Southwest Florida Astronomical Society SWFAS

The Eyepiece May 2011

President: Brian Risley swfasbrisley@embarqmail.com (239 464 0366)

Vice President: Bruce Dissette bdissette@centurylink.net (239-936-2212)

Secretary: Kathleen Hendrix kathdmom@aol.com (239-689-8707)

Treasurer: Stewart Rorer srorer@earthlink.net (239-656-1807)

Program Coordinator: Ron Myrick ron.myrick@gmail.com (617-901-3933)

Viewing Coords./Fakahatchee:

Tony Heiner verahei@aol.com (941-629-8849)

Chuck Pavlick cpav4565@gmail.com (239-560-1516)

Viewing Coord./Caloosahatchee Bruce Dissette bdissette@centurylink.net (239-936-2212)

Librarian: Maria Berni (239-281-1527)

Club Historian: Danny Secary asecary@gmail.com (239-470-4764)

Equipment Coordinator: Brian Risley swfasbrisley@embarqmail.com (239-772-3869)

Website Coordinator: Dan Fitzgerald bigdan2204@comcast.net (239-282-2292)

Newsletter Editor: Carole Holmberg CaroleHel@aol.com

(239-275-3435)

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Astronomy Day is here. We will be planning the event at the meeting. Basics are Saturday 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Planetarium shows, displays, helping people learn about telescopes, the Loan-A-Scope program and hopefully observing the Moon and Saturn. We can use all the help we can get.

By the time you read this, we will have done a star party at Bowditch Beach Park on the north end of Fort Myers Beach on April 29th. We also have a star party on April 30th at the CRP. Additional CRP star party dates are May 28th and June 4th.

Our May Meeting is on the 5th at 7:30 at the Calusa Nature Center Planetarium. Dennis Albright will be continuing his talk about the 4 Gas Giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and their moons and whether they are failed stars. Carole also has a short planetarium presentation. I hate to keep harping on this, but if you have not paid your dues for 2011, please do so. We have to submit payment to the Astronomical League for each member in June. Those who have not paid will be dropped from the roster sent to them and will no longer receive the Reflector. Dues are $20 for the year, and can be paid at our monthly meetings, or mailed to our post office box i.e. Southwest Florida Astronomical Society, Inc., PO Box 100127, Cape Coral, Florida 33910. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. If you have a question as to whether you have paid your 2011 dues already as some members have, please contact me or our Treasurer Stewart Rorer. If you have not renewed by my records, you should have already gotten an email from me. I would like to thank Dan Fitzgerald for getting the new website up. If anyone wants a SWFAS shirt/hat, they can be ordered at any time. The cost for the shirt is $24 and the hat is $6. Payment should be made by check payable to SWFAS and given to our Treasurer, Stewart Rorer. I will be taping a segment on Astronomy Day for the Morning Blend on Channel 36 that should air on Wednesday May 4th.

President’s Message Continues… The sky this month:

� Saturn is high in the east at sunset and overhead around midnight. This makes it well placed for observation.

� Venus is still shining bright in the morning sky but is slipping lower in the sky. � The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower May 5/6 � May 11th morning sky, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter conjunction with Mars nearby. � The full moon is on the 17th.

May Meeting Our monthly meeting is on May 5th at 7:30pm at the Calusa Nature Center Planetarium. Dennis Albright will continue his talk about the outer Solar System.

Dawn Approaches Asteroid Vesta After 3½ years of thrusting silently through the void, NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on the threshold of a new world. It's deep in the asteroid belt, less than 4 months from giant asteroid Vesta. Left: Celebrate the beginning of Dawn's year-long exploration of new worlds with a Vesta Fiesta! Dawn will enter orbit around Vesta in July 2011, becoming the first spacecraft ever to orbit a body in the asteroid belt. After conducting a

detailed study of the uncharted alien world for a year, the spacecraft will pull off an even more impressive first. It will leave Vesta, fly to dwarf planet Ceres, and enter orbit there. "This is unprecedented," says Marc Rayman, Dawn's chief engineer and mission manager. "No

spacecraft has ever orbited two target bodies, much less worlds in the asteroid belt. A few probes have passed through this vast region of space, but not one could stop and develop an intimate portrait of its residents." A conventional spacecraft gets a boost from a big rocket, then coasts to its target. Carrying enough fuel for making significant changes in speed or direction along the way would make it too heavy to launch. Dawn is far more fuel efficient. Spanning 65 feet, its solar arrays collect power from the sun to ionize atoms of xenon gas. These ions are expelled silently out the back of the spacecraft by a strong electric field, producing a gentle thrust. The weightless, frictionless conditions of space flight allow this gossamer force effect to build up, so the spacecraft continuously gains speed. This spacecraft ultimately achieves fantastically high velocity while consuming very little propellant - using only a kilogram of xenon every 4 days, though its engines are almost constantly active. - Author: Dauna Coulter | Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

