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HAC News
April 2013
April Nightfall is here!
A new issue of Nightfall, the official HAC newsletter, is now vailable! You can download
your April issue here!
Meeting Annoucement for April
Our speaker for the April 26th meeting will be Dolores Hill, Sr. Research Specialist at the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona. Her talk is titled "Meteor Falls...Far and Near: Meteorites from Chelyabinsk, Russia and Whetstone Mountains, Arizona"
We will be hosting Dr. Hill at the Outback Steak House in Sierra Vista for dinner before the meeting. We'll make reservations for 5:00 PM.
All members and friends of HAC are invited to join us at the dinner. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be able to attend so we can make adequate arrangements for seating. You can contact Ted Forte at twforte(at)powerc.net.
Astronomy Day 2013 a Success!
Many thanks to all of the HAC volunteers who came out and supported this community outreach project! Specal thanks to Tommy Neyhart for leading the charge and making this event happen. Ted Forte
has provided some pictures of the event that are now on display in the HAC Event Gallery, so check them out! Send your photos to webmaster(at)hacastronomy.org if you would like them included in the gallery.
Astronomy Day is almost here!
This years Astronomy Day activities will be taking place at the Sierra Vista Public Library on Saturday, April 20th. There will be solar telescopes setup
outside at 10 AM and more astronomy related displays indoors. There will also be a 1000 yard (3000 feet) scale model of the Solar System on display outside. Everyone is welcome to attend and bring their friends, family, and neighbors!
Help us spread the word by displaying these Astronomy Day flyers around your workplace!
We hope to see you there!
Public Night at the Patterson Observatory
The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a public viewing of the
night sky on Thursday, April 18, at about 7:20 PM. Weather permitting, you will be able to
view the heavens with the 20-inch Patterson Telescope and other instruments. Among possible sights
are craters of the crescent moon, gas giant planets Uranus and Neptune, double stars, various star
clusters, nebula, planetary nebula and distant galaxies. This free event is open to all. The
observatory is located at 1140 N. Colombo Dr., on the University of Arizona South campus, just east
of Cochise College. A map is available here.
HAC News
March 2013
March Nightfall is here!
A new issue of Nightfall, the official HAC newsletter, is now vailable! You can download
your March issue here!
Comet PanSTAARS Visible in the West
HAC club member Jay LeBlanc snapped this amazing photo of comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) above the Huachuca mountains.
From the Wiki article linked in the name:
"Comet C/2011 L4 probably took millions of years to come from the Oort cloud. After leaving the planetary region of the Solar System, the post-perihelion orbital period (epoch 2050) is estimated to be roughly 106000 years."
Kartchner Caverns Star Night in March
March 16 is the big day for Kartchner Caverns astronomy, and the weather forecast is looking good. Dr. Tim Hunter will be the guest speaker at Kartchner Caverns star night starting at 5:30 pm in the Discovery Center. Among his many other notable achievements, he is the president and co-founder of the International Dark-Sky Association. His talk will include the a discussion and photographs of wonders of the night sky and preservation of our heritage of dark skies. Starting around 1 pm or so, we will have solar telescopes set up. Lunt Solar Telescopes will be joining us from Tucson, and they will be using some fine instruments. Starting at about 6:30 pm we will have telescopes set up in the bus parking area for public viewing of the night sky. We hope to see you there!
March Meeting Announcement
The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be on Friday, March 22 at the Cochise College, Sierra Vista campus. The meeting will be held in the community room of the student union building at 7 pm. The guest speaker will be Dr. Janine Pforr of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, AZ. The title of her talk will be "The Property of Galaxies." The Universe is filled with billions of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. Deep surveys such as the Hubble Deep Field have shown us however, that galaxies in the early Universe look significantly different compared to those we observe today. Dr. Pforr studied for her undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, before moving to Portsmouth, UK, to obtain her PhD. We will be awarding astronomical door prizes, and this meeting is free of charge and open to the general public.
Messier Marathon Plans for April
The Messier Marathon has been changed to April 6th at the Observatory of Bob & Barb Kepple in Hereford.
Snacks, Coffee, Tea, and Hot Coca will be provided. If you can't stay all night come for as long as you want.
The 22-inch will be up and running but if you plan to observe all the Messier Objects you may want to bring your own
scope. We have a few power outlets if needed but bring your own extensions.
Sunset is 6:43 pm on April 6th. Astronomical Twilight ends at 8:06 pm. A crescent moon rises at 4:12 am which
shouldn't interfere with getting the last few objects. If bringing a scope allow yourself enough time to set up
before dark and you may drive around to the backyard beside the observatory. If you need directions check the HAC web
site or phone 520-366-0490.
