PPrime Focurime Focurime Focuss A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical SocietyA Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

General Meeting: Friday, June 1 @ 7:00 pm

WMU Rood Hall - Room 1104 - See Page 12 for Details

Observing Session: Saturday, June 9 @ 9:00 pm

Grand Globular Clusters - Kalamazoo Nature Center

Observing Session: Saturday, June 23 @ 9:00 pm

Moon & Jupiter - Kalamazoo Nature Center

This Months This Months KAS EventsEvents

June 2007

Highlights of theHighlights of the June SkyJune Sky. . .. . .

-- -- -- 11stst -- -- -- Dusk: Mercury at greatest Dusk: Mercury at greatest elongation; visible low in elongation; visible low in west.west.

-- -- -- 88thth -- -- -- Dusk: Venus at greatest Dusk: Venus at greatest elongation; visible in west.elongation; visible in west.

Last Quarter MoonLast Quarter Moon

-- -- -- 1010th th -- -- -- AM: Mars lower left of AM: Mars lower left of Moon.Moon.

-- -- -- 1212thth -- -- -- Dusk: Beehive Star Clus-Dusk: Beehive Star Clus-ter (M44) 1ter (M44) 1ºº below Venus. below Venus.

-- -- -- 1414thth -- -- -- New Moon.New Moon.

-- -- -- 1616thth -- -- -- Dusk: Pollux above Moon.Dusk: Pollux above Moon.

-- -- -- 1717th th -- -- -- Dusk: Venus upper left of Dusk: Venus upper left of Moon.Moon.

-- -- -- 1818th th -- -- -- Dusk: Venus right, Saturn Dusk: Venus right, Saturn left of Moon.left of Moon.

-- -- -- 1919th th -- -- -- Dusk: Regulus near Moon.Dusk: Regulus near Moon.

-- -- -- 2222nd nd -- -- -- First Quarter MoonFirst Quarter Moon

-- -- -- 2323rdrd -- -- -- PM: Spica upper left of PM: Spica upper left of Moon.Moon.

-- -- -- 2424th th -- -- -- Dusk: Saturn and Venus Dusk: Saturn and Venus within 5within 5ºº next 15 eve- next 15 eve-nings.nings.

-- -- -- 2727th th -- -- -- PM: Antares upper left, PM: Antares upper left, Jupiter far upper left of Jupiter far upper left of Moon.Moon.

-- -- -- 3030th th -- -- -- Dusk: Saturn less than 1Dusk: Saturn less than 1ºº above Venus.above Venus.

Full MoonFull Moon www.kasonline.org

Inside the Newsletter. . .Inside the Newsletter. . . May Meeting Minutes............................. p. 2