- http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/07apr_dawn/

GALEX Telescope Ferrets Out Planet-Hunting Targets Astronomers have come up with a new way of identifying close, faint stars with NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite. The technique should help in the hunt for planets that lie beyond our solar system, because nearby, hard-to-see stars could very well be home to the easiest-to-see alien planets. The glare of bright, shining stars has frustrated most efforts at visualizing distant worlds. So far, only a handful of distant planets, or exoplanets, have been directly imaged. Small, newborn stars are less blinding, making the planets easier to see, but the fact that these stars are dim means they are hard to find in the first place. Fortunately, the young stars emit more ultraviolet light than their older counterparts, which makes them conspicuous to the ultraviolet-detecting

Galaxy Evolution Explorer. "We've discovered a new technique of using ultraviolet light to search for young, low-mass stars near the Earth," said David Rodriguez, lead author of a recent study. "These young stars make excellent targets for future direct imaging of exoplanets." Young stars, like human children, tend to be a bit unruly - they spout a greater proportion of energetic X-rays and ultraviolet light than more mature stars. In some cases, X-ray surveys can pick out these youngsters due to the "racket" they cause. However, many smaller, less "noisy" baby stars perfect for exoplanet imaging studies have gone undetected except in the most detailed X-ray surveys. To date, such surveys have covered only a small percentage of the sky. Rodriguez and his team figured the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, which has scanned about 3/4ths of the sky in ultraviolet light, could fill this gap. Astronomers compared readings from the telescope with optical and infrared data to look for the telltale signature of rambunctious junior stars. Follow-up observations of 24 candidates identified in this manner determined that 17 of the stars showed clear signs of youth, validating the team's approach. "The Galaxy Evolution Explorer can readily select young, low-mass stars that are too faint to turn up in all-sky X-ray surveys, which makes the telescope an incredibly useful tool," Rodriguez said. Astronomers call the low-mass stars in question M-class stars. Also known as red dwarfs, these stars glow a relatively cool crimson color compared to the hotter oranges and yellows of stars like our sun, and the whites and blues of the most scorching stars. With data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, astronomers could reap a bounty of these red dwarfs still in their cosmic youth, under 100 million years old. In many ways, these stars represent a best-case scenario for the direct imaging of exoplanets. They are close and in clear lines-of-sight, which generally makes viewing easier. Their low mass means they are dimmer than heavier stars, so their light is less likely to mask the feeble light of a planet. And because they are young stars, their planets are freshly formed, and thus warmer and brighter than older planetary bodies. So far, only a handful of the more than 500 exoplanets on record have actually been "seen" by our ground- and space-based telescopes. The vast majority of foreign worlds have instead turned up via indirect means. One common technique, for instance, relies on detecting the slight gravitational "wobbles" exoplanets impart to their host stars. Another technique, the "transit method," registers the tiny dip in a star's light as an exoplanet crosses in front of it relative to our vantage point. NASA's Kepler mission, in just its first four months of operations, has already come up with a list of more than 1,200 candidate exoplanets using the transit method. At a very basic level, directly imaging an exoplanet is worthwhile because, after all, "seeing is believing," Rodriguez said. But catching a glimpse of an exoplanet also opens up novel scientific avenues. Direct imaging is well suited for seeing big planets circling host stars at considerable distances, comparable to Uranus and Neptune in our solar system. Observing such arrangements is useful for testing concepts of solar system evolution, Rodriguez said. Plus, gleaning details about the atmospheres of imaged exoplanets is less difficult than indirectly investigating worlds that transit their stars. As for actually imaging clouds or surface features of exoplanets, however, that will have to wait. Current images of exoplanets, while full of information, resemble fuzzy dots. But as technology advances, ever more information about our close-by planetary brethren will emerge. Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission could also reveal stars that would make good candidates for imaging planets. Its all-sky maps will allow scientists to pick out nearby, young stars surrounded by warm disks of planetary debris that glow with infrared light. Such stars are similar to the ones where planets have already been successfully imaged.

