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16-DEC-05 General MeetingThe 2006 Board elections were held and the results were:
President - Juan Carlos Reina
Vice President - Bill Leach
Secretary - John Lane
Treasurer - Robert McMillan
Newsletter Editor - Lorrie Patel
Astronomical League Coordinator - Aaron Clevenson
Observation Committee Chair - Henry Norton
Webmaster - Ed Knapton
Membership Committee Chair - Kelsey Norton
Program Committee Chair - Tom Rice
Astronomy Day 2005
Pictures!
15-OCT-05
On Saturday we did a star party in Spring for the Lewis and Clark Heritage Society. It was a great success. We had a total of 44 people there, mostly children, and all quite well behaved.
I want to thank all of the folks who came out to help. We had many scopes and a total of 8 astronomers. Thank you's to Bill Leach, Henry Norton, Kelsey Norton, Kent Francis, Dick Locke, Jim Barbasso, a new friend from the Austin Astronomical Society; Mark Florian, and me. (I hope I didn't miss anyone...)
Memorable sights were the Sun (earlier in the day, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Andromeda, The Ring Nebula, and Alberio (and I am sure that I left some out).
Thanks again for all your help.
Aaron
Outreach Coordinator
7-AUG-05
Last night, NHAC hosted another successful BBQ at the Neal Site. My personal thanks go to all the great members ( and Guests) that came along (40+). After finally getting the Grill going ( first bottle of propane ran out of gas), we had great burgers, hot dogs and fixin’s thanks to Dan and Kathy Gava. Once again we were blessed with additional side dishes prepared by members including brownies, Apple Cinnamon cake and artichoke dip. Thanks to everyone that brought these fine snacks.
By 7:30PM, with the help of many members, we put up all the BBQ equipment and headed out to the observing field to setup the equipment. We had a good collection of veterans, novices and guests ( we even got to met all the Krouse’s!!). Just as predicted by our Dark Sky Clock, the clouds started disappearing around 9:30PM which made a wonderful selection of Messier Objects in Scorpio, Sagittarius and Ophiuchus pop right out along with a fine view of the Milky Way. The seeing was rock steady ( 5/5) and the transparency improved from about 4.0 at 9:00PM to about 5.5 by 10:30 PM. Even the potential dew held off with not a drop before midnight.
We were all treated to a very thin crescent moon starting about 8:30PM, although it wasn’t quite young enough to be within 40 hours of new. It was a challenge to find early on due to the low layer of clouds in the West, but everyone finally found it. In the field novice sessions on Binocular Messier and Earth Satellites were both well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy the beauty of the night sky.
Starting about 11:30 PM, we began to pick up some meteors from the Perseids. About Midnight, I saw a couple of really nice near “fireballs”. Although nice quite bright enough to be classified as real fireballs, they were still very bright ( I estimate magnitude at about 0.0 to -2.0); big, bright and lasting for 2-3 seconds, traveling north to south right along the meridian. Quite striking to see!!!!
Thanks again to everyone who attended. Now, mark your calendars for the next BBQ ( last one for 2005) which will be October 1st.
Henry Norton
Chair – NHAC Observation Committee
5-JUN-05
Another Successful BBQ
My personal thanks to all that participated in and assisted with another successful NHAC BBQ last night.
Even though the day started out hot, the combination of light breeze and shade near NGC1 made the afternoon quite tolerable. Many fine hamburgers, cookies, “fixins”, fudge and drinks were consumed. Even though we didn’t have an “air show” this time, the fellowship and camaraderie were outstanding as usual!! Each time I surveyed the scene, I saw different groups gathered around various scopes with astronomy discussions in full “bloom”.
A successful spotting of Venus in the daytime was conducted by many, several of which observed this for the first time. Dave Clark probably got the earliest time at 8:14PM. Omega Centauri was a beautiful sight just after dark in binoculars and Bill Leach put “The Shaft” on it for all to enjoy. The 20” resolves an extraordinary number of individual stars in the cluster.
In the field sessions on Binocular Messier and Earth Orbiting satellites were conducted. Dave Clark led the Satellites while Jeff Winship and I managed the Binocular sessions. At approximately 9:30 PM, we were all treated to a -8 magnitude Iridium flare; a magnificent show for all. The first time I have seen such a flare; it was so bright that it had a halo ( like one sometimes sees around the moon when the humidity is high).
