OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

                                                                        June 2009

• Bob Berta reported hosting some scouts at Rotary Park and a viewing session at Grand View Elementary in Livonia where daytime solar viewing was offered along with some observations of Saturn at night.
• Jon Blum enjoyed attending the Texas Star Party where some 500 folks gathered for a great dark sky event.
  
• Ryan Siebert reported observing some great Globular Cluster views with his new computerized Dob.

•  2009 Independence Oaks Star Parties dates, all on Saturdays at the Wint Nature Center.  Mark your calendar.      
  

                                  July 25th   9-11pm

                                                November 14th   8-10pm

• GREAT LAKES STAR GAZE (click link) dates have been announced:      Sept 17 - 20. 
• ASTRONOMY-ON-THE-BEACH dates at Kensington Metropark are Sept 25 - 26.

 

MOON -                                                                           CALENDAR                   FM    Sun, June 7                                 19-21  Venus & Mars 2 degrees apart in the East at dawn                   LQ    Mon, June 15                              21st - The Summer Solstice arrives at 1:45 a.m. EDT                    NM  Mon, June 22                              Also on the 21st, a thin crescent Moon is near Mercury ENE 40 min before sunrise                   FQ    Mon, June 29                              27th - Moon near Saturn at dusk                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        METEORS:                  June Bootids peak before dawn on the 27th.  Look NW.  Radiant between Bootes and handle of Big Dipper.                  Has been known to produce 1 per minute.   Moon sets early, so sky should be dark for viewing after Midnight.                  These are debris from Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke.  Meteors visible a night or two before and after peak as Earth                   passes through the trail of comet debris.     Credit:  Astronomy.com                                                  PLANETS                   MERCURY   ENE before dawn at Mag 0 above Aldebaran                    VENUS          Morning, East, Mag -4.6 two hours ahead of sunrise                           MARS           Morning, ESE, Mag 1.2 low at dawn                   JUPITER       SE, from Midnight until dawn                   SATURN       Visible most all night at Mag 0.8 in southern Leo under the hindquarters, stopping retrograde, rings only 4.0 degrees                                             from edge-on.   Look for moons.                   URANUS       Unviewable this month  in light of dawn                   NEPTUNE     Just SSE of Jupiter at Mag 7.9               CONSTELLATION  HIGHLIGHT: OPHIUCUS -  The snake carrier Sandwiched between Serpens Cauda and Serpens Caput, Ophiucus is in the ecliptic path of the Sun, but it is not included in the 12 astrological constellations of the Zodiac.  Historically, Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Sun at 5.96 LY,  is located near Beta Ophiucus  Ophiucus contains 4 stars with known planets It was here that the great Supernova of  1604 was seen by both Kepler and Galileo The constellation contains many fine DSOs for amateur scopes, including globular clusters M10,  M12,  and M14                                                                                                                                                                       OPHIUCUS MAP                                                        Chart credit:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus DSO PICK:               M10 -  See Feature Below

Discovered in 1764 by Charles Messier, this bright glob is a fine target for amateur scopes and is readily visible in finders. William Herschel was the first to resolve it into stars.  M10 is one of several bright globular clusters in and around Ophiucus, including M12 and M14 (chart above). It is estimated to span over 80LY in diameter and is receding from us at 69 km/sec. Right Ascension 16 : 57.1 (h:m) Declination -04 : 06 (deg:m) Distance 14.3 (kly) Visual Brightness 6.6 (mag) Apparent Dimension 20.0 (arc min) More details - Click Link: http://seds.org/messier/m/m010.html

Image Credit:  Bob & Janice Fera,  12.5" RCT @ f/9, SBIG ST-10XE camera BONUS:   For a spectacular FULL SCREEN image click HERE

Constellation:  OPHIUCUS

 

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AD2K9 at K-ZOO

The Astronomy Day program by the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society on May 30
was extraordinary and well received.   Congrats to Richard Bell for a well organized, outstanding event.

Michael Francis (as Galileo) performing his one man show "The Starry Messenger" at the Kalamazoo event.	Dr. Phil Plait, author of Bad Astronomy, autographs his books during the Astronomy Day presentations.

Images courtesy of
Kevin from Michigan Astronomy@Yahoogroups.com
A full gallery of event images can be viewed on his Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26877148@N06/sets/72157619572897130/

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COOL LINK THIS MONTH:

Stardate Online
 
We've all heard the radio program.   Now you can put a
link on your desktop for daily updates on current events
happening in the sky.  Nice graphics and a link to the
radio broadcast are included.
From the University of Texas McDonald Observatory

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DID YOU KNOW?  

Planck cruising to L2

This month, the PLANCK SATELLITE will undergo final thruster corrections to place it at the final orbiting point in July when it will
reach its proper Lagrange Point between Earth and the Sun.    The satellite, a mission of ESA, is designed to investigate the microwave
background radiation and help solve the mystery of whether such readings are, as many believe, the primordial echo of a Big Bang or
simply the ambient temperature of the Universe as some skeptics have asserted.

