June 2012 PRIMEfocus. In this issue: Club Calendars 2 Club Notes 4 Annular Solar Eclipse 5 Lunacy 8 Stargazer s Diary 10

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1 June 2012 PRIMEfocus Astronomical League Member Society : In this issue: Club Calendars 2 Club Notes 4 Annular Solar Eclipse 5 Lunacy 8 Stargazer s Diary 10 Annularity at Sundown by Ben Hudgen 1

June 2012 (times local) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Ed Kotapish sez: 1 2 Expand your observational logs this month with GC3079 (an Edge-On Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major)

2 June 2012 (times local) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Ed Kotapish sez: 1 2 Expand your observational logs this month with GC3079 (an Edge-On Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major) NGC5053 (a sparse Glob near ) Xi Bootis (easy, beautiful Gold and Orange pair in Bootes) NGC4361(a star-like planetary in Corvus) 3 4 Full Moon Partial Lunar Eclipse visible at moonset Sunrise: 6:21 am Greatest 6:04 am Umbra 37.04% Moonset:6:29 am 5 VENUS Transit First contact 5:05pm Next opportunity here: 21 August D-Day Walther Sunset Ray 4:42 am Third Qtr Moon 4:42 am FWAS Young Astronomers 8 9 pm 17 Father s Day New Moon 9:03 am FWAS Meeting 7pm Normal Room CLUB ELECTIONS First Qtr Moon 9:30 am 20 Solstice 6:09 pm Jupiter s Moons In :57 TO 05:22 Sunrise: 6:24 am Museum Star Party Sunset: 8:40 pm Moonset:11:24 pm Waxing crescent (17.8% illumin) Annual DUES Gate codes change & e-group access 2

3 July 2012 (times local) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Full Moon 1:52 pm 4 Jupiter s Moons In TO 0540 Sunrise: 6:27 am Third Qtr Moon 8:48 pm Independence Day Board Meeting 18 New Moon 11:25 pm (Tentative Date) Club Picnic at Dark Sky Site FWAS Meeting 7pm Normal Room FWAS Young Astronomers 8 9 pm First Qtr Moon 3:56 am Museum Star Party Moonrise: 4:33 pm Sunset: 8:30 pm Waxing gibbous (79.7% illumin) Save the Dates! Next Venus Transit visible in North Texas (weather permitting), 21 August 2117 Next Annular Eclipse (west Texas) 2023 Total Solar Eclipse Austin to Texarkana April 15,232 Simultaneous solar eclipse and a transit of Venus 26 July 69, March 224,508 The simultaneous transits of Mercury & Venus! 3

4 Officers and Directors Will be Elected at June Meeting In the new current bylaws, the Executive Board consists of the Officers (President, Vice President, and Secretary Treasurer), and four Directors. The Officers will serve terms of one year, and the Directors will serve for terms of two years. Two Directors will be elected in even years, and two Directors will be elected in odd years. The bylaws are posted in the files section of the club s Yahoo! Pages. MAY MEETING NOTES: CALL TO ORDER Secretary/Treasurer Lewis Westerfield called the meeting to order and welcomed members and guests. He then gave a brief history of the club and the club s activities. PRESENTATION Matt McCullar gave a presentation on the Annular Eclipse May 20, He described how solar eclipses happen and the difference between an annular and a total eclipse. Next he described how to view the eclipse safely. He then showed where in the United States the annular eclipse will be able to be seen in its entirety. A partial eclipse will be able to be seen from the Fort Worth area; the sun will set while the eclipse is in progress. Finally, Matt discussed possible problems associated with trying to view the eclipse. Thank you, Matt. NEW BUSINESS A group of members will be at Longhorn Park at Lake Benbrook to view the annular eclipse, 5/20/2012. Information will be sent out on the e-group. The Venus transit 6/5/2012 was discussed. Plans for viewing the event from the rooftop of the FWMSH parking garage are not practical as this does not provide a good view of the horizon. It was decided to set up in the FWMSH circle, starting around 1615, to view first contact which happens around There might be some media coverage at that time. For viewing the rest of the transit, plans are to meet at Longhorn Park at Lake Benbrook. There is also planned viewing at the Fort Worth Nature Center, but the specifics were not discussed during the meeting. Watch for more information on the e-group. OLD BUSINESS Member badges are printed and available for pick up at the monthly meetings. Nominations for club officers and board members are being accepted. You can nominate yourself. So far current officers and board members are the only nominations. Official voting will be during the June monthly Jim meeting. Murray Membership dues are due. Payments can be made by PayPal with the link being found on the e-group, by check or cash at the monthly meeting, or by mailing a check to: FWAS Lewis Westerfield 719 Westview Ave Fort Worth, TX An editor for the monthly newsletter is needed. The Prime Focus has been an award winning publication in the past and is enjoyed by the membership. If anyone would like to assume the editor s responsibility, please feel free to volunteer. The next YA meeting will be 5/19/2012 in Keller at the usual site. After the meeting, plans are to go to a star party being held in Keller that night. Information about this event can be found on the e-group. The mirror grinding workshop is ongoing. Watch the e-group for information. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned. Partial Lunar Eclipse, June 4 th Jim Murray 4