Complete the KAS S&T Collection... p. 2

Board Meeting Minutes......................... p. 3

Observations........................................... p. 4

Starbooks................................................. p. 5

HST Finds Dark Matter Ring............... p. 6

NASA Space Place................................. p. 8

Membership of the KAS....................... p. 9

June Night Sky......................................... p. 10

KAS Officers & Announcements........ p. 11

General Meeting Preview..................... p. 12

June 2007

The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society was brought to order by President Richard Bell on Friday, May 4, 2007 at 7:11 pm. Approximately 37 members and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center (KAMSC). The featured speaker for the evening was Dr. Horace Smith, Professor of Astronomy at Michigan State University. Profes-sor Smith called his presentation Waiting for the Big One: The Next Milky Way Supernova. He began by showing a slide of the constellation Orion and pointed out the red supergiant star Betelgeuse. This star is expected to go supernova some-time in the next one thousand years. Professor Smith then discussed the historical accounts of na-ked-eye supernovae. These events occurred in 1006, 1054, 1181, 1572, and 1604. The supernova of 1006 was perhaps the brightest of all based on an account by Eutychius of Alex-andria. He said “It had dazzling rays and a great rippling, and brilliant light like the light of the Moon…” The supernova of 1054 can be seen today as the Crab Nebula (M1), located in the constellation Taurus. On November 11, 1572 Tycho Brahe observed a brilliant new star in the constellation Cas-siopeia. This supernova was decisive for his choice of astron-omy as a profession. The last Milky Way supernova was spotted by Johannes Kepler in October 1604. The brightest supernovae since that time occurred in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in 1885 (it was visible in small telescopes) and the Large Magellanic Cloud in 1987 (SN 1987A). Professor Smith then briefly discussed the two basic types of supernovae (Type I & II) and then listed three facts that ex-plain why all stars are ultimately doomed. First, all stars loose energy. Second, stars have a finite amount of mass, which means they have a finite fuel supply and limited en-ergy. The final fact is that energy is conserved, which means stars have “no free lunch”. Therefore, taking these facts into account, we conclude that stars can’t live forever and must eventually die. However, only 1% of all stars end their exis-tence as a supernova. Only the most massive stars (approximately 10 times the mass of the Sun) will go super-nova. Still, supernovae are crucial to life since an ancient supernova ultimately led to the formation of the Sun. Plus, almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were made during the dramatic and powerful explosion. When it comes right down to it we are made of star-stuff. Professor Smith then gave us some amazing facts. Superno-vae release the equivalent of 1028 megatons of TNT, but only 1% of that energy is thought to be released as visible light. The rest is emitted as neutrinos, subatomic particles with a very small rest mass and no electrical charge. A huge burst of neutrinos was detected just before Supernova 1987A was dis-

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May Meeting MinuteMay Meeting MinuteMay Meeting Minutesss

Help Complete the KASHelp Complete the KAS Sky & Telescope Sky & Telescope CollectionCollection

We have just acquired a Sky & Telescope collection. There are a few gaps however that would be nice to fill in:

Anything before 1960 1981, We need the February issue. 1985, We need the August issue. 1989, We need the January, February, March, April, May and June issues. 2000, We need the September issue. 2002, We need the March issue. 2003, We need the January, April, May, June, July, September and October issues. 2004, We need the February, March, April, September and October issues. 2005, We need the March, April, June, November and December issues. 2006, We need the January, May, September, October and November issues.

We may have extra issues that you need to fill in your collection. Let us know. We will trade. We have Sky & Telescope v.19-38 1960-69, 1977, ‘78 and ‘87.

covered. The next Milky Way supernova may be invisible from Earth, due to obscuring dust clouds, but will likely be detected by another influx of neutrinos. Other methods of detection include radio emissions, X-rays, and even gravity waves. Professor Smith also explained the ultimate fate of massive stars after they go supernova. Most will end up as a neutron star and some will collapse further into a black hole. Professor Smith then answered the question “How Close is Too Close?” for a supernova to occur near Earth. The mini-mum safe distance is 30 light-years and thankfully there are no stars expected to explode at that distance. However, ra-dioactive elements found in ocean sediments suggest that there may have been a relatively close supernova explosion about 3 million years ago! Finally, Professor Smith told us the odds of seeing a naked eye Milky Way supernova in the next 50 years is 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. He concluded by reminding us to watch the giant star Betelgeuse in Orion the Hunter After a snack break, Richard gave his president’s report and once again thanked all the Astronomy Day volunteers. A few members shared observing reports and astronomical news, but everyone was quieter than usual. The meeting concluded at 9:03 pm. Richard informed everyone the next general meeting will take place on the WMU Main Campus in room 1104 of Rood Hall (see page 12 for details).

