General Meeting - July 2013 - Movie Night

Movie Night was a hit!  Double feature, popcorn (all you can eat!), lemonade and other refreshments made for a wonderful evening.

The SJAA recently took possession of a brand new, larger, wall mounted projection screen and it was being mounted at the front of the room.  The idea was to replace the freestanding, square, smaller and 1960s vintage screen that had served well for decades.

Screen installation in process

The screen installation crew, consisting of long time SJAA'er Mark Wagner, Mr Can-Do Dave Ittner, and go-getter Jose Marte, ran into some early technical troubles. But nearly everyone in Silicon Valley being or having engineer leanings, those troubles were quickly and creatively solved so the job could be completed in time for the screen's first light, the SJAA's first ever Movie Night, which was this month's manifestation of the General Meeting.

Installed!

As usual, there was a board meeting scheduled before the general Meeting, which started late due to the installation's schedule being overly optimistic (it didn't account for pizza breaks or other such obstacles).  But with strong leadership, all the club business was addressed, decisions were made, and nearly all world problems were nearly solved. (Yes, Dave got his additional budget for the QuickSTARt program!)

Seven thirty PM arrived, and the popcorn started to pop, and the lemonade began to tart.  Teruo Utsumi, who generously donated his Denon/Klipsch sound system for the evening, solved his own technical problem of the receiver overheating. A 24" fan was placed face down on the unit, cooling the massive heat sink for the duration of the evening. Again, engineering prowess demonstrated.

During social (half) hour, trailers from the upcoming movies were played until eight PM, the official start time of the meeting.  Prez Rob spoke a few introductory words before quickly sitting down, and the Play button was hit.  Only at a 50s-era drive in was Forbidden Planet seen on a bigger screen.  Upon the first film concluding, bio breaks were taken, more corn was popped, then Play was hit once again to bring up Star Wars IV in all its original 70s fx glory.  Han and Leia never looked so good at Houge Park.
 
The second feature ended around midnight, the room emptied quickly, and cleanup and gate locked by half past.  It was a fun night, we may have to do it again.

And let's roll the credits:

A/V gear and DVD procurement - Teruo Utsumi
Screen Procurement - Michael Packer
Screen Installation - Dave Ittner, Jose Marte, Mark Wagner
Popcorn Rental  and Procurement - Michael Packer
Popcorn Popping - Rob Jaworski
Liquid Refreshments, Procurement and Development (ie, buying, mixing the lemonade powder) - Teruo Utsumi
Getting the Kitty/Tip Jar Started and First Donation - Jay Freeman Cleanup - Michael Packer, Rob Jaworski, Teruo Utsumi
Show of Appreciation for All That SJAA Does (a Hundred Dollar On-The-Spot Donation to SJAA) - anonymous

Everyone Who Showed - Thank You!

Meteor Crater, Winslow, AZ

Below are photos of Meteor Crater, Winslow, Arizona from my visit in June 2013.   The crater is located about 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff. It was formed when an estimated 45 meter meteorite hit about 50,000 years ago. The first photo shows the crater, nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference, and about 550 deep.



Panorama of Meteor Crater


Click to enlarge this panorama which was stitched together with Photoshop Elements.  Viewing platforms are in the foreground. Remnants of mining for the meteorite are still visible at the bottom of the crater.  The visitor center is at the far right.  Above that in the photo are the trail used for the guided Rim Tour, and a group of people taking that tour.

At first the crater was thought to be of volcanic origin.  In 1902 Daniel Moreau Barringer, a mining engineer, became convinced the crater was caused by the impact of a large iron meteorite.  He spent the rest of his life mining in the crater in an unsuccessful attempt to find it.  According to the excellent museum at the visitor center and their very informative website, he could not find it because it did not exist--it was broken up into tiny pieces:

• Very small percentage stripped away by atmospheric friction before impact
• Very small percentage vaporized upon impact, then recondensed into tiny fragments raining over a 7 mile radius
• About half blasted out upon impart, landing on the rim and surrounding plain
• About half is present in very tiny fragments beneath the crater floor to a depth of 3,000 feet

Barringer did live long enough to see the scientific community start to accept his theory that the crater was formed by a meteorite.



