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Next BAS Monthly Meeting:
Monday October 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the library in meeting room A upstairs
Speaker: John Blaesi
Voyager
John will talk about the two Voyager probes, launched in 1977, to fly by the outer planets, capturing close-up data and images. Fifty years later, both are still following trajectories out of the solar system and into interstellar space. John will also cover the Voyager Golden Record, which includes sounds and images of our natural world, as well as of humans, intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial species that may find them in the far distant future.
Club members will be sent a link to the Zoom meeting. Here is a link to the Join page on our website! If you are not a Club member but would like to attend, please email bvilleastro@gmail.com and ask to have the Zoom link sent to you!
BAS meetings feature presentations on a variety of astronomy and space science topics. Meetings are usually on the first Monday evening of each month and are open to the public. Guests are always welcome. More event details are listed on our calendar.
https://sites.google.com/site/bartlesvilleastronomyclub/
The email address is bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com .
We have a full month of community outreach for October.
The first event is International Observe the Moon Night. It will be at Unity Square Saturday, Oct 4th, 6-10pm. We will be set up at the NW corner. Please be ready for viewers by 6 pm. We do have volunteers set up already for this event.
Second event is at the Boys and Girls Club in Dewey. Thursday, Oct 23rd 4-4:30 pm.
To get to the Boys and Girls Club enter the Dewey school complex by the Elementary school. Keep driving west until you have to turn right. You’ll see the parking lot set up with tables. Park wherever you can find a spot, it was pretty congested last year. Of course this is a Sun filter event. No volunteers yet for this event.
Third event is the Wooloroc Members event at Wooloroc. The date is Saturday October 30th, probably 6:30 (they haven’t confirmed). It will be at the lower area past the Museum. No volunteers yet for this event.
Please, please consider helping with these event. You don’t have to have a telescope, just your knowledge is enough to converse with the viewers. We’re there to encourage viewers to learn about the magnificent sky.
Please let John Grismore or I know if you’ll be help at any of these events.
Luann Wright
918-327-0636
Apps for Consideration
Family Fun with Sky Watching
Clear Sky Predictor for Bartlesville:
https://clearskyalarmclock.com/index.php
Sky and Telescope News https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/
The waxing crescent Moon crosses Scorpius on its way to a meetup with Saturn, while the Moon's own sunrise line unveils more and more lunar lands for telescopes.
By: Alan MacRobert September 26, 2025
VIPER, a water-seeking rover, has gotten a new lease on life, with a new launch vehicle and lander announced by NASA.
By: David Dickinson September 26, 2025
Primordial chemistry might destroy most of the water on sub-Neptunes; if so, there could be far fewer “water worlds” than previously thought.
By: Arielle Frommer September 26, 2025
A new heliophysics mission seeks to unlock the secrets of the region where the solar wind collides with cosmic radiation.
By: David Dickinson September 24, 2025
The discovery of a rare Einstein Cross — five images of the same galaxy — reveals a trillion-solar-mass dark matter clump.
By: Colin Stuart September 23, 2025
John Seach hit the jackpot, discovering novae in both Centaurus and Sagittarius within a day of each other.
By: Bob King September 23, 2025
On these dark evenings the Perseus Double Cluster and the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, await in the northeast. They're only two fist-widths apart.
By: Alan MacRobert September 19, 2025
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed that, just 800 million years after the Big Bang, there is a galaxy that contains a supermassive black hole — and not much else.
By: Monica Young September 18, 2025
Titan joins its shadow for a "grand finale" this October.
By: Bob King September 17, 2025
A surge of asteroids might have peppered the inner solar system some 800 million years ago, in a short-lived shower that left its mark — literally — on Earth and its neighbors.
By: Camille M. Carlisle September 16, 2025
The LIGO gravitational-wave detector celebrates its 10th birthday with the clearest signal yet from a pair of merging black holes.
By: Colin Stuart September 12, 2025
Ukrainian amateur discovers a bright, new comet now in the evening sky.
By: Bob King September 12, 2025
A promising comet could reach naked-eye brightness next month. Here's how to track it.
