September 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room

6:45 p.m. Setup and Discussion

7:00 p.m. Club Business

7:15 p.m. Current Astronomy News

Object of the Month

7:00 p.m.

I have prepared three things for Tuesday's BAS meeting: (1) A presentation using pictures I took at our August 10th starparty, highlighting summer constellations and the Milkyway. I have incorporated sky charts from Stellarium so viewers can identify the constellations and will point out some of the interesting objects in the field of view. (2) Because we have a "blue moon" on Friday, I will show some of my pictures I've taken of the moon this month, together with information downloaded to talk about what a blue moon is and show some of the interesting behaviors of the moon, earth, sun dynamic. (3) Because this is the month of the Mars rover landing, I have also put together some recent pictures taken by Rover and talk about its planned excursions.

Daryl Doughty

Moose Jaw Observatory

36.734195D N

95.928025D W

Photo by M Woods

Enter the International Dark-Sky Association’s Darksky Giveaway for an astronomically grand prize— a set of eight TeleVue Ethos eyepieces valued at $5,665, generously donated by Televue Optics.

To enter the IDA's Darksky Giveaway, you must be an IDA member before the entry closeout date of August 31, 2012. If you are not a member, joining is easy and the cost of a one-year membership is only $35.00. To join or renew your membership, visit www.darksky.org and select the “Join” tab at the top of the webpage. You can also join by calling the IDA office at (520) 293-3198. Entering to win is also a breeze. Visit darksky.org/giveaway where you can fill out the entry form online and read the official rules.

Individual memberships help IDA perform its mission in stopping light pollution and helps to support its many programs. Through the International Dark Sky Places program, IDA and its partners certify locations with exceptional nightscapes as International Dark Sky Communities, International Dark Sky Parks, and International Dark Sky Reserves. The Dark Sky Parks and Protected Area Program currently works with national parks to help them utilize quality outdoor lighting. IDA’s new Suburban Outreach Sites project partners with astronomy clubs to establish accessible programs for kids and their parents. These programs help IDA to engage communities and to raise awareness and ultimately “to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting.”

IDA members make a big difference in their communities and around the world, which is why IDA is thrilled to offer its members such a premium giveaway from Televue Optics. Make sure you enter the DarkSky Giveaway by the deadline and good luck!

To learn more, visit www.darksky.org.

The winner will be announced at the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show in September 2012, but does not need to attend PATS to win.

Current News from Sky and Telescope

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

Skyweek from Sky and Telescope Magazine also presents a variety of astronomical events for the naked eye as well as telescope viewing.http://www.skyandtelescope.com/videos/skyweek

Let’s Go Stargazing http://www.skyandtelescope.com/letsgo

Lots of activities and information for families and novice astronomers.

Courtesy of John Land, Astronomy Club of Tulsa. astroclubbiz@windstream.net

• • August 31 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 13:58 UTC. Since this is the second full moon in the same month, it is known as a blue moon. This rare calendar event only happens once every few years, giving rise to the term, “once in a blue moon.”

  • September 16 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 02:11 UTC.

  • September 22 - September Equinox. The September equinox occurs at 14:49 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the southern hemisphere.

  • September 29 - Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

  • September 30 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 03:19 UTC.

  • October 15 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 12:02 UTC.

(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2012.html)

2012 Programs

Next Meeting

October 1, Monday. Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room (tentative)

Newsletter Contributions Needed

Our club newsletter is reaching more people each month, and member contributions in the form of short articles, interesting news items, alerts of upcoming astronomical events or activities, descriptions of personal observations or useful equipment, and observing tips, are encouraged. Recurring columns or multipart articles are also welcome. Please submit your contributions to Mike Woods or to bvilleastro@gmail.com .

Bartlesville Astronomical Society - Membership

B.A.S. is an organization of people interested in Astronomy and related fields of science.

If you want to have your email address removed from the Bartlesville Astronomical Society mailing list, please send an email requesting removal to bvilleastro@gmail.com