Sunday, August 17, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Space Club minutes
Star date: Midnight, Aug. 12
Sighting: Perseid meteor shower
Attending: Dave T., Dennis, Mike, Ryan, King George.
Events: This highly anticipated event occurred without a hitch. Well, there was almost a hitch, but more on that later. It was more of a meteor drizzle than a meteor shower, but all present managed to see a few wondrous meteors. They came at the rate of about 1 a minute, sometimes more, sometimes less. They occurred all over the sky so there was a little luck involved in seeing the things. Mike brought refreshments and everyone chipped in on the cost. About midway through the night, CCT security and a friend of security shined a flashlight on the club members. King George leaped into action and went into protection mode. Ryan held KG back from attacking security. Dennis and Dave went over to the security force and peace was achieved. However, the space club will never forget KG and his willingness to throw down for the sake of the club, with no regard for his own personal well-being. Bless you KG. With that, the club saw a few more meteors then eventually called it a night.
Sighting: Perseid meteor shower
Attending: Dave T., Dennis, Mike, Ryan, King George.
Events: This highly anticipated event occurred without a hitch. Well, there was almost a hitch, but more on that later. It was more of a meteor drizzle than a meteor shower, but all present managed to see a few wondrous meteors. They came at the rate of about 1 a minute, sometimes more, sometimes less. They occurred all over the sky so there was a little luck involved in seeing the things. Mike brought refreshments and everyone chipped in on the cost. About midway through the night, CCT security and a friend of security shined a flashlight on the club members. King George leaped into action and went into protection mode. Ryan held KG back from attacking security. Dennis and Dave went over to the security force and peace was achieved. However, the space club will never forget KG and his willingness to throw down for the sake of the club, with no regard for his own personal well-being. Bless you KG. With that, the club saw a few more meteors then eventually called it a night.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Space Club minutes: 8/6/08
Space time: 8:25 p.m. PST
Event: Space Station
Events: Record crowd tonight. Eleven (11) clubbers. Night started anxiously, with cloud cover scaring the regulars. Wally was first out, with cocktail in hand. Gale refused to be called Gale. "It's Mike or Mr. Gale." There were laughs. Ted spots celestial event. Leigh Ann and Gieson break maidens. It was a beauty. Gotsill said: "That one's got some staying power." Dennis said: "And it's long!" Wally almost spit up his cocktail through his nose. Tax is blind. I think he needs Erkel glasses.
We were not Gooed, but we were nearly Al'd.
## 30 ##
Event: Space Station
Events: Record crowd tonight. Eleven (11) clubbers. Night started anxiously, with cloud cover scaring the regulars. Wally was first out, with cocktail in hand. Gale refused to be called Gale. "It's Mike or Mr. Gale." There were laughs. Ted spots celestial event. Leigh Ann and Gieson break maidens. It was a beauty. Gotsill said: "That one's got some staying power." Dennis said: "And it's long!" Wally almost spit up his cocktail through his nose. Tax is blind. I think he needs Erkel glasses.
We were not Gooed, but we were nearly Al'd.
## 30 ##
Monday, August 4, 2008
Space Club Minutes: 8/4/08
Space time: 9:09 p.m. PST
Event: Space Station
Events: The New Guy and Gale were first to spot the celestial happening. Gale broke a string of two defeats (Gotsill and maiden-breaker Chuck Todd previously). Wally made a few jokes. One of 'em was funny. Somebody said "Uranus," we all laughed. Dennis had the eye in the sky spot on. There was a near collision of the space station and object unknown. Ron was too chilly to make the trip. Lefty flat out said no thanks.
We were not Gooed.
### 30 ###
Event: Space Station
Events: The New Guy and Gale were first to spot the celestial happening. Gale broke a string of two defeats (Gotsill and maiden-breaker Chuck Todd previously). Wally made a few jokes. One of 'em was funny. Somebody said "Uranus," we all laughed. Dennis had the eye in the sky spot on. There was a near collision of the space station and object unknown. Ron was too chilly to make the trip. Lefty flat out said no thanks.
We were not Gooed.
### 30 ###
What's the difference b/n Astronomy and Astrology?
What is the difference between Astronomy and Astrology?
