Saturday, September 27, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: Observing Walk, Wellington Reservation * * * * * *

Transcription

1 Lorain County, Ohio October 2014 Website: blackriverastro.org Newsletter submissions: Editor * * * * Saturday, September 27, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: Observing Walk, Wellington Reservation * * * * * * Wednesday, October 1, 7 p.m.: Regular monthly meeting, Carlisle Visitors Center. Annual Meeting of the Members; election of officers; videos * * ** ** * * * * * Thursday, October 9, 7 p.m.: Board Meeting, Blue Sky Restaurant, Amherst, Ohio * * * * ** * * * * * * Sunday, October 12, 1-4 p.m.: Solar observing, Mill Hollow Reservation* * * * * * * * Friday, October 17, 9-11 p.m.: Public observing, Nielsen Observatory (cloud backup date October 18) * * * Friday, October 24, 9-11 p.m.: Public observing Nielsen Observatory (cloud backup date October 25) ** * *

2 BOARD MEETING SUMMARY of SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. with nine directors present. Minutes from the August meeting were examined and approved as was the Treasurer's report. Under Committee Reports, the Guidescope was reported as status quo by Editor Bill Ruth. The Website Chairman, Lee Lumpkin, reported more activity, both on the website proper and the BRAS Facebook page, which may be result of our membership in the Night Sky Network which now has links to our sites. Under Instrumentation, Tim Kreja reported that one of the switches for the hand paddle on the orange, fork mounted C-14 feels bad. A new switch is believed to be needed. It will have to be taken apart so that the correct type of switch can be ascertained. OTAA was postponed until Old Business as was the Metro Parks Liaison report. Programming is set through December with October being the Annual Meeting of the Members and Board elections (as per the By-Laws), November has Tim Kreja scheduled to speak on Old- School Astrophotography, and December the annual holiday party. Several suggestions were made for programs starting with January that include a DVD lecture on an astronomy topic, a program on using the Sky and Telescope Sky Calendar, and a Messier Marathon program by John Reising which would best be given in March. Suggestions for programs are welcome as are volunteers to present programs. We would like to have a mix of topics from fairly basic for beginning astronomers, to more advanced for our experienced observers. Please see a Board member or Officer if interested in presenting or to suggest a program topic. Under Old Business, our successful participation in the Lorain County Metro Parks Adventure Fest was discussed. The event was held at the Mill Hollow/Bacon Woods Reservation, and attendance was over 1,600 people, including many families with children. We had a large tent with long tables where we gave out handouts about the club and about astronomy, including the sky maps for September. This was a good event for us as there was real interest both in the club, in astronomy and in the solar observing we did. The weather was beautiful, and the Sun cooperated by being very active. We would like to participate again next year. Our OTAA convention was the next topic of discussion with final plans being made. Door prizes were discussed and Jeff Walsh and Greg Zmina were thanked for their hard work in obtaining them. Schauer has the charcoal grills and the tickets and will buy hot dogs, buns, charcoal, chips and pretzels, water and ice. Schauer will also order a sheet cake to celebrate the club's 65 th anniversary. Ketchup, mustard, and condiments will be purchased by Greg Zmina and Jim Cunningham will provide the paper plates, plastic knives, forks etc. Gary Smith will be contacted and confirmed for bringing the portable sundial that we displayed in June on Sun Day. Steve Schauer will arange to pick up the key to the hall on Thursday or Friday. The next item of Old Business was the Lorain Horse Council camp-out scheduled for Saturday the 13 th. We will open the Nielsen Observatory for them at 8:30 unless it is raining. Last was a brief discussion of the election to be held for Board of Directors in October. Each year, one third of the Board must stand for election. This year the term is up for Lee Lumpkin, Tim Kreja, and John Reising. Lee will be the elections Chairman, but someone else will need to count the ballots as Lee is running. Under New Business, the first item of discussion was Cafe Press. They are the online store for Black River shirts, hoodies etc. They can be found on our website using the Links tab, where it says Astro Gear (Cafe Press). The discussion centered around the need to update the items for sale. We