June 2007 Prime Focus Page 3

Board Meeting MinuteBoard Meeting MinuteBoard Meeting Minutesss

The KAS Board met at 5:00 pm on May 20th at Sunnyside Church. President Richard Bell brought the meeting to order at 5:06 pm. Other board members present include Jean De-Mott, Rich Mather, Dan Morgan, Jack Price, Dave Woolf, and Roger Williams. Rich Mather presented the Treasurer’s Report, which showed total current assets of $7,216.62. This total is considerably lower than the previous month, due primarily to expenditures for equipment and supplies (including the green laser pointer and the display boards and other materials used during As-tronomy Day). The cost of the display boards will be reim-bursed when Jean gets her Pfizer grant. Pending events for the summer months were summarized, including public observing sessions scheduled for May 26th, June 9th & 23rd, July 7th & 21st, and August 11th & 18th. The General Meeting program for June 1st features Dr. Nicolle Zellner from Albion College describing meteorite hunting in Antarctica, while July 13th will be Gadget Night. Both of these are scheduled for Rood Hall on the WMU main campus. The Board discussed briefly methods to publicize the June 1st program, but no significant new ideas were advanced. Richard reported that a volunteer had come forth to supply a program for the September 7th General Meeting. His name is Mike Simonsen, and he will give a presentation on variable stars. He also spoke at a meeting here several years ago. Dan Morgan reported that our planned robotic telescope imaging session had hit a couple of snags. While he had been corre-sponding by e-mail with the operator of the preferred Austra-lian telescope with no hint of problems, within the last two days that site had disappeared from the internet listing with no explanation. Dan also learned that the vender did not actually allow for reserving a time slot on the telescope, but that after buying observing credits, the observer logs onto the telescope on a first-come, first-served basis. This makes it impossible to schedule securely a group function, and it brings into ques-tion the feasibility of the event. Dan agreed to try to find out what had happened to the disappearing telescope and to see if there was any flexibility in scheduling. In other previous business, Jean had been checking out possi-bilities for storage of group equipment and supplies (especially tables, display panels, and the canopy). Her #1 criterion was that the storage should be climate-controlled and secure from pests. She had obtained information from U-Haul, National, Paragon, Safe Storage, and Toy Box. Of these, the most attractive sounding so far was Paragon, lo-cated in the old Eckridge plant at Walnut & Pitcher Street. All units there are accessed from the ground floor, and a 5’ x 10’ x 10’ space would cost approximately $600/yr. The Board agreed that a site visit should be made, with authoriza-

tion to rent a space if everything looked acceptable. In the area of summer outreach programs, Richard was contacted by the Nottawa Township Library, where they are doing a pro-gram titled “Reading is Out of this World,” and they were interested in incorporating an evening observing session into the events. Place and time had not been settled, but Nottawa Campground and June 16th were under discussion. The Kin-dleberger Festival is also scheduled again for July 14th. Regarding new business, the Perseid Potluck Picnic (August 11th) was discussed briefly. It was agreed that the way we did it the last couple of years was working well, and no changes were required. Possible summer activities suggested by Rich-ard were a visit to see the 8” Clark refractor at Albion Col-lege, another astrophotography workshop, and the Black For-est Star Party. For the fall/winter season, the 10” refractor at Eastern Michigan University or a visit to the University of Michigan facility were suggested as alternatives to Abrams Planetarium at MSU. It was also noted that we had not gone to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago for many years, and Jean suggested catching the train from Michigan City as a way to avoid construction traffic. Richard agreed to do a short sur-vey at the next General Meeting to assess interest. In other business, Richard mentioned that we could use an-other Owl Observatory cleaning/work session to keep it in shape and to discourage the wasps. Jean asked about planning an Allegan Forest field trip to determine the suitability of the area for a future club observing site. No action was taken at this time. The meeting was adjourned at 6:28 pm. In keeping with past practice, no board meetings were scheduled for the months of June – August. The details for the September meeting will be announced later. Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams

Sky & TelescopeSky & Telescope Discount Subscription ChangesDiscount Subscription Changes

Currently, KAS members get a $10 discount on a one year subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine. Renewal notices can now be mailed in to Sky Publishing directly with the $32.95 payment or by phone with credit card (please call 1-800-253-0245). The KAS Treasurer will still send in all new subscriptions for the member discount. Give/send Rich Mather (629-5312) your address and $32.95 check made payable to Sky Publishing to start new subscriptions. The KAS Treasurer is asked by Sky Publishing to verify participant’s membership and address information annually.

June 2007

The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society is fortunate to have some very talented and dedicated members. So, it seems like one of the duties of the KAS President is to bring everyone up-to-date on the activities and accomplishments of our past and present members from time-to-time. Let’s start with former KAS member Tom Taylor. Tom was a member between 1995 and 1996. In that short period, he made a lasting impression on the members of that time. Be-fore moving to Michigan, Tom ran the public viewing pro-gram at Kitt Peak National Observatory. I remember observ-ing Comet Hyakutake with Tom and several others during a bitterly cold night in March 1996. News 3 paid us a visit and Tom showed them a spectacular image he took of the comet earlier that week. Unfortunately for us, he longed for the pris-tine skies of Arizona. Today, Tom is in his second year of running a bed and break-fast he built between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. It’s called “A Shooting Star Inn” and is a beautiful 4200 square-foot mountain-style cabin. It sits on 5 acres and backs na-tional forest land; so sights like elk, antelope, deer, weasels,

