ASTRONOMY CLUB OF TULSA

Friday, October 20, 2000 at 7:30 PM

Where

Tulsa Air and Space Center

"Where Dreams Take Flight"

"For those who have been told their dreams were out of reach"

Located at 7130 East Apache Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74115. Take Highway 11 toward Tulsa International Airport but continue west to the N. Sheridan exit. Take the Sheridan Avenue exit off Highway 11 and go North 1/2 block to Apache. Turn East on Apache and follow the signs!

John Land

Our October 20 meeting will be at the Tulsa Air and Space Center near the Tulsa Airport. TASC has a wonderful collection of Aircraft and Space exhibits including a real F14 Fighter and an actual control panel from the Apollo control center. They have over $2.5 million in pledged funds toward the construction of a new facility, which will include Tulsa's first planetarium. Larry Andus will give us a tour of the facility and share with us their vision and plans for this new facility. If all goes as planned construction may start by the fall of 2001. You'll not want to miss this meeting. Come a little early and browse the exhibits and the wonderful gift shop. Donations to TASC are recommended at this meeting to contribute toward the new facility and costs of upkeep to the present facility. ($3 to $5 person recommended.)

At TASC you will discover some very exciting facts about our city's rich aviation history. Besides presenting history, our main goal is to challenge young people to learn and reach beyond their perceived limitations. Tulsa Air and Space Center is dedicated to breaking down barriers and helping young people build lives full of self realization and great achievements.

You can learn more about TASC at their website - http://www.tulsaairandspacecenter.org/

Club Officer Elections: After Mr. Andus' presentation we will have our October Annual business report and Officer elections. At our October meeting it is traditional for us to elect a new slate of officers for the coming year. In addition to officers we have three elected board members and a number of appointive offices. We are looking for members who are dedicated to the future of the Astronomy Club of Tulsa and willing to contribute their time and energies to promoting the club and its activities. You don't have to know a lot about astronomy but do have to be willing to share your enthusiasm for learning more about this marvelous universe and sharing it with others. If you are that person, then please contact one of the officers or board members about your desire to serve.

Up coming Club meetings and events:

Saturday Nov.4th 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM is our Fall PUBLIC TELESCOPE OBSERVING NIGHT.

We will be setting up telescopes at the TCC West Campus ( 7505 W 41st).  An announcement flyer is provided as an insert to the newsletter.  Please feel free to make copies of it and distribute to school groups and others who may want to come.  We will need as many volunteers as possible to bring a telescope to set up for public viewing.  If you don't have a telescope we need people to pass and flyers and act as relief for the rest.  Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon will be well placed for viewing plus the usual deep sky treasures.

If the weather is good we usually have more than 200 people show up during the evening. At times we have had groups of over 500 people over the course of the evening. In addition to sharing our interest in Astronomy, these events give us a chance to attract new members and supporters to our club.

Fri Nov 10 - Annual Club Dinner at Furr's cafeteria 11111 E 41st St (41st and Garnett ) We will eat at 6:00 PM and then have a time of fellowship afterward. Each member will go through the line and make their selections and pay for their own dinner. In order to have time for eating and the program you will need to arrive on time.

Fri. Dec. 15 will be our next regular meeting at T.U.

URGENT TELESCOPES and VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

If you will check the schedule below you will see that November and December is prime time for astronomy viewing. With the return to C.S.T. (Central "Starlight" Time) and emerging of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening sky, people are noticing the sky more and eager to learn more about it. We need you to help with at least one of these events in addition to the Nov 4 public observing night. You don't have to be an expert, just willing to lend a hand.

Contact - Gerry Andries - Phone

The following is the current schedule of star parties and public groups.

Tentatively scheduled dates are bracketed with question marks. All events are at the RMCC unless noted otherwise:

OCT

10-27-00 Fri 17:00 Club Star Party

10-28-00 Sat 17:00 Backup for 10-27-00

10-31-00 Tue 18:00 Jenks HS Science Club ?

NOV - Help Needed ! ! !

11-03-00 Fri 17:30 Catoosa Gifted & Talented Class

11-04-00 Sat 17:00 Public Star Party (at TCC West Campus)

11-05-00 Sun 17:00 Collinsvile High School

11-07-00 Tue 17:00 Jenks HS Science Club ?

11-10-00 Fri 18:30 Annual Dinner Meeting at Furr's Cafeteria

11-15-00 Wed 19:30 Tulsa Hardesty Library Astronomy Lecture

11-16-00 Thu 17:00 Club Star Party--Leonids

11-17-00 Fri 17:00 Club Star Party--Leonids

11-18-00 Sat 17:00 Church Group w/ Kevin Manning ?

11-29-00 Wed 19:00 So. Tulsa Baptist Church

DEC

12-08-00 Fri Public Telescope viewing at Tulsa Air and Space Center

12-15-00 Fri Club Meeting at TU

The MOUNT MAGAZINE STAR PARTY in Arkansas will be held October 27-29, 2000. Some of the highlights include star gazing, astrophoto contest, vendor displays, pot luck BBQ, astronomy talks, off the beaten Messier path observing, CCD imaging, and door prizes!

The cost per person is $10.00 or $20.00 per family registering before Oct. 15. After October 15, fees are $15.00 per person and $30.00 per family, payable at the gate. So register early! Mail your registration fees to: Mt. Magazine Star Party, c/o P. T. Barnum, 76 Observatory Ln Dover, AR 72837

Full on line registration and map at http://www.propermotion.com/mtmag/

$ $ $ $ $ $                                                                                $ $ $ $ $ $

Its that time of the year again… It’s time to renew your club membership ($25/year) and subscriptions to Sky and Telescope ($30/year) and Astronomy ($29/year). Send your checks to our treasure Nick Pottorf at 3832 S Victor, Tulsa OK 74105.