People who have not studied either subject may be forgiven for believing that Astronomy involves going into the garden on a freezing cold night and pointing a telescope at the stars and planets. Similarly, they may think that Astrology involves looking up their horoscope in a tabloid newspaper to see if fate is going to be kind to them that day.
Thousands of years ago, the ancients used to look at the night sky, presumably because they had few distractions. In addition to learning, over the generations, how the Sun, Moon and planets appeared to move against the background of the stars, they also noted apparent correspondences between events in the sky and events in their lives. Astronomy and Astrology were thus very much linked together, and people learned, for example, that when Mars and Jupiter were due to be visible close together, in the same part of the sky, they might expect an increased amount of activity based on emotional factors. By extension, they perhaps reasoned that there might be a greater likelihood of conflict at that time.
Over the course of history, and particularly over the last few centuries, Astronomy and Astrology have become separated. It is now fashionable to regard Astronomy as an objective Science, dealing with observations and theories about the Solar System and the rest of the Universe. Such information is regarded as lying, in principle, within the public domain. Astrology has a reputation for being a mysterious and esoteric field of study, possibly because much of the subject material lies outside the realm of the objective. In Astrology, personal viewpoints and understanding based upon personal experience take precedence over scientific measurements and theory.
This apparent difference between Astronomy and Astrology is largely due to the peculiar way we often choose to categorise our experiences into those which relate to events and to relationships in the outer world, and those which relate to our inner goals and to our emotions. Both subjects deal with humans and with heavenly bodies. In Astronomy the main focus is on the heavenly bodies, (of the politically correct kind!), while in Astrology the main focus is on human concerns. However, there is no law that compels us to separate inner from outer experiences, or to set one aspect of our lives against another.
I believe that there is much to be said for regarding Astronomy and Astrology as complementary fields of study in our search to understand ourselves and the Universe in which we live.
People who have not studied either subject may be forgiven for believing that Astronomy involves going into the garden on a freezing cold night and pointing a telescope at the stars and planets. Similarly, they may think that Astrology involves looking up their horoscope in a tabloid newspaper to see if fate is going to be kind to them that day.
Thousands of years ago, the ancients used to look at the night sky, presumably because they had few distractions. In addition to learning, over the generations, how the Sun, Moon and planets appeared to move against the background of the stars, they also noted apparent correspondences between events in the sky and events in their lives. Astronomy and Astrology were thus very much linked together, and people learned, for example, that when Mars and Jupiter were due to be visible close together, in the same part of the sky, they might expect an increased amount of activity based on emotional factors. By extension, they perhaps reasoned that there might be a greater likelihood of conflict at that time.
Over the course of history, and particularly over the last few centuries, Astronomy and Astrology have become separated. It is now fashionable to regard Astronomy as an objective Science, dealing with observations and theories about the Solar System and the rest of the Universe. Such information is regarded as lying, in principle, within the public domain. Astrology has a reputation for being a mysterious and esoteric field of study, possibly because much of the subject material lies outside the realm of the objective. In Astrology, personal viewpoints and understanding based upon personal experience take precedence over scientific measurements and theory.
This apparent difference between Astronomy and Astrology is largely due to the peculiar way we often choose to categorise our experiences into those which relate to events and to relationships in the outer world, and those which relate to our inner goals and to our emotions. Both subjects deal with humans and with heavenly bodies. In Astronomy the main focus is on the heavenly bodies, (of the politically correct kind!), while in Astrology the main focus is on human concerns. However, there is no law that compels us to separate inner from outer experiences, or to set one aspect of our lives against another.
I believe that there is much to be said for regarding Astronomy and Astrology as complementary fields of study in our search to understand ourselves and the Universe in which we live.
Meteor viewing tips
Introduction
Meteor Science is one of the few remaining astronomical fields where amateur astronomers, equipped with only their eyes, can provide a valuable service to the planetary science community. Because bright city lights and cloudy weather often prevent us from viewing the sky, chances are that few observers, if any, are watching meteors on any particular night. Brief meteor outbursts and bright fireballs can occur unnoticed. So, if you watch the sky, you may be the only observer of one of these rare events. When more observers watch each night, there is a better chance of observing and reporting fleeting meteor spectacles. This is the reason we encourage all observers to take advantage of clear skies and to observe meteor activity as often as possible.
