Monday, April 6

Bartlesville Public Library

6:45 p.m. Setup and Discussion

7:00 p.m. Club Business

7:15 p.m. Current Astronomy News

7:30 p.m.

Astrophotography 101 Part 2

by Rick Bryant

Beginning Astrophotography Skills Summary

Level 1

· Learn to locate target(s) of interest in the dark

· Learn to focus your equipment at infinity in the dark

· Learn to hold your equipment steady and/or use hands-free support in the dark

· Learn how to take long exposures using your equipment in the dark

· Learn how to manually adjust your equipment in the dark: Focus, exposure, aperture, sensitivity, zoom

· Learn to replace batteries in the dark

· Learn the “best” aperture(s) and ISO for your equipment

· Learn the relationship between lens focal length and captured image

Level 2

· Learn basic image editing: Bit depth, Histogram, Curves, Exposure, Color, Hue, Saturation, Contrast, etc.

· Learn basic image stacking skills

· Learn basic panorama creation skills

Level 3 – Wide Field Imaging

· Learn to use equipment on tracking mounts in the dark (manual and/or motorized)

· Learn polar alignment skills

· Continue to learn basic processing skills

· Learn basic scientific processing skills – i.e. Gradient removal

· Learn more extensive image stacking skills – i.e. Deep Sky Stacker

Level 3 – Higher Magnification / Short Exposure Imaging

· Learn to couple imager with telescope and/or learn to use extreme telephoto lens

· Learn to determine lens / telescope focal length for desired Sun / Moon Image(s)

· Learn to focus high magnification equipment

· Continue to learn basic processing skills

· Learn basic Photomosaic processing skills

Level 3 – Webcam / CCTV

· Learn to use equipment on tracking mounts (manual and/or motorized)

· Learn to focus webcam

· Learn webcam image stacking skills

· Continue to learn basic processing skills

· Learn webcam scientific processing skills

Level 4 – Higher Magnification / Short-Medium Exposure Imaging

· Learn to use higher magnification equipment on tracking mounts

· Learn more critical polar alignment

Level 4 – Webcam / CCTV

· Learn to use higher magnification equipment on tracking mounts

· Learn more critical polar alignment

Hello BAS Members --

With so many people interested in AstroPhotography in the group, we have thought of having a "Astro Picture of the Month" competition each month at our meetings.

Entry Rules:

Send one picture of the night sky/ object of the current month with a description of the picture and the equipment used to take this.

Mail it to bvilleastro@gmail.com.

Best picture is chosen in the next meeting and uploaded to our Facebook/Twitter pages with your mention!

So let the entries pouring in for our next meeting on the Feb 2, 2015.

Thanks

BAS President .

The New Horizons Spacecraft is closing in on Pluto at 33,000 mph.

It will make its closest approach on July 14, 2015 revealing 100's of details never seen before.

NASA is giving students and interested people an opportunity to suggest names

for the many craters and features we will discover on Pluto and its five Moons

Deadline for submissions is April 24th

Information can be found at http://www.ourpluto.org/

Be sure to look at details from Tabs at the top of the homepage.

Participants can suggest names from Five Categories.

See details at http://www.ourpluto.org/nominate2

Or Vote on their favorite names that have already been proposed.

http://www.ourpluto.org/vote

The great tradition of dark sky observing continues with the 37th Annual

TEXAS STAR PARTY, May 10-17, 2015!

Staying on the Ranch in housing, RV, or camping? Staying off-site in other accommodations? Everyone needs to enter the TSP drawing, held in late January.

You should submit a Registration/Reservation Request Form to ENTER THE TSP DRAWING before January 21, 2015. This will provide you the highest possible chance of being selected as one of the 500 people who will be able to attend TSP this year.

Follow this link to get started!

https://texasstarparty.org/get-started/

SIGN UP NOW!

You can find out the status of your TSP Registration at any time by visiting

https://texasstarparty.org/account/

Get info on our new AstroLearn Workshop at

https://texasstarparty.org/astrolearn/

Need funds to help pay for your trip to TSP? You can find out about getting paid while at TSP at:

https://texasstarparty.org/paid-workers-needed/

Check out the latest news at:

https://texasstarparty.org/news/

Questions? Visit our web site for the latest and complete details!

https://texasstarparty.org/ or email TSPRooms@TexasStarParty.org

We look forward to seeing you next May!

Sincerely,

the volunteers for Texas Star Party

Astronomy conventions are a great way to meet other astronomers and find out what is going on in other clubs in the region. They feature a variety of guest speakers plus a number of astronomer vendors are usually present. Plus you get a chance to travel and see what kind of facilities other clubs are using.

MIdStates Astronomy convention

Friday May 29 thru Sun May 31 at University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

Our Tulsa Club is a member of a 5 state region of the Astronomical League.

Each year one of the regional clubs hosts the convention in their area.

This year the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society is acting a host.

They have an impressive list of guest presenters lined up.

