A) Beginning Astronomy Class Tonight (Friday, April 1, 2005)
B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight! (Friday, April 1, 2005)
C) Evolution and the Universe Dialog at NASA/Ames Apr. 28
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A) Beginning Astronomy Class Tonight (Friday, April 1, 2005)
Telescopes and Eyepieces with Jim Van Nuland
What is a Maksutov Telescope? Why are Al Naglers Eyepieces so expensive and
why should I buy them? The San Jose Astronomical Association Observational
Astronomy Class is here to help you! This informal monthly series will teach
basic astronomy, the constellations, the movement of the sky, and the use of
the telescope. The Class occurs every third quarter moon Houge Park Star Party
Night through out the year. No Reservations needed and you can join the class
at any time. The class is a free public service provided by the SJAA.
Tonights class starts at 7:30 PM in the hall at Houge Park. Jim Van Nuland is
the secretary for the club and has been a member for over 31 years. He has
personally witness two major telescope revolutions ( the S/C and the
Dobsonian). Come hear Jims view on the Tools of amateur astronomy: types of
telescopes, accessories, and manufacturers. What to buy and what to avoid and
the trade offs to be made.
The class finishes with a "Sky Tour" by SJAA President Mike Koop, pointing out
how to find the constellations and planets. Weather permitting, after the class
we will be pointing out the constellations, planets, and other
deep sky wonders through telescopes.
(Note: Akkana Peck was originally scheduled to give her planet talk tonight,
but she could not attend due to a scheduling mishap. We have rescheduled the
planet class for Friday, April 29th. Special thanks to JVN for stepping in at
this late date.)
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B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight! (Friday, April 1, 2005)
Tonight, the SJAA hosts public observing session on the grounds at Houge Park.
Families are welcome to attend. Feel free to bring your scope and share views
with others. While the seeing and the transparency will not be optimum tonight,
we do have nice weather and a public interested in seeing things. Saturn and
Jupiter will be well placed for viewing.
Clear Sky Clock for San Jose:
http://cleardarksky.com/c/SanJoseCAkey.html?1
NRL Monterey East Pacific & US West Coast Images
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/epac_westcoast.cgi
Star Party Details:
Sunset: 6:31 PM
Civil Twilight: 6:57 PM
Nautical Twilight: 7:28 PM
Astronomical Twilight: 8:00 PM
Moonrise: 2:19 AM Sat. Morning
Posted Star Party Hours: 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM
**** 10 Cool Things to Observe at tonights Star Party: *****
1) Saturn!
2) Jupiter!
There will be a Transit of Io and its shadow on the planet during the Star
Party!
(Times courtesy of http://www.calsky.com)
20h54.5m Io Shadow Begin (5.4 mag)
20h57.4m Io Transit Begin (5.4 mag)
22h02.4m Io Inferior Conjunction (5.4 mag)
23h06.4m Io Shadow End (5.4 mag)
23h07.5m Io Transit End (5.4 mag)
3) A nice Hubble Space Telescope Pass:
(Times courtesy of Heavens Above)
http://www.heavens-above.com/main.asp?lat=37.25746&lng=-121.94131&loc=Houge+Park%2C+San+Jose%2C+CA&TZ=PST
Event /Time /Alt. / Az / D
(km)/Look
Reaches 10 altitude /19:18:16 /10 / 225 (SW )/ 1,857 /Eridanus to Below
Lepus
Maximum altitude /19:21:40 / 23 /172 (S ) / 1,230 / Lower Canus Major
to Pyxis
Enters shadow /19:24:13 /14 / 128 (SE ) / 1,612 / Pyxis to Hydra to
Crater
4) M44 The Beehive Cluster in Cancer. Nice in Binos. 577 Light Years Away
5) Gamma Leonis: Pair of golden yellow giant stars. Mag 2.2 and 3.5. Orbit is
600 years
6) M81 Spiral Galaxy about 18 Million LY away
7) M3 Globluar Cluster: 33900 LY away, First Original Discovery of Messier
8) M46 Open Cluster: 5400 LY away, contains NGC 2438 Planetary
9) Mel 111: Coma Bernices. 80 Mag 5 to 6 Stars in a 5 deg field. 288 LY away
10) 2342 Ghost of Jupiter. Planetary Nebula 2600 LY away
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C) Evolution and the Universe Dialog at NASA/Ames Apr. 28
Evolution and the Universe - Science and the Human Spirit
April 28, 2005, 6:30-9 pm
NASA Exploration Center
NASA Ames Research Center
Mountain View, CA
Father George Coyne SJ PhD, Director of the Vatican Observatory, and Dr. Lynn
Rothschild PhD, NASA research scientist, will dialogue on science, the human
spirit and the beginnings of life at an evening sponsored by the Vatican
Observatory Foundation. The event will be held from 6:30 to 9:00 in the
Exploration Center at NASA Ames Research Facility.
The presentation will be from 7:00 - 7:45 with a 30 minute question and answer
period afterward.
Guests will also have the opportunity to view the many exhibits in the
facility.
For directions and other information on the Ames facility please visit
http://www.NASA.gov/centers/ames
The Exploration center is the white tent to your right just before entering the
Moffett Field Gate. http://www1.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/Directions.html
More on the Exploration Center:
http://www1.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/home-explorationcenter.html
The Vatican Observatory's website is
http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo/R1024/VO.html
For more information please contact Nancy Knoche at
nknoche <AT> earthlink <DOT> net
or 602-482-9147.
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Directions to Houge Park:
Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos.
> From Hwy.17, take the Camden Avenue exit. Go east 4/10 mile, and turn
right at the light, onto Bascom Avenue. At the next light, turn left onto
Woodard Road. At the first stop sign, turn right onto Twilight
Drive. Go three blocks, cross Sunrise Drive, then turn left into the park.
> From Hwy.85, take the Bascom Avenue exit. Go north 0.2 miles, and turn
right at the first traffic light, onto White Oaks Road. Run another 0.2
miles to the first stop sign, then turn left onto Twilight Drive. You will
now be passing the park. Turn right at the first driveway, into the
parking lot.
See Map at
http://www.sjaa.net/img/houge.jpg
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Clear Skies,
Mike Koop
President, SJAA
Questions? Comments? Flames?
Email: koopm <AT> best <DOT> com
Received on Fri Apr 1 17:41:04 2005
