The Running Man and Orion Nebulae Photo of the Month by Barry Simon

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Friday, August 24th,2018 at 7:30pm UNO Science

1 PAS-Times The newsletter of the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society August 2018 visit us online Volume 59, Issue 8 Next PAS General Meeting Friday, August 24th,2018 at 7:30pm UNO Science Bldg. Room 1001 The Running Man and Orion Nebulae Photo of the Month by Barry Simon

Page 2 PAS Officers for 2018 President: Bill Johnson paspres@astronola.org 1st Vice-President: David Williams Program Chairman pas1vp@astronola.

org SPMOS: Ron Marella passpmos@astronola.org President s Message By: Bill Johnson It s August, and that means Hot!

2 Page 2 PAS Officers for 2018 President: Bill Johnson paspres@astronola.org 1st Vice-President: David Williams Program Chairman pas1vp@astronola.org 2nd Vice-President: Kent Birkle PAS-Times Editor pas2vp@astronola.org Treasurer: John Scholl pastreas@astronola.org Secretary: Nanette Johnson Archivist passec@astronola.org SPMOS: Ron Marella passpmos@astronola.org President s Message By: Bill Johnson It s August, and that means Hot! Hot! Hot! We now watch Mars slowly retreat away from us, taking with it the false promises of spectacular views due to the ongoing dust storm covering the whole planet. While the storms seem to finally be diminishing, it certainly ruined what could have been spectacularly close detail that we won t get again for quite a few years. And though Mars is getting smaller, losing half its size in 2 months, there is still great viewing as soon as the storm dies down. We still have Saturn and Jupiter in the evening sky for a few more months, so I hope you take advantage of this and get in some viewing time with our celestial neighbors. While we are battling the heat of the summer, don t let it keep you indoors on clear nights. Summer skies have a lot to offer. Each time I set up the telescope, I discover something new and different that makes me keep coming back for more viewing. Whether it be an open cluster of stars in Sagittarius, or a faint double star that I can resolve only on the best clear night, the wonder and excitement is constantly calling me back. Dark skies PAS Times Volume 59, Issue 8 are truly a grand stage. Get out there for a look at what the heavens have for you. A few members recently visited the White Horse Retreat Center for a test run leading up to the Deep South Star Gaze in November. I was able to spend a portion of Saturday night, and can attest to the great expanse of dark skies presented to us. While there were some clouds present, the sky cleared enough to give a nice showing of the Perseid meteor shower. We should get more details on this location soon. I look forward to the new venue in November. Don t forget to peruse our AstroNola.org website, and case a vote for your favorite picture in our monthly Photo Contest. You may even want to submit one of your own! Our next meeting will be held on Friday, August 24th, at 7:30PM at UNO Science Building, and the presentation will be " Comets, Clovis and Climate " by our own PAS member Phillip Richardson I hope to see all of you at the next meeting. Bring a guest! Bill Johnson PAS President 2018 Community Outreach: Jerry LaBauve pasoutreach@astronola.org ALCOR (Astronomy League): Jerry LaBauve pasalcor@astronola.org Mars Observing after the Meeting PartyPhoto by Nanette Johnson

Page 3 Secretary s Report July 27th 2018 General Meeting By: Nanette Johnson 7:30 Meeting called to order.

New members were advised to speak to club secretary, Nanette Johnson if they would like a packet put together for new to astronomy members.

His presentation will be "Comets, Clovis and Climate: A Look at the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis" Kent Birkle, Second VP not present.