More information on NASA's planet-hunting efforts is online at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov . - Written by Adam Hadhazy, The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-110&cid=release_2011-110

WISE Delivers Millions of Galaxies, Stars, Asteroids Astronomers across the globe can now sift through hundreds of millions of galaxies, stars and asteroids collected in the first bundle of data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. WISE launched into space on Dec. 14, 2009 on a mission to map the entire sky in infrared light with greatly improved sensitivity and resolution over its predecessors. It took more than 2.7 million images over the course of its mission, capturing objects ranging from faraway galaxies to asteroids relatively close to Earth. Like other infrared telescopes, WISE required coolant to chill its heat-sensitive detectors. Its frozen hydrogen coolant ran out, as expected, in early October, 2010. The mission's nearby discoveries included 20 comets, more than 33,000 asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, and 133 near-Earth objects (NEOs), which are those asteroids and comets with orbits that come within 28 million miles of Earth's path around the sun. WISE is now taking the first major step in meeting its primary goal of delivering the mission's trove of objects to astronomers. Data from the first 57% of the sky surveyed is accessible through an online public archive. The complete survey, with improved data processing, will be made available in the spring of 2012. A predecessor to WISE, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, served a similar role about 25 years ago, and those data are still valuable to astronomers today. Likewise, the WISE legacy is expected to endure for decades. Astronomers will use WISE's infrared data to hunt for hidden oddities, and to study trends in large populations of known objects. Survey missions often result in the unexpected discoveries too, because they are looking everywhere in the sky rather than at known targets. Data from the mission are also critical for finding the best candidates for follow-up studies with other telescopes, including the European Space Agency's Herschel observatory. So far, the WISE mission has released dozens of colorful images of the cosmos, in which infrared light has been assigned colors we see with our eyes. The whole collection can be seen at http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/gallery_images.html .

The public archive for astronomers is online at http://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/release/prelim/index.html . Instructions for astronomy enthusiasts wanting to try their hand at using the archive are at http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/wise_image_service.html . - The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-117&cid=release_2011-117

Meteors from Halley's Comet Looking for an adventure? Get up in the wee hours of the morning May 6th and head out into the country, far from the city lights. You won't be alone. The birds will be up and singing about the coming dawn, and, of course, about the eta Aquarid meteor shower. The eta Aquarids are best viewed from the southern hemisphere, but there's something special about them no matter where you live: "Each eta Aquarid meteoroid is a piece of Halley's Comet doing a kamikaze death dive into the atmosphere," explains astronomer Bill Cooke. "Many people have never seen this famous comet, but on the morning of May 6th they can watch bits of it leave fiery trails across the sky." A messenger from the dawn of the universe, Halley's Comet orbits the sun once every 76 years. Each time it swings by the sun, intense solar heat vaporizes about 6 meters of ice and rock from the nucleus. The debris particles, about the size of sand grains, spread along the comet's orbit, filling it with tiny meteoroids.

"Although Halley's Comet is deep in the outer solar system at the moment and won't return to Earth until 2061, it treats us to a meteor shower twice a year as our planet passes by the debris cloud," says Cooke. "In May we have the eta Aquarids, and in October the Orionids." And there is something especially significant about the 2011 eta Aquarids. "This is your one chance this year to see meteors blaze across the sky without glaring moonlight dimming them." A thin crescent moon will vacate the sky in the early evening, leaving a dark canvas for the display. Early risers are in luck, as the best viewing is an hour or two before dawn. Lie down where you can see as wide an expanse of sky as possible to catch more meteors with your peripheral vision. Look up into the darkness and relax. The radiant for the eta Aquarids is in the constellation Aquarius. But you don't need to look toward the radiant to see the meteors. "Meteors can appear in any part of the sky," says Cooke. "In fact their trails will tend to point back toward the radiant, so if you look that way the meteor may appear somewhat stubby. They'll appear much longer going by you than coming at you." You won't need binoculars or a telescope to observe eta Aquarid meteors. The naked eye's field of view is usually best for seeing meteors, which frequently streak more than 45° across the sky. "Eta Aquarids are fast, moving at 66 km/s (148,000 mph!), and often trace long paths across the sky, sometimes leaving glowing, persistent trains. In the northern hemisphere, depending on your latitude [the closer to the equator the better], you should see from 10 to 40 meteors just before dawn." Remember to pack a reclining chair or an old blanket to lie on, and a thermos of hot coffee would be nice. After all, you'll be up mighty early! The spring night air may be damp and chill, so bring along another blanket--or better yet, a big furry dog, both for warmth and company. Golden Retrievers work nicely. It's sure to be a memorable experience. A night breeze caressing your cheek, the aroma of hot coffee in the predawn air, a gently rising chorus of birdsong accompanying your own personal light show - and your greatest admirer by your side. It just doesn't get any better. - Author: Dauna Coulter | Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA - FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/27apr_eta/