Observing Manuals Available

You can get started in astronomy with one to the Astronomical League Observing Projects. We have a few the "Universe Sampler" booklets to get you started learning the night sky. We also have a few of the "Messier Observer's" and "Herschel I " manuals for the more advanced or ambitious observers.

Plus a list of the features to be observed to earn your Lunar Certificate.

For a look at these and other programs, check out the Astronomical League. Contact John Land http://www.astroleague.org./al/obsclubs/obsclub.html

New Baader Solar Filters available: I have a limited number of 3 and 4 inch solar filters made of the new Baader Solar Film from Astrophysics reviewed in a recent Sky and Telescope. This new material truly does produce amazing detail in solar sunspots.

Map to Tulsa Air and Space Center

Several of our members attended a ceremony on Oct 7th for the son of one of our more famous members. Nathan Lobrecht, son of past president KC Lobrecht, was inducted into the Eagle Scout Court of Honor. If you have visited our observatory recently, you may have enjoyed using the permanent, steel framed outdoor table that was built by Nathan's Troop 520 recently. Among Nathan's many other accomplishments while in the boy scouts, he designed and organized the construction of the table for us as one of his community service projects. Nathan and his troop have also been very helpful in cleaning and mowing over the years, and they built the nice concrete telescope pads that have received much use by our members. Congratulations, Nathan, and thank you for the contributions you have made for the Astronomy club!

DAVID'S ASTRO CORNER

"LEONIDS OR MOONIDS"

By David Stine

It's been almost a year since we viewed a disappointing Leonid Meteor Shower. Disappointing for us, but to people in the Middle East a magnificent storm, the best since 1966. So what do we have to look forward to this November? First of all an almost full moon is going to be right next to the radiant, which is our first strike against us. It will look like a Moonid Meteor Shower since the meteors will look like they are coming from the moon. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a radiant, this is the area that the meteors seem to come from. Even though the moon's light will be a problem, we still may see a decent shower in the early morning hours before dawn. According to David Asher and Robert H. McNaught the earth will be passing through two streams of particles; the first from the 1733 trail which is to peak at 3:44UT on November 18 or 9:44p.m.CST Nov. 17. Expected rate is 100-5,000 and for this peak, Europe and Africa will be favored. However there is another trail the 1866 that earth passes through at 7:51UT or 1:51CST which puts us in the ballpark. Expected rate is 100-5000. This is the peak that we should be focusing on. Earth will be passing farther away from the two streams than it did last year, so astronomers aren't sure how wide the streams are or if passing through the outskirts will produce much of a display or not.

Again this could change as we saw in 1998 when the peak came early and we saw an awesome display of fireballs. There are other so-called experts who see things differently. James Mason predicts a storm for Americans of no less than 1,000 an hr. Patience is going to be the key for us. You need to start watching around 11p.m. and even if you don't see too many that first two hours just wait and hope and don't give up until the light of dawn. That is what happened to many people in 1966. They didn't see very many meteors at first, and then they went to bed and missed the storm of over 100,000 an hr. just before dawn. Most peaks are very brief and limited to a small area of the earth. It's a 50-50 chance for us, storm or no storm, you just have to watch. Mcnaught and Asher foresee a normal display of 100 per hr this year, but Ignacio Ferrin believes that North Americans may see a greater spectacle than Middle East observers witnessed last year. Asher also said that you should be alert for a possible outburst when Earth skirts the 1932 dust trial at approximately 1:50a.m. on the morning of November 16. You never know. The only thing that is for sure with meteors, is that if you don't watch you are sure not going to see anything. There will be a Leonid Meteor Observing Party at the RMCC Observatory on the night of November 17 and the morning of the 18th. I also plan to go up on the 16th-17th to try and catch the 1932 trail for any that want to come both nights. I don't think you will want to miss this, but if the early hours aren't your cup of tea, if you want to be awakened if we do have a storm just let me have your phone number and we will call you. If we don't see a storm this year, what about the future? In 2001 America is favored with a peak at 10:01UT November 18 or 4:01a.m.CST of 2,500+ meteors per hour. Later, E. Asia, W. Pacific and Australia may see 10,000-35,000 per hour if it develops as predicted. Then in 2002, at 4:36a.m.CST, America may have its best chance for a major storm with 25,000/hr. So if we don't see much this year, patience, our time may come in the next two years. I hope to see everyone at the observatory November 17-18 and that's it from my astro corner this month.

FOR SALE

Celestron 14" optical tube assembly with Lumicon Giant variable focal reducer/camera adaptor/guider and Tuthill 14" solar filter plus 5.5" unobstructed off axis adaptor, f-28(for planetary, double star or h-alpha).

Byers 812 German Equatorial mount on 5 foot portable pier.Fork mount for up to 16" diameter tube. Swings 30", could hold maybe 1000 pound package, driven by 12" Mathis gear. Observatory jewel. I had a 14 1/4" f-6 Newtonian plus several accessories in it. Would hold a C14 like a ROCK.

Contact George Allen,  geonjod@earthlink.net

The Year In Space 2001 Desk Calendar

Astronomy Club of Tulsa, 918.688.MARS

President: John Land

Vice President: Grant Cole

Secretary: Teresa Kincannon

Treasurer: Nick Pottorf

RMCC Observatory Manager: Gerry Andries

Observing Chairman: David Stine

Web Master: Dean Salman

New Membership: Dennis Mishler

Librarian: Ed Reinhart

Education Coordinator: Scott Parker