Details at www.MSRAL.org

National Astronomical League Convention

July 6 - 11 Los Cruces New Mexico

These national events attract several 100 of the nation’s leading astronomy professionals as well as amateurs. Speakers include well known astronomy authors and professionals. This year’s event is held in the dark skies of SW New Mexico. A number of optional side trips are available: White Sands Missile base museum, Very Large Array Radio observatory, Apache Point observatory and Dunn Solar telescope plus many natural attractions.

https://alcon2015.astroleague.org/

https://www.astroleague.org/files/reflector/Mar_2015.issue_.Web_.pdf

John Land

Take the Future of Amateur Astronomers Survey

The Night Sky Network is doing a new survey of amateur astronomers located in the United States. We are attempting to understand the landscape of educational outreach performed by astronomy clubs and assess the needs of the amateur astronomy community for the next 5 years. We want to hear your voice.

Please let us know what your needs are and how we can better help you and your clubs by taking our survey, located here: http://bit.ly/2014astrosurvey

Pass this announcement along to any other persons or organizations that would have an interest in this survey as well. Thank you all!

You can see daily images of the Sun on www.Spaceweather.com

See a Fantastic image comparing sunspot to size of earth

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=18&month=10&year=2014

Sky and Telescope News http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

Saturday Morning’s Total Lunar Eclipse

By: Alan MacRobert | April 3, 2015 | Comments 11

An unusually brief total eclipse of the Moon will be visible before dawn this Saturday, April 4th, from western North America. The eclipse happens on Saturday evening for Australia and East Asia.

Dragons and Venus Arise to Fool

By: Camille M. Carlisle | April 1, 2015 | Comments 0

On April 1st astronomers and other important folk got serious about science jokes in an annual tradition of scientific tomfoolery.

We’re All In This Together: Lunar Totality

By: Bob King | April 1, 2015 | Comments 0

There's much to take in during Saturday morning's total lunar eclipse, including a rare Moon-galaxy pairing, the splendid summer Milky Way, and a chance to see your shadow reach all the way to the Moon.

Tour April’s Sky: Critters on the March

By: Kelly Beatty | March 31, 2015 | Comments 0

The stars of northern winter linger in the west as celestial bears, a lion, and a snake climb in the east. Meanwhile, Jupiter and Venus sparkle overhead.

How Slippery Is Dark Matter?

By: Monica Young | March 30, 2015 | Comments 7

Dozens of galaxy clusters confirm that dark matter particles slip right past each other within messy cluster mergers.

NASA Selects Asteroid Mission Concept

By: Monica Young | March 26, 2015 | Comments 3

NASA has selected the design for its Asteroid Redirect Mission, opting to retrieve a boulder from a larger asteroid.

MAVEN Spots Dust Cloud, Aurora on Mars

By: Camille M. Carlisle | March 24, 2015 | Comments 0

NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft has detected dust high in Mars’s atmosphere and auroras across the planet’s northern hemisphere.

Reports from March 20th’s Total Solar Eclipse

By: Kelly Beatty | March 20, 2015 | Comments 2

With risky prospects on far-northern islands and at a premium aboard aircraft, observers looked on with awe as the Moon's shadow swept across the Arctic Ocean

New Dwarf Galaxies Near Milky Way

By: Monica Young | March 19, 2015 | Comments 6

Astronomers have found a set of new dwarf galaxy candidates near the Milky Way Galaxy, a discovery crucial to understanding dark matter.

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

• • • April 4 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 12:05 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Pink Moon because it marked the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first spring flowers. This moon has also been known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, and the Egg Moon. Many coastal tribes called it the Full Fish Moon because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

    • April 4 - Total Lunar Eclipse. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth's dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, South America, eastern Asia, and Australia. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)

    • April 13 - 18 - International Dark Sky Week. International Dark Sky Week is held during the week of the new moon in April. It is a week during which people worldwide turn out their outdoor lights in order to observe the wonders of the night sky without light pollution. It has been endorsed by the International Dark-Sky Association, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical League. So go ahead and turn out your outdoor lights this week to appreciate the beauty of the night sky!

    • April 18 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 18:56 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

    • April 22, 23 - Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. It peaks this year on the night of the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving fairly dark skies for the what could be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

    • April 25 - International Astronomy Day. Astronomy Day is an annual event intended to provide a means of interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals. The theme of Astronomy Day is "Bringing Astronomy to the People," and on this day astronomy and stargazing clubs and other organizations around the world will plan special events. You can find out about special local events by contacting your local astronomy club or planetarium. You can also find more about Astronomy Day by checking the Web site for the Astronomical League.

    • May 4 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 03:42 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Flower Moon because this was the time of year when spring flowers appeared in abundance. This moon has also been known as the Full Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon.

    • May 5, 6 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year on the night of May 5 and the morning of the May 6. The nearly full moon will be a big problem this year blocking out all but the brightest meteors. If you are patient, you should still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

• • (Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2015.html)

2015 BAS Programs

Next Meeting

June 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.