Charles Olivier formed the American Meteor Society in 1911. The new organization's goals were promoting and managing amateur participation in the field of meteor astronomy. Nearly one hundred years later, the society's visual observers are still scanning the skies for meteoric activity and reporting their observations. Today, global communication is nearly instantaneous and it is far easier to provide activity alerts and to share your meteor data with the world's observers.
The purpose of this page is to provide (on-line) the forms and instructions used by participants in the AMS Visual Observing Program to record their meteor data collected in the field, as well as presenting periodic reports on the visual meteor activity seen by our observers. Once received by the visual coordinator, copies of these data are then distributed to other interested organizations, such as the International Meteor Organization (IMO), as well to as individual amateur and professional astronomers (both AMS and non-AMS) who are interested in utilzing the data for a particular study. Additionally, this page also contains a number of papers and articles written by present and past AMS affiliates on the topic of techniques for visual meteor observing and data reduction.
For more information and instructions on getting started in this endeavor, please contact our Visual Observing Program coordinator, Kim Youmans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meteor Viewing Basics
We all at one time or another have seen a shooting star zip through the heavens. If you are interested in increasing the odds of seeing this phenomena, there are some important factors you should consider:
On an annual scale, from the northern hemisphere, more random (sporadic) meteor activity will occur during the second half of the year. From the southern hemisphere, almost the opposite is true with the first half being more productive. There are actually two peaks visible from the southern hemisphere, one in January and the other in early July. It was once thought that the angle of the ecliptic during different seasons played a role in this variation. Studies have revealed that there is simply more activity to be seen from weak and unrecognized radiants, producing the sporadic meteors, during these times of year from each hemisphere.
On a daily scale, dusk is the worst time to view meteor activity. The reason for this is that at this time, you are viewing the area of the sky from which the Earth is receding. Therefore any meteor must catch up to the Earth in order to be seen. This is often compared to a vehicle driving through rain or snow. One will see more raindrops or snowflakes hitting the front windshield compared to the rear window. At this time you are looking through the rear window.
As the night progresses the numbers of meteors visible will increase. As the Earth rotates toward the apex (the point in the sky where the Earth appears to be traveling toward), meteors striking the Earth from perpendicular angles and those striking the Earth from head-on will become visible. The best time to see meteor activity would be the period just before the start of morning twilight, when most of the meteors will be striking the Earth from a "head-on" position, much like looking through the front windshield of a vehicle during rain or snow.
There is even a more important factor when trying to see meteor activity; is there an active major meteor shower visible tonight? If there is then you have the opportunity of seeing up to ten times the normal numbers of meteors visible. There are only nine meteor showers than are considered major. They are the Quadrantids (Jan 3-4), Lyrids (Apr 22), Eta Aquarids (May 2-10), Delta Aquarids (Jul 26-30), Perseids (Aug 5-19), Orionids (Oct 18-26), Leonids (Nov 18), Geminids (Dec 10-16), and the Ursids (Dec 22). These major showers vary in intensity but all are best seen during the early morning hours. Viewing the morning sky during these periods will offer much more activity as these showers will combine with the normal sporadic activity to produce a good show. The absolute ten best mornings for viewing meteor activity are: (in order of strength) Dec 14, Aug 12, Dec 13, Aug 11, Aug 13, Jan 3, Dec 12, Oct 22, Aug 10, and Dec 11. Since the Earth encounters these showers every year at the same time, these dates will usually remain the same year after year.
Finally, the sky must be as dark as possible for you to see the most activity. If the moon is above the horizon, it will certainly brighten the sky. There are years when a bright moon will ruin most of the dates above. There is nothing you can do about this coincidence except put up with the moonlight or wait until the next favorable date. December 14 and August 12 (the peak mornings of the Geminids and Perseids) will still produce more activity with moonlight than all the others without. They should not be missed regardless of the conditions.
There are other factors to help you see more activity that are more within your control. The location of your watch is important. Since city lights will obscure the fainter meteors, it would help immensely to watch from darker rural skies. Viewing comfort is also desirable. You should use a reclining lounge chair so that you are comfortable. It is also a good idea to nap before a watch and to be well rested when attempting to observe. You certainly will not see much meteor activity through closed eyelids!
