San Diego Astronomy Association

San Diego
Astronomy Association
Celebrating Over 40 Years of Astronomical Outreach
http://www.sdaa.org
A Non-Profit Educational Association
P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215
SDAA Business Meeting
Next meeting will be held at:
3838 Camino del Rio North
Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92108
July 9th at 7pm
Next Program Meeting
July 17, 2013 at 7pm
Mission Trails Regional Park
Visitor and Interpretive Center
1 Father Junipero Serra Trail
CONTENTS
July 2013, Vol LI, Issue 7
Published Monthly by the
San Diego Astronomy Association
$2.50 an issue/$30.00 year
Incorporated in California in 1963
July Program Meeting...................1
J u n e M i n u t e s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Heise /KQ Schedule...................3
Ju l y C a l e n d a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S DA A C o n t a c t s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
AISIG Galler y..............................7
We b O n l y - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - High Energ y Spy........................9
Newsletter Deadline
The deadline to submit articles
for publication is the
15th of each month.
July 2013
July Program Meeting
Date: July 17th, 2013
Speaker: Gary Peterson
Topic: The Engmatic Satellites and
Ring System of Saturn
Saturn is the second largest of the
giant gas planets and has the lowest
density (0.7). In addition, it has the
largest of any satellites in Titan, which
is about the same size as Mercury.
How can this be?
It is suggested that Saturn/Titan
started out as a binary planet and early
in it’s history gases were transferred
from the Smallest (Titan) to the largest
of the pair (Saturn). Some of the gases remain on Titan.
Numerous collisions between satellites has furnished icy debris which has become the magnificent rings of Saturn. Phoebe and Hyperion are probably captured
comets.
Dr. Peterson is Emeritus Professor of Geology at San Diego State University.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, and his
graduate degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle.
San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) sponsors speakers on a wide range
of astronomy topics on the third Wednesday of every month at the Mission Trails
Regional Park Visitors Center. The Program meeting begins at 7:00 PM. Each
attendee receives one free door prize ticket. After announcements and a small
amount of business, the audience is treated to the featured presentation. At the
close of the meeting the door prizes are presented. The event is open to the public. The Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center is at One Fr. Junipero Serra
Trail, San Diego CA 92119. Call the park at 619-668-3281 for more information or
visit http://www.mtrp.org.
San Diego Astronomy Association
SDAA Board of Directors Monthly Business Meeting Minutes
June 11, 2013-Unapproved and Subject to Revision
1. Call to order.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm with the following board members in attendance: Michael Vander Vorst, President; Mike
Chasin, Vice President; Ed Rumsey, Treasurer; Kin Searcy, Corresponding Secretary; Brian McFarland, Recording Secretary; Paul Pountney,
Director; Jim Traweek, Director; David Wood, Director.
2. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes. Approved.
3. Priority / Member Business. None.
4. Standard Reports.
Treasurer/Membership Report.
• The SDAA is currently at 488 members.
• Current spending rate is on track with projections.
Site Maintenance Report. It turns out that the ballast in the white fluorescent light fixture in the warming room isn’t the cause of the
problem. It’s fixed.
Observatory Report.
• Primed and painted the west exterior wall of the observatory – it needs one more coat.
• Jim and Ed will work on cleaning the RA gear of the Lipp tomorrow.
• The Board agreed to purchase and install Losmandy dovetail plates on the top and bottom of the scope. Switching to industrystandard dovetails will allow for greater flexibility in piggyback and counterweight options.
Private Pad Report. There are about 12 pads available for lease. Offers will be sent this week (there are four people who responded
to the latest round of pad offerings), and one new request to be put on the waiting list was received. An offer will be made as soon as
the four in the queue are cleared.
Program Report.
•This month’s lecture will be on the Dawn Mission. The Science Café folks are trying to coordinate so they can attend.
•We have a speaker for July.
•Mike C will bring a member of Universe Today to TDS – possible live feeds from the site.
TDS Network. The network is running and stable. The satellite receiver we are using is reaching the end of its expected life, and a
replacement is unavailable. Alternatives for TDS Wi-Fi are too expensive at present, so in the event of failure the membership will
have to use their own connections via 4G which is now available at TDS. For reliable coverage, the installation of a repeater might be
required, but these are inexpensive and easy to install.
Roboscope. No responses or questions yet regarding the RFP that was issued.
AISIG Report. Seventeen members showed up to the last meeting, including a lot of new attendees.
Governing Documents. Hope to make progress next month.
Newsletter Report. All is well.
