500 Lone Pine Rd. South Campus

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2 WARREN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY The Warren Astronomical Society is a local, non-profit organization of amateur astronomers. The Society holds meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month, starting at 7:30 P.M., as follows: 1st. Thursday 3rd. Thursday Cranbrook Institute of Science Macomb County Community College 500 Lone Pine Rd. South Campus Bloomfield Hills, MI Building B, Room 21b Twelve Mile Rd. Warren, MI Membership is open to those interested in astronomy and its related fields. Dues are as follows: Student...$8 College... $12 Senior Citizen... $12 Individual... $17 Family... $22 Sky and Telescope Magazine is available for $13.00 per year, and Astronomy Magazine for $12.00 per year. Send membership applications and dues to the Treasurer, for faster service. OFFICERS MAILING ADDRESS President : Ken Strom Warren Astronomical Society 1st. V.P. : Alan Rothenberg P.O. Box 474 2nd. V.P. : Riyad Matti East Detroit, MI Secretary : Ken Kelly Treasurer : Alice Strom Librarian : John Wetzel Deep Sky Group : Doug Bock Meets at Northern Cross Observatory, Fenton, MI Lunar Group : Frank McCullough Meets at Stargate Observatory, New Haven, MI WARREN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAPER Editor: Ken Kelly / Send all articles to: THE WASP, P.O. Box 474, East Detroit, MI The W.A.S.P. is the official publication of the Warren Astronomical Society and is available free to all club members. NEWSLETTER EXCHAN6ES: Send your Newsletter to: THE WASP, P.O. Box 474, East Detroit, MI NOTE: Newsletters or change of address notices sent to other addresses may not reach the Editor. All articles and changes should be submitted at the Cranbrook meeting or before. STARGATE OBSERVATORY Observatory Chairman: Riyad Matti / Stargate Observatory is owned and operated by the Warren Astronomical Society in conjunction with Rotary International. Located on the grounds of Camp Rotary, Stargate features a 12.5 inch club-built Cassegrain telescope under an aluminum dome. The Observatory is open to all members of the club in accordance with THE STARGATE OBSERVATORY CODE OF CONDUCT. Those wishing to use the observatory must call by 7:00 P.M. on the evening of the observing session. Lectures are given at Stargate Observatory each weekend. The lecture will be either Friday or Saturday night, depending on the weather and the lecturer's personal schedule. LECTURER S LIST Lecturers should check with Camp Rotary to determine whether the Scouts are staying at the camp and to inform the Ranger the day and time of the lecture. If you cannot lecture on your scheduled weekend, please make arrangements to switch weekends with another lecturer or call the Chairman as early as possible. The lecturers for the coming weekends are: Dec. 20/21 Riyad Matti JAN. 17/18 Frank McCullough /28 Russ Patten /25 Alan Rothenberg Jan. 3/4 Mike Bennett FEB. 0/1 Ken Strom /11 Ken Kelly /8 Jon Root

3 DEC Lunar & Planetary Group meets at Stargate Observatory. Satrs at 7:00 P.M. If cloudy, will be held on DEC. 21. Halley Hunting. JAN. 2 JAN. 4 - Meeting at Cranbrook Institute of Science. Begins at 7:30 P.M. - Deep Sky Group meets at Northern Cross Observatory. Begins at 6:00 P.M. Halley Hunting. JAN Open House at Stargate Observatory. Audubon Society. Halley Hunting. Begins at 6:00 P.M. JAN General Meeting at Macomb County Community College. Begins 7:30 JAN Cranbrook Astronomy Night 7:30. Bring telescopes. Halley Hunting. JAN THE DREAM IS ALIVE Space Shuttle Movie at Detroit Science Center. See Alan Rothenberg for more info. JAN Voyager 2 flies by Uranus. JAN Lunar & Planetary Group meets at Stargate Observatory. Starts at 6:00 P.M. If cloudy, will be held on Jan. 25. Halley Hunting.