Meteorite found in Diablo Canyon

 This piece of the meteorite is on display at the Lowell Observatory visitor center.  The sign says, "Meteorite. 535 lbs. 242.6 kg. Found in Canyon Diablo near Meteor Crater. This is a small particle of the meteor which formed Meteor Crater, about 50,000 years ago. 92% iron, 8% nickel, traces of gold, silver, platinum and diamond."

Strata along the rim

 This photo shows the strata at the rim.  Impact craters have been called “nature’s drills” because they sort of invert the strata.  Apollo astronauts trained at Meteor Crater under the guidance of Dr. Eugene Shoemaker (part of the team that discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9) because Meteor Crater is so much like craters on the moon.  By recognizing impact craters on the moon, the astronauts could collect samples of rocks originally from below the surface without having to drill for them.



Distant view of Meteor Crater

 Here is a distant view of the crater. The land around the crater used to be flat until the meteorite hit, creating the impact crater and depositing debris around the rim.

Lowell Observatory, Mars Hill, Flagstaff, Arizona

Below are photos of the historic telescopes of Lowell Observatory, Mars Hill, Flagstaff, Arizona, elevation 7,200 feet, from my visit in June 2013.  The first photo is of the Clark Telescope, a 24” refractor, which Percival Lowell had built in 1896 so that he could study the “canals” on Mars.  The lens was designed by Alvan Clark, the last lens he designed before he retired.



Clark Dome

Observe the non-spherical shape of the Clark Dome.  It was built of locally grown ponderosa pine by the Sykes Brothers, bicycle mechanics, who advertised themselves as “Makers and Menders of Anything”. Mars Hill is an easily accessible hill about one mile west of downtown of Flagstaff.



Clark 24" Refractor Telescope



The Clark Telescope is now used only for public outreach.  It is open for daytime tours and, if weather conditions allow, nighttime viewing until 10 PM every summer evening.   The dome rotates on tires, obtained from the Ford Motor Company and installed in 1957, most including hubcaps, replacing the original worn out metal wheels.



Inside of Clark Dome

The dome is composed of flat planes of wood instead of today’s spherical surfaces.  The roof doors are flat panels that open outward, and turn into sails in high winds, so cannot be opened if the wind exceeds 15 mph.  I did not get to view through the telescope due to the wind.  The lens cover of the large finderscope on the left is a skillet stolen from a good cook's kitchen.



Dome of Pluto Discovery Telescope



Lowell started searching for “Planet X” in 1905 because he thought an unknown planet changed the orbit of Neptune and Uranus, and he continued this search until his death in 1916.  Once his estate was finally settled, Lowell's younger brother, A. Lawrence Lowell, president of Harvard University, provided funds to construct the dome and telescope used to continue the search.  It was completed in 1929.



Pluto Discovery Telescope

Clyde Tombaugh, a Kansas farm boy who got a job at the Lowell Observatory based on the sketches of planets that he had sent, used this astrograph to find Pluto.  The “Pluto Discovery Telescope” has three 13” lenses and 14” x 17” glass photographic plates.  Clyde took one hour exposures of a portion of the sky, then photographed the same portion six days later, and compared the plates.

The tour guide told us that Clyde used the smaller telescope mounted below the astrograph to manually monitor that the astrograph was accurately tracking the stars during the one hour exposure, and manually nudged the astrograph if it was getting off track.  Clyde had to endure cold temperatures because he captured the view of Pluto in January, the dome was unheated, and the elevation of Mars Hill is 7,200 feet.




Pluto Discovery Plates

 

Clyde used the “Zeiss blink comparator” which switches the view between plates for comparison.  Here are replicas of the plates that he used to discover the new planet in his office on February 18, 1930.  It was subsequently named Pluto in homage to Percival Lowell whose initials P.L. are the first two letters in Pluto.  Our tour guide told us, I think tongue in cheek, that in Flagstaff, Pluto is still a planet.

  

The Lowell Observatory is a non-profit research institution, and it runs several other telescopes which are outside the Flagstaff city limits, including the new $53 million, 4.3 meter Discovery Channel Telescope located 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff.

