HAC News
May 2012

Please join the Huachuca Astronomy Club to observe the Solar Eclipse from Veteran's Memorial Park in Sierra Vista on Sunday May 20. This eclipse will begin at about 5:30 pm, and the maximum eclipse will occur at about 6:40 pm when nearly 85 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon. Telescopes will not be set up if there is rain, high winds, or heavy cloud cover. Everyone is cautioned not to look directly at the sun without solar filters. Fortunately, HAC astronomers will have solar filters on telescopes for close-up views of this eclipse. In addition, there will be a limited number of eclipse glasses available for looking at the sun directly. This will be the last solar eclipse visible from anywhere in the USA until 2017.

On May 10, 1994, I drove to Anthony, Texas to photograph an annular eclipse from the centerline. Sierra Vista is not on the Centerline, but will have most of the sun eclipsed.

On June 5 at about 3:06 pm, we will have another rare treat. Venus will pass directly between the sun and the earth, and it will be the last Venus Transit for over 105 years. Our last Venus Transit was June 8, 2004. Starting at about 3:00 pm on June 5, the Huachuca Astronomy Club will have telescopes in the park for this rare Venus Transit.

The Venus Transit from June 8, 2004, photographed by Bob Gent while in Alexandria, Virginia.

Clear skies and bright stars,

Bob Gent
President, Huachuca Astronomy Club

The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a Public Astronomy Night on Thursday, May 24th starting at about 7:00 PM, weather permitting. Using the Patterson Observatory 20-inch telescope, you will be able to view double stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and Jupiter and it's largest moons. Everyone is invited to this free event. The observatory is located at 1140 Colombo Dr., on the campus of the University of Arizona South, just east of Cochise College.

HAC News
March 2012

HAC President Bob Gent and Vice President Glen Sanner were judges at the science fair held at the Windemere Conference Center on Wednesday, March 7th. Gary Ryu is a senior at Buena High School. His project used SOHO photographic data to calculate the velocities and acceleration rates of solar Coronal Mass Ejections. He also went into some detail about problems on Earth as these large masses reach us. Bob said of the project: "I have judged many science fairs over the years, and based on my experience and studies, I can report that his work was outstanding."

Bob presented both HAC and PSI awards to Gary at the Thursday night award ceremony. He received a complimentary one-year member in the HAC as well as a certificate and a check for $50. Congrats to Gary for a job well done! We hope to see him at our monthly HAC meetings.

We are trying to breath new life into the HAC Special Interest Groups (SIGs). If you see a group on the list that you have an interest in, post it to our Yahoo e-mail list, HAC-LIST, so we can start to pair like-minded individuals and get some momentum going.

On Saturday, March 17th, everyone is invited to Star Night at Kartchner Caverns. Special guest speaker, Father Christopher J. Corbally, S.J. will give a talk titled, "The Vatican and Astronomy: From a Calendar to the Cosmos," and he will cover the Catholic Church's active work in astronomical research for over 400 years. He will also discuss highlights of this history and on why the Vatican Observatory has a presence in Arizona. The talk will be in the Discovery Center auditorium at 5:30 PM. Later, enjoy the magnificent night skies through telescopes of the Huachuca Astronomy Club. In the event of heavy cloud cover or rain, there will be an abbreviated program including talks held in the auditorium. You can now make a campsite reservations online 24/7.

The Bat Cave Cafe and the Gift Shop will also be open to support this special event.

What will we see? The planet Mars will be rising in the eastern skies after sunset, and the Great Orion nebula will be in the southwestern skies. Jupiter and Venus will be setting in the west early in the evening. In addition to many other wonders of the night sky, everyone will enjoy seeing galaxies from far, far away.

See photos from the 2010 Star Night at Kartchner event!

What to bring: folding chair, red light, sweater or jacket, enthusiasm to enjoy and conserve our beautiful night skies.

Entrance fees: $6/vehicle for the night of viewing, instruction, and family fun. Come spend a cool evening with your family and friends at the park, and observe the wonders of the night sky through several astronomers' telescopes.