4 ASTRONOMICAL WORDSEARCH SUBMITTED BY RAYMOND BULLOCK Words appear horizontally, vertically and diagonally, forward and reversed. How many of the words listed below can you find? E H F M E G C W F T U R E C N A C L V V 1. AQUARIUS Q Q J K I V D Q I X Y Y E U N O Z S C H 2. ARIES P I U P K K B Y G S G N C H P G T H S L 3. CANCER W B C R I V X M N B K A X H M C L M D J 4. CAPRICORNUS A L L M V A V G E M I N I A A E Z R Z C 5. ECLIPTIC J D G J E E G N C D A U M P G O Q L R C 6. EQUINOXES H M F S M C V R O T C M R K R Q M H E C 7. GEMINI A A N G W A S Z U H I I T F S D L L E Q 8. LEO Q L J S O N F U U G C K R C V Q T A L R 9. LIBRA D P I P I K I S I O S H N I U A P M T Y 10. MOON U C P B Y Y S H R R Q E R H U U S D S C 11. OPHIUCHUS T I J O R Y S N P R A G C R F C H Y T E 12. PISCES X T A D K A U U O A O T U I O W E R E V 13. PLANETS F P A J E S S S I A R S T R T N A S N Z 14. SAGITTARIUS V I U A C S E V A R D W P I O S K L A E 15. SCORPIUS E L N U O P C E R I A I R E G O L N L K 16. SOLSTICES S C J R O E S A R E U U L Z I A W O P Y 17. SUN B E O P V W I K E S L Z Q U P J S O S O LS. TAURUS E V R G L N P U S D H F S A S E F M T C 19. VIRGO Q U O T G Y L T S E X O N I U Q E L V V 20. ZODIAC

5 MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER WARREN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY MEETING The meeting was held on Nov. 21, The business meeting started at about 7:45 P.M. Coleen Nicolai gave a report on Cranbrook Astronomy Night. Tim Skonieczny gave a report on Comet Halley and its pronunciation. We are having a meeting to discuss the trip to Florida to see Halley's Comet. It will be at the Grosse Pointe Planetarium on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1:00 P.M. Alice Strom gave the Treasurer's Report. Three new members joined. The Annual Treasurer's report for the year was given. Riyad Matti gave the Observatory Report. There are still problems with the declination drive and the 2 inch extension tube. Alan Rothenberg gave a report on coming events. The business meeting adjourned at about 8:20 P.M. Respectfully Submitted Kenneth Kelly, Secretary elect MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING HELD ON DEC. 1, 1985 The following were present at this meeting: Ken Strom, Jon Root, Alan Rothenberg, Alice Strom, Ken Kelly, Coleen Nicolai, and Tim Skonieczny. We discussed the awards to be given out at the X-Mas Banquet. We discussed raising the $5.00 Mailing Fee for THE WASP, since the break even point was about $9.00. However, it was decided not to raise the fee. We discussed having a Memorial for Pete Kwentus by naming a new telescope after him, but no hard decision was made. We discussed re-roofing the observatory, and the key to the dome. We discussed what to do for a 25th Anniversary of the W.A.S. We discussed reducing the cost of THE WASP by purchasing a photocopy machine. Alan, Colleen and Ken Kelly were designated to investigate this and report back to the President for a decision. We discussed the tax status of the club. Respectfully Submitted Kenneth Kelly, Secretary elect.

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9 POSITIONS FOR COMET HALLEY (1982i) (CALCULATED BY KEN KELLY) EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h 48.47m h 20.31m DEC h 44.72m h 46.56m DEC h 41.13m h 42.97m DEC h 37.70m h 39.55m DEC h 34.42m h 36.27m DEC h 31.28m h 33.13m DEC h 28.27m h 30.12m DEC h 25.39m h 37.24m DEC h 22.62m h 24.47m DEC h 19.15m h 21.81m DEC h 17.39m h 19.25m JAN h 14.92m h 16.78m JAN h 12.53m h 14.39m JAN h 10.23m h 12.09m JAN h 7.99m h 9.86m JAN h 5.82m h 7.69m JAN h 3.71m h 5.58m JAN h 1.66m h 3.53m JAN h 59.64m h 1.53m JAN h 57.69m h 59.57m JAN h 55.77m h 57.65m JAN h 53.88m h 55.76m JAN h 52.02m h 53.90m JAN h 50.19m h 52.07m JAN h 48.38m h 50.26m JAN h 46.59m h 48.47m JAN h 44.81m h 46.69m JAN h 43.04m h 44.93m JAN h 41.28m h 43.17m JAN h 39.53m h 41.42m JAN h 37.78m h 39.67m JAN h 36.03m h 37.93m JAN h 34.28m h 36.18m JAN h 32.54m h 34.44m JAN h 30.78m h 32.68m JAN h 29.02m h 30.93m JAN h 27.26m h 29.17m JAN h 25.49m h 27.40m JAN h 23.72m h 25.63m JAN h 21.94m h 23.85m JAN h 20.15m h 22.07m SOURCE: MPC 9694

