Newsletter of the Madison Astronomical Society
Annual Spring Banquet:
Where: C. J.'s East - 802 Atlas Avenue - Madison
When:: April 9 - 6:30 PM
Send check payable to MAS with meal selections to Jane Breun by Friday April 2, 1999
Meal Choices: Prime Rib $17, Stuffed Chicken $13
Don't miss this event. Socialize with MAS friends, hear a fine speaker, applaud our award
winners for the 1998 year and enjoy a summary of the year of progress that the MAS had in
1998.
Winter Activities of the MAS
A small issue for a small month. The Winter months have been a bit grim and the skies have
not been very good for a long while. Thus there is a bit less than the normal activity in
the MAS and at the Yanna Research Station.
Boy Scout Star Party January 19 at YRS
There was a welcome break in the weather and a singularly clear sky that evening. About
two dozen members from area Boy Scout Troops viewed various celestial objects and learned
about the wonders of the universe from MAS members. Bob Manske, Dave Weier, Wynn Wacker,
Tom Brissett, Tim Ellestad, Bruce Brinkerhoff and others took part in this event. This was
a great example of the MAS carrying out its educational function. Our thanks to all those
who participated in this event.
Meeting Speakers January 8
On January 8, at the regular meeting of the MAS at Space Place, two speakers told us about
Wisconsin's very own meteor crater. Carl Bethke an astronomy teacher at MATC and a former
student of his (now a graduate student at the UW in geology) are studying a very ancient
upheaval that could have come from a meteor impact. While the evidence is still being
gathered, it appears that a large meteor made a six mile diameter crater near Glover's
Bluff. Because of the heavy glaciation and considerable weathering over the years,
evidence has been all but erased. Still the detective work results which were presented
were significant and quite convincing. Work to determine the exact location and size of
the crater continues but Bethke stressed a time problem as evidence is quickly
disappearing. Glover's Bluff is being quarried by a concrete supplier and items like
impact cones and upturned layering in the sedimentary rock may turn up pulverized in the
next sidewalk, foundation or patio slab.
News letter will need editor
It is not too early to consider participating in the editing and publishing of the
newsletter. The current editor has been on the job for two years and it is time to pass
the duties on. I will be happy to help the new editor get started and help make the
transition smooth and easy. The April issue will be my last. If you are interested please
contact the MAS president.
Progress on projects at YRS
Work was just a tiny bit short of completion when Winter set in with a vengeance. The
telescope tube and mount need a bit more work. Ray Zit is working on the OTA and Dick
Greiner will be installing the drives and tuning the drive up soon. The dome and the
shutter are both working well. The motorized rotation mechanism for the dome is designed
and the parts made. It is still to be assembled on the building. These projects will be
completed just as soon as weather permits.
In other respects, our buildings, equipment and other facilities at the Yanna Research
Station remain in good condition.
ASTRONOMY EDUCATION and OUTREACH AWARD
In organizing a committee to focus on youth outreach, the Madison Astronomical Society has
recognized a growing concern over the fliture of amateur astronomy given the greying of
the current amateur community. There are various factors contributing to this phenomenon,
some of which will be reviewed in the report the committee will present to the Society
next January. That report will also describe efforts which the Society and its members
have undertaken to help counter this trend as well as suggesting additional possibilities
for consideration.
However, as we pursue our own endeavors in this regard, it is important not to forget that
others in our community are striving towards the same ends. It is reasonable that in
addition to our own direct efforts, we could flirther progress towards the goal of greater
community consciousness of things astronomical by providing some formal recognition of
those individuals who, thiough their special efforts, have contributed to public awareness
of astronomy. Accordingly, I would like to propose that the Madison Astronomical Society
institute an Astronomy Education and Outreach Award.
This award would go to individuals who have contributed to improving general public
awareness of astronomy in the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin. Special
consideration would be given to those whose efforts focus on the younger members of the
community. Candidates would be nominated by members of the Society and, in the event of
more than one nominee, the nominations would be reviewed by the Board of Directors of the
Society, who would make a recommendation to the general meeting of the Society at which
all members present would select the winner(s) by majority vote. The award could be made
no more than once in a calendar year, though there could be more than one recipient if
deemed appropriate by the membership.
The award itself need not be very elaborate. A simple certificate in an inexpensive frame
would be adequate. The honor is not in the object itself but in community recognition
backed by whatever prestige the Society may command. The certificate would contain, in
addition to the title and purpose of the award, the year, and the name of the awardee, a
brief statement summarizing the contributions the recipient has made in astronomy
education and outreach. The annual banquet would seem to be the appropriate time for
making the presentation and the Society or individual contributors would cover the expense
of the meal for the awardee and an escort should he or she choose to attend in person.
The value of such recognition should not be underestimated. Simply knowing that our
undertakings are appreciated serves to spur most of us to strive harder. Recipients whose
efforts occur within the context of formal educational or scientific institutions could
cite this instance of public recognition when the difficult and political decisions
regarding finding are made, and could add it to their curriculum vitae. The Society itself
would benefit from closer association with those who share our goals, and whose contact
with the public may foster increased awareness of our existence and aims.
I would like, therefore, to move that the Madison Astronomical Society implement this
award, subject to whatever modifications the membership deem appropriate, and that a
volunteer be found to design the award certificate. I also move that announcement of the
award be made nominees solicited in the next issue of Capitol Skies, so that the first
award may be presented at the 1999 annual banquet.
