Since the ISS will be near the sun, it is not safe to look for it during the daylight using binoculars. Please don't risk your vision by pointing unfiltered optics towards the sun.
WAS member John Kriegel sends this alert: the International Space Station will transit across the sun from Metro Detroit today. If you have a solar filter and a safe way to view it, don't miss this rare opportunity. He provided the image of the ISS's path below:
He says,
"This image is from a NASA applet, that calculates sighting opportunities. I just happened to be using it in a "non-standard" form where it shows each pass whether it can be seen from the ground or not and there is an option to draw the projected path through a virtual sky and just happened to notice that it passed in front of the sun a few seconds after 18:45:27 today."
Since the ISS will be near the sun, it is not safe to look for it during the daylight using binoculars. Please don't risk your vision by pointing unfiltered optics towards the sun.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
ISS Alert! Transit Tonight at 6:45 PM
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Warren Astronomical Society At The Texas Star Party
The Texas Star Party is one of the pre-eminent observing star parties in the world. Hosted every spring for twenty-seven years at Prude Ranch, a family-owned hundred-year-old guest ranch deep in the desert, the star party draws hundreds of attendees from all over the country. Excellent skies and desert conditions make for the best observing many attendees ever get.
Six members of the Warren Astronomical Society attended this year's Texas Star Party in April:
From left to right: Jim S, Bill B, Phil M, Joe R, Dave D, and Jon B.
Jon has chronicled their adventures at his web site, but he put together a brief presentation and a handout that he gave at the May Cranbrook meeting. By popular demand, he has provided both documents for this site:
The presentation file
The handout, with excellent instructions and background on the star party if you are interested in attending.
To excerpt just a bit about the logistics of the event:You'll need to apply to go to the TSP by the January before the event, in order to be in the group from which they randomly select the 700 people they allow in any year. This year there was no need for that advance application, because far less than 700 people wanted to go. The price is $50 if you register by mid-March, or $150 if you register later or if you pay at the door (assuming they are not full and you can still get in). If they have over 700 people apply, they will let you know by email in February whether you were accepted or not.
WAS astroimagers scored some real trophies on this trip. Phil Martin's f/2 (!) rig obtained amazing wide-field shots, like the sword of Orion:
When you apply online for the TSP, you'll also have to apply at the same time for accommodations at the Prude Ranch. There is enough "covered housing" (motel rooms and bunkhouses) for about 300 people, and they are chosen randomly from those who apply. Everyone else stays in tents or campers, or off of the property.
Prices per person per day are:
Camping $9.25
RV $19.50
Bunkhouse $40
Family cabin $56 ($50 if 3 or 4 people)
Motel room $77 ($62.50 if 3 or 4 people)
Lunch and dinner are included in covered housing, or cost $160 for the whole week if you are staying in a tent or RV.
Motel rooms have 2 double beds and a bathroom with a small shower. If nobody brings their own bed, and you put more than two people in a room, then somebody will have to share a double bed.
(See more of Phil's TSP photos at his new WAS gallery.)
Bill Beers got his own great images - nebulae, galaxies, and planets, among them M17, the Swan Nebula.
(See more of Bill's photos here.)
Dave D'Onofrio got several excellent shots as well, which will be posted as soon as he has finished final processing on them.
2010's TSP will be held from May 9-16. If you're looking for some great observing, sightseeing in the desert and at the observatory, and great companionship with your fellow WAS members, consider attending. Jon and other alumni will be happy to assist if you have any questions.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Creating Your Photo Gallery on WarrenAstro.org
Interested in putting your astronomical photos or sketches on the WAS website? Great! Posting your photos and sketches on the web:
- introduces your skills to a wider audience
- lets your fellow members know what work you've been doing
- saves space in your inbox and others' by allowing you to send a link to the site rather than the full photos
- shows the world (and most importantly potential members) what members of the Warren Astronomical Society can do.
Ready to get started? Here's an illustrated walkthrough.
Step 1: Go to flickr.com. For ease of use and maintenance, we're using flickr to store our images: it allows you to name, describe, geotag, and edit your pictures - not to mention update your gallery without having to wait on yours truly.
Step 2: If you already have a Yahoo ID (and you probably do, for the WAS Yahoo group), just sign in:
If not, you will have to sign up:
Step 3: Choose your flickr screen name. It's just a nickname used to identify you on flickr, and can be changed in the future.