10 POSITIONS FOR HARTLEY-GOOD (1985l) (CALCULATED BY KEN KELLY) EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h 50.89m h 52.55m DEC h 48.69m h 50.36m DEC h 46.53m h 48.20m DEC h 44.40m h 46.07m DEC h 42.49m h 43.97m DEC h 40.21m h 41.89m DEC h 38.16m h 39.85m DEC h 36.13m h 37.82m DEC h 34.12m h 35.81m DEC h 32.13m h 33.83m DEC h 30.15m h 31.86m JAN h 28.19m h 29.90m JAN h 26.24m h 27.96m JAN h 24.30m h 26.02m JAN h 22.36m h 24.09m JAN h 20.43m h 22.17m JAN h 18.50m h 20.24m JAN h 16.57m h 18.32m JAN h 14.64m h 16.39m JAN h 12.69m h 14.45m JAN h 10.74m h 12.50m JAN h 8.77m h 10.54m JAN h 6.79m h 8.57m JAN h 4.79m h 5.57m JAN h 2.76m h 4.55m JAN h 0.71m h 2.51m JAN h 58.63m h 0.43m JAN h 56.52m h 58.32m JAN h 54.37m h 56.18m JAN h 52.18m h 53.99m JAN h 49.94m h 51.77m JAN h 47.66m h 49.49m JAN h 45.32m h 47.16m JAN h 42.93m h 44.78m JAN h 40.48m h 42.33m JAN h 37.97m h 39.82m JAN h 35.39m h 37.25m JAN h 32.73m h 34.60m JAN h 30.01m h 31.88m JAN h 27.20m h 29.08m JAN h 24.30m h 26.19m SOURCE: MPC 10168

11 MINOR PLANETS FOR DEC 1985 JAN 1986 (CALCULATED BY KEN KELLY) The following are positions for the four brightest Minor Planets for each Saturday during this time period. The opposition dates and visual magnitudes are also given. The diameters of these asteroids are as follows: Eunomia, 261 km; Pallas, 538 km; Melpomene, 148 km; Ceres, 945 km. (15) Eunomia Opposition Oct. 13 EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h 58.14m h 0.08m DEC h 3.94m h 5.87m DEC h 10.94m h 12.89m JAN 5 0 1h 19.03m h 20.98m JAN h 28.06m h 30.03m JAN h 37.94m h 39.92m (2) PALLUS Opposition Dec. 22 EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h 1.12m h 2.44m DEC h 54.97m h 56.29m JAN 5 0 5h 49.16m h 50.51m JAN h 44.18m h 45.55m JAN h 40.38m h 41.78m JAN h 38.01m h 39.45m (18) MELPOMENE Opposition Jan. 2 EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h 2.62m h 4.57m DEC h 55.17m h 57.13m JAN 5 0 6h 47.48m h 49.46m JAN h 40.15m h 42.14m JAN h 33.67m h 35.67m JAN h 28.45m h 30.46m (1) CERES Opposition Mar. 5 EPOCH HR EQUINOX & EQUATER EQUINOX & EQUATER V MONTH DAY ET RT. ASC. DECLINATION RT. ASC. DECLINATION MAG DEC h h 17.59m DEC h h 22.13m JAN h h 25.54m JAN h h 27.71m JAN h h 28.55m JAN h h 28.02m SOURCE: EMP