Planets and the Moon in the Morning Sky This Week Wednesday, May 4 Look low in the west-northwest at dusk for the thin crescent Moon with the Pleiades to its lower right as shown on the left. Orange Aldebaran is to the Moon's left. Left: Binoculars will help you pick out the Pleiades and Hyades when they're near or below the Moon.

(The blue 10° scale is about the size of your fist held at arm's length. For clarity, the Moon is shown three times actual size.)

Thursday, May 5 The Moon at dusk poses midway between Aldebaran below it and Beta Tauri above it. The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower should peak before dawn Friday morning. This is often the best shower of the year for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers, but in northern latitudes it's much weaker.

Friday, May 6 The crescent Moon shines in the west after dark. The brightest star far to the Moon's upper right is Capella. Less far to the Moon's lower left, look for Betelgeuse sinking away. From Saturday morning until May 15th, binoculars show Mercury less than 1½° lower right of Venus with Jupiter fitting into the same 5° field of view. Track their changes each clear morning!

Saturday, May 7 The Moon shines in Gemini this evening below Pollux and Castor. Left of the Moon is Procyon. Farther right of the Moon is Capella. These four stars form an enormous arch over the lunar crescent at dusk. This is an archetypal springtime scene, repeated when the Moon is a waxing

crescent each April and May. Left: Four planets bunch up low in the dawn for

more than a week to come. This is the arrangement on Sunday morning May 8th. Bring binoculars; their visibility in the brightening sky is exaggerated here. The four planets low in the dawn are all becoming a little easier to see now. At right is the scene on Sunday morning.

- http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ Ataglance

Real space missions You've probably seen the movie Apollo 13. It's a terrific look at a true space disaster. However, you may wonder how accurate it is. Hollywood has a tendency to spice up true stories. Space missions aren't all as exciting as the movies, or are they? Today's Cool Site can tell you. Spacelog is exactly what it sounds like. It's a growing repository of NASA mission transcripts. You can read every detail of the missions as they happened. Follow along with John Glenn's first orbit in Mercury 6. There is a full transcript of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Coming back to Apollo 13, that mission's full transcript is also included. Each mission is divided into phases for easy reading. You can also get details on key people and terminology. It's a must-visit site for space enthusiasts. - spacelog.org

Cosmic Recount

by Dr. Tony Phillips

News flash: The Census Bureau has found a way to save time and money. Just count the biggest people. For every NBA star like Shaquille O’Neal or Yao Ming, there are about a million ordinary citizens far below the rim. So count the Shaqs, multiply by a million, and the census is done.

Could the Bureau really get away with a scheme like that? Not likely. Yet this is just what astronomers have been doing for decades. Astronomers are census-takers, too. They often have to estimate the number and type of stars in a distant galaxy. The problem is, when you look into the distant reaches of the cosmos, the only stars you can see are the biggest and brightest. There’s no alternative. To figure out the total population, you count the supermassive Shaqs and multiply by some correction factor to

estimate the number of little guys. The correction factor astronomers use comes from a function called the “IMF”—short for “initial mass function.” The initial mass function tells us the relative number of stars of different masses. For example, for every 20-solar-mass giant born in an interstellar cloud, there ought to be about 100 ordinary sun-like stars. This kind of ratio allows astronomers to conduct a census of all stars even when they can see only the behemoths. Now for the real news flash: The initial mass function astronomers have been using for years might be wrong. NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer, an ultraviolet space telescope dedicated to the study of galaxies, has found proof that small stars are more numerous than previously believed. “Some of the standard assumptions that we've had—that the brightest stars tell you about the whole population—don’t seem to work, at least not in a constant way,” says Gerhardt R. Meurer who led the study. Meurer says that the discrepancy could be as high as a factor of four. In other words, the total mass of small stars in some galaxies could be four times greater than astronomers thought.