3 Page 3 Secretary s Report July 27th 2018 General Meeting By: Nanette Johnson 7:30 Meeting called to order. 35 Members and Guests in attendance Bill began the meeting by welcoming the guests and new members to PAS. New members were advised to speak to club secretary, Nanette Johnson if they would like a packet put together for new to astronomy members. Officer Reports: David Williams, First VP advised our speaker for the August meeting will be club member Phillip Richardson. His presentation will be "Comets, Clovis and Climate: A Look at the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis" Kent Birkle, Second VP not present. Bill mentioned that Kent would appreciate any photos or articles written by club members to publish in the newsletter. John Scholl, Treasurer: The club now has a total of 83 members. Nanette Johnson, Secretary: Presentation was made for the winner of Photo of the Month for June, 2018 to Barry Simon. Nanette encouraged members to submit their own photos and to be sure to vote for their favorite photo on the PAS website. Nanette also mentioned that PAS is now on Twitter This Twitter account will be used to notify members of club news and to pass along interesting astronomy information. Ron Marcella, SPMOS Coordinator: We have had vandalism again at SPMOS. A police report has been filed and the police have promised more frequent patrols in the area of SPMOS. Ron also mentioned that someone left the air conditioner running in the bunkhouse again. Please remember to turn off the air conditioner when you leave. Jerry Labauve, ALCOR Rep: Nothing new to report from ALCOR. Jerry encouraged everyone to work on the ALCO awards found on the Astronomical League website. OLD BUSINESS: Bill asked the club who observed anything recently and what did they see? Laurie observed Venus and reported it was very pretty. No one was able to view the lunar eclipse in our area as it was most visible in Europe and Africa. Reports are that it was a great view for those areas. NEW BUSINESS: July 27th - Observe Mars after the meeting in the grassy area outside of the Science building ans with the UNO observatory (thank you John Martinez). Aug/Sept- No activities as of now. Any suggestions during this time? No suggestions. Oct 6th - Annual Club Picnic at Walter Sarrat's place in Covington. Oct 13th - Tentative Bouge Chitto State Park outreach. Very well attended by the public. Nov - Club elections. If you wish to run for office, speak to an officer. Dec - Christmas party. Tentative date Dec 14th. Suggestions for location? No suggestions. 8:30 David Williams introduced Barry Simon for the presentation "In Search of Dark Skies". Next meeting August 24th. Bill asked if there was any other business from/by anyone? No other business. Motion to adjourn. Motion. Second. Meeting adjourned at 9:00. Mars viewing party outside! Barry Simon More Mars Observing Photos by Nanette Johnson

Page 4 White Horse Trial Run Report Deep South Star Gaze Home for 2018 This fall the Deep South Star Gaze will be held at a new site (our 4th since the DSSG started in 1983).

4 Page 4 White Horse Trial Run Report Deep South Star Gaze Home for 2018 This fall the Deep South Star Gaze will be held at a new site (our 4th since the DSSG started in 1983). The new location is the White Horse Christian Retreat near Sandy Hook, MS. This site is about 12 miles south of Columbia, MS, 21 miles north of Bogalusa, LA and 35 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, MS. The primary reason for relocating from the Feliciana Retrea t Center, where the DSSG has been held for the past 9 years, is the new location offers darker skies and lower horizons, while providing us with food service and lodging necessary to host an event like the Deep South Star Gaze. While the DSSG will not be held until early November, it was important that more people see it prior to then and for all attending to get a feel for how things will work at White Horse. On Friday, August 10th to Sunday, August 12th, 13 members of the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society were able to do just that. 8 of us were there for both Friday and Saturday night and 5 others came up on either Friday or Saturday. It did not hurt that this was New Moon weekend and also coincided with the Perseid Meteor Shower. The weather forecast however looked dicey in the days leadi ng up to our trial run and the daytime hours on both Friday and Saturday were cloudy, but amazingly it did clear at night. Friday was better than Saturday and we did see some nice Perseid meteors and all that were there, particularly on Friday were able to witness why we are so enthusiastic about the new location. Those in attendance for both days and nights included Gabe Dickens, Steve Harrison, Jerry LaBauve, Tim Mann, Ron Marcella, Len Philpot, Barry Simon and Philip Wollenberg. Kent Birkle and his wife, Rene, visited on Friday and Bill and Nanette Johnson and Richard Erbe came up on Saturday. We observed from the outside arena on both nights. This wa s a good location in respect to good horizons all around and a nice flat area for set up. I believe all are very happy in what the White Horse location offers in respect to the sky. In my estimation we will be able to get 20 to 25 vehicles, canopies and equipment into this area for the DSSG. There are other areas just outside of the arena where other can set up their canopies and equipment. I believe we should be able to accommodate as many as 150 people comfortably during the DSSG. Pictures sometimes paint a better picture than words so I a m including some pictures so that all can get a better look at the night sky from White Horse and a view of White Horse from the sky above courtesy of Philip Wollenberg and his drone. Report by DSSG Director Barry Simon Drone Photo by Philip Wollenberg

5 Page 5 Drone Photos by Philip Wollenberg White Horse skies photos by Barry Simon

Page 6 The Best Meteor Shower of the Year By Jane Houston Jones and Jessica Stoller-Conrad If you're a fan of meteor showers, August is going to be an exciting month!

The best time to look for meteors during this year's Perseid shower is at the peak, from 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 until 4 a.m. EDT on the Aug. 13.