The Star Party being held at the RepoGazer Observatory is also the offical HAC Messier Marathon event! Everyone is encouraged to join us on March 23rd and see how many of the 110 Messier objects you can observe. There are many Messier events taking place in Arizona during March and April (some are already in progress), but the RGO Star Party will be the HAC's official observance of this event.

Here are some additional links if you are not quite sure what a Messier Marathon is:

Stargazer Onlines's Guide to the Messier Marathon
Cincinati Astronomical Society - The Messier Marathon Is Upon Us
The Messier Marathon according to Wikipedia
The HAC Messier Marathon Sequence and Checklist

The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a Public Astronomy Night on Thursday, March 29th starting at about 7:00 PM, weather permitting. Using the Patterson Observatory 20-inch telescope, you will be able to view double stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and Jupiter and it's largest moons. Everyone is invited to this free event. The observatory is located at 1140 Colombo Dr., on the campus of the University of Arizona South, just east of Cochise College.

The March Nightfall Newsletter is here!

Many thanks to Cindy Lund who has volunteered to help the club out by becoming the new Nightfall newsletter editor! You can download the latest edition here.

HAC News
February 2012

The Member Star Party for February has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. The next MSP will be instead be March 23rd at the RepoGazer Observatory. This is the Messier Marathon viewing event! Check the Star Party info in the sidebar for a link to a map.

Patterson Observatory Public Night for February

The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a Public Astronomy Night on Thursday, February 23rd starting at about 6:30 PM, weather permitting. Using the Patterson Observatory 20-inch telescope, you will be able to view double stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and Jupiter and it's largest moons. Everyone is invited to this free event. The observatory is located at 1140 Colombo Dr., on the campus of the University of Arizona South, just east of Cochise College.

Meeting Announcement

The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be held on Friday, February 3, at 7:00 pm at the Sierra Vista campus of Cochise College in the community room of the Student Union Building. The guest speaker will be Jeremy Moss, Archaeologist at Tumacacori National Historical Park, National Park Service. Mr Moss graduated from the University of New Mexico where he studied archaeology, and he also holds an MA from the University of Wyoming where he studied prehistoric archaeology. Before arriving at Tumacacori, he worked for seven years at Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in New Mexico.

Mr Moss will discuss "Archaeoastronomy in the American SW: A Brief Overview." Archaeoastronomy on a broad level is the study of how prehistoric people used astronomy in their daily lives. The American SW has been a focal point of American archaeoastronomy due to the excellent preservation of archaeological sites. This presentation will be an overview of archaeological sites in the American SW with evidence of purposeful design, artistic expression, and manipulation of light to record celestial events and time. The ancient astronomers await your discovery!!

This meeting is open to the general public free of charge, and the door prize will include a Galileo Telescope. This is a new telescope made about the same size as the telescopes used by Galileo over 400 years ago.

HAC News
January 2012

The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to a Public Astronomy Night on Thursday, January 26 starting at about 6:30 PM, weather permitting. Using the Patterson Observatory 20-inch telescope, you will be able to view double stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and Jupiter and it's largest moons. Everyone is invited to this free event. The observatory is located at 1140 Colombo Dr., on the campus of the University of Arizona South, just east of Cochise College.

Sky Calendar Blog Updated for 2012

Doug Snyder has been busy updating the Sky Calendar Blog for 2012. You can get the latest update at his website:

http://skycalendar.blackskies.org

The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be held at Cochise College on Friday, January 6, 2012 at 7 PM. This meeting will be held in the community room of the Student Union building. Our guest speaker will be Tommy Neyhart, President of the Friends of the Brown Canyon Ranch. Among other activities, Tommy has been hosting astronomy nights on the Brown Canyon Ranch, Coronado National Forest. Tommy's presentation will focus on relating astronomical events, including the latest lunar eclipse and winter solstice, to everyday life. During his presentation, he will show how the diameter of the Moon as well as the diameter and circumference of the Earth can be measured with surprising accuracy using common everyday materials found at home.