3 would like to add golf shirts, and correct the current problem with the hats available. The actual hats are fine, but the BRAS logo on the front is much too small due to some kind of registration error. Pam Shivak is the current administrators of the store, which was ideal when Pam was local. Now that she lives in Arizona we need someone local to take over the account. We would like to find out what members want in BRAS clothing and gear and then add whatever is necessary. We also need to fix the issue with the hats. In the short term, Greg Cox and Schauer will solicit some prices for hats with the club name embroidered on the front like some of us already have. Next was a brief discussion of upcoming events at the Wellington Reservation. Solar Observing was scheduled there on Sept. 14 th and it was believed that there was one more Night Walk scheduled that is currently not on the BRAS calendar. This will be checked and added if necessary. Roy Kline inquired about borrowing one of the club's loaner telescopes. It was decided to offer him the Dobsonian that had been used by Kelly Ricks before she bought her new scope. We will make the exchange as soon as Kelly returns from Utah. The next item was a report from Steve Schauer, the LCMP Liaison, that the Metro Parks had mailed out the Room Request forms for Those were filled out and mailed the next day, so that we could hopefully get the dates we want at Carlisle for our monthly meetings. We should be able to get the usual room at Carlisle every month except December when Carlisle is not available due to the Holiday Lights event. In December, we hope to meet at Amherst Beaver Creek where we usually have our Christmas party. The last item of new business was the pleasure of voting in three new members. We would like to welcome Mike Snodgrass, Michella (Mickey) Hasbrook and Tim Jankowski! September Dates: Public Observing Fri. 9/12 9:00-11;00 Nielsen Observatory Lorain Horse Council star party Sat. 9/13 8:30-10:30 Nielsen Solar Observing Sun.9/14 1:00-4:00 Wellington Reservation Bras OTAA Convention Sat.9/20 1:00-???? Birmingham Methodist Church Wellington Night Walk Sat.9/27 8:30-9:30 Wellington Reservation October Dates: General Meeting Wed.10/1 7:00-9:00 Carlisle Visitors Center Board Meeting Thur.10/9 7:00 Blue Sky Restaurant, Amherst Solar Observing Sun. 10/12 1:00-4:00 Mill Hollow Reservation Public Observing Fri. 10/17 9:00-11:00 Nielsen Observatory Public Observing back-up Sat. 10/18 9:00-11:00 Nielsen Public Observing Fri. 10/24 9:00-11:00 Nielsen Public Observing back-up Sat. 10/25 9:00-11:00 Nielsen New members, please note: the Public Observing Back-up dates on Saturday only occur if we had to cancel the Friday date due to weather. Otherwise the date is always a Friday. If the weather is iffy, an observing session will be cancelled no later than two hours before the start time, and earlier when possible. Cancellations will be posted on our website on the Calendar and on the Blog. We also try to publish cancellations on the BRAS Facebook page as well. The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 p.m. ~Steve Schauer

4 A full lunar eclipse will occur October 8th. I've know to expect the red-orange color that accompanies the event but I wasn't aware of the additional turquoise hue. Here's a link to a YouTube NASA video that explains it: ~Len Jezior Double Eclipses visible in Lorain County, Ohio October, 2014 Dates Visibility in Oberlin Looks like in Oberlin Path of the eclipse Oct 8, 2014 Lunar Total Total Oct 23, 2014 Solar Partial Partial So, what can we expect to see during these eclipses? The month of October will be a treat for us, weather permitting, offering a Total Lunar Eclipse and a Partial Solar Eclipse. But, before you start getting excited, realize that neither eclipse will be optimal, or even easy to capture, for that matter. First, the Lunar Eclipse on October 8 th will not begin until 4:17 a.m., the middle of the night, with the Moon being some 34 degrees above the western horizon. Totality (Umbral Stage) will end with the Moon low on the western horizon, some 2 degrees above an optimal horizon, like Lake Erie. We will miss the outgoing penumbral stage of the eclipse. Second, the Partial Solar Eclipse will start at 5:43 p.m. with the Sun only 8 degrees above the western horizon. Maximum Eclipse will occur at 6:31 p.m., with the Sun setting at 6:35 p.m., above an optimal horizon, like Lake Erie. The Eclipse won't be over until 7:43 p.m., so we will miss quite a bit of it. To see it in its entirety will require a trip to the western portion of our continent. On the next page are lists of pertinent details for each eclipse...