Image credit and more info:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090605112335.htm

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PERSPECTIVES

Beautiful..............uh...........what is it  ?


http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090613.html
(Click link for Full Size image and more info)

                                                          No riddle this month, just an awesome perspective inspired by
                                              the International Year of Astronomy.   This beautiful composite is
                                              from Larry Landolfi who took a Texas Star Party shot and used the
                                              magic of Photoshop to create this stunning fantasy image.

                                                                        It's titled "The Milky Road"
  

                                                                 

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FUNZIES

                                                                                                  Credit:  Cartoonbox@Slate.com

                

                                                                 

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CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH

Milky Way Due South in Summer



From Bob Berta

A "grab" shot aimed dead south in the summer. 3 min exposure,  50mm f2 camera lens on the SBIG STL camera.
 Who says you need a telescope? 

                                                                                  ====>    FULL SCREEN IMAGE:    <====

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FOR SALE:

From Michigan Astronomy @ Yahoo Groups

I have a Meade LX200 16" with the field tripod and a 26mm
SuperPlossl eyepiece for sale.  New, these are currently running at $14,999
I will sell this one for $10,000
It is in perfect working order and excellent condition.
It has only been used 3x.   If interested, please let me know.
John  -  drifter17536@yahoo.com

Items forwarded from the Warren Club Newsletter

FOR SALE:  This is a 8 or 9 year old Celestron Starhopper 6" Dob. I've used it up at our cottage for years and its given me many years of enjoyment. I am including a 25mm plossl eyepiece and a Red dot laser star spotter. I am the original owner and am selling it because I recently upgraded to a bigger scope. I am asking $300 but will take any reasonable offer. Call John 586-726-0741

WANTED: Spidervane for 6" Criterion Dynascope. My name is Gary Klein, I am a former member of WAS. I am getting back into observing and photographing Celestial objects. On dusting off my 6" Criterion Dynascope, I found some damage to the tube. I began disassembling the finder scope and secondary mirror and spider. I ended up twisting off one of the mounting studs for the spider. It is beyond repair. I have unsuccessfully been on a search for a direct replacement of the spider. The secondary mirror is fine. It is a straight 4 legged spider. Contact Gary at: (586) 247- 2460 Thanks. Gary K.

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Members are encouraged to join the Club's Yahoo Group
for messages, photo posting and more.

Click to join OaklandAstronomy

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CLUB DUES 

Membership is $35 annually
If you are unable to make the next meeting and wish to support OAC
with your 2009 dues, you can mail your check payable to

OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB
600 Shelley Dr
Rochester Hills, MI  48307-4237

2009 Officers

                                                                             President          Dave Holt           dave_holt@yahoo.com

                                                                             Vice President  Bob Berta           biker123@att.net

                                                                             Treasurer         Bill Girardin        bggirardin@sbcglobal.net

                                                                             Secretary         Mark Jeffery      jefamily@wowway.com

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NEXT MEETING:    July 12th,  2009       7:30 PM

           
                                                                        

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Links to other club sites:

Astronomy in Michigan  NEW
Warren Astronomical Society (WAS)
Seven Ponds Astronomy Club
Ford Astronomy Club

GLAAC

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Editor's Note:   Newsletters can be saved locally by right-clicking, then select Save Webpage Complete


2009 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0109.html       OAC Newsletter Jan 2009                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0209.html       OAC Newsletter Feb 2009                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0309.html       OAC Newsletter Mar 2009                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0409.html       OAC Newsletter Apr 2009                   http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0509.html       OAC Newsletter May 2009

2008 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0108.html    OAC Newsletter Jan 2008                       http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0208.html    OAC Newsletter Feb 2008                     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0308.html    OAC Newsletter Mar 2008    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0408.html    OAC Newsletter Apr 2008     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0508.html    OAC Newsletter May 2008     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0608.html    OAC Newsletter June 2008     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0708.html    OAC Newsletter July 2008    http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0808.html    OAC Newsletter Aug 2008                     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0908.html    OAC Newsletter Sept 2008                     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1008.html    OAC Newsletter Oct 2008                     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1108.html    OAC Newsletter Nov 2008                     http://www.oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1208.html    OAC Newsletter Dec 2008

2007 NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0607.html    OAC Newsletter June 2007 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0707.html    OAC Newsletter July 2007 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0807.html    OAC Newsletter Aug 2007 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews0907.html    OAC Newsletter Sep 2007 http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1007.html    OAC Newsletter Oct 2007  http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1107.html    OAC Newsletter Nov 2007  http://oaklandastronomy.ulmb.com/oacnews1207.html    OAC Newsletter Dec 2007

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