HAC News
December 2011

Have you every been placed under house arrest for your astronomical observations? That probably has not happened to anyone for several decades, but it was a real issue for early astronomers. Keith Schlottman covered not only the everyday dangers, like snakes and heavy equipment, but also several historical dangers like contradicting the church and being lost at sea while trying to view an eclipse. The next time you go out gazing, think for a moment about those astronomers who came before you and what some have sacrificed in the name of science. Oh, and don't forget to kick that log before you step over it!

HAC President Bob Gent read aloud the letter of recognition bestowed upon the HAC by the Arizona State Parks Board for our support of the Star Nights at Kartchner Caverns. Many thanks to those members who bring scopes and volunteer for this event!

The Arizona State Parks Board holds the Huachuca Astronomy Club in high regard.

The Patterson Observatory and the Huachuca Astronomy Club invite you to come view Jupiter and it's moons, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies through the 20-inch Patterson telescope on the University of Arizona South campus. This free event begins at about 6:00 PM, weather permitting, on Thursday, December 15 at 1140 Colombo Dr., just east of the Cochise College campus.

Meeting Announcement

The next meeting on the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be held on Friday, December 9th, at 7:00 PM at Cochise College in the community room of the Student Union Building. Our guest speaker is Keith Schlottman, and his presentation is titled, "The Dangers and Risk-Takers in Astronomy". We tend to think of astronomy as a peaceful pursuit, but history includes many examples of individuals who placed their finances, careers, families, and even their lives in jeopardy as they tried to advance the science. Keith Schlottman is a Senior Instructional Specialist at the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, and he is the President of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association. His interest in astronomy traces back to his childhood, when he saved paper-route earnings for a year to purchase a telescope. His crowded back yard is home to two observatories, and he enjoys visual observing, astro-imaging, and spectroscopy.

Please note that we will be meeting in the Community Room of the Student Union Building, not in room 704 or 900. This building is on the east side of the college library.

HAC Christmas Party

The HAC Christmas Party is on Saturday, December 3rd and will be hosted at the RepoGazer Observatory (RGO). Keith and Teresa Mullen will provide the beverages, plates and utensils; everyone should bring a main dish or desert. Arrivals at 5:00 PM are OK, and we'd like to eat no later than 6:00 pm. Keith has requested RSVPs at 366-0049. Please let him know how many are coming and what you are bringing. Also, back by popular demand is the gift exchange. Please bring a gift valued at NOT LESS than $15 (Corrected!).

There have been some new photos added the Glen Sanner's HAC Photo Gallery. Glen attended the Okie-Tex star party this past September and took some great pictures! You can view them here. If you have some photo's to share with the HAC, please send an e-mail to info@hacastronomy.com and we'll get them on display.

Congratulations to the 2012 HAC Board members and thanks to all of the HAC members who participated in our 2011 elections!

Those elected to Board of Directors:

Officers:

President: Bob Gent

Vice President: Glen Sanner

Treasurer: Bob Kepple

Secretary: Bob Hoover

Members-at-Large:

Keith Mullen

Ken Kirchner

Doug Snyder

Natasha Nichols

Wayne Johnson will continue to serve as Past President.

Ken will also continue to serve as Website Manager.

Rich Swanson will continue to serve as Outreach Director.

HAC News
November 2011

You can find the November update and future versions of Doug Snyder's Sky Calendar Blog at this website:

http://skycalendar.blackskies.org

Dr. Peter Wehinger provided the HAC members with a presentation on the Large Binocular Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope. The LBT is located on Mt. Graham here in Arizona. The GMT will be built in Chile. Dr. Wehinger showed the group many slides that covered the creation and transportation of the extremely large mirrors that are constructed at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab.

You can view photos from Friday's meeting in our Event Gallery. There are also photo galleries with pictures taken from the HAC's 2008 tour of the LBT facility.

The club business consisted of a few notes. If you are going to attend the HAC Picnic please bring a chair and a food item. The picnic is a pot-luck affair. You are welcome to bring your telescope, but that is not required. Bob Kepple, the HAC Treasurer, is taking orders for the 2012 Observer's Handbook and the 2012 Calendar. See him if you are interested. The Board has proposed to change all officer and member-at-large positions to a 1 year term. In 2012, all HAC meetings will be the first Friday of the month.