Respectfiilly submitted - Wynn Wacker
[The motion was made, seconded and carried. So get your
nominations in now - ed]
A February Rendezvous - Jupiter and Venus at Sunset
By John Rummel
February of 1999 is a month to be long-remembered by all casual watchers
of the sky. All month long, the planet Jupiter is slowly making its way westward, where it
will eventually sink below the horizon until Earth's next swing around the sun. As Jupiter
slowly disappears into the sun's glare, Venus is rapidly climbing above the west horizon
to take it's place as the brilliant evening star for the next several months. In late
February, the two planets will temporarily rendezvous in a startling display of celestial
wonder.
Let the Show Begin, Observer's Challenge for February 1999
Just after sunset on the February 17th 1999 Jupiter and Venus will occupy a patch of sky
just 5 degrees on a side (5 degrees is about the width of 3 fingers at arm's length). Just
below the planetary pair, find a razor-thin sliver of moon just one and a-half days past
new.
The next evening, the 18th, the moon will have moved to the upper left of the planets, and
their tight grouping will make for an unforgettable sight. But the show's not over. In the
days that follow, the moon will move off to the east, but Jupiter and Venus will inch
closer and closer for a final rendezvous on the 23rd. On that day, just after sunset, both
planets will appear so close in our skies that you can easily cover them both with the tip
of your pinky, and have plenty of room left over. Their actual separation at this time
will be about 1/5 of a degree (the full moon's diameter is 1/2 degree). Both planets would
fit nicely into a medium power telescope field-of-view for a breathtaking spectacle.
For a bonus, watch another 8 days until March 3rd. Just after sunset (6:15 or so), look
for a nice planetary lineup. From the bottom up, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.
Saturn, by this time the dimmest of the group, will be above the other three by about a
fist and a-half.
Some doomsday watchers in need of a dramatic event for the upcoming millennium point to a
"grand conjunction" on May 5 2000 as a possible day of disaster for the Earth.
It's true that May of 2000 will bring a very interesting grand conjunction, but
unfortunately all the planets involved (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) will be
so close to the sun that they will be virtually invisible to all but professionals with
specialized equipment.
Conjunctions such as this month's with Venus and Jupiter are not exactly rare - they
happen on average once every few years - but they are beautiful and inspiring sights.
Forget the gloom and doom naysayers. Sit back and enjoy the magnificent spectacle of our
wondrous universe.
Observer's Notebook
by John Rummel
Binocular Delights of Winter
The popular image of astronomy seems to imply a telescope, but for some purposes, a
telescope is exactly the wrong instrument to use. This month's challenge is a perfect
example.
Galactic clusters, or open clusters as they're more commonly known, are loose clumps of
young stars numbering from dozens to hundreds. They are closely associated in both
proximity and motion - meaning they're traveling through space as a true group, and not
just a convenient group created by our line of sight. Two of the best known open clusters
can be viewed with the naked eye easily, the Hyades and Pleiades.
Early evening skies in January find the familiar figure of Orion the Hunter posted high in
the south. Follow the three bright belt stars of Orion up to the right and you'll come to
the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus. Aldebaran is embedded in a V-shaped asterism. The
stars of the V are the Hyades cluster, which make up the head of the bull, with Aldebaran
as the eye. Though this cluster is larger and less conspicuous than the Pleiades (a little
beyond Hyades in the same direction), it is a very attractive region to explore with the
right tool, and luckily, you probably have the right tool stuck away in a closet somewhere
in your house; binoculars. The Hyades and Pleiades need a wide-field view and low
magnification, for which binoculars are perfect.
For viewing these gems you'll want the darkest skies possible, so make sure not foiled by
the moon (new moon is January 16th. Any night with a week either way should be fine).
After a few minutes of naked-eye appreciation (and a chance to let you eyes dark adapt),
try the Hyades with the binoculars. The number of stars visible should at least double,
and depending on the kind of binoculars you have, you'll probably do better than that.
Even my little 7x35's provide a breathtaking view.
Aldebaran's "membership" in this cluster is accidental. It is twice as close as
the other stars and moving through space in a different direction. In a few hundred
thousand years, it will have moved off to join some new star pattern, but the Hyades will
remain.
The Pleiades is undoubtedly one of the most famous objects in the sky, and one which has
been known since antiquity. It garners two mentions in the Bible (Amos 5:8 and Job 38:31)
and has led to countless myths, including those in ancient Greece, Japan, aboriginal
Australia, Africa, and Borneo.
To novices, the Pleiades has actually been mistaken for the Little Dipper since its six
brightest stars look like a little dipper (and it _is_ tiny). The real Little Dipper is
stuck forever at due north, while the Pleiades roams the heavens and is actually visible
to over 80% of the world's population, which accounts for its popularity in legend.
After you've tested the limits of your vision to see how many of the "seven
sisters" you can see (most people can make out six easily, sharper eyes and darker
skies may get up to a dozen!), reach for the binoculars again.
First time observers have been heard to gasp when viewing the Pleiades through good
binoculars for the first time. At least 20 stars within the cluster are just below naked
eye limits and spring into view suddenly when viewed with low magnification. If you ever
doubted the value of binoculars as an astronomical instrument, a glance at the Pleiades
will remedy your opinion!
Modern long exposure photos reveal no less than 2000 stars within the confines of the
Pleiades, of which about 250 are actually "true members." A good binocular view
of the Pleiades will cement the concept of a cluster in your mind; a dazzling collection
of stars surrounded by blackness.
As a bonus, scan back down to Orion and zero in on the "sword" hanging just
below his belt. The belt is made up of three tiny groups of stars. The middle one is fuzzy
and indistinct. This is the site of the famous "Orion Nebula," which is in fact
a stellar nursery even now busily engaged in hatching new stars. It's a rich binocular
sight all by itself, and in a few hundred thousand or a million years, might be a new
Pleiades, gracing the skies of some as yet unborn civilization.
Back to Capitol Skies Main Page