Even though the “canals” Lowell was observing were optical illusions and not signs of life of Mars and even though later evidence showed that no planet was disturbing the orbits of Neptune and Uranus, he made a substantial contribution to astronomy:

• He was the first to build an observatory on a remote site to take advantage of optimal viewing, and now this is standard.
• His enthusiasm about life on Mars spurred public imagination and inspired science fiction writers.
• In 1912 - 1914 Vesto Slipher used a spectrograph attached to the Clark Telescope to determine the red shift in most galaxies which means the galaxies are moving away.  Edwin Hubble used this information with his own research to conclude that the universe is expanding.
• Initial work in the discovery of Pluto.
• The Clark telescope was used to map the moon for the Apollo missions.
• His enthusiasm for public outreach continues.  The visitor center at Mars Hill hosts over 80,000 visitors a years, and also hosts "Uncle Percy's" summer day camps for children from age 3 through 6th grade.



FixIt Program Report Jan 2013

Ed Wong's monthly report from the Telescope FixIt Program
January 2013

The FixIt program had a very successful and busy session for Jan. 2013. Thanks for those who came out to help, Dave, Phil, Dwayne, Carl (I'm sorry if I missed anybody, short term memory isn't what it used to be)  The Houge Park hall was buzzing with activity from opening to closing.

We had 2 people bring in Newtonian scopes on equatorial mounts. One needed help on learning how to use the goto function and the other one needed help assembling the scope and mount that he had bought from Orion. I helped him assemble the scope and mount and showed him how to use. I did see him bring it out to the Star Party at HP so it's good to see him using it and helping out at the star parties.

Phil and Dave had a chance to look at the recently donated Meade LX6 SCT and confirmed the declination motor does indeed work – I believe it is the clock driven azimuth motor that does not. This old LX6 will require someone with specialized skills and the luck of obtaining parts that most likely are no longer available to be able to repair it.    Even so, I don’t think it is in the best interest of the club to expend the time and energy to do so. The front collector plate does have a haze which could possible be cleaned but is best left to the buyer to do so. As Dave has said before, what is unique and desirable about this scope is that it is a F6.3. Dave and I did a star test on the scope last Fri. night after the star party and confirmed that visually the scope is good.

We also finished putting the locking hasps on the 2 bookcases that Dave and I put together over the Christmas break. So the SJAA library is ready to go!!!

SJAA Classifieds Page

SJAA is proud to announce a new benefit for it's members.   We are now providing a listing service to assist you in selling your astro gear. 

All you have to do is provide me with a picture (or pictures) of the item, a description (a lot of detail is best), a price you are asking, the terms of the sale (cash only, etc), and how you wish to be contacted.

We will then post this information up on our Member For Sale Listing page (link on the right side of this page).   Please notify me should you want to make changes or remove the item.

And don't forget to check out the items the club is selling via the links on the right.

Clear skies,
Dave Ittner
sjaamentor@gmail.com

Look Back at 2012

We're at the start of another cycle around the sun, and this is a good point in time (and space) to look back over the past cycle to see what's been going on with the San Jose Astronomical Association.

The Quick STARt program (the former Mentoring Program) helps to ease folks into amateur astronomy. You have to admit, astronomy can look exciting from the outside, but once you scratch the surface, it can get seemingly complex in a hurry. But it doesn't have to be that way if there's someone to guide you and answer all your seemingly basic questions.  The Quick STARt program really took off in 2012 with the leadership and energy of Dave Ittner.  He has already helped dozens and dozens of people get their feet wet in getting out under dark skies to discover what's out there, firsthand.  Over the year, Dave has also refined the program, adding not only easy to use Dobsonian telescopes but all the accessories any good observer needs, such as observing chairs, appropriate eyepieces, sky atlases, accessory cases, etc.  The Quick STARt program is available to SJAA members, and you can find more information, including how to contact Dave to sign up, here.