The door prize, provided by Starizona, was a DVD on planetary imaging. Wayne "Mr. Galaxy" Johnson was the lucky winner. Congrats, Wayne!

The election of new officers for the HAC Board will take place at November's meeting. Please attend!

A few words from our club President, Bob Gent, on the Huber Middle School event:

I'd like to thank all the HAC members who participated. Glen Sanner brought his 12.5 inch Dobsonian, and every time I glanced his way, there were long lines at his big Dob. Bob Hoover brought his 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain, and Rich Swanson brought his refractor. I brought two Newtonian telescopes, and local college students from Natasha Nichols' classes helped me.

Somewhere near 300 people attended, and this included teachers, parents, students and guests. Most of the time during the early evening, we observed the moon. Later, we observed Jupiter, some bright stars, and double stars. Glen was able to observer a galaxy or two with his 12.5-inch Dobsonian. I was able to lock in the M57 Ring Nebula for a short while. Some of the middle school students made solar system models, and these were on display in the cafeteria. There were cakes, cookies, drinks, and much more served.

Of all the many dozens of school star parties I've helped with over the years, this one had the most students. And they were quite enthusiastic which makes it fun. The school principal and teachers asked me to thank everyone for making this wonderful event possible.

Thank you and congratulations!

Regards,
Bob Gent

You can view some photos of the event in our Event Photo Gallery.

The October update for his 2011 Sky Calendar blog is now available. See what Doug has to say about our October skies!

The guest speaker for the HAC October meeting will be Dr. Peter A. Wehinger from Tucson. He will discuss the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The GMT will include six 8.4 meter diameter mirrors. Dr. Wehinger is a staff astronomer at the University of Arizona, and he earned his Ph.D. in astronomy from Case Western Reserve University. As an observer, Dr. Wehinger was involved in some of the early imaging and spectroscopy of quasar host galaxies. He has done imaging and long slit spectroscopy of the Crab Nebula and of molecular ions in plasma tails of comets, and of the sodium torus associated with Io and Jupiter.

Please note that we will be meeting in room 900 at the College, not 704. This room is located on the south side of the college library.

HAC News
September 2011

Doug Snyder has posted the September update for his 2011 Sky Calendar blog. Check out the latest edition!

Our guest speaker for the HAC September meeting will be Tom Kaye. Tom is the leader of the Spectrashift Project, which is an all-amateur effort to discover a new extrasolar planet. In 2000 they successfully built a high precision radial velocity spectrograph and detected the KNOWN exoplanet orbiting Tau Bootis. This was the first ever amateur detection of an exoplanet using radial velocity, an achievement that stood alone for 8 years. Tom will talk about the problems and hurtles that had to be overcome to produce the equipment, get the data and finally to overcome the professional opinion that "they detected nothing!" in order to pass peer review and publish. He will also show where the team is today with the construction of the 1.1 meter telescope and the plan to actually discover a new exoplanet. Please join us on Saturday, September 9th, at Cochise College.

The next Star Night Event at Kartchner Caverns is September 24, 2011 at 5:30 pm. Come spend a cool evening with your family and friends at the park, and observe the wonders of the night sky through several astronomers' telescopes.

Special guest speaker, Dr. Richard Green, Director Large Binocular Telescope. Dr. Green will speak in the auditorium, and his talk will be titled, "The Large Binocular Telescope: A New Era in Astronomy and Engineering." Dr. Green graduated from Harvard University, and he also holds a PhD in astronomy from CalTech.

There will be a solar telescope viewing from noon to 4 pm. This is a chance to safely view the sun through a special solar telescope! Then in the theater an introduction by Dr. Bob Casavant, ASP Science & Research Manager and Kartchner Caverns Astronomer Bob Gent in the Discovery Center auditorium at 5:30 pm. Later, enjoy the magnificent night skies through telescopes of the Huachuca Astronomy Club and JD Maddy, President of the Astronomers of Verde Valley. In the event of heavy cloud cover or rain, there will be an abbreviated program including slide talks held in the auditorium.