Right at sunset, an extraordinary phenomena occurred! In a show of astronomy knowledge befitting a true veteran, Dave Clark introduced us all to “Crepuscular Rays” ( he was the only person that knew the proper name to describe these large “rays” of sunlight being scattered through the atmosphere like a unfolded fan being held up in front of the sun. At one point, the rays were observed covering the entire sky from the western horizon to the eastern horizon. ( The first time I have ever seen that many stretching from horizon to horizon!). Here is a link that explains this phenomena, although the picture does not even come close to what we observed. www.ems.psu.edu/~demark/471/CrepuscularRays.html )
Dan Gava, as usual, provided an excellent assortment of food and “fixins” for all of us to enjoy; burgers and hot dogs were served with all the trimmings. Magically, chocolate fudge squares showed up at the same time Ralph Walker arrived and just in time for everyone to eat some more.
When observing time arrived, the skies magically cleared ( just as predicted by our Canadian friends) and transparency was about as good as it gets, I estimated 5.5 naked eye at the Zenith. This allowed binocular views among the best that we ever get from this area. With Jeff’s able assistance, the Binocular Novice session participants were able to quickly bag 8 easy objects and then move on to tougher challenges. First M81 and M82 ( two difficult objects) were located and lastly, M51 which is a Challenge Binocular Object! ( Both Dan Gava and Jeff Winship got M51 in binoculars for the first time!).
The evening was another delight indeed and huge thanks go to all the contributors and participants. Mark you calendar now for the next BBQ, August 6, 2005 ( Saturday Night). This next BBQ is going to present another interesting challenge for us. There will be a 1.86 day old waxing crescent moon directly between the setting sun and a -4 magnitude Venus ( at about 21degrees elongation). Another opportunity to bag two of those “notch in the belt” observations!
Regards,
Henry Norton
10-APR-05
NHAC BBQ success!
There aren't enough words to properly thank everyone that participated and helped with the NHAC BBQ last night. Certainly, many have already been named by Aaron, and there were many more that helped out. My personal thanks go to all of you, both helpers and participants in making this first BBQ of 2005 a success. There were just too many individuals to name all without overlooking/slighting someone so I won't. However, there is one very special recognition that I must do, to Dan Gava for arranging all of the ingredients for the hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, chips, etc. This was a big chore that required a lot of pre-preparation and then showing up quite early to get it all ready on site. Dan even offered to wash the linens afterward!
There were also helpers with the field preparation ( ants and "patties"), Le Messier, the grill, tables and all of the take down afterward. "Laredo Bill" provided his usual dish of beans but with a new addition of his Spanish Rice, which is now a must for all future BBQ's. There were many desert dishes ( Zingy macaroons, cookies, fruit, and fudge) that just "appeared" seemingly from nowhere. I didn't even see who brought them. Of course, it was necessary for me, as the cook, to personally taste test each and every one which I did. Someone, who shall remain unnamed, even talked my guest into trying out the 100% pain hot sauce. It was "touch and go" there for a while until he could finally talk again!
Then, suddenly out of nowhere, a vintage red acrobatic bi-plane appeared and put on an amazing aerial show for us! Loops, rolls, hammerheads, stalls, slow flight, figure 8's and a couple of "dive bombing" runs! Even more amazing was the 86 year old pilot ( a friend of Jeff Winship) who stopped by afterward for a hamburger and fellowship. A really amazing fellow!
After good food and lots of camaraderie, then to top it all off there were great skies! I saw several members sharing their scopes with some of the new members and guests ( a great embodiment of our principle of sharing!). During twilight the thin crescent moon was a wonderful first experience for many ( lots of "oohs" and "aaahs" when finally located!) and drew a big crowd, with many seeing such a crescent for the first time. The novice sessions were a big hit with many participants and you could see the "spark" ignite for several first timers!
Ed Knapton and I were trying to decide just after 10PM how good the skies really were. We rated the transparency as better than 5.0 ( we could both spot 5.0 mag stars) and the seeing as very good ( 4/5). A light breeze kept both the mosquitoes and the dew under control until midnight.
Each and every person that helped out and attended is to be commended! This is what makes the NHAC such a special club.
I didn't have time to take any photos, so if anyone did get some, please post them some place where we can all see them. ( I think I need to "appoint" an official photographer for the next event. Any volunteers???)
It just couldn't have been any better.
Henry Norton
Observation Committee
13-FEB-05
NHAC is organizing an Algol observing project. Contact for more information, or see the Project Algol website.
12-JAN-05, Kingwood, TX
Updating a previous report to the contrary, NHAC is continuing as an Organization Member of the International Dark Sky Association.
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