$up just south of Sundown right before 1st contact. A TeleVue 100 f/5 refractor was used at prime focus with Canon XSi camera and Baader solar filter.$ Several people stopped and joined in with the viewing when they saw the telescope set up on the side of the highway.

Several people stopped and joined in with the viewing when they saw the telescope set up on the side of the highway.

Had I been able to travel a bit farther west, it could have been a cloud free eclipse. We all wrapped up the event by watching the partial eclipse set amongst the distant oil wells.

5 Ben Hudgen writes about his images (above, and this month s cover): Due to the clouds and stalled cold front, I made a last minute decision to head west Sunday afternoon and barely managed to get set up just south of Sundown right before 1st contact. A TeleVue 100 f/5 refractor was used at prime focus with Canon XSi camera and Baader solar filter. Several people stopped and joined in with the viewing when they saw the telescope set up on the side of the highway. Ben Hudgens There was one big cloud that would not go away and kept getting in the way of the viewing. My 'ring of fire' was broken by that cloud for the first couple of minutes during annularity. Had I been able to travel a bit farther west, it could have been a cloud free eclipse. We all wrapped up the event by watching the partial eclipse set amongst the distant oil wells. Jim Murray Jim Murray headed down the road towards Granbury to try to get out from under clouds. He got partway there and found himself in a church parking lot with a decent view. It was a pleasant surprise to find that there was an eclipse viewing party there as well. He was able to set up his camera and took a sequence of about 600 images over the final 10 minutes before the sun set (above left) Russ Boatright and Ed Kotapish took their wives to Gallup, NM for the eclipse: and then they had a side stop at Meteor Crater, AZ where we see Russ with his annular image inset (above right). Bill Nichols travelled to a spot about 30 miles north of Saint Johns, AZ to capture about 230 images using his 10" LX200 SCT, with a 6.3 focal reducer attached. Unmodified Canon 20D, set at iso 800, shutter speed varied from 1/125 up to 1/5000 (image right). Bill Nichols

Harry Bearman Harry Bearman and Dean Crabtree went to Shiprock, NM.

Click on video link (below right) or Google Eclipse @ Shiprock to see the video.

It was taken with a cell phone looking through my telescope (10 dob) in Albuquerque.

:) Thanks to Shawn for hosting the solar filter workshop on May 19th the filter came in very

Below, we see Dennis & Ann Webb and part of their travelling entourage observing the eclipse,

Dennis writes, The telescope is a StellarVue 80mm f/7 telescope with a homemade (white

The mount is an inexpensive Konus I had planned only visual observing.

