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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