hawks, and bald eagles are common. The cabin is at an eleva-tion of 8,000 feet and features the darkest skies I’ve encoun-tered thus far. Jean DeMott and I visited Tom in May 2003 when we attended the first ever Lowell Star Party. Tom let me leave my ‘scope at the site for the entire week. The Inn was in its earliest stages of construction at the time. Today it features two guest rooms (named Cassini and Galileo) and astronomical equipment for guest rental. One of them is a 1908 6” f/15 brass planetary refractor that many of us got to look through (and at) when Tom lived in Michigan. If you plan to visit northern Arizona then contact Tom and reserve a room at A Shooting Star Inn. He’s a great host and will definitely give KAS members special treatment. Check out his web site for details: www.shootingstarinn.com Shortly after Tom Taylor moved away Dr. Kirk Korista moved into the area in 1997. As most of you know, Kirk is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Western Michgan Uni-versity. He’s done quite a bit for the KAS over the past 10 years. (Can you believe it’s been that long?) He’s served as a Member-At-Large, gave numerous top-quality presentations, and regularly volunteers at Astronomy Day (see the image on page 5 of last month’s issue for proof). Recently, Kirk was one of the first professors to earn the new WMU Emerging Faculty Scholar Award. The purpose of this new program is to “acknowledge the accomplishments of aca-demia’s rising stars” and “celebrates the contributions of fac-ulty who are in the first decade of their WMU careers and who have achieved national recognition as well as demon-strated outstanding promise to achieve renown in their con-tinuing work”. Congratulations to Kirk and I know the best is yet to come. Finally, Bill Nigg will retire from Pfizer on June 6th. Bill has been employed with Upjohn, then Pharmacia-Upjohn, then just Pharmacia, and finally Pfizer for . . . well. . . a long time. (I’m not really sure how long, but it’s been a while!) Bill has been a member since 1970 and has served the KAS in every way possible. He’s been President numerous times, Newslet-ter Editor, Treasurer, and a Member-At-Large. Strangely enough, Bill will stay in the area for the time being and teach astronomy part-time at Kalamazoo Valley Community Col-lege. I’m sure his star party attendance rate will increase, but I wonder how long it’ll be until he goes on a permanent “star party”? Goodness knows I wouldn’t wait very long if I were in his position. Maybe he can move in with Tom? Well, that’s your KAS member update. Please let me know if you learn of any more news about a past or present member and I’ll share it with everyone.

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ObservationsObservations by Richard S. BellRichard S. Bell

Here’s Tom Taylor hard at work on Kendrick Park Observatory #1 at “A Shooting Star Inn” in October 2006. Notice the San Francisco Peaks and dark blue skies in the background!

June 2007

Review: Sky & Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas.

Roger W. Sinnott (Sky Publishing, 2006) 110 pages. $19.95, paperbound This past Christmas, my wife, the fair Barbara presented me with a copy of Sky & Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas. It is about 6.5 x 9 inches which is a little big to call pocket-size but small enough to use at the eyepiece and large enough to show charts visible to 60+ year-old tri-focaled eyes. It shows stars to magnitude 7.6 which includes all stars visible in a modest finderscope and all of the Messier, Caldwell and Herschel 400 objects. There are 80 charts on facing pages each pair covering 50 degrees of the night sky with an index map on the inside back cover. In addition there are close-up charts of the Pleiades (M45), Orion’s Sword, the Virgo Galaxy Cluster and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The facing pages have a small but useful overlap and the page edges show the number of the adjacent chart (I had to add these to my Star Atlas 2000). The atlas has a spiral binder which allows folding it back to see a single page easily. The page design of the Pocket Atlas is similar to the Sky Atlas 2000 Deluxe Version (stars to magnitude 8.5) but much smaller than the 16.25 x 21 inch chart size. The background is

