The Holiday WASP

December has come around so quickly and with it comes our monthly newsletter. Here's the final WASP issue of 2009. Larry Phipps, Publications Director and interim Editor, has done a really fine job as always - check it out!

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2008 Group Photo

Taken at the December 2008 Cranbrook meeting, our first group photo in a while. Apologies for the catastrophically low resolution on these - my phone isn't much of a camera. Marty should have a nicer photo - I'll add his when I get it. But at least it's something!



See you at the banquet.

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Cranbrook Meeting, December 1

December 1 marks the first annual(?) WAS Film Festival, providing for your entertainment and edification -- AT NO COST -- two films, which are described below. Gary M. Ross, our 1st Vice President, will be the master of ceremonies. It will be a great night - don't miss it.

Film #1 (2004)
A loose cadre of scientists working globally and without rest to assess a great threat to all of us and, with all great effort, to avert disaster. 48 minutes.

Film #2 (1960)
Not just a documentary, but film ART. This film creates an awe-inspiring view of the universe as it would appear to an interstellar voyager. We promise that this is not "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite." 29 minutes.

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November Discussion Group - TUESDAY, November 25

Due to Thanksgiving, the Discussion Group will meet on TUESDAY rather than Thursday this week. There is also a location change: the group will meet at Jon Blum's house rather than at Gary Gathen's. Please contact us or join the Yahoo group for directions.

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Macomb Meeting, November 20

From Dick Gala:

Dear WAS members,

The November WAS Macomb meeting will be held on Thursday, November 20th at Macomb Community College, Building B at 7:30 pm. The feature presentation will be by Sandra Macika and the title of her talk will be "Lick Observatory and Extra-Solar Planet Discovery."

The talk will focus on James Lick the man, the telescopes on the mountain and the scientific investigations they are employed for, especially extra-solar planets, and her experiences in 10 years of volunteering at the Lick Observatory.

Sandra is an active member of the Ford Astronomy Club.

Dick

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Fireball!

Here's the latest contribution to the warrenastro YouTube channel, from local amateur rocketry icon Frank "Rocketman" Uroda.

He writes:

After running my SkyCam for nearly a year, I switched to a new camera. I had finished making adjustments on it for the night and just let it run. Apparently at 5:15 AM a huge fireball (meteor) streaked across the northern sky. My new SkyCam caught the meteor and the smoke trail it left!

Attached is a 3 second time lapse video that actually covers a 30 minute time frame. Each frame is a 1 minute exposure and the video is running at 10 frames per second. The smoke trail lingered in the sky for over 20 minutes!

There is nothing in the images to give you a sense of scale. I usually get some trees on the edges for just that purpose. However, I have not yet finished with the adjustment and the camera was just pointed at the sky more or less at random. The field of view in the frame is about 90 degrees from left to right. This means that the meteor covered about 45 degrees....or a distance about 90 full moons across!

I plan to get a better lens for this new cam soon. That will allow for better clarity and a wider field of view.

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November WASP Is Here

The new issue of the WASP, brought to you by Publications Director and Editor Larry Phipps, is available to download - click here. Another great issue, featuring member astro-art, information about upcoming events, new items for sale, and the latest astronomy news.

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WAS Annual Banquet - December 18, 2008

WAS members:

Our annual banquet will be taking place December 18 (the third Thursday) at DeCarlos Banquet Center in Warren. Dr. Mark John Christensen will be presenting "The Dawn of the Space Shuttle(Folly)." The bar opens at 6 PM, dinner is around 7:30. Gus Povirk will be graciously returning to tickle the ivories. Tickets are $25 per person.

Please alert the board as soon as possible if you are coming, because the restaurant needs to know how many meals to prepare.

This is a members-and-guests only event. Hope to see you there!

Full invitation and menu details after the jump.

ANNUAL WAS BANQUET

Thursday, Dec. 18th

Place: DeCarlos Restaurant and Banquet Center in the Fiesta Room

6015 E. 10 Mile Road near Mound (note... there is another DeCarlos at a different location...don't go there!)

Time: Bar opens at 6:00pm...dinner around 7:30pm

Open Bar

Cost: $25 per person Reservations required...send check and number of people attending to:

Steve Uitti

WAS Banquet

10933 Buckingham Ct.

Allen Park, Mi. 48101

313-389-5609

or give to Steve at upcoming Macomb or Cranbrook membership meeting.

Speaker: Dr. Mark John Christensen

Title of his talk: "The Dawn of the Space Shuttle(Folly)"

More info on Dr. Christensen & his talk will follow later.

Family style meal includes:

Boneless Chicken Breast

Roast Beef with mushrooms

Meatballs and Gravy

Mostaccioli w/ meatsauce

Scalloped potatoes

Buttered corn

Tossed Green Salad

Rolls

Coffee, Tea

Cherry Cheesecake

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Cranbrook Meeting, November 3

The November 2008 Cranbrook WAS meeting will be held on Monday, November 3rd at 7:30 PM at the Cranbrook Institute of Science auditorium. There has been a change to the program: the presenter is Dave Bailey, who will present a talk on topics of his choosing.