12 First Sharp Look at a Uranian ring This unusual picture of Uranus and the outermost of its nine known rings was made by computer-adding, or integrating a series of six images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on the way to its Jan. 24 encounter with the planet. The rings were discovered in 1977, when they caused blinks in the light of a star as Uranus moved in front of it, but this is the first picture to show even one of them in a way that was not extremely blurred by earth s atmosphere. The ring shown, called the epsilon ring, is either eccentric or elliptical, and appears to range in width from about 20 to 100 kilometers. It is also believed to be extremely dark, reflecting about 1 to 2 percent of the sunlight that falls on it, suggesting that it may be composed of carbonaceous material like that covering some asteroids and the dark side of Saturn s moon Iapetus. Making such a dark object visible, even with the capability of computer-enhancing Voyagers images, required not only the multiphoto sequence, so that the tiny brightness difference between the ring and the surrounding space in each frame could be combined, but also unusually long exposure times. The frames were taken with either 11- or 15- second exposures, producing a cumulative exposure time of 84.5 seconds. But that was not good enough for the narrow ring. The slightest motion of the spacecraft, such as the starting or stopping of its tape recorder, produces vibrations that trigger corrective firings of the crafts attitude-control system, so engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. had to reprogram the system to minimize the corrective effects as well. Even with such techniques, however; the other rings, which are narrower still. have remained invisible to the Voyager cameras. The six frames in this picture were all taken on Nov. 28, with the craft about 72.3 million km (44.9 million miles) from the planet. Uranus itself is highly overexposed. due to the long exposure times necessary for the rings. And a number of artifacts - not parts of the real scene - are present due to the extreme computer-processing, such as the dark region just above the planet. the bright region below it and the small. bright projections on its upper left. The ring appears less prominent in the lower left portion of the image, and more prominent in the upper right, which is consistent with where researchers have expected to find its narrow and wide portions. - J. Eberhart

13 WARREN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION The Warren Astronomical Society is a local, non-profit organization of amateur astronomers. The Society holds meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month, starting at 7:30 P.M., as follows: 1st. Thursday 3rd. Thursday Cranbrook Institute of Science Macomb County Community College 500 Lone Pine Rd. South Campus Bloomfield Hills, MI Building B, Room 21b Twelve Mile Rd. Warren, MI Membership is open to those interested in astronomy and its related fields. Dues are as follows: Student...$8 College... $12 Senior Citizen... $12 Individual... $17 Family... $22 Sky and Telescope Magazine is available for $13.00 per year, and Astronomy Magazine for $12.00 per year. Send membership applications and dues to the Treasurer, for faster service. OFFICERS MAILING ADDRESS President : Ken Strom Warren Astronomical Society 1st. V.P. : Alan Rothenberg P.O. Box 474 2nd. V.P. : Riyad Matti East Detroit, MI Secretary : Ken Kelly Treasurer : Alice Strom Deep Sky Group : Doug Bock Meets at Northern Cross Observatory, Fenton, MI Lunar Group : Frank McCullough Meets at Stargate Observatory, New Haven, MI WARREN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAPER Editor: Ken Kelly / Send all articles to: THE WASP, P.O. Box 474, East Detroit, MI The W.A.S.P. is the official publication of the Warren Astronomical Society and is available free to all club members. STARGATE OBSERVATORY Observatory Chairman: Riyad Matti / Stargate Observatory is owned and operated by the Warren Astronomical Society in conjunction with Rotary International. Located on the grounds of Camp Rotary, Stargate features a 12.5 inch club-built Cassegrain telescope under an aluminum dome. The Observatory is open to all members of the club in accordance with THE STARGATE OBSERVATORY CODE OF CONDUCT. Those wishing to use the observatory must call by 7:00 P.M. on the evening of the observing session. Lectures are given at Stargate Observatory each weekend. The lecture will be either Friday or Saturday night, depending on the weather and the lecturer's personal schedule. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION NAME ADDRESS CITY & ZIP CODE PHONE NUMBER MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY & AMOUNT You will receive a membership card.