white with contoured two tone blue showing the Milky Way. Star clusters are yellow, galaxies red, nebulae green. All are drawn to scale except for very small objects which are shown by symbol. Multiple and variable stars are indicated by barred dots and dot in circles respectively. Constellation stick figures are green lines (I had to draw them in on my Sky Atlas 2000) and boundaries are shown by dotted lines. The color scheme is excellent for both white and red light viewing. Stars and extended objects are labeled using common names and/or standard catalog nomenclature. In addition a number of special interest stars are indicated like carbon stars (c). There are 55 carbon stars plotted in the atlas. Stars fainter than magnitude 5.5 are plotted but not labeled. I’m not sure but the page surface seems to be moisture resistant. It does have a “tooth” to allow writing notes with a pencil. I will still use my Sky Atlas 2000 to plan observing sessions and to record observed objects but the Pocket Sky Atlas is what I will use in the field and carry on trips. Former board member Bob Havira now volunteers his time maintaining the KAS Library.

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June 2007

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a ghostly ring of dark matter that formed long ago during a titanic collision between two galaxy clusters. Dark matter makes up most of the universe's material. Ordinary matter, which makes up stars and planets, comprises only a small percent of the universe's matter. The ring's discovery is among the strongest evidence yet that dark matter exists. Astronomers have long suspected the existence of the invisible substance and theorized that it is the source of additional gravity that holds galaxy clusters together. Such clusters would fly apart if they relied only on the gravity from their visible stars. Although astronomers do not know what composes dark matter, they hypothesize that it is a type of elementary particle that pervades the universe. "This is the first time we have detected dark matter as having a unique structure that is different from both the gas and the galaxies in the cluster," said astronomer M. James Jee of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Jee is a member of the team that spotted the dark matter ring. The ring, which measures 2.6 million light-years across, was found in the cluster CL0024+17, located 5 billion light-years from Earth. The team unexpectedly found the ring while it was mapping the distribution of dark matter within the cluster. Although astronomers cannot see dark matter, they can infer its existence in galaxy clusters by observing how its gravity bends the light of more distant background galaxies. During the team's analysis, they noticed a ripple in the mysterious substance, somewhat like the ripples created in a pond from a stone plopping into the water. Jee said, "Although the invisible matter has been found before in other galaxy clusters, it has never been detected to be so

largely separated from the hot gas and the galaxies that make up galaxy clusters. By seeing a dark matter structure that is not traced by galaxies and hot gas, we can study how it behaves differently from normal matter." Jee explained, "I was annoyed when I saw the ring because I

thought it was an artifact, which would have implied a flaw in our data reduction. I couldn't believe my result. But the more I tried to remove the ring, the more it showed up. It took more than a year to convince myself that the ring was real. I have looked at a number of clusters, and I haven't seen anything like this." Curious about why the ring was in the cluster and how it had formed, Jee found previous research that suggested the cluster had collided with another cluster 1 to 2 billion years ago. The research, published in 2002 by Oliver Czoske of the A r ge l an d e r - In s t i t u t e fo r Astronomy at the University of B o n n , w a s b a s e d o n spectroscopic observations of the cluster's three-dimensional structure. The study revealed two distinct groupings of galaxies clusters, indicating a collision between two clusters. Astronomers have a head-on view of the collision because it occurred along Earth's line of sight. From this perspective, the dark-matter structure looks like a ring. The team created simulations showing what happens when galaxy clusters collide. As the two clusters smash together, the dark matter, as calculated in the simulations, falls to the center of the

combined cluster and sloshes back out. As the dark matter moves outward, it begins to slow down under the pull of gravity and pile up, like cars bunched up on a freeway. "By studying this collision, we are seeing how dark matter responds to gravity," said team member Holland Ford, also of

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Hubble Finds Ring of Dark MatterHubble Finds Ring of Dark Matter

June 2007

Johns Hopkins University. "Nature is doing an experiment for us that we can't do in a lab, and it agrees with our theoretical models." Tracing dark matter is not an easy task because it does not shine or reflect light. Astronomers can detect its influence only by how its gravity affects light. To find dark matter, astronomers study how faint light from more distant galaxies is distorted and smeared into arcs and streaks by the gravity of the dark matter in a foreground galaxy cluster. This powerful

phenomenon is called gravitational lensing. By mapping the distorted light, astronomers can deduce the cluster's mass and trace how dark matter is distributed in the cluster. "The collision between the two galaxy clusters created a ripple of dark matter that left distinct footprints in the shapes of the background galaxies," Jee explained. "It's like looking at the pebbles on the bottom of a pond with ripples on the surface. The pebbles' shapes appear to change as the ripples pass over them. So, too, the background galaxies behind the ring show

coherent changes in their shapes due to the presence of the dense ring." Jee and his colleagues used Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys to look behind the cluster to detect the faint, distorted, faraway galaxies that cannot be resolved with ground-based telescopes. "Hubble's exquisite images and unparalleled sensitivity to faint galaxies make it the only tool for this measurement," said team member Richard White of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