6 Harry Bearman Harry Bearman and Dean Crabtree went to Shiprock, NM. Harry compiled this 360 O panorama view from shots taken before the event. Click on video link (below right) or Google Shiprock to see the video. Harry Bearman Elizabeth Copelin writes, Here is the best picture I have of the eclipse. It was taken with a cell phone looking through my telescope (10 dob) in Albuquerque. I was proud! :) Thanks to Shawn for hosting the solar filter workshop on May 19th the filter came in very handy! Below, we see Dennis & Ann Webb and part of their travelling entourage observing the eclipse, from their mobile observatory in the southern regions of Lubbock. Dennis writes, The telescope is a StellarVue 80mm f/7 telescope with a homemade (white cardboard on the front) filter cell holding Baader white light filter film. The mount is an inexpensive Konus I had planned only visual observing. Host Pete tried some afocal pictures off the eyepiece with his iphone camera and they showed generally what we could see through the eyepiece. Visual views showed three great sunspot complexes that gradually got covered up. Visual also showed texture on the lunar limb, reflective of mountains and crater peaks. We did visually see a small segment of the symmetrical ring briefly between the clouds, but did not get a picture. 6

Juan Martinez and posse trekked to meet up with some TSP astro peeps in Albuquerque for the annular eclipse. Here s a montage of their time under the ring.

7 Juan Martinez and posse trekked to meet up with some TSP astro peeps in Albuquerque for the annular eclipse. Here s a montage of their time under the ring. The Fort Worth Astronomical Society (also referred to as FWAS), founded in 1949 and incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas in 1977, is a member organization of the Astronomical League. As such, the Fort Worth Astronomical Society is organized exclusively as a nonprofit organization for scientific and educational purposes. It shall be the mission of this society: 1. To actively promote the science of astronomy; 2. To encourage and coordinate the activities of other groups interested in astronomy; 3. To foster observational work and research among its members; and 4. To foster craftsmanship in the constructions of astronomical instruments and to make instruments available for the use of its members to the extent practical. FWAS is formed for educational and scientific purposes, for individuals and groups, of all races, creeds, ethnic backgrounds and sex, for the primary purpose of: 1. Developing and implementing programs designed to increase the awareness and knowledge of astronomy for all interested individuals, but specifically for those living in and around Tarrant County, Texas; 2. Providing the opportunity for those individuals to pursue the science of astronomy in a dark-sky observation site, using the latest technology available; and 3. Providing an opportunity for all Club members and guests to share their experiences and discoveries. 7

on Patrick McMahon Patrick McMahon captured this image of the partially eclipsed Moon the morning of June 4 th Transient Events offer the observer fleeting targets to hunt.

For me, the crowning glory of the Venus transit was to be in the company of good friends, and to witness at the eyepiece the tear drop thread pop suddenly and be resolved as the circle of Venus, aka

The Werner X is an apparition near the crater Werner in the southern highlands that for a short while looks like an X on the terminator at about the First Quarter phase.

Due to the timing of the lunar orbit, and of the Earth s rotation, it is not always visible to us observing from a single area on the globe.

8 on Patrick McMahon Patrick McMahon captured this image of the partially eclipsed Moon the morning of June 4 th Transient Events offer the observer fleeting targets to hunt. We just had two high-profile targets; first the annular eclipse, and then our once a lifetime transit of Venus (the earlier of this transit pair occurred when we were on the night side of Earth). For me, the crowning glory of the Venus transit was to be in the company of good friends, and to witness at the eyepiece the tear drop thread pop suddenly and be resolved as the circle of Venus, aka Second Contact. The sky offers us many such passing targets to observe. The Werner X is one. The Werner X is an apparition near the crater Werner in the southern highlands that for a short while looks like an X on the terminator at about the First Quarter phase. It is a trick of light and shadow and it is wonderful to see. Due to the timing of the lunar orbit, and of the Earth s rotation, it is not always visible to us observing from a single area on the globe. The terrestrial sweet zone for visibility slowly marches around the Earth. We have been in a dry spell where it has not been visible to us, and now it is starting to offer glimpses again. The next opportunity for us in north Texas is this coming November 20 th from local time. The Walther Sunset Ray is another great example. This is not to be confused with the rays of ejecta that we see spreading out from an impact crater such as Tyco. This type of ray happens when at local lunar sunrise or sunset a breach in a wall, typically a crater wall, allows sunlight to spill into an otherwise shadowed area. (See image, above right). Ed Kotapish was kind enough to share that one such event is predicted for July 11 th at 0430 local time; Ed s observational predictions provide a lot of fun targets. Another source for cool targets is The Observers Handbook; and yes, you should own a copy. Happy hunting. - dc Dan Smith Dan Smth captured this lunar image with his 8 Celestron SCT coupled with a Nikon D-50 camera. It is his first astro image. 8