Take that, Shaq! Left: Astronomers have recently found

that some galaxies have as many as 2000 small stars for every massive star. They used to think all galaxies

had only about 500 small stars for every massive star.

The study relied on data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer to sense UV radiation from the smaller stars in distant galaxies, and data from

telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Observatory to sense the H-alpha (red light) signature of larger stars. Results apply mainly to galaxies where stars are newly forming, cautions Meurer. “I think this is one of the more important results to come out of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission,” he says. Indeed, astronomers might never count stars the same way again.Find out about some of the other important discoveries of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer at http://www.galex.caltech.edu/. For an easy-to-understand answer for kids to “How many solar systems are in our galaxy?” go to The Space Place at: http://tiny.cc/I2KMa - This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,

under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Quarterly Drawing Winners & GaN Kit Winners! Congratulations to our Spring 2011 Quarterly Drawing Winners: Astronomical Society of Rowan County from North Carolina, City Lights Astronomical Society for Students of Texas, Morris Museum Astronomical Society of New Jersey, River Bend Astronomy Club of Illinois, and the Tri-State Astronomers of Maryland. These lucky clubs will be receiving Uruaçu Iron Octahedrite meteorites that were generously donated by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. To be in the running for the summer quarterly drawing, make sure your club logs each event. All qualifying events logged between April 1 and June 30, 2011 will be eligible for the next drawing.

A further congratulations go to these five NSN clubs for entering their GaN events on the NSN Calendar and logging their respective Globe at Night events to win this Second Round of Dark Sky Kits and Sky Quality Meters: Penobscot Valley Star Gazers of Maine, East Central Minnesota Astronomy, Astronomical Outreach Services and Sonora Astronomical Society of Arizona, Astronomers of Verde Valley of Arizona, and the AquaSoft Astronomy Club of Washington. Thanks go to the generosity of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory for the total of 10 Dark Sky Kits and Sky Quality Meters during this year's Globe at Night Campaigns.

Is Your Astronomy Club Growing? A special set of videos with tips for growing your club can be found at: http://www.astrosociety.org/SharingTheUniverse/growing.html Does your club experience any of these issues: - Do new people visit your club meeting once and never return? - Do new members join, but then don't renew their membership? - Have trouble getting members to volunteer for club positions? Watch the recently produced series of videos: GROWING YOUR ASTRONOMY CLUB http://www.astrosociety.org/SharingTheUniverse/growing.html for ideas on how to start transforming your club. These complement the Sharing the Universe Outreach Tips video series: http://www.astrosociety.org/SharingTheUniverse

Like the NSN and We'll Like You on Facebook Join the Night Sky Network on Facebook! We want to see your comments and your pictures. Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nightskynetwork We want to Like you, too! Send us an email and we'll "Like" your club on Facebook: nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org

Galileoscopes Available at 50% Discount to NSN Clubs! Are you looking for a way to raise funds for your club while spreading the wonders of astronomy to students and the public? Consider incorporating the Galileoscope educational refractor kit into your star parties and other outreach events. Kits are available to astronomy clubs at 50% off the retail price, providing plenty of margin for fundraising. For details, see http://bit.ly/gyqGVx

May Telecon Date is Set Mark your calendars for our next telecon for our 2011 bimonthly series. Thursday, May 19th at 9:00 PM Eastern will be Dr. Jeffrey Van Cleves presentation on: Stargazers, Starfarers, and Kepler: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club/news-display.cfm?News_ID=409 - Marni Berendsen, Kenneth Frank and Jessica Santascoy, Night Sky Network

SWFAS Minutes

Meeting Date: February 3, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: The monthly meeting of the Southwest Florida Astronomical Society was held at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, Ft Myers, Florida, on Thursday, February 3, 2011. The meeting convened at 7:30pm, President Brian Risley presiding, and Kathleen Hendrix, secretary. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: There were approximately 45 members and visitors in attendance.