Previously, observations of the Bullet Cluster with Hubble and the Chandra X-ray Observatory presented a sideways view of a similar encounter between two galaxy clusters. In that collision, the dark matter was pulled apart from the hot cluster gas, but the dark matter still followed the distribution of cluster galaxies. CL0024+17 is the first cluster to show a dark matter distribution that differs from the distribution of both the galaxies and the hot gas. To learn more please visit www.nasa.gov/hubble.

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June 2007

This summer, NASA will launch a probe bound for two unex-plored worlds in our solar system's asteroid belt - giant aster-oids Ceres and Vesta. The probe, called Dawn, will orbit first one body and then the other in a never-before-attempted ma-neuver. It has never been attempted, in part, because this mission would be virtually impossible with conventional propulsion. “Even if we were just going to go to Vesta, we would need one of the largest rockets that the U.S. has to carry all that propellant,” says Marc Rayman, Project System Engineer for Dawn at JPL. Traveling to both worlds in one mission would require an even bigger rocket. This is a trip that calls for the unconventional. “We’re using ion propulsion,” says Rayman. The ion engines for the Dawn spacecraft proved themselves aboard an earlier, experimental mission known as Deep Space 1 (DS1). Because ion propulsion is a relatively new technol-ogy that’s very different from conventional rockets, it was a perfect candidate for DS1, a part of NASA's New Millennium Program, which flight-tests new technologies so that missions such as Dawn can use those technologies reliably. “The fact that those same engines are now making the Dawn mission possible shows that New Millennium accomplished what it set out to,” Rayman says. Ion engines work on a principle different from conventional rockets. A normal rocket engine burns a chemical fuel to

produce thrust. An ion engine doesn't burn anything; a strong electric field in the engine propels charged atoms such as xe-non to very high speed. The thrust produced is tiny - roughly equivalent to the weight of a piece of paper - but over time, it can generate as much speed as a conventional rocket while using only about 1/10 as much propellant. And Dawn will need lots of propulsion. It must first climb into Vesta's orbit, which is tilted about 7 degrees from the plane of the solar system. After studying Vesta, it will have to escape its gravity and maneuver to insert itself in an orbit around Ceres - the first spacecraft to orbit two distant bodies. Dawn's up-close views of these worlds will help scientists understand the early solar system. “They're remnants from the time the planets were being formed,” Rayman says. “They have preserved a record of the conditions at the dawn of the solar system.” Find out about other New Millennium Program validated technologies and how they are being used in science missions at:

http://nmp/TECHNOLOGY/infusion.html . While you’re there, you can also download “Professor Starr’s Dream Trip,” a storybook for grown-ups about how ion pro-pulsion enabled a scientist’s dream of visiting the asteroids come true. A simpler children’s version is available at:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/nmp/starr. This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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by by Patrick L. BarryPatrick L. Barry

NASA Space PlacNASA Space PlacNASA Space Placeee

The Ions of DawnThe Ions of DawnThe Ions of Dawn

Artist’s rendering of Dawn spacecraft, with asteroids. Largest are Vesta and Ceres. Credits: Dawn spacecraft - Orbital Sciences Corporation; background art - William K. Hartmann, courtesy UCLA.

The Hubble Space Telescope observed Ceres in visible and ultraviolet light between December 2003 and January 2004.