Page 2
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
San Diego Astronomy Association
Website.
• A web page has been set up to accept donations at http://www.sdaa.org/donations.htm. It is not linked to any other pages at
the moment, but anyone wanting to make a donation or who needs to make a payment for any other purpose can be directed to that
page to make an online payment.
• No issues with the website to report.
Outreach Committee Report.
• An SDAA member has asked if there has ever been an article written on our club telescope. Who designed it and what did it
take to design, who built it and what did it take to build? It would make an interesting article and it could also be put on the club
website.
• Paul Etzel was approached by Forestry Service rangers requesting help with outreach. He will direct them to the SDAA.
• The SDAA will have a presence at the SCAE event in July.
Merchandise. Still need inventory and price list.
New Member Mentor.
The following data illustrates the new member activity for 2013. 39 new members and 16 new families.
Month
Contributing
Family of
Family of
Family of
Basic
Lifetime
Associate Total / Month
Contributing
Basic
Lifetime
January
7
4
6
February
4
1
3
March
2
1
April
2
May
6
3
6
3
Total 2013:
21
9
15
6
3
20
1
1
10
3
2
1
1
2
20
2
55
2013 Schedule
Heise
KQ
Jul 13
Jul 27
Aug 17
Aug 31
Sep 14
Sep 28
Oct 12
Oct 26
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
Page 3
San Diego Astronomy Association
5. Old Business.
SDAA Budget. The budget meeting is scheduled for 16 July 2013.
TDS Caretaker. Discussion continued from the May 2013 Board of Directors Meeting regarding the establishment of a caretaker position at TDS – a position that would allow a member to reside permanently at TDS (Paul Pountney recused himself from this discussion).
The intent was for this to be a volunteer position – no pay or benefits except for the pleasure of residing at TDS and enjoying the use of
its amenities. The benefits to having a continuous presence at TDS include site security and management, immediate maintenance and/or
repair if needed, point of contact for new visitors, and host activities as necessary.
During the past month, extensive research was undertaken by the Board to determine the legal ramifications and possible legal liabilities
of establishing such a position.
i.
Several lawyers were consulted and all recommended against establishing such a position due to liability exposure. A member
residing at TDS performing caretaker duties in exchange for a rent-free living situation that includes utilities makes that member a de
facto employee of the SDAA. The SDAA would be assuming:
- Employment liability
- Increased personal liability
- Federal & State tax liability
- Workers compensation responsibilities
- OASDI liabilities
ii.
The SDAA’s current Major Land Use Permit does not include permanent residency. The SDAA cannot amend the permit again
– a new one would have to be generated at a cost in excess of $50K. That cost would not include any required upgrades to TDS during
the approval process.
iii.
The SDAA would have to upgrade its insurance to cover the risks associated with an employee/caretaker.
iv.
Other astronomy clubs in the southwest were contacted to determine if any had created such a position for their observing sites.
For liability reasons none had except one, and it ended badly. In this case the club had ignored the legal advice it had obtained. They no
longer have a caretaker position. The Board considered this one case to be anecdotal and didn’t use it in the decision process.
The Board entered into this discussion with the intent of establishing a caretaker position at TDS, but the legal and budgetary arguments
against it simply make it impossible. In fact, the research conducted into this issue illuminated weaknesses in our SDAA TDS site rules
such that an amendment is now required to protect the club from possible liabilities and Land Use violations. The amendment below,
approved unanimously by the Board, is modeled after property rules found in similar organizations such as KQ Ranch and other public
and private campgrounds.
Amendment to the Rules for the Tierra del Sol Observing Site.
Beginning August 1st, 2013, no member shall occupy TDS for longer than three weeks (referred to hereafter as an “Extended Stay”), with
a minimum 2 months between consecutive Extended Stays.
6.
7.
New Business.
• We need to transfer the Yahoo Group ownership to Kin S. The current owner is scheduled to move out of the country.
• A 12” Meade LX200 GPS with a failed motherboard was donated to the SDAA. Dave W will contact Dr. Clay to see about
repairs. $400 was allocated to this effort.
Adjournment. Adjournment at 8:50pm.
