saw theirvision.It exists because you, every one of youexperience the longing for knowledgeand the desire to share it. Thisobservatory is here and continues togrow because you care.

Thank you,

George S. PellegrinoVice President 1987 and 1991President 1988, 1992, 1994 and 1995



Classified Ads

❖❖ SOCIETY STAFF ❖❖

President/ATM Coordinator Ray Collins 344-9686(H) [email protected] [email protected] President/Public Relations/Gen Mtg Coord Karen Keese 261-0040(C) [email protected] [email protected] David Blair 296-9632(H) [email protected]/Membership Services Dave Brown 275-9126(O) [email protected]/Observatory Director Pete Eschman 873-1517 (H) [email protected] Judy Stanley 345-3153 (H) [email protected]/Membership Director Neil Goldberg 798-1958 (H) [email protected]/Newsletter Editor Dan Richey 293-3983 (H) [email protected] Eric Bucheit 771-9050 (H) [email protected] Larry Cash 299-4686 (H) [email protected]/Telescope Curator Barry Spletzer 294-4601 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Chris Wilson 821-1640 (H) [email protected]

Board of Directors - [email protected] Telephone E-mail Address

Events Coordinator Vacant [email protected] Liaison/TAAS Web Master Sammy Lockwood 275-0258 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Archivist Pat Appel 292-0463 (H) [email protected] Librarian Dawn Gray 856-2054 (H) [email protected] Coordinator Michael Pendley 296-0549 (H) [email protected] Campus Observatory Coordinator Jay Harden 296-0537 (H) [email protected] Post 110 President Ted Schuler-Sandy 856-7450 (H) [email protected] Post 110 Advisor Mark Kroska 884-9108 (H) [email protected] Astronomy Ryan Gray 856-2054 (H) [email protected]

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Please note that the deadline for the December 2002 issue ofThe Sidereal Times will be Friday, November 8th, as the finishedmanuscript must be at the printers on Monday, November 11thso that you will receive it by the following Saturday. My e-mailaddress is [email protected].

Editor’s Note

Free Telescope Offer

Some restrictions apply. Offer valid for current TAAS members. Offer is first

come first served. Late comers will be put on a waiting list. Neither TAAS nor

the telescope curators will be held liable for any lost sleep or other problems

arising from the use of TAAS scopes.

Borrowers are required to enjoy the telescopes.

What’s that? Did you say Free? That’s right FREE!

Any TAAS member can use this coupon to borrow a TAAS telescope.

Contact Barry Spletzer at [email protected] or 294-4601 and

receive a loaner telescope absolutely free. You can choose from scopes with

apertures ranging from 6” to 13”.

For details on events (including a handy event map sheet),visit the Backyard Astronomy Website:http://mywebpages.comcast.net/backyardastronomy

[email protected]

Backyard

Astronomy

Ryan Gray



MEMBERSHIP: You may request amembership application by sendinge-mail to [email protected] or calling(505) 254-8227. Applications may also bedownloaded from the Web site. Annualdues to The Albuquerque AstronomicalSociety are $30/year for a fullmembership and $15/year for a full timestudent (high school or less) membership.Additional family members may join for$5/each (student and familymemberships are not eligible to vote onsociety matters). New memberinformation packets can be downloadedfrom the website or requested from theTAAS Membership Services Director [email protected] You may sendyour dues by mail to our newsletter returnaddress with your check written out toThe Albuquerque Astronomical Societyor give your check to the Treasurer at thenext meeting.MAGAZINES: Discount magazinesubscriptions to Sky and Telescope andAstronomy as well as discounts on booksfrom Sky Publishing Corporation areavailable when purchased by TAASmembers through our society. Include anyof the above magazine renewal mailersand subscription payments as part of your

renewal check. Make checks out to TAAS(we will combine and send one check tothe publisher). Warning: publishers takeseveral months to process magazinesubscriptions.ARTICLES/ADVERTISEMENTS:Articles, personal astronomical classifiedadvertisements and business card sizeadvertisements for businesses related toastronomy must be submitted by thedeadline shown on the Society calendar(generally the Saturday near the newMoon) Rates for commercial ads (perissue) are $120 per page, $60 per half page,$30 per quarter page, $7 for business cardsize. The newsletter editor reserves theright to include and/or edit any article oradvertisement. E-mail attachments inMicrosoft Word, 10 point Palatino,justified, no indent at paragraphbeginning, one space betweenparagraphs is preferred. ASCII and RTFare acceptable. One column isapproximately 350 words. Contact theNewsletter Editor at [email protected] formore information.CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Note that TheSidereal Times is mailed at a nonprofitorganization bulk mail rate. As a result,the newsletter will NOT be forwarded toyour new address should you move!!

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDALBUQUERQUE, NM

PERMIT NO. 352

The Albuquerque Astronomical Society

P. O. Box 50581Albuquerque, NM 87181-0581

Please provide the Treasurer([email protected]) with your newmailing address to ensure that youreceive your newsletter.TAAS LIBRARY: Please contact theLibrarian at [email protected] or 856-2054to check out a book or make acontribution.

TAAS on the World Wide Web:http://[email protected]

Map to Regener Hall(not to scale)

MLK Dr.

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Regener

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november 2002 the sidereal timesthe sidereal times november 2002 page 2 the official newsletter of...

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