June 2007

1. Paula Allred & Richard Mehl Family 2008 2. David & Judith Andrews Family 2007 3. Donald & Beverly Andrews Family 2007 4. Paul Asmus Regular 2007 5. Richard Bell Regular 2007 6. Karen & Peter Berzins Family 2007 7. Gary & Melori Blok Family 2006 8. Donald Bohan Family 2007 9. Susan Bond Regular 2008 10. Jacqueline Bonn Regular 2008 11. Donald Brezinski Regular 2007 12. Angela Brooks Regular 2008 13. Rick Brumbaugh Family 2007 14. Allen & Phyllis Buskirk Lifetime n/a 15. Beverly Byle Senior 2008 16. Bonnie Covert & Mike Chaffee Family 2007 17. John Collier Regular 2007 18. Harry Cotterill Regular 2007 19. Robert & Grace Cox Family 2008 20. Kalman & Becky Csia Family 2008 21. Jean DeMott Family 2008 22. Gerald & Cynthia Dennany Family 2007 23. Linda, Zack & Cassie Digby Family 2007 24. Mike Durren Student 2007 25. Diana & Brian Evans Family 2008 26. Niels W. Garlick Family 2008 27. Dave & Bonnie Garten Family 2007 28. Tom & Sandra George Family 2008 29. Jackie & Dick Gillespie Senior Family 2008 30. Royce Goodchild Regular 2007 31. Robert Griffith Regular 2007 32. Mark Hansen Regular 2008 33. Amie Harpe Regular 2007 34. Bill Haug Regular 2007 35. Robert & Barbara Havira Family 2008 36. John Herr Regular 2007 37. Michael James Higgins Regular 2007 38. James, Ruth & Joseph Hill Family 2007 39. Russell Hills Family 2007 40. Keith Hoekwater Senior 2007 41. Geoff Howe Family 2008 42. A. Clark Kahn III Family 2008 43. Kirk & Angela Korista Family 2007 44. Gene & Ginny Kowall Senior Family 2008 45. Jim Kurtz Regular 2008 46. Tim Kurtz Regular 2008 47. Jeff & Noah LaHuis Family 2007 48. Cal Lamoreaux Senior Family 2007 49. David & Sandra Latimer Family 2007 50. James & Mary Lilley Family 2007 51. Gary & Phyllis Lubbert Family 2007 52. Cary & Sarita Mannaberg Family 2007

53. Christopher Marttila Regular 2007 54. Richard Mather Regular 2008 55. Dayton Maynard Senior 2008 56. Michael J. Melwiki Regular 2007 57. John Miller Regular 2008 58. Mark & Ninah Miller Family 2008 59. Dan Morgan Student 2008 60. Bill Nigg Regular 2008 61. Robert Norton Regular 2007 62. John & Teri Olbrot Family 2008 63. Michelle Olin Student 2007 64. Rick Olsen Regular 2008 65. Mike Patton Regular 2008 66. Daniall Poulsen Regular 2006 67. Jack & Ruth Price Family 2007 68. Sam Qualls Family 2008 69. Adrian Quint Regular 2007 70. Bobbie Rittmann Regular 2007 71. Jack Roach Family 2007 72. Kerry Robbert Regular 2006 73. Christopher Roberts Regular 2007 74. Andrew & Dorothy Robins Family 2007 75. Miguel Rodriguez Family 2007 76. Thomas Roland Regular 2007 77. Eric Schreur Regular 2007 78. Frank Severance Regular 2008 79. Norma J. Simmons Regular 2008 80. Michael & Karen Sinclair Family 2007 81. Greg Sirna Family 2008 82. Robert & Jane Steimle Family 2007 83. Don Stilwell Family 2007 84. Stephanie Stratton Regular 2007 85. Timothy Strunk Family 2007 86. Dennis Stuart Regular 2008 87. Eric R. Sullivan Regular 2008 88. Craig Swanson Regular 2007 89. Norm & Cara Terry Senior Family 2008 90. Gary Theisen Family 2008 91. Keegan Thompson Student 2008 92. W. R. Thomas Tyler Student 2008 93. Henry L. Upjohn II Family 2008 94. Michael Vandeveer Regular 2007 95. Ted Vellenga Student 2007 96. John A. Walker Senior 2007 97. Philip B. Wareham Regular 2007 98. Bob & Susan White Family 2007 99. Roger & Molly Williams Family 2008 100. Janet L. Wolfe Regular 2007 101. David Woolf Family 2007 102. Sharon Zordan Regular 2008

Thank You for Being A Part of the KAS!Thank You for Being A Part of the KAS!

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Membership of the KASMembership of the KAS as of May 30, 2007

June Night Sky.............................June Night Sky.............................