OPENING REMARKS: President Brian Risley reviewed events such as the Edison Day of Discovery, January 29, 2011. February events include the Northwest Regional Library, February 12-15, offering workshops such as Introduction to Astronomy, Solar Observation, and telescope instruction. Club members were encouraged to participate and were also reminded of our telescope loan program. Also mentioned was a presentation at Littleton Elementary February 10, by Brian and Bruce Dissette, as well as presentations for Gulf Elementary 3rd graders on February 7 and 10 at 2:00pm. New updated brochures for SWFAS were made available for approval, to be printed in a variety of bold colors. Members are currently working on the Yahoo User Group moderated message system and file storage. Meanwhile information will continue to be shared via group email. Lee County Library Book Mobile has requested our assistance in making telescopes and literature available to students who use their mobile services. SWFAS will not participate in the Harns Marsh Elementary star party at this time, but will wait for earlier nightfall to assist with their 5th and 6th grade programs. We have declined a request to assist with a scouting event due to the 1 ½ hour travel time required, and have suggested that they contact a closer group. March club events will include the Burrowing Owl Festival in Rotary Park, and an observation on March 11 at Hickeys Creek. VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Bruce Dissette, Vice president, reported that he continues to coordinate the Calusahatchee observations. He is also interested in starting a Messier Catalogue Program for members. NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT: Carol Holmberg, Newsletter Editor, did not give a report. She continues to publish the SWFAS monthly newsletter. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Secretary, Kathleen Hendrix, reported no minutes from January, as no meeting was held. Members instead attended a presentation at FGCU by Dr. Michael Fauerbach, Ph.D., on “shape modeling of asteroids,” and toured the FGCU observatory. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Stewart Rorer reported a balance of $1,287.85. This includes the January balance of $734.68, $160 collected in dues, and $157.25 paid for PO Box, corporation fees, and interest earned. Stewart reminded members that dues are due. VIEWING COORDINATORS’ REPORT: Viewing Coordinators, Chuck Pavlick, and Tony Heiner invited members to the Fakahatchee Strand viewing area off Route 29, a site we share with the Naples Club. Telescopes from 4” to 20” will be set up. Bruce Dissette reminded those attending the Caloosahatchee viewing to set up by dark, and be there by 6:00pm when gates close. An email will be sent at 4:00 regarding pending weather. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT: Librarian Maria Berni was not present. Books on astronomy continue to be available to members. CLUB HISTORIAN: Club Historian Danny Secary was not present. EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR: Equipment Coordinator Brian Risley referred to previous information given. WEBSITE COORDINATOR: Website Coordinator, Dan Fitzgerald, was not present. He is currently training for full operation of revamped website.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Program Coordinator Ron Myrick was not present. The march meeting will feature speaker John Fishwick on the topic of Time. Chuck showed a prototype of the observation chair project and suggested this be a topic for the April meeting. EVENING PROGRAM: At 8:30pm Dr. Theo Koupelis, associate dean of arts and sciences at Edison State College, gave a presentation on The Ubiquitous Nature of Astrophysical Jets. ADJOURNMENT: Thursday March 3, 2011 was set as the next regular meeting. The February 3rd meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm.

Meeting Date: March 3, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: The monthly meeting of the Southwest Florida Astronomical Society was held at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, Ft Myers, Florida, on Thursday, March 3, 2011. The meeting convened at 7:30pm, President Brian Risley presiding, and Kathleen Hendrix, secretary. OPENING REMARKS: President Brian Risley reviewed February viewings and star parties including the Burrowing Owl Festival, and upcoming events such as the Rotary Park Dark Star party on March 11. Volunteers are needed to help with school programs and the Book Mobile. Brian revealed the club’s new self-aligning CP 800 Telescope, available to members with training. VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Bruce Dissette reported that he will be doing the Star Party March 5, and is also working on starting a Norton Star Atlas Group. NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT: Carol Holmberg, Newsletter Editor continues providing the club’s newsletter. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Secretary, Kathleen Hendrix submitted minutes from the February meeting. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Stewart Rorer, reported a balance of $1755.12., and submitted a detailed report, available on request. VIEWING COORDINATORS’ REPORT: Viewing Coordinator, Chuck Pavlick, requested that messages regarding observations be left on his cell phone, not on email. Maps for directions to viewing sites are available on web site. He will email members regarding Friday or Saturday observations at the FAK, weather permitting. Star parties are planned for March 5, and April 2, 2011. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT: Librarian Maria Berni. No report. CLUB HISTORIAN: Club Historian Danny Secary. No report. EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR: Equipment Coordinator Brian Risley reported that the new scope, as well as old motorized scopes are available to members. Email Brian to request training for use. WEBSITE COORDINATOR: Website Coordinator, Dan Fitzgerald reported that work on the new website is still in progress, not yet fully functional.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Program Coordinator Ron Myrick reported that the April speaker will be announced soon . Upcoming events include the Saturday Star party, and Hickey’s Creek Mitigation Park Friday with ranger Kelly Williamson, where 25 to 30 people are expected to attend. Other Star Parties include Rotary Park March 11, and Solar Observation at Ding Darling Family Fun Day on Sanibel Island October 16, 2011. EVENING PROGRAM; Dr. John H. Fishwick gave a presentation entitled Exactly What is Time. ADJOURNMENT: Thursday April 7, 2011 was set as the next regular meeting. The March 3 meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm.

