April 2024 Meeting Notes

Bartlesville Astronomical Society Meeting Notes

April 1, 2024

Attendance:  We had 16 members in attendance, plus one new member who joined this evening!  We also had 11 guests.  Grand total 28 in attendance this evening, in person and via Zoom.

Main program: “The Eclipse That Verified Einstein’s Theory of Relativity” by Dr. Brian Turner, Associate Professor of Physics, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and BAS member!

Dr. Turner reviewed a number of total solar eclipses through history.  He then discussed some more relatively recent scientific advances in eclipse observations:

·   Edmund Halley made a map of totality for an eclipse in 1715.

·   Francis Baily explained Baily’s Beads in 1836.

·   Prussian photographer Johann Berkowski took the first photograph of a total solar eclipse in 1851.  And the element helium, discovered in 1868 was named after spectral lines seen in the solar corona.  The name helium was derived from the Greek Sun god Helios.

Dr. Turner then reviewed some of the formulae that led to Einstein’s theory of relativity.

The mathematical form of Newton’s law of gravitation is F = Gm1m2/d2, where

G is the gravitational constant

m1 and m2 are the masses of two bodies

Which are separated by a distance, d

If something has no mass, then there is no gravitational force.

Einstein’s theory of time and space is E = mc2, where

E is the kinetic energy of a body

m is the mass of the body

c2  is the speed of light squared

Energy = the mass of a body times the speed of light squared.

Einstein then theorized that gravity isn’t a force; it’s mass that curves space and time, like a trampoline that has something heavy in it.  Light gets bent!

To show that light gets bent—and a total solar eclipse provides an opportunity to do this—you needed these:

·         Moon in the right location for a total solar eclipse

·         Ability to predict eclipses (eclipses are part of Saros cycles)

·         A star field behind the eclipse

·         Good maps

·         An available steamer boat (this was in the day before jet travel!)

·         Photography

·         Telescope

·         Perfect weather—a cloudy day until the eclipse happens, so that there will be no temperature changes at the time of totality

·         World peace—so that you could freely travel to an area where there would be a total solar eclipse!

In 1912, scientist Charles Perrine, director of the Argentine National Observatory in Cordoba, was set up to test Einstein’s theory in Brazil, but the eclipse was rained out. 

In 1914, scientist Erwin Freundlich from Berlin as well as Charles Perrine went to the Crimea, and U.S. astronomer William Campbell went to the Ukraine, to try to prove the theory.  WWI had recently broken out and German scientists were taken prisoner; for those who could stay, clouds kept them from making good observations. 

In 1919, English scientists Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson went to west African island of Principe and Sobral, Brazil, respectively.  The weather cooperated in both locations, and they were able to prove Einstein’s theory!

Dr. Turner’s presentation was interrupted by a tornado warning during the meeting.  Thanks go to Club board members who kept an eye on the weather and helped everyone stay calm.  Everyone at the meeting in person went to the library’s designated shelter room.   The meeting resumed after the tornado warning expired.  Dr. Turner was able to complete his presentation but there was not a lot of time left for the business portion of the meeting.

Astronomical events/reports:

We didn’t have a star party March 9 at Jo Allyn Lowe due to weather.

Club Business:

Treasurer’s Report – Evan:

Ending balance February 29, 2024:  $14,151.97.

Received one volunteer grant of $1000.00.

Spent $141.03 at Staples for the banner for our movie-area mall display.

Ending balance March 31, 2024: $15,010.94.

Night Sky Network Eclipse Kit:  John Blaesi brought the eclipse kit we received in March (and brought to the March meeting) to this meeting also, so that we could hand out items in the kit before the total solar eclipse April 8.

Upcoming star parties: 

Next second-Saturday-of-the-month star party on April 13 will be at Jo Allyn Lowe, weather permitting.

As Club members proceed with their plans to view the total solar eclipse on April 8, for those in the path of totality, watch for these planets during totality:

Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Mars.  Also watch for Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks!

Astronomical League update:

·   MSRAL is June 7-9 at the Mahoney State Park Lodge in Nebraska.  The conference dates are the same dates as the OKM Music Festival here.  Registration is open at www.msral.org. 

·   AlCon will be in Overland Park, Kansas, July 16-20, and one of the speakers will be David Levy.  Registration is now open at https://www.astroleague.org/

Sunfest:

Denise has submitted the application for Sunfest. We will have sign-up sheets for volunteering at the May meeting.

Night Sky Network speaker: 

We have a NSN guest speaker for our June meeting!  She is Moonzarin Reza, a grad student at Texas A&M.  She will be speaking on her current topic of research:

Identifying type 1a supernova, which can be used as "standard candles" to measure distances to galaxies. Type 1a supernovae also have some cosmological implications.

Next club meeting:  May 6 at the library.  Program:  Total eclipse pictures and stories from Club members!