NORTH

EAST W

EST

peedy little Mercury is at greatest elongation (23º away from the Sun) on June 1st. Look

for it 22º to the lower right of brilliant Venus after sunset. Giant Jupiter will be at opposition on

June 5th and thus visible all night. Best viewing will occur on June 6th when Jupiter crosses the meridian at ~1:40 am EDT. Unfortunately, it’ll only be 26º above the southern horizon. Venus will be 1º below the Beehive

Cluster (M44) on June 12th after sunset. Venus will then have a very close encounter with Saturn on June 30th. A mere 0.7º will separate the two. Most large telescopes will reveal the crescent Venus and ringed Saturn in the same field-of-view!

This star map is property of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. However you may make as many copies as you wish free-of-charge, so long as it is for non-profit educational purposes and full credit is given to the KAS.

www.kasonline.org

SOUTH

This map represents the sky at the following local standard times:

Late May 12 am Early June 11 pm Late June Dusk

PRESIDENT Richard S. Bell 373-8942 richard.s.bell@gmail.com VICE PRESIDENT Jack Price 343-3193 ka8aob@arrl.net TREASURER Rich Mather 629-5312 rlm512@yahoo.com SECRETARY/ALCOR Roger Williams 375-4867 ngcphile@sbcglobal.net MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Jean DeMott 381-1406 jeamott@hotmail.com Dick Gillespie 966-9653 rwgillespie@comcast.net Dan Morgan 964-3156 speedster2333@comcast.net Dave Woolf 762-8268 medalguy@netzero.net

KAS OFFICERSKAS OFFICERS June 2007 Page 11

Pick up some of our brand new patches at an upcoming general meeting and show your KAS pride! Put one on to your hat, T-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, and more. The patches appear exactly as seen in the image above. The dimensions are 4.0” x 2.5”. They can be sown or ironed on. If you’d like to reserve some before they sell out contact Norm Terry (327-0365).

Patch For SalePatch For Sale Only $4.00!

GET OUT GET OUT & OBSERVE!OBSERVE!

with the Kalamazoo Astronomical SocietyKalamazoo Astronomical Society

JUNE OBSERVING SCHEDULE Kalamazoo Nature Center 7000 N. Westnedge Ave.

Saturday, June 9 @ 9:00 pm Grand Globular Clusters

Saturday, June 23 @ 9:00 pm

First Quarter Moon & Jupiter

Planetarium admission is $3.00 per person. The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is located at 230 North Rose Street in downtown Kalamazoo. For more information please call (269) 373-7990 or visit us on the web at www.kalamazoomuseum.org

Mystery of the Missing SeasonsMystery of the Missing Seasons Saturday 11:00 AM, Sunday 1:30 PM

Treasures of the Milky WayTreasures of the Milky Way

Wednesday 3:00 pm & Saturday 2:00 PM Explorers of Mauna KeaExplorers of Mauna Kea

Saturday & Sunday 3:00 PM

mailto:richard.s.bell [at] gmail [dot] commailto:ka8aob [at] arrl [dot] netmailto:rlm512 [at] yahoo [dot] commailto:ngcphile [at] sbcglobal [dot] netmailto:jeamott [at] hotmail [dot] commailto:rwgillespie [at] comcast [dot] netmailto:speedster2333 [at] comcast [dot] netmailto:medalguy [at] netzero [dot] netmailto:nterry38 [at] charter [dot] net

© June 2007, Stargazer Productions

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

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General Meeting Preview

The Other Eight BelowThe Other Eight Below Searching for Meteorites in Antarctica   

Presented byPresented by  Dr. Nicolle ZellnerDr. Nicolle Zellner  Assistant Professor of Physics, Albion College

Hear about Dr. Zellner's winter break "vacation" to the coldest, driest, harshest climate on Earth in a quest to find new meteorites. The punch line: her team recovered over 800 in 8 weeks! What did you do on your vacation? Dr. Zellner’s research interests focus on understanding the impact history of the Earth-Moon system and how those impacts affected the conditions for life on Earth. Most recently, she was a member of the ANSMET team that spent 2 months searching for meteorites in Antarctica.

Friday, June 1 @ 7:00 pm Western Michigan University - Main Campus Rood Hall - Room 1104 - FREE PARKING!

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