Step 4: Choose your flickr custom address. This is just to make it easier to send your photos to your friends and family, but once you choose an address, it cannot be changed. Something simple and memorable, like your name, is probably best.
Step 5: Upload your first set of photos. It's easy and very straightforward:
Step 6: Set titles and descriptions for your photos. Describe the equipment you used, the conditions in which the image was obtained, something about the object being shown, or anything that would be of interest.
Also, very importantly, add a tag of "wasphotogallery" to all the photos you would like to show up on the website, as shown in the screenshot.
Step 7: Email one of your photos to warrenastro@gmail.com, preferably the one you'd like to use as your gallery preview.
Within a day or two, the webmaster will set up your gallery link, and then you're done! Remember, this gallery is not just intended to show off the best of the best, but to represent the whole span of imaging work being done by members - so don't be ashamed to post your eyepiece projection photos or less than artistic sketches. Read more...
Monday, April 13, 2009
April WASP Is Available
Through Larry Phipps's hard work, the new WASP is available. Inside you will find horror, sensationalism, and even a bit of Star Trek. This issue is chock full of event announcements and event reporting from all of the IYA stuff going on now.
Pick it up here.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
WAS Jackets Make a Comeback
UPDATE: The ordering period is over and the orders have been submitted. If you'd like the club uniform apparel, let us know and we'll start putting together a new order. Prices may increase if we have to make fewer at a time.
If you're newer to the WAS, you may have noticed the "uniform" jacket many members have. They feature a huge silkscreen of the Society's very elegant "Newton's reflector" logo, the club colors of blue and gold, and a nice solid construction. There are two makes: the light windbreaker, which is not insulated and makes a perfect top layer for summertime; and the quilted jacket (shown here), which is insulated and can make a good top layer most of the year. Their nicest feature is the giant logo, which can easily be seen in the dark - making it easier for the public and your fellow members to find you.
We are commissioning a new run of jackets for our newer members (like yours truly) and for members who need a replacements or extras. The pricing scheme is as follows:
| Item | Normal | Embroidered Name |
| Quilted Jacket, S-XL | $61.00 | $67.00 |
| Quilted Jacket, XXL | $65.00 | $71.00 |
| Quilted Jacket, XXXL | $68.00 | $75.00 |
| Windbreaker, S-XL | $22.00 | $29.00 |
| Windbreaker, XXL | $25.00 | $31.00 |
| Windbreaker, XXXL | $27.00 | $34.00 |
At this time, we can only offer jackets to paid members in good standing. If you are interested in purchasing jackets, you may wish to consider bringing your checkbook to the meeting Thursday. We are trying to get the jackets by Astronomy Day, so we are aiming for a deadline for orders of Monday, April 20. Due to past issues with unclaimed merchandise, prepayment is required. (If you are a member of some years and cannot make a meeting by the deadline, we can probably make an exception.)
One proviso: If we cannot reach the minimum orders for each make of jacket, we may have to delay the merchandise schedule. We are currently only about halfway there.
If you have any questions, please drop us a line.
More photos after the jump.
Apologies for the poor photos!
Read more...
Here comes Radio JOVE
The Society's radio telescope receiver is assembled and ready to go. Now the challenge will be to figure out how to create a usable, portable antenna. Hopefully we will be able to demonstrate the radio somehow for Astronomy Day. Actual scientific work may be further out, and could depend on a computer running at Stargate and a permanent antenna mounting. But this is a start! If you're interested in helping the Society with its radio astronomy experiments, just contact us.
More photos and details after the jump.
Radio JOVE is designed primarily for monitoring radio emissions from Jupiter and the sun. They have different emission waveforms caused by different conditions in the body - see sample graphs and hear audio here. No, it's not Arecibo; we're not really even competing with the RATZ. But it's a different way of "observing" and a potentially interesting outreach tool.
Friday, April 3, 2009
100 Hours Of Astronomy - web updates
100 Hours of Astronomy is underway, with three major events tomorrow to get the word out. For now, though, there are some new WAS things afoot on the web:
- We're on Twitter now.
- And on Facebook. (You must be signed up there and logged in.)
- The WAS photo galleries (the new-style astroimage galleries and historical) have gotten a facelift to make them more usable and modern. They should work no matter what kind of browser you have, but let us know if you have any issues.
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