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Astro-Imaging the Old-Fashioned Way

WAS resident astro-artist Jerry Kuchera sends this beautiful sketch of the mighty globular M22 in Sagittarius, which is sadly leaving us for the winter. Feast your eyes on this until it comes around again in the spring. High resolution full-field sketch after the jump.

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Dr. Paul Goldsmith Lecture Friday!

Down to the wire... here's Dick:

Dear WAS members,

Dr. Paul Goldsmith, Chief Technologist for the Astronomy and Physics Directorship and Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will present a talk on Friday, October 17th at 7:30 pm in the Cranbrook Institute of Science auditorium entitled "The Road to Stardom in the Milky Way".

The Milky Way and other galaxies contain billions of stars and most of the matter we can readily identify is in the form of stars. But where do stars come from and how does star formation take place? Paul Goldsmith, take us on a journey into space to answer these questions and discuss what the most recent research has taught us about how stars and planets form. Dr. Goldsmith also will give us a sneak preview of future space missions that will help us understand more about the mysteries of the universe.

This is a combined presentation between WAS and the Cranbrook Institute of Science and attendance by WAS members is greatly encouraged. It is very important to the future activities of the our Club that as many members as possible and their family and friends attend this presentation.

Pre-registration is required for this event and if you have not already done so you can call Cranbrook at (248) 645-3210 and reserve seats for you and your family and friends. When you register please indicate that you are associated with the Warren Astronomical Society so the Club will get credit for your attendance. The cost for Club members and guests is $8 each and Cranbrook will charge your credit card for the appropriate amount.

Dick

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Macomb Meeting, October 16

From Dick Gala:

Dear WAS members,

The October WAS Macomb meeting will be held on Thursday, October 16th at Macomb Community College, Building B at 7:30 pm. The feature presentation will be by Dave Bailey and the title of his talk will be "Bigger Than the Moon."

This will be a non-richly illustrated exposition of where in the Solar System one can see objects "bigger than the Moon" as she appears in Earth's sky, which ones, and in which favorable configurations. Bailey will begin with the usual annoying trick question. He also will touch upon other topics e.g. satellites.

Bailey lives in Oxford far from his east coast genesis. He has served on the Village's charter commission, commuting brutal distances to Warren Society functions with breath-taking devotion. Some say that his mother was a computer and his father was a telescope!

Dick

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OktoberWASP

The latest WASP is here, and it's a great one. Check it out!

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Eclipse videos from Ken Bertin

Ken has graciously provided his eclipse videos for your enjoyment. Here's the wide-angle recording.

The high magnification version is after the jump.

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Cranbrook Meeting, October 6

Jon Blum introduces his own talk tomorrow:

The October 2008 Cranbrook WAS meeting will be held on Monday, October 6, at 7:30 PM at the Cranbrook Institute of Science auditorium. The main speaker will be Jon Blum and the title of his presentation will be Astronomy Gadgets.

Jon loves gadgets of all sorts, and never saw an astronomy gadget that he didn't need. In this talk, you will find out why you can no longer live without blinky lights, metric Allen wrenches, several types of binocular mounts, a hair dryer, seven simultaneous dew heaters, a RACI finderscope, bright yellow eyepiece caps, 2 inches of pipe foam insulation, a Hummer, and a dozen other essentials. A handout paper will be provided, listing where to buy each gadget discussed, from Scopestuff to Home Depot.

Jon has been interested in astronomy since childhood and still has his first cardboard telescope. But he didn't have time for a real telescope and all of these gadgets until he retired at the end of 2001. He has lived his whole life in the Detroit area, attended college and medical school at Wayne State University, and spent his career as a dermatologist in his own office in Farmington Hills. In addition to astronomy, his other hobbies are grandchildren, digital photography, and creating web pages. He also writes about Maui, where he and his wife Rosie live under clear skies during the winter. His past talks to our club have included how he shopped for and selected his current telescope, astronomy in Scandinavia, Astronomers Inn B&B in Arizona, and astronomy on Maui. Future talks he is planning include why he belongs to six astronomy clubs, and another talk about more astronomy gadgets that could not fit into this year's talk.

Jon has a website about Maui, including many photos, at www.mauihawaii.org. His astronomy photos (trips, not astrophotos) are at www.jonrosie.com/astronomy. He learned about astronomy from the many helpful members of the Warren Astronomical Society and other clubs, and would be glad to answer any questions about his astronomy gadgets, or about Maui, at any club meeting or by email. Catch him on the WarrenAstro Yahoo! group.

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Great Lakes StarGaze 2008

Jon Blum and several other WAS members attended the GAZE this year. Jon has posted photos at his site. Relive the memories if you were there, or see what you missed!