Page 4
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
San Diego Astronomy Association
Sunday
Monday
1
July 2013
Tuesday
2
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
3
4
5
6
11
12
13
TDS Member
Night
Cuyamaca
Rancho State
Park
Stars in the Park
7
8
New Moon
14
15
9
SDAA Business
Meeting
16
SDAA BOD
Budget Meeting
21
22
23
Full Moon
28
29
10
Jamboree at
Mataguay
17
18
19
SDAA Program
Meeting
24
Stars at
Sycamore
Canyon
25
KQ Ranch
Stars at Mission
Trails
26
SCAE @ OPT
20
TDS Public Night
KQ Ranch
27
AISIG Meeting
30
31
Heise
1
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
2
3
TDS Public Night
Page 5
San Diego Astronomy Association
SDAA Contacts
Club Officers and Directors
PresidentMichael
Vander Vorst
President@sdaa.org
Vice-President
Mike Chasin
VicePresident@sdaa.org
Recording Secretary
Brian McFarland Recording@sdaa.org
Treasurer
Ed Rumsey
Treasurer@sdaa.org
Corresponding Secretary Kin Searcy Corresponding@sdaa.org
Director Alpha
Dave Wood
DirectorAlpha@sdaa.org
Director Beta
Paul “Moose” Pountney DirectorBeta@sdaa.org
Director Gamma
Michael Finch DirectorGamma@sdaa.org
Director Delta
Jim Traweek DirectorDelta@sdaa.org
(858) 755-5846
(858) 210-1454
(619) 462-4483
(858) 722-3846
(858) 586-0974
(858) 735-8808
(619) 201-5311
(760) 440-9650
(619) 207-7542
Committees
Site Maintenance
Bill Quackenbush Observatory Director Jim Traweek Private Pads
Mark Smith
Outreach
Kin Searcy
N. County Star Parties
Doug McFarland S. County Star Parties
Benjamin Flores E. County Star Parties
Dave Decker
Central County Star Parties
Kin Searcy
Camp with the Stars
Doug McFarland K.Q. Ranch Coordinator
MichaelVander Vorst
Newsletter
Andrea Kuhl
New Member Mentor
Dan Kiser Webmaster
Jeff Stevens
AISIG
Kin Searcy
Site Acquisition
-Vacant-
Field Trips
-Vacant-
Grants/Fund Raising
-Vacant- Merchandising
Paul “Moose” Pountney
Publicity-Vacant- Roboscope Director
-Vacant- Governing Documents
TBD
TDS Network
Dave Wood
Amateur Telescope Making
Peter De Baan
SDAA Editorial Staff
Editor - Andrea Kuhl
newsletter@sdaa.org
Assistant Editor: Craig Ewing
Page 6
TDS@sdaa.org(858) 395-1007
Observatory@sdaa.org
(619) 207-7542
Pads@sdaa.org(858) 484-0540
Ourtreach@sdaa.org
(858) 586-0974
NorthStarParty@sdaa.org
(760) 583-5436
SouthStarParty@sdaa.org
(619) 885-1291
EastStarParty@sdaa.org
(619) 972-1003
CentralStarParty@sdaa.org
(858) 586-0974
CampwiththeStars@sdaa.org
(760) 583-5436
KQ@sdaa.org(858) 755-5846
Newsletter@sdaa.org
(858) 547-9887
Mentor@sdaa.org (858) 922-0592
Webmaster@sdaa.org
(858) 566-2261
AISIG@sdaa.org(858) 586-0974
SecondSite@sdaa.org
FieldTrips@sdaa.org
(425) 736-8485
Grants@sdaa.org
Merchandising@sdaa.org
(619)-201-5311
Publicity@sdaa.org
RoboScope@sdaa.org
TDSNet@sdaa.org
pdebaan@hotmail.com
(858) 735-8808
(760) 745-0925
Have a great new piece of gear? Read an astronomy-related book that you think
others should know about? How about a photograph of an SDAA Member in
action? Or are you simply tired of seeing these Boxes in the Newsletter rather
than something, well, interesting?
Join the campaign to rid the Newsletter of little boxes by sharing them with the
membership. In return for your efforts, you will get your very own by line or photograph credit in addition to the undying gratitude of the Newsletter Editor. Just
send your article or picture to Newsletter@SDAA.Org.
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
San Diego Astronomy Association
AISIG Gallery
Jim Thommes captured the Coma
Cluster from Blair Valley with an Artemis 285 CCD through a Takahashi
FSQ-106 mounted on a Celestron
ASGT mount. Many of what appear
to be stars are actually galaxies. Lots
of Herschel objects to observe here.
Dave Woods posted the first of a planned
mosaic of the Rho Ophiuchus Nebula Complex (IC 4604) that is one of the most beautiful and interesting areas of the sky. Here the
blue reflection nebula IC 4604 surrounds the
triple star Rho Ophiuchus. Dave imaged this
from TDS with an SBIG ST400XCM CCD
camera through a Williams Optics Zenith
Star 66 SD mounted on the i-Optron Smart
EQ pro. There is a total of 2.5 hours of data
in this image.