Hoping for clear skies,
Bob & Barb Kepple
Sky Calendar Update for March
Hi - Here is the SkyCalendar (Arizona) Update for March 2013; Thanks for visiting!
The previously published March HighLite (Messier Marathon) on 09 March has been changed
to : optional MM at the Blue Marvel Observatory (Gary Grue) and Member Star Party.
Another MM, and MSP date has been set for Saturday, April 6, at Bob & Barb Kepple's
observatory in Palominas, which is named: Desert Starlight Observatory (DSO).
Update on March astronomical events:
Comet Pan-STARRS (C/2011 L4): As of the last day of February, this comet is still
only visible from the southern hemisphere. But in early March, it should become visible
for folks in the northern hemisphere low in the western skies after evening twilight. On
March 5, it will reach its perigee point (closest to Earth) at just over 1 AU
(Astronomical Unit), and on March 10 (UT) it will pass closest to the Sun (perihelion) at
around 0.30 AU ! If it survives that milestone, it should be quite visible for northern
observers from March 12 to March 17. Also in early March, it MAY reach magnitude -0.2 and
then begin to fade. Many questions still have to be answered about its perihelion
passage. Both Sky & Telescope magazine and Astronomy magazine have more articles on
this comet, and on their websites.
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6): The comet is currently coursing its way on the Tucana
the Toucan constellation. Not visible in the northern hemisphere - unfortunately.
Monday, March 11 (1251 hrs, MST): New Moon, start of Lunation #1116
Thursday, March 14: Public Astronomy Night at Patterson Observatory in Sierra
Vista" Sunset is at 6:29 pm; Come on out and observe or assist!
Saturday, March 16: BIG Astronomy Night at Kartchner Caverns State Park; this gets
underway in the afternoon with Solar Viewing, but there is also an 'astro' talk in the
early evening, and great dark sky viewing in the evening! Bring the family and a
telescope and join other members of the HAC and other clubs, out under the stars.
Sunday, March 17: The Moon and Jupiter get close (about 1.4 degrees) at around 7
pm. This should be a pretty sight.
Wednesday, March 20: Vernal Equinox, 4:02 am (0402 hrs. MST); Spring starts in the
northern hemisphere.
Friday, March 22: The HAC monthly meeting, starts at 7 pm; at Cochise College.
Sunday, March 31: Easter Sunday
A free star map for March, 2013 can be downloaded at http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html
From Dave Mitsky's great blog (found at "Cloudy Nights Telescope Reviews"):
"Saturn retrogrades through Libra this month. The tilt angle of its rings during March is
19 degrees. Its equatorial diameter is 18.3 arc seconds at midmonth. Saturn rises at
11:00 p.m. local time and transits the meridian at 4:00 a.m. local time at midmonth. The
waning gibbous Moon passes three degrees south of the Ringed Planet during daylight on
March 2 and March 29. Click on http://www.curtrenz.com/saturn for a wealth of information
on Saturn. Eight-magnitude Titan is positioned north of Saturn on the nights of March 12
and March 28 and south of the planet on March 4 and March 20. Iapetus is nine arc minutes
from Saturn when it reaches greatest western elongation on March 13."
As Always, the night sky is so magnificent to explore and to discover. How many of the 88
constellations can you remember to name - and view?
Comments and suggestions always welcome !!
Until next month - Clear Skies, Doug Snyder
HAC Gets Recognition by NASA/JPL!
The NASA Space Place, an education and outreach program of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, has recognized the Huachuca Astronomy Club of Southeastern Arizona in a
Certificate of Appreciation. The certificate acknowledges the club's "valuable
contributions to its community in the areas of science, technology education, and
inspiration".
HAC News
February 2013
February Meeting Announcement
The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be on Friday, February 22 at the
Cochise College, Sierra Vista campus. The meeting will be held in the community room of the student
union building at 7 pm. The guest speaker will be Mr. Bob Kepple, an Astronomical
League Master Observer, and a noted author of astronomy guidebooks. Mr Kepple will be sharing some
of his magnificent night sky photography taken from his observatory in Palominas. We will be
awarding one of Mr Kepple's signed Night Sky Observer's Guide, volume two as a door prize. In
addition, HAC President Bob Gent will give an update on Near Earth Objects, and he will cover the
history of past asteroid collisions with Earth. This meeting is free of charge and open to the
general public.
February Nightfall is here!
A new issue of Nightfall, the official HAC newsletter, is now vailable! You can download
your February issue here!
