From the President
September 2004
I hope each of you are recovering from the onslaught of hurricanes Charlie and Francis. Unfortunately Seminole Community College did not fare well in areas that effect CFAS. First, the SCC Planetarium is closed to at least January to effect repairs to adajacent buildings. Thanks to the Orlando Science Center we will be able to hold our regular meetings there for the months of October and November. Second, the SCC Gun Range received a lot of damage and is closed indefinitely. We have subsequently moved all dark sky observing sessions to Harmony. As updates occur to the situation at the SCC facilities we will update the membership via the web and email.
This September NOVA is viewing a 4 part series called “Origins”. For those of us who saw the 18 minute preview at our September meeting, it appears one series with much appeal to amateur astronomers. “Has the universe always existed? How did it become a place that could harbor life? What was the birth of our planet like? Are we alone, or are there alien worlds waiting to be discovered? NOVA presents some startling new answers in "Origins," a groundbreaking four-part NOVA miniseries hosted by dynamic astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. Tyson leads viewers on a cosmic journey to the beginning of time and into the distant reaches of the universe, searching for life's first stirrings and its traces on other worlds.” The series begins on September 28th on PBS.
October brings a full eclipse of the moon. A total eclipse of the full moon happens on Wednesday evening, October 27th, when the sun, earth, and moon align and the moon moves through the earth's shadow and grows dark. Weather permitting; anyone in North America will be able to see the eclipse. This eclipse is total, and the moon will darken substantially about two hours after it rises. This is the last full eclipse until 2007. It begins at about 9:30 p.m. for us. The moon is totally eclipsed from 10:23 p.m. until 11:44 p.m. During this period the full moon will look unusually dark and somewhat reddened in color. The best time to look is around mid-eclipse at 11 p.m. Totality ends at 11:44 p.m., when the moon begins to move out of the umbra and its upper left edge brightens. During the next hour and a quarter, the moon moves progressively farther out of the dark part of the shadow and more of the moon becomes lit. At 12:53 a.m. the moon leaves the umbra. The eclipse is essentially over, but the moon does not exit the penumbra until 2:02 a.m.
CFAS members are asked to help out during the eclipse at events at the Orlando Science Center and at the Robinson Observatory. More information will be posted on our web site as the schedules for these events become available.
October is the election of CFAS officers for next year. The BMAL’s have put together a slate for next year that is included in their section of this web site. Nominations can also be made at the meeting, however it is better to contact a BMAL before the meeting so that the elections can proceed smoothly. Please plan on attending the October meeting when the election will be held. Also at that meeting an interesting program will be held on Space Travel.
In September, we received a wonderful donation of a 12 inch Meade LX 200 telescope from Bob Nelson who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. Bob was a designer for the Tinsley telescope, and has many fond memories of this telescope that was first used at the University of South Florida. Bob wanted CFAS to have this telescope so that it could be used to help foster astronomy to the general public. His gift will eventually, we hope, be used in a permanent observatory at Harmony. In the interim it will be available for CFAS members to use at our dark sky sites. Please refer to Walt Hamler’s Observing Committee article in this web site for details about using this telescope. We greatly appreciate Bob’s generosity, and hope to have him speak at one of our meetings about the Tinsley.
The CFAS board is considering a major purchase of a good “Goto” telescope mount to be used with our 140mm TEC refractor in the field. Presently the TEC resides on the 26 inch Tinsley telescope at the Robinson Observatory. It is easily removed however, and could be used for periodic observing in the field. The TEC is an excellent visual and photographic telescope, however the light polution at the Robinson observatory is severe, which detracts greatly from the telescopes performance. Having this telescope available at our dark sky site a few nights a month would give the membership more opportunity to enjoy this wonderful instrument. The board feels that an appropriate mount is a worthwhile acquisition for CFAS, and is in keeping with our mission to support astronomy opportunities for our membership. This is a major change to this year’s budget, and must be approved by the membership. Again this vote will be held at our next meeting. If you have further questions please contact BMAL Frank Sperl.
CFAS continues to support the NASA Night Sky Program, but more participants are needed to help out at the Orlando Science Center. The Friday and Saturday programs at the Orlando Science Center provide a continuing opportunity for members to present these NASA developed programs. CFAS members interested in participating should contact Paul Kronenwetter at (407) 388-7962 or email: kronenpj@netzero.net .
Clear skies to all, can’t wait till those autumn nights are here.
Ray Jones