Meeting Date: April 7, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: The monthly meeting of the Southwest Florida Astronomical Society was held at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, Ft Myers, Florida, on Thursday, April 7, 2011. The meeting convened at 7:30pm, President Brian Risley presiding, and Kathleen Hendrix, secretary. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: There were approximately 35 members and visitors in attendance. OPENING REMARKS: President Brian Risley called the meeting to order and introduced visitors. He reported on recent events such as the Rotary Park Star Party which attracted over a dozen visitors and was very successful. Solar observations were held for Dolfer Elementary at Hickey Creek, as well as the Star party the following night. The next event will be Hancock Creek Elementary April 14. We receive many requests from the public. The Charlotte County Fair at the fairgrounds in Port Charlotte on April 23 has asked us to present general instruction of solar observation.. Set up is at 9:30am, closing 6:00pm. Possible volunteers are Steve Cox, Tony, John Martin, and Jason. May 7, 2011 is Astronomy Day, and to celebrate, Carol is willing to do a planetarium presentation on May 7th. Also the club might set up an observation the weekend of May 6-12 for the Ft. Myers Chic Fil A Family Night. We have also received requests from the Edison Ford Winter Estates, the Girl Scouts Star Party Sleep-over 11/11/11, (full moon might be a problem), Lee County Library Teen outdoor party 1/10/12 (another full moon), and Lee High 5th graders. Mary Metor has been contacted by several other groups The club receives many requests of this kind, and volunteers are needed! Public outreach is an important part of our mission. VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Bruce Dissette, Vice president, not present. NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT: Carol Holberg, Newsletter Editor, has approved the Astronomy Day presentation at the Planetarium May 7, free to the public, accepting donations. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Secretary, Kathleen Hendrix, submitted minutes from previous meeting. TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Stewart Rorer reported a balance of $1875 as of 3/31/11. Details are available on request. Members are reminded to pay dues. VIEWING COORDINATORS’ REPORT: Viewing Coordinators, Chuck Pavlick, and Tony Heiner remind members to go to Nebulachaser.com for information on observation. Bruce Dissette will remind members by email of the observation at Caloosahatchee April 30th. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT: Librarian, Maria Berni (no report) CLUB HISTORIAN: Club Historian, Danny Secary, invites emails and suggestions.

EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR: Equipment Coordinator Brian Risley reported that currently two scopes are out, and two lumicon filters are missing. Scopes may be borrowed with brief training. WEBSITE COORDINATOR: Website Coordinator, Dan Fitzgerald (no report) PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Program Coordinator Ron Myrick introduced the speaker, Dennis Albright. EVENING PROGRAM; Dennis Albright of the Naples Chapter, Professor of Physics and Engineering at Edison State, gave a presentation on The Giant Planets. CLOSING REMARKS, ANNOUNCEMENTS: Six CDs were awarded to members with winning tickets. ADJOURNMENT: Thursday May 5, 2011 was set as the next regular meeting. The April 7 meeting was adjourned. All minutes submitted by Kathleen Hendrix, Secretary

Future Events

CALUSA NATURE CENTER PLNTRM 5-5-11 7:30 PM MONTHLY MEETING

CALOOSAHATCHEE REGIONAL PARK 5-28-11 DUSK STAR PARTY

CALUSA NATURE CENTER PLNTRM 5-7-11 5:00 – 10:00PM ASTRONOMY DAY

CALUSA NATURE CENTER PLNTRM 6-2-11 7:30 PM MONTHLY MEETING

CALOOSAHATCHEE REGIONAL PARK 6-4-11 DUSK STAR PARTY

SANIBEL DING DARLING PARK FAMILY 10-17-11 11:00 AM SOLAR OBSERVING

Southwest Florida Astronomical Society, Inc.

P.O. Box 100127 Cape Coral, FL 33910

www.theeyepiece.org