If you consider these factors when planning your observing schedule, you will surely see enough meteors to fulfill all your wishes!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested Observing Strategies
The most popular strategy is to view when meteor activity is strongest. Besides, who wants to be out when one sees only one or two meteors per hour? That's about as exciting as watching the grass grow! There are approximately ten mornings each year when the meteor activity is exceptional. This is when a majority of the meteor observers are out. This is also when the year round observers get rewarded for their efforts. Wouldn't you know it though that a majority of these nights have a full moon or are clouded out! Well, it seems that way to a lot of us who have been around for a long time.
What about the other 355 nights per year? Well, these are the nights when real discoveries are made and surprises lie in wait. Yes there are those nights when the activity is so sparse one can barely stay awake. Yet it's the fact that you might be the only person on earth at that moment concentrating on meteor activity that keeps you going. Who knows, you may witness a rare meteor from the Tau Herculid shower or the start of a flurry of activity from the June Bootids. Sometimes there is an unexpected display of activity from a new or dormant radiant. While the major showers are the most entertaining, real discoveries are made on nights when nothing out of the ordinary is expected.
There is at least one minor shower active each night of the year. There are radiant lists where a hundred or more showers are listed. Recent studies using unbiased video equipment has shown that there are only three dozen radiants active throughout the year that produce enough activity that is easily visible to the unaided eye. Less than a dozen of these produce rates of ten meteors per hour or better. The other two dozen produce rates lower than the sporadic background. These minor showers are often ignored and are in need of constant monitoring.
The American Meteor Society encourages observers to monitor these minor showers so that any abnormal activity may be observed and reported. Occasionally we also ask observers to monitor the skies on selected dates to verify activity reported earlier. For motivated observers, the A.M.S. also encourages observations on nights when little or no activity is expected. It is these observations that alert us to new activity and the prospect of a new shower in years to come.
Meteor Science is one of the few remaining astronomical fields where amateur astronomers, equipped with only their eyes, can provide a valuable service to the planetary science community. Because bright city lights and cloudy weather often prevent us from viewing the sky, chances are that few observers, if any, are watching meteors on any particular night. Brief meteor outbursts and bright fireballs can occur unnoticed. So, if you watch the sky, you may be the only observer of one of these rare events. When more observers watch each night, there is a better chance of observing and reporting fleeting meteor spectacles. This is the reason we encourage all observers to take advantage of clear skies and to observe meteor activity as often as possible.
Charles Olivier formed the American Meteor Society in 1911. The new organization's goals were promoting and managing amateur participation in the field of meteor astronomy. Nearly one hundred years later, the society's visual observers are still scanning the skies for meteoric activity and reporting their observations. Today, global communication is nearly instantaneous and it is far easier to provide activity alerts and to share your meteor data with the world's observers.
The purpose of this page is to provide (on-line) the forms and instructions used by participants in the AMS Visual Observing Program to record their meteor data collected in the field, as well as presenting periodic reports on the visual meteor activity seen by our observers. Once received by the visual coordinator, copies of these data are then distributed to other interested organizations, such as the International Meteor Organization (IMO), as well to as individual amateur and professional astronomers (both AMS and non-AMS) who are interested in utilzing the data for a particular study. Additionally, this page also contains a number of papers and articles written by present and past AMS affiliates on the topic of techniques for visual meteor observing and data reduction.
For more information and instructions on getting started in this endeavor, please contact our Visual Observing Program coordinator, Kim Youmans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meteor Viewing Basics
We all at one time or another have seen a shooting star zip through the heavens. If you are interested in increasing the odds of seeing this phenomena, there are some important factors you should consider:
On an annual scale, from the northern hemisphere, more random (sporadic) meteor activity will occur during the second half of the year. From the southern hemisphere, almost the opposite is true with the first half being more productive. There are actually two peaks visible from the southern hemisphere, one in January and the other in early July. It was once thought that the angle of the ecliptic during different seasons played a role in this variation. Studies have revealed that there is simply more activity to be seen from weak and unrecognized radiants, producing the sporadic meteors, during these times of year from each hemisphere.
On a daily scale, dusk is the worst time to view meteor activity. The reason for this is that at this time, you are viewing the area of the sky from which the Earth is receding. Therefore any meteor must catch up to the Earth in order to be seen. This is often compared to a vehicle driving through rain or snow. One will see more raindrops or snowflakes hitting the front windshield compared to the rear window. At this time you are looking through the rear window.