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
Page 7
San Diego Astronomy Association
Craig Hunter imaged the Swan Nebula, M-17, from Santee using an SBIG STF8300 CCD through an Explore Scientific 127
refractor mounted on a Losmandy G-11.
For Sale – Celestron Ultima 8 Telescope – carrying case, Celestron tripod, Celestron deluxe heavy-duty wedge, latitude scale, Ultima hand
controller, cordless electronic drive system, variable polarize, 8X50 Polaris Finderscope, 30mm Plossi Ocular 1-1/4”, 7mm Orthoscopic
Ocular 1-1/4”, 18mm Ocular Orion 1.25” and 25mm Ocular Orion 1.25”. $950.00. John Siegert – 858-521-8380
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Send dues and renewals to P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215. Include any renewal cards from Sky & Telescope or Astronomy magazine in which you wish to
continue your subscription. The expiration date shown on your newsletter’s mailing label is the only notice that your membership in SDAA will expire. Dues are $60 for
Contributing Memberships; $35 for Basic Membership; $60.00 for Private Pads; $5 for each Family membership. In addition to the club dues the annual rates for magazines
available at the club discount are: Sky & Telescope $32.95 and Astronomy $34. Make checks payable to S.D. Astronomy Assn. PLEASE DO NOT send renewals directly to
Sky Publishing. They return them to us for processing.
Page 8
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
San Diego Astronomy Association
Space Place partners’ article
June 2013
High-energy Spy
By Dr. Martin C. Weisskopf
The idea for the Chandra X-Ray Observatory was born only one year after Riccardo Giacconi
discovered the first celestial X-ray source other than the Sun. In 1962, he used a sounding rocket
to place the experiment above the atmosphere for a few minutes. The sounding rocket was
necessary because the atmosphere blocks X-rays. If you want to look at X-ray emissions from
objects like stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, your instrument must get above the
atmosphere.
Giacconi’s idea was to launch a large diameter (about 1 meter) telescope to bring X-rays to a
focus. He wanted to investigate the hazy glow of X-rays that could be seen from all directions
throughout the sounding rocket flight. He wanted to find out whether this glow was, in fact,
made up of many point-like objects. That is, was the glow actually from millions of X-ray
sources in the Universe. Except for the brightest sources from nearby neighbors, the rocket
instrument could not distinguish objects within the glow.
Giacconi’s vision and the promise and importance of X-ray astronomy was borne out by many
sounding rocket flights and, later satellite experiments, all of which provided years-, as opposed
to minutes-, worth of data.
By 1980, we knew that X-ray sources exist within all classes of astronomical objects. In many
cases, this discovery was completely unexpected. For example, that first source turned out to be a
very small star in a binary system with a more normal star. The vast amount of energy needed to
produce the X-rays was provided by gravity, which, because of the small star’s mass (about
equal to the Sun’s) and compactness (about 10 km in diameter) would accelerate particles
transferred from the normal star to X-ray emitting energies. In 1962, who knew such compact
stars (in this case a neutron star) even existed, much less this energy transfer mechanism?
X-ray astronomy grew in importance to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. The National
Academy of Sciences, as part of its “Decadal Survey” released in 1981, recommended as its
number one priority for large missions an X-ray observatory along the lines that Giacconi
outlined in 1963. This observatory was eventually realized as the Chandra X-Ray Observatory,
which launched in 1999.
The Chandra Project is built around a high-resolution X-ray telescope capable of sharply
focusing X-rays onto two different X-ray-sensitive cameras. The focusing ability is of the caliber
such that one could resolve an X-ray emitting dime at a distance of about 5 kilometers!
The building of this major scientific observatory has many stories.
Learn more about Chandra at www.science.nasa.gov/missions/chandra . Take kids on a “Trip to
the Land of the Magic Windows” and see the universe in X-rays and other invisible wavelengths
of light at spaceplace.nasa.gov/magic-windows.
SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013
Page 9
San Diego Astronomy Association
Space Place partners’ article
June 2013
Dr. Weisskopf is project scientist for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This article was
provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract
with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Caption:
Composite image of DEM L50, a so-called superbubble found in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Xray data from Chandra is pink, while optical data is red, green, and blue. Superbubbles are
created by winds from massive stars and the shock waves produced when the stars explode as
supernovas.
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SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JULY 2013