HAC News
January 2013
January Meeting
Announcement
The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be on Friday, January 25 at the Cochise
College student union building at 7 pm in Sierra Vista, AZ. The guest speaker will be Dean
Ketelsen. Dean works at the University of Arizona's Mirror Lab where they are constructing new
8.4 meter diameter mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope. He is also working on a unique mirror
for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. In addition, Dean has worked at the Kitt Peak National
Observatory, and he is a past officer of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Club. Dean is also an
accomplished astrophotographer, and he will share his latest astronomical photos and news with us.
We will be awarding a signed Night Sky Observer's Guide, Volume One as a door prize. This meeting is
free of charge and open to the general public.
Public Night at the
Patterson Observatory
The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a public viewing of the
night sky on Thursday, January 17, at about 6:15 PM. Weather permitting, you will be able to
view the heavens with the 20-inch Patterson Telescope and other instruments. Among possible sights
are craters of the crescent moon, gas giant planets Uranus and Neptune, double stars, various star
clusters, nebula, planetary nebula and distant galaxies. This free event is open to all. The
observatory is located at 1140 N. Colombo Dr., on the University of Arizona South campus, just east
of Cochise College. A map is available here.
Sky Calendar Events for January 2013
Hi! Have you downloaded the FREE 2013 SkyCalendar yet? If so, what follows is the January 2013
updates; if not, please scroll down the page and select to download the 2013 calendar in PDF; I
don't think you'll regret it (if you do, please let me know why!). Both the calendar and the monthly
updates are posted on two web sites; one is the Huachuca Astronomy Club's well known 'hacastronomy
dot com' and my sky-calendar blog at http://skycalendar.blackskies.org
We love the Starry Nights ! Let us look forward to the new month and year and think 'positive'
about all of the observing under clear skies where-ever you are! 2013 may turn out to be a banner
year, and let us discover the night sky together! Keep in mind that the times shown here in these
updates are for MST (Arizona) and NO Daylight Savings Time.
EXISTING JANUARY 2013 CALENDAR EVENTS - EXPANDED REMARKS
Highlites:
With a waxing Moon (at about 70% illumination) rising on Monday, 1/ 21, Jupiter and the Moon can be
as close as less than 1 degree in the evening at about 8 pm, one of the closest Moon-Jupiter
conjunctions of the year! Also look for the star Aldebaran below the pair.
In the dawn sky, and in western Libra, Saturn, at a distance of about 10 astronomical units, is
really looking fine! The northern side of the rings is very visible this year, and their tilt
relative to Earth, for most of the year, remains at 18 deg; much later in the year, this tilt
increases to over 20 deg. Catch the January views of the shadows on the globe and the 3D effect of
the rings. Stunning!
Updates (as necessary) For Listed Calendar Events for January, 2013:
1) Quadrantids Meteor Shower: Thursday morning, January 3rd. Severe waning gibbous Moon
interference for this sometimes quite active major shower. Named after a extinct constellation
"Quadrans Muralis (The Mural), which is now incorporated into northern Bootes.
2) HAC Member Star Party: Saturday, January 12th. As of this writing (late December, 2012), this
star party is scheduled to be hosted by member Glen Sanner at his observatory (DOW - Discovery
Observatory West). Additional details are to be posted on the HAC website.
3) HAC Public Star Party: Thursday, January 17th. As weather permits, this will get underway at
about 6 pm on this date at Patterson Observatory on the campus of the U. of A. South in Sierra Vista
(just east of Cochise College).
New Entries for January:
1) Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) starts 2013 at around magnitude 15 and in the constellation Gemini.
Over the following months, it will slowly brighten until about the middle of October, and then it
may just start exceedidng our expectations! The perliherlion date for the comet is November 28 when
it is expected to be within 2 deg of the Sun.
2) Comet Pan-Starrs (C/2011 L4) MAY well become a 'great' comet in March of 2013. Currently, it
is only visible in the southern hemisphere, but will develop it's move to the northern skies around
the middle of March.
3) OCCULTATIONS OF STARS BY ASTEROIDS: There are several predicted events to occur during January
in which the shadow path involves several observers in southeastern Arizona. These are very neat to
observe and record, and I can assist all who may be interested in participating in one or more!
Contact Doug Snyder at (520) 366-5788 or email at starhaven(at)palominas.com if you are interested.
The earliest date that one is occuring is January 2nd followed by 01/08, 01/12 and a couple of other
evenings in January. Let's Give It A Shot!
That's It For The January Update - if you feel there are events that I should have covered and
did not, or that you hear or read about new astronomical happenings that are awesome, email or call
me, and let's get them up online!
Thanks & OBSERVE!
- Doug Snyder
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The HAC Event Calendar has been updated for 2013!