6 Page 6 The Best Meteor Shower of the Year By Jane Houston Jones and Jessica Stoller-Conrad If you're a fan of meteor showers, August is going to be an exciting month! The Perseid meteor shower is the best of the year, and in 2018, the peak viewing time for the shower is on a dark, moonless night-perfect for spotting meteors. The best time to look for meteors during this year's Perseid shower is at the peak, from 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 until 4 a.m. EDT on the Aug. 13. Because the new Moon falls on the peak night, the days before and after the peak will also provide very dark skies for viewing meteors. On the days surrounding the peak, the best time to view the showers is from a few hours after twilight until dawn. Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky-called meteors. The comet that creates the Perseid meteor shower-a comet called Swift-Tuttle-has a very wide trail of cometary dust. It's so wide that it takes Earth more than three weeks to plow all the way through. Because of this wide trail, the Perseids have a longer peak viewing window than many other meteor showers throughout the year. In fact, this year you should be able to see some meteors from July 17 to Aug. 24. The rates of meteors will increase during the weeks before Aug. 12 and decrease after Aug. 13. Observers should be able to see between 60 and 70 meteors per hour at the shower's peak. The Perseids appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, which is where we get the name for this shower. Perseus is visible in the northern sky soon after sunset this time of year. Observers in mid-northern latitudes will have the best views. However, you don't have to look directly at the constellation Perseus to see meteors. You can look anywhere you want to; 90 degrees left or right of Perseus, or even directly overhead, are all good choices. While you're watching the sky for meteors this month, you'll also see a parade of the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturnand the Milky Way also continues to grace the evening sky. In next month's article, we'll take a late summer stroll through the Milky Way. No telescope or binoculars required! Catch up on all of NASA's current-and future-missions at This image to the right... The Perseid meteor showers appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus. Perseus is visible in the northern sky soon after sunset this time of year. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech This article is distributed by NASA Space Place. With articles, activities and games NASA Space Place encourages everyone to get excited about science and technology. Visit spaceplace.nasa.gov to explor e space and Earth science

Page 7 Upcoming Events PAS General Meeting - Friday, Aug 24th, 2018 at 7:30pm UNO Science Bldg. Rm.

astronola.org for more information PAS Outreach - Oct 13th - Tentative Bouge Chitto State Park Star Party Deep South Star Gaze - 36th Annual - Nov.

org On the Cover Photo of the month winner The Running Man and Orion Nebulae taken by Barry Simon On the Back Cover A star chart of Lacerta, The Lizard from Urania's Mirror - A View

7 Page 7 Upcoming Events PAS General Meeting - Friday, Aug 24th, 2018 at 7:30pm UNO Science Bldg. Rm.1001 Presentation -"Comets, Clovis and Climate: A Look at the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis" by PAS membr Phillip Richardson PAS Picinic - Saturday, October 6 - Covington visit astronola.org for more information PAS Outreach - Oct 13th - Tentative Bouge Chitto State Park Star Party Deep South Star Gaze - 36th Annual - Nov. 6th to 11th at White Horse Retreat Center Go To On the Cover Photo of the month winner The Running Man and Orion Nebulae taken by Barry Simon On the Back Cover A star chart of Lacerta, The Lizard from Urania's Mirror - A View of the Heaven 2018 PAS Meeting Dates August 24 September 21 Picnic - October 6 October 19 November 16 December 14 Holiday Party September 2018 PAS-Times Deadline Sunday, September 16th Please submit all things astronomical to be included in the next edition of PAS-Times to the editor at the following address: pas2vp@astronola.or White Horse Retreat Center The new home of the Deep South Star Gaze Photos by Kent Birkle

Pontchartrain Astronomy Society, Inc Kent Birkle, PAS-Times Editor 21067 Lowe Davis Rd. Covington, La. 70435 The Pontchartrain Astronomy Society, Inc.

8 Pontchartrain Astronomy Society, Inc Kent Birkle, PAS-Times Editor Lowe Davis Rd. Covington, La The Pontchartrain Astronomy Society, Inc. is an organization of amateur astronomers representing the greater New Orleans area, southeastern Louisiana and adjacent parts of Mississippi. Our members come from many walks of life, and have a common interest in astronomy and observing the sky. The PAS aims to enhance the study and enjoyment of astronomy among our members, and to promote an understanding of astronomy in our local community. The constellation Lacerta, the Lizard was formed by the Polish astronomer, Johannes Hevelius in the late 1600s. He named it a lizard because he couldn't come up with any other object that could fit in the space between the Swan and the King

KOA. See inside for directions and a NOTE: There will be no August

KOA. See inside for directions and a NOTE: There will be no August Celestial Observer Volume 38 Issue 8 August 2018 Moon on July 29, 2018 Image by CCAS Member Dave Majors. Next Meeting: Thursday, September Next Star Gazing: Saturday, August 27 th, 7PM at United Methodist