Ed Kotapish MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% JUN 01 132.9 83.7T 4.3 0.83 JUN 02 120.3 84.1T 3.0 0.91 JUN 03 107.5 85.1T 1.5 0.97 JUN 04 91.0-14.6 1.0 1.00 JUN 05-95.8-76.7T 1.3 1.00 JUN 06-108.7-80.8T 2.

35 JUN 14 150.0-84.4T 4.8 0.26 JUN 15 136.9-85.0T 3.7 0.18 JUN 16 123.1-85.8T 2.3 0.12 JUN 17-94.6-78.8 0.9 0.06 JUN 18-91.7 19.2 1.6 0.02 JUN 19-94.1 34.8 3.4 0.00 JUN 20-99.1 57.9T 4.8 0.00 JUN 21-113.

2 84.7T 4.8 0.60 JUN 29 141.1 85.5T 3.5 0.71 JUN 30 125.2 86.6T 2.0 0.81 MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% JUL 01 100.8 88.0T 0.4 0.89 JUL 02 93.1-60.9 1.5 0.95 JUL 03 96.1-52.3 3.8 0.99 JUL 04 90.1 39.

1T 4.8 0.51 JUL 12 157.0-85.9T 3.8 0.41 JUL 13 140.2-86.7T 2.5 0.32 JUL 14 119.0-87.6T 1.2 0.24 JUL 15-90.8 17.4 0.8 0.16 JUL 16-93.3 38.5 2.6 0.10 JUL 17-95.9 43.0 4.3 0.05 JUL 18-98.3 45.7 5.8 0.02 JUL 19-100.

9 Ed Kotapish MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN JUN JUN JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T JUN T MMM DD SLONG SLAT TLIB ILL% JUL T JUL JUL JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL JUL JUL JUL JUL JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL T JUL JUL JUL Chris Mlodnicki captured this image of the setting and partially eclipsed sun from Benbrook. You can also see his time-lapse by clicking on this thumbnail to the right. Chris Mlodnicki Patrick McMahon captured this image of the setting and partially eclipsed Sun from Benbrook. Patrick McMahon 9