What will we see? The planet Jupiter will be rising in the eastern skies after sunset, and the Andromeda Galaxy will be visible most of the night. In addition to many other wonders of the night sky, everyone will enjoy seeing galaxies from far, far away.

What to bring? A folding chair, red light, sweater or jacket, enthusiasm to enjoy and conserve our beautiful night skies. Entrance fees: $6/vehicle for the night of viewing, instruction and family fun. Can't make it? The next Star Night will be at Alamo Lake on November 19, 2011. The next Kartchner Caverns Star Nights will be March 24, 2012 and September 15, 2012

Click HERE to view photo's from the March 2011 Kartchner Star Night!

HAC News
August 2011

With roughly 25 members in attendance, Dr. Tim Hunter gave an interesting talk about his early days as an amateur astronomer. The presentation covered his life between the age of eleven up until present. He discussed some of the high points, like the publication of his first article in Sky & Telescope, and his astrophotography picture of the Echo 1 satellite. Some of the low points included a rather terse rejection letter (funny if you are not the recipient) for some of his lunar eclipse photos. Dr. Hunter is very active in the fight against light pollution. He shared stories from his time in Los Angeles where light pollution is a serious concern. More of Dr. Hunter's essays and astrophotography pictures can be found on his website: www.3towers.com.

Congratulations to Calvin Hoyt, who has completed all the requirements to obtain the Astronomical League's Herschel 400 award. The Herschel 400 is an advanced project for amateurs who already have a fair degree of deep-sky experience.

Other club business brought up during the meeting covered upcoming speakers and events. Tom Kaye will give us an update on exo-planets at next months meeting. The Kartchner Caverns Star Night is quickly approaching. This will be held on September 24th and Dr. Richard Green, Director of the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, will be a guest speaker! The Patterson Observatory's Dining Under the Stars (DUTS) event is scheduled for October 1st. Tickets for the event are $50. The plans for the trip to Page, AZ for the 2012 Annular Eclipse are shaping up. Please contact Glen Sanner or Doug Snyder if you want to participate. The club picnic at Bob Kepple's observatory is October 28th, so mark your calendars.

The board has decided to dedicate a plaque in memory Dave Healy for his support and contributions to the club and astronomy in general. Once completed, the plaque will be displayed in the Patterson Observatory.

Tonights door prize was a 20 milliwatt green laser pointer provided by Starizona. Congrats to Rob Shernick who had the lucky ticket. The HAC sincerely appreciates the support it receives from our sponsors, Starizona and Farpoint. Please support these sponsors when you need to upgrade or add to your stargazing equipment.

Doug Snyder has posted the August update for his 2011 Sky Calendar blog. Read up and see what new wonders await in the skies above Arizona!

Please note that we will be meeting in room 900 at the College, not 704. This room is located on the south side of the college library.

The next meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club will be held on Friday, August 12th at 7 pm at Cochise College, Room 704. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Tim Hunter. He is a Professor of Radiology and Orthopaedic Surgery in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona and is Head of the Department of Radiology. His areas of interest in radiology are musculoskeletal imaging and medical devices. Tim Hunter has also been an amateur astronomer since 1950. He is a prime example of someone whose hobby has run amok, spending more time and money on it than common sense would dictate. Since 1986, he has been interested in the growing problem of light pollution. In 1987, Tim Hunter and Dr. David Crawford founded the International Dark-Sky Association, Inc. (IDA). IDA is a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting quality outdoor lighting and combating the effects of light pollution.

The title of his talk is "1950-2011: My Life and Hard Times as an Amateur Astronomer." In this talk, he will review his "career" as an amateur astronomer, its high points and low points (that latter of which he reports there are several). He will offer his view of amateur astronomy going from the 1950's to the present with a slight emphasis on astrophotography and light pollution. Tim will also touch on where he thinks amateur astronomy is heading for better or worse.