5 Oct 8, 2014 Total Lunar Eclipse Local times for eclipse in Oberlin on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Event Penumbral eclipse begins Time in Oberlin Oct 8 at 4:17 Direction Altitude Looks like Comments The Earth's penumbra starts touching the Moon's face. Partial eclipse begins Oct 8 at 5: Partial moon eclipse starts - Moon is getting red. Total Eclipse begins Maximum Eclipse Total Eclipse ends Moonset Partial Eclipse ends Penumbral Eclipse ends Oct 8 at 6:27 Oct 8 at 6:55 Oct 8 at 7:22 Oct 8 at 7:36 Oct 8 at 8:32 Oct 8 at 9: Not directly 0.0 below visible Not directly below visible Not directly below visible Total Moon eclipse starts - completely red Moon. Moon is closest to the center of the shadow. Moon close to horizon, so make sure you have free sight to west. Total Moon eclipse ends. Moon close to horizon, so make sure you have free sight to west. Below horizon Below horizon Below horizon This eclipse is in progress during Moonrise or Moonset, so only parts of the eclipse are visible in Oberlin. Times are local for Oberlin (EDT - Eastern Daylight Time).

6 Local times for Partial Solar Eclipse on Thurs., October 23, 2014 Event Partial eclipse begins Maximum Eclipse Sunset Partial Eclipse ends Time in Oberlin Direction Altitude Looks like Comments The Moon touches the Sun's edge. Oct 23 at 5:43 PM Sun close to horizon, so make sure you have free sight to west-southwest. Moon is closest to the center of the Sun. Since the Sun is near the horizon at this time, we Oct 23 at recommend going to a high point or finding an 6:31 PM unobstructed area with free sight to west-southwest for the best view of the eclipse. Oct 23 at 6:35 PM below Oct 23 at 7:43 PM below Not directly visible Not directly Below horizon Below horizon visible This eclipse is in progress during sunrise or sunset, so the Sun is displayed only partly in some phases, according to its altitude below the horizon. The animation's bottom edge represents an ideal, flat horizon, which is at the same altitude as the observer. Times are local for Oberlin (EDT - Eastern Daylight Time). On Christmas Eve, 2010, members of the Black River Astronomical Society gathered at the Nielsen Observatory to observe a Total Lunar Eclipse. (Image below left) In 2012, members of the Black River Astronomical Society gathered on the shores of Lake Erie to observe a Partial Solar Eclipse. (Image above right.) Images by John O'Neal. List data from timeanddate.com website. ~John O'Neal

7 OTAA Convention at Birmingham, September 20, 2014 (photos by Dave Lengyel) The weather was warm and partly cloudy for the OTAA Convention. Solar observing was doable, although an approaching front brought clouds before nightfall. Gary Smith's World's Largest Portable Sundial was set up on the south side of the church hall. Gary also spent a long time that evening making customized club planispheres for OTAA attendees. As well as many BRAS members, family and friends in attendance there were contingents from other OTAA clubs, including CAS, CVAS, MVAS and at least one person from the Wilderness Center Astronomy Club.

8 Many door prizes were acquired, largely through the efforts of Greg Zmina and Jeff Walsh. There were even a few leftover prizes after all tickets were drawn. President Steve Schauer takes the cake commemorating the 65 th anniversary of the club's founding.

9 OTAA members, friends, and family assembled around the sundial.

10 By permission of Creative Commons