As the night progresses the numbers of meteors visible will increase. As the Earth rotates toward the apex (the point in the sky where the Earth appears to be traveling toward), meteors striking the Earth from perpendicular angles and those striking the Earth from head-on will become visible. The best time to see meteor activity would be the period just before the start of morning twilight, when most of the meteors will be striking the Earth from a "head-on" position, much like looking through the front windshield of a vehicle during rain or snow.
There is even a more important factor when trying to see meteor activity; is there an active major meteor shower visible tonight? If there is then you have the opportunity of seeing up to ten times the normal numbers of meteors visible. There are only nine meteor showers than are considered major. They are the Quadrantids (Jan 3-4), Lyrids (Apr 22), Eta Aquarids (May 2-10), Delta Aquarids (Jul 26-30), Perseids (Aug 5-19), Orionids (Oct 18-26), Leonids (Nov 18), Geminids (Dec 10-16), and the Ursids (Dec 22). These major showers vary in intensity but all are best seen during the early morning hours. Viewing the morning sky during these periods will offer much more activity as these showers will combine with the normal sporadic activity to produce a good show. The absolute ten best mornings for viewing meteor activity are: (in order of strength) Dec 14, Aug 12, Dec 13, Aug 11, Aug 13, Jan 3, Dec 12, Oct 22, Aug 10, and Dec 11. Since the Earth encounters these showers every year at the same time, these dates will usually remain the same year after year.
Finally, the sky must be as dark as possible for you to see the most activity. If the moon is above the horizon, it will certainly brighten the sky. There are years when a bright moon will ruin most of the dates above. There is nothing you can do about this coincidence except put up with the moonlight or wait until the next favorable date. December 14 and August 12 (the peak mornings of the Geminids and Perseids) will still produce more activity with moonlight than all the others without. They should not be missed regardless of the conditions.
There are other factors to help you see more activity that are more within your control. The location of your watch is important. Since city lights will obscure the fainter meteors, it would help immensely to watch from darker rural skies. Viewing comfort is also desirable. You should use a reclining lounge chair so that you are comfortable. It is also a good idea to nap before a watch and to be well rested when attempting to observe. You certainly will not see much meteor activity through closed eyelids!
If you consider these factors when planning your observing schedule, you will surely see enough meteors to fulfill all your wishes!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested Observing Strategies
The most popular strategy is to view when meteor activity is strongest. Besides, who wants to be out when one sees only one or two meteors per hour? That's about as exciting as watching the grass grow! There are approximately ten mornings each year when the meteor activity is exceptional. This is when a majority of the meteor observers are out. This is also when the year round observers get rewarded for their efforts. Wouldn't you know it though that a majority of these nights have a full moon or are clouded out! Well, it seems that way to a lot of us who have been around for a long time.
What about the other 355 nights per year? Well, these are the nights when real discoveries are made and surprises lie in wait. Yes there are those nights when the activity is so sparse one can barely stay awake. Yet it's the fact that you might be the only person on earth at that moment concentrating on meteor activity that keeps you going. Who knows, you may witness a rare meteor from the Tau Herculid shower or the start of a flurry of activity from the June Bootids. Sometimes there is an unexpected display of activity from a new or dormant radiant. While the major showers are the most entertaining, real discoveries are made on nights when nothing out of the ordinary is expected.
There is at least one minor shower active each night of the year. There are radiant lists where a hundred or more showers are listed. Recent studies using unbiased video equipment has shown that there are only three dozen radiants active throughout the year that produce enough activity that is easily visible to the unaided eye. Less than a dozen of these produce rates of ten meteors per hour or better. The other two dozen produce rates lower than the sporadic background. These minor showers are often ignored and are in need of constant monitoring.
The American Meteor Society encourages observers to monitor these minor showers so that any abnormal activity may be observed and reported. Occasionally we also ask observers to monitor the skies on selected dates to verify activity reported earlier. For motivated observers, the A.M.S. also encourages observations on nights when little or no activity is expected. It is these observations that alert us to new activity and the prospect of a new shower in years to come.
Meteor shower update
The annual Perseid meteor shower is set to peak on Tuesday, Aug. 12, after the moon sets in the wee hours of the morning. The best time to view the meteor shower will be between 4 and 5 a.m., according the American Meteor Society.
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