Another program that was conceived just before 2012 but has really taken off is the Solar Observing program. Early in 2012 the club took receipt of a Lunt h-alpha 100mm solar telescope.  Since then, it's been the star (!) of the party at every daytime event.  The core of the Solar Observing program is the monthly observing sessions at San Jose's Houge Park.  On the first Sunday of every month, from 2 to 4PM PT, SJAA members set up the club's Lunt for the public to come view our nearest star. Additionally, members bring their own solar telescopes, such as Coronado PSTs to projection systems, with which to compare views. Of course, sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate and the session is canceled, but in those oftentimes when we do set up, the sun provides an amazing show. In fact, the sun is approaching the solar maximum, which means lots to see on and near the sun.  Michael Packer runs the Solar Observing program and has proven a dedicated sun watcher!  (Remember: NEVER observe the sun without proper eye protection! You can go blind!)

A program that is entirely new for 2012 was the Fix It session, sometimes called the Tune Up or the Telescope Fix It program.  This is a real simple service the SJAA offers to members of the community, though it's priceless.  The Fix It session provides a place for people to come with their telescope or other astronomy gear problems.  Every first Sunday of the month, from 2 to 4PM (coinciding with the Solar Observing sessions), several SJAA members make themselves available at Houge Park for people to come with their scopes to get help with their gear. It can be any type of issue, such as broken scopes whose owners need advice, help with collimation, or even a quick session on how to use it. Weather doesn't slow this program down, so even if it's windy, cold and rainy outside, Fix It day goes on.  Big thanks to go Ed Wong and Phil Chambers for being the gear experts who faithfully make themselves available at Fix It day!

Another new program that debuted in 2012 is the Astro Imaging Special Interest Group (SIG).  This was spearheaded by Harsh Kaushikkar and has a mission of bringing together people who have an interest in astronomy imaging, or put more simply, taking pictures of the night sky.  The Imaging SIG meets roughly every other month at Houge Park to discuss topics about imaging, as well as in the field, usually at Rancho Cañada del Oro (more on that site later). The SIG is open to people with absolutely no experience but want to learn what it's all about, but experienced imagers are also more than welcome, indeed, encouraged to participate.  The best way to get involved is to review the postings on the SJAA AstroImaging mail list in Google Groups. Here's the link.

The SJAA has been working with the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (sometimes called simply the OSA) to make one of their sites available to astronomers.  The OSA's Rancho Cañada del Oro (sometimes called RCDO, or Rancho) site is made available more and more with the dedicated work of SJAA members Chris Kelly and Dave Ittner. Both are also docents with the OSA, which really makes the partnership between the two organizations that much more cohesive.  If you are interested in experiencing a fairly dark site that's not too far from home, consider coming out to Rancho when it's announced it will be open. Located just south of Calero County Park, between San Jose and Morgan Hill, Rancho gets surprisingly dark for being so close to an urban area.  Keep an eye out on the SJAA Announce mail list for notifications of when it will be available.

There were many more accomplishments during the year for the SJAA, and this post could go on and on about them. But before we get too long winded, let me make a few, more brief acknowledgments.

• Teruo Itsumi developed and hosted the first Messier Half Marathon at Henry Coe State Park in October
• SJAA members gathered to view the Venus Transit, the annular eclipse, and the last shuttle flyby.
• The SJAA again participated in two community events, the Cambrian Festival and the Almaden Art and Wine Festival.
• The City of San Jose provided a grant of $500 to the SJAA to help offset the cost of insurance for the school star party program.
• Jim Van Nuland continues to be the heart and soul of the school star party program.
• The telescope loaner program was revamped, with its inventory cleaned up. And the auction was a success, in which the club divested itself of many older scopes from the loaner program bringing in some much needed funds to help with the revamp of the loaner program.
• The general meetings now have a social time beforehand, allowing members to mingle.
• The SJAA produced a video of one of the monthly talks, which was broadcast on cable TV.
• The website was overhauled, and looking great.
• The club newsletter continues to be consistently produced every month, in large part due to Paul Kohlmiller's effort, and the montly column my Akkana Peck.
• And membership has increased by 10%!

There is more, indeed, but these many items are the highlights. The board and the active volunteers have plans to make 2013 just as active, lively and fun. I hope that if you haven't been getting involved, you will consider doing it soon!  Come to Houge Park, or contact any of the board members to participate!

Happy New Orbit!
Rob Jaworski