By: Bob King September 3, 2025
The number of gravitational-wave signals has just doubled with the release of the newest catalog of events.
By: Camille M. Carlisle September 8, 2025
Marsquakes reveal a lumpy, viscous mantle and a large, solid inner core, with profound implications for Mars past, present, and future.
By: Monica Young September 4, 2025
Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope have shown the new interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS is surprisingly rich in carbon dioxide.
By: Jeff Hecht September 4, 2025
Just discovered, it’s been orbiting the Sun alongside Earth for decades, and will continue to do so for decades more
By: David L. Chandler September 2, 2025
The European spacecraft en route to Jupiter, named JUICE, completed its only flyby of the planet Venus
By: David Dickinson September 1, 2025
Astronomers have pinpointed the location of an one-time fast radio burst to a spiral arm of a nearby galaxy.
By: Jan Hattenbach August 28, 2025
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-current.html)
October 7 - Full Moon, Supermoon. 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 03:49 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon. This is also the first of three supermoons for 2025. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
October 7 - Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the 7th. Unfortunately the glare from the nearly full moon will block most of the meteors this year. Combined with the low hourly rate it would probably be best to skip this one unless you are really patient. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
October 21 - 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 12:26 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.
October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. It peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. This is an excellent year for the Orionids. The moon will be absent all night long, leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
October 29 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 23.9 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.
November 4, 5 - Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of November 4. Unfortunately the glare form the full moon will hide most of the meteors this year. If you are really patient, you may still be able to catch a few bright ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 5 - Full Moon, Supermoon. 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 13:21 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon. This is also the second of three supermoons for 2025. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
November 17, 18 - Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. This should be an excellent year for the Leonids. The thin, crescent moon won't be much of a problem and skies will be dark enough for what should be an great show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 20 - 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 06:49 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.
November 21 - 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. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. 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.
December 4 - Full Moon, Supermoon. 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 23:15 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Cold Moon because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Long Nights Moon and the Moon Before Yule. This is also the last of three supermoons for 2025. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
December 7 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 20.7 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.
December 13, 14 - Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The second quarter moon will block some of the fainter meteors this year, but the Geminids are so numerous that it should still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
Next Month's BAS Meeting: November 3, Monday. Presenter: TBA
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 multi-part articles are also welcome. Please submit your contributions to Mike Woods or to bvilleastro@gmail.com.
Bartlesville Astronomical Society is an organization of people interested in astronomy and related fields of science. Membership is open to everyone interested in any aspects of astronomy.
Elected Officers and Board Members:
President
John Grismore
Vice President
Pat Stefanopoulos
Secretary
Denise Gregg
Treasurer
Evan Zorn
Appointed Positions and Board Members:
Program Director
TBD
Mike Woods
Events Coordinator
Luann Wright
Member-at-Large
Brian Turner
Member-at-Large
Craig Brockmeier
Additional Appointed Positions:
Bartian Youth Astronomers Leader
TBD
Meeting Arrangements Coordinator
Denise Gregg
Website and Social Media Administrator
Denise Gregg, Katlynn Hanks, John Blaesi
Astronomical League Coordinator
Denise Gregg
Our officers and some individuals holding other club positions can be reached by email. To send an email, just click on a title above.
Membership Rates
Regular Membership
For age 18 or older. Holds one vote for BAS business.
$25 per year
Student Membership
For age 13 through high school, or age 18 or older and enrolled full-time at a post-secondary educational institution. Holds no vote for BAS business. A student younger than age 13 may join with an adult on a Family Membership.
$10 per year
Family Membership:
Two People
For two people, with at least one member age 18 or older. Holds one shared vote for BAS business.
$30 per year
Family Membership:
Three or More People
For three or more people, with at least one member age 18 or older. Holds one shared vote for BAS business.
$40 per year
Members are eligible for these discounted magazine subscriptions:
Sky and Telescope
Astronomy Technology Today
Astronomy Magazine
Please check with the BAS Treasurer for current discounted subscription rates.
Comments: Send email to bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com or our newsletter editor: bvilleastro+newsletter@gmail.com
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