10 lin Stargazers Diary Russ Boatright Doug Brown May 28, 2011 Ft Griffin windy, June 4, 2011 Lipan partly cloudy This is a brief ode to Mr. T, the 20 Obsession reflecting telescope we ve been using on behalf of 3RF for the last 5 years. Over 2,000 guests viewed the cosmos through the big aperture during that period. And lots of folks have enjoyed the heck out of it, especially us. But being an f5, practically every view through Mr. T requires ladder climbing. The final straw was during a recent star party at a Burleson elementary school, where we thought we had targeted a planet at a low comfortable altitude, only to realize that most students were still challenged by the eyepiece height, even from the ladder s top wrung. So, we put Mr. T out to pasture in the star field at 3RF s Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus, and loaded up a lightly used 18 f4.5 Obsession telescope for local use. It s more comfortable height requires laddering for most observers only for targets near zenith. It should work even better in providing shock and awe visuals for our guests of all sizes. But it will have to earn a nickname. First light for the 18 telescope came during an ad hoc star party at Ft Griffin State Historical Site during the Memorial Day holiday. We were surprised to encounter over 75 campers and other astronomers waiting for night to fall. It had been unseasonably hot there, but it was the high gusting winds that would challenge the observing. Fortunately, we could handle the perennial crowd favorites like Saturn and Messier DSOs, but when we went in search of more esoteric targets, the wind became a factor. We were interested in viewing the Double Quasars in Ursa Major. This is a lensing quasar that is a full magnitude brighter than the more famous Einstein s Cross, but still faint and requiring high magnification. It should appear as a faint double star, the galaxy causing the lensing being too distant to see. But despite a detail finders chart provided by Ben Hudgens, we couldn t hold high power steady enough in the wind to nail it. It will have to wait for another day. The next weekend, we went out to Lipan for the monthly session of the Lipan Astronomy and Space Society. Winds weren t a problem but high thin lingering clouds were. Skies like these are the worst kind of tease. Not dense enough to shut you down completely, but enough to present a gauze over just about every target you see. Still, again with the assistance of a detail chart provided by Ben, we were able to spot the recent supernova in M51. Recent as in 23 million years ago, it would be mistaken for a fore ground Milky Way star without the identifying chart. And M51 itself is, of course, a spectacular piece of eye candy as well. The tough skies couldn t conceal those magnificent spiral arms. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the 18 Obsession. It performed well even during less than stellar nights. The Fine Print FWAS Contact information Officers: Shawn Kirchdorfer President John Dowell Vice President Lewis Westerfield Secretary - Treasurer Meetings FWAS meets at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the UNT Health Science Center Research & Education Building, Room 100; 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd; Ft. Worth. Guests and visitors are always welcome. (Steve Tuttle) Web Site E-Group (members only) You may post messages to the group by sending to fwas@yahoogroups.com. Any message sent to fwas@yahoogroups.com will be automatically sent to all members on the list. To subscribe, send a blank to fwas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Include your real name. Outach items concerning FWAS Outreach activities should be addressed to fwasoutreach@yahoo.com (John Dowell) 10 Prime Focus The FWAS newsletter is published monthly. Letters to the editor, articles for publication, photos, or just about anything you would like to have included in the newsletter should be sent to: editor@fortworthastro.com. Editor Position is Open. See club President for details. FWAS Annual Dues - $40 for adults / families & households, $20.00 for students (half-price Jan 1 thru June 30); checks payable to the Fort Worth Astronomical Society; payments can be mailed to 6045 Worrell Dr. Fort Worth, TX 76133, or in-person at the next indoor meeting. Membership runs July 1 through June 30. (Lewis Westerfield) Discount Subscriptions Available Sky & Telescope ($32.95), and Astronomy (1 year for $34.00; 2 years for $60.00). A Sky & Telescope subscription through FWAS entitles you to 10% off purchases at Sky and Telescope s on-line store. (Lewis Westerfield) Astronomical League Membership Your FWAS membership also enrolls you in the Astronomical League. This makes you eligible for various observing certificates and you get their quarterly magazine, Reflector. League Observing clubs: (Tres Ross) Fort Worth Museum of Science & History See the Museum s website for schedules: Observing Site Reminders Be careful with fire, ban still in effect All members Sign the logbook in the camo-painted storage shed. Inside the door on the left-handside. Put equipment back neatly when finished Leave a log note if there is a club equipment problem; also, please contact a FWAS Trustee to let them know Maintain Dark-Sky etiquette Turn out your headlights at the gate! Last person out, please Check all doors Closed, but not locked Make sure nothing is left out

Fort Worth Astronomical Society (Est. 1949) May 2012 Astronomical League Member. Share the Sky by Patrick McMahon

Fort Worth Astronomical Society (Est. 1949) May 2012 Astronomical League Member : 2 Share the Sky by Patrick McMahon 1 May 2012 (times local) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1