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Macomb Meeting, September 18

From Dick Gala:

Dear WAS members,

 The September Macomb WAS meeting will be held on Thursday, September 18th at Macomb Community College, Building B at 7:30 pm. The feature presentation will be a discussion by David D'Onofrio of the 2008 Astronomy at the Beach Star Party at Kensington Metropark.

 Please note that this is a change from what was published in the Sept WASP.

 Dick

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September WASP is here!

The new issue of the WASP, brought to you by Publications Director and Editor Larry Phipps, is available to download. It's a great issue, covering everything from the exciting presentation being given by Paul Goldsmith next month to Will Wright's single cell critter-to-ridiculous multilegged creature-to-interstellar exploration computer toy, Spore. There are items for sale, club events, and more. Enjoy!

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Cranbrook Meeting, Sept. 8

From Dick Gala, WAS mailing list manager:

Dear WAS members,
The September 2008 Cranbrook WAS meeting will be held on Monday, September 8th at 7:30 pm at the Cranbrook Institute of Science auditorium.

The main speaker will be Phil Martin and the title of his presentation will be "Astronomy for Gearheads".

It will be a picture tour and tutorial of how to set up a "portable computer controlled observatory" in 90 minutes (or less). Phil will also included a section on how to build a desktop PC from scratch (since you need one if you want computer control! LOL), and will finish with a short slide show of any presentable images (according to Phil) that he has taken since he started on this odyssey only a few short years ago.

Dr. Phil Martin was the former treasurer of WAS and has been a Senior Research Scientist at Wayne State University's Medical School for the past 30 years. He has over 50 publications in major peered scientific journals, mostly in the field of Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography. In fact, Phil has a first author on a paper with Nobel Prize winner Robert Huber on the structure of the blood clotting enzyme, thrombin. Most recently he has switched fields by going from crystallography, which he considers way too easy now, and has gone into Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics applications to macromolecular enzyme systems.

It is obvious that Phil is an astronomy "gear head". While others are setting up their telescopes for observing, Phil is busy doing the same, but also making the appropriate electrical connections to his portable observatory. The ongoing joke is that Phil never observes, and doesn't even own any eye pieces. Not true, not true, he says!! Phil has a nice array of various eyepieces, including 9 and 16 mm Naglers. Since imaging an object usually takes over two hours, and is completely automated, Phil wanders around at star parties and looks through other people's telescopes. And, when he gets tired of imaging, he gets excellent views through the 78 mm Tak or 11 inch CGE 1100. In fact, just last week he "observed" both Venus and Mercury at sunset.

Phil also builds computers from scratch. He has built his own cluster of five high speed computational nodes to do computational chemistry at Wayne, has 4 desktops and two laptops at home, and will show you how easy it is to build your own "screamer" for home and observatory in his upcoming seminar, "Astronomy For Gearheads."

In addition Ken Bertin will take a few minutes to share with us his trip to China to view the August Total Solar Eclipse.

Dick

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Astronomy at the Beach, Night 1

Despite heavy clouds, turnout was okay last night at Kensington - perhaps a few hundred people over the course of the night? Sadly, many people had gone home by the time the sky started clearing in earnest, but those still around past 10:30 got telescopic sky tours of the finest objects in the late summer sky. Below, some grainy cell-phone photos of the proceedings.

Dr. Mary Putnam of the University of Michigan was the keynote speaker.

WAS Treasurer Stephen Uitti and friends

The WAS information and merchandise table

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Astronomy At the Beach - This Weekend!

From Dick Gala, WAS mailing list manager - just in case you missed it:

Dear WAS members,

  This weekend the 12th annual Astronomy at the Beach star party will be held.  It is a 2-day event starting at 6 pm this Friday, Sept 5th and again Saturday, September 6th.  For those of us that will be setting up a telescope, the area will be open at 5 pm each day.  Unlike previous years the event will NOT be held at Martindale Beach but has been moved to Maple Beach for this year because of construction at the Martindale Beach area.  Support by Kensington park attendants in the form of electric carts will be provided to move our equipment from the parking lot to the viewing area.  The keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Mary Putman from the Astronomy Dept of U. of Michigan.  Her talk for each of the evenings will be "How Do You Feed a Galaxy".   For more info about the event one can go to the following web site:

  

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dgs/kensington/

 

The schedule of events and talks for each evening can be found on the following web site:

 

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dgs/kensington/schedule.html

 

  On Saturday, September 6th Dr. Putman will meet with members of the amateur astronomy clubs involved with the event to present a talk in greater depth about feeding galaxies and there will be an opportunity for informal discussion and questions and answers after the talk.  This is an additional event that is not open to the public but open only to members of amateur astronomy clubs.  The event will start at 1:30 pm and last for about 2 hours.  Contact the club for more information about it.

  This is a fantastic event.  In past years 1 to 2 thousand of the public has shown up to hear the talks and look through our telescopes.  Many of the talks and events are geared towards young people but people of all ages will learn more about the sky and what we do as amateur astronomers.  Do plan to attend and bring your neighbors, friends and relatives.  A good time will be had by all!

  Dick

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