MEETING NOTICE: The regular meeting of the BARNARD ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY will be held Thursday, March 13 th at Jones Observatory on Brainerd Rd . Refreshments and social hour begin at 7:00 p.m. The business meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. followed by the program at 8:30 .

PROGRAM: A NASA video titled “STARGAZE—Hubble's View of The Universe” will be shown.

The Barnard STAR is the official publication of the Barnard Astronomical Society.

Planned Activities to Enjoy The Wonders of Astronomy—

“The joy of astronomy comes from finding your way around the starry sky and understanding what you see.” –The Editors, SKY AND TELESCOPE MAGAZINE

 

FEBRUARY REGULAR MEETING PROGRAM

Emily Hassler gave a presentation on “Cassini-Huygens Mission to Titan.” Emily graduated from UTC in December as a Geology major and is now investigating opportunities for graduate study.

Her program described the mission which was launched from earth in 1997 and arrived at the at the Saturn system in 2004. Although the project was originally scheduled to be terminated in 2008, it may be extended.

Titan is the largest of Saturn's 18 known natural satellites (and also the second largest in the Solar System--after Jupiter's Ganymede). Almost 3,200 miles (5,150 km) across, Titan is the only satellite known to have an atmosphere.

The Cassini orbiter has been sending back data to earth since it first began circling Titan in 2004. Much of Cassini's contribution to our knowledge of Titan has come from strip radar mapping of the surface. However, the piggyback Huygens probe which descended to the icy surface of this moon, survived and operated for only two hours before ceasing any activity.

Cassini-Huygens has confirmed many geological features of the surface of Titan, but scientists are still trying to figure out its internal structure—whether there is a rocky core.

The surface temperature is minus 218 degrees Fahrenheit, there is a thick, dense atmosphere which is composed primarily of nitrogen and methane, strong winds blow from West to East, and there is no exposed rock (the surface is all frozen hydrocarbons). There is a liquid cycle in which it “rains” hydrocarbons. Precipitation may be seasonal and come in torrents. Since methane is continuously lost from the atmosphere, there has to be a constant source of replenishment, which is thought to be volcanoes.

Unlike earth's Moon which is geologically dead, Titan is geologically young with three primary processes for constant resurfacing: Cryo-volcanism, Moving Dunes, and Fluid Flow. Titan is very similar geologically to Earth with volcanoes, dunes, impact craters, a liquid cycle, and plate tectonics. However, on Titan dunes are snowy pieces of ice and grit. And fluid flow is liquid methane and ethane which have etched “river beds” on the surface.

Thank you, Emily, for this interdisciplinary program which gave us a glimpse of not only the astronomy of Titan but also the new science of “Exo-Geology.”

(Note: After the program, several BAS members were commenting that the Cassini-Huygens Mission is “pure research” since the data obtained from Titan has no immediate practical application but is simply added to the sum of human knowledge about the universe. Unfortunately, the future looks bleak for other planned unmanned space probes to expand our basic knowledge. With competition for the limited science funds now available, the current trend in budget cuts at the National Science Foundation, and NASA in particular, is to scale back on pure research and emphasize “applied science” projects such as competing construction of the International Space Station and the return of astronauts to build a permanent base on the moon. With large cuts looming in basic science missions, we may someday look back on Cassini-Huygens as one of the relatively small number of precious pure research missions to the Solar System during our lifetime.)

MARCH REGULAR MEETING PROGRAM

At the Jones Observatory on Thursday, March 13, 2008 a NASA video titled “STARGAZE—Hubble's View of The Universe” will be shown. STARGAZE comes direct from the Hubble Space Telescope with over an hour of the most incredible images from outer space that you will ever see. Captions and “out-of this-world” music from the music group “2002” will accompany the visual images. DON'T MISS THIS SPECIAL EVENT .

Meeting Format

7:00 P.M. —Observatory Opens for Refreshments and Social
7:30 P.M. ---Business Meeting Begins
8:10 P.M. ---Break
8:30 P.M. ---Program Begins

LOOKING AHEAD

On Thursday, April 10, 2008 , there will be an annual field trip to the Cordell-Lorenz Observatory at The University of The South, Sewanee , TN. Car pools will depart from the Jones Observatory parking lot promptly at 6:00 P.M. EST and return by 11:00 P.M. EST. Dinner will be at Monteagle on the way.

On Thursday, May 8, 2008 Dr. John Mannone , BAS member and Outreach Coordinator, and NASA Night Sky Network Solar System Ambassador will present the program. Topic to be announced.

FALL CREEK FALLS STAR PARTY 2008

An e-mail has been received from the Tennessee State Park Service with the information listed below about this annual event.

The dates are Friday, April 4th and Saturday, April 5th.

Professional and amateur astronomers will present programs on levels from beginner to professional. Dark sky field viewing will be Friday and Saturday nights with alternate “bad weather” programs. There will be no registration fee. The only cost will be lodging and food.

For more information, contact Allen Ball at mistal@bellsouth.net or Lloyd Watkins at watkinslk@comcast.net or visit CumberlandAstronomicalSociety.org. Reservations can be made with Fall Creek Falls Inn at 1-800-250-8610. Ask about the special package deal.

THE BASICS

Solar System's Largest Moons

Moon	Diameter*	Planet	Visibility from Earth
Ganymede	3,270/5,262	Jupiter	Binoculars
Titan	3,200/5,150	Saturn	Telescope
Callisto	2,985/4,806	Jupiter	Binoculars
Io	2,273/3,660	Jupiter	Binoculars
Earth's Moon	2,159/3,475	Earth	Naked Eye

*Miles/Kilometers

(Source: STARDATE; A Publication of The University of Texas McDonald Observatory; January/February, 2008)

 

 

New Leadership at Broohaven

Jim Misewich has been named Associate Laboratory Director for Basic Energy Sciences (BES) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, effective December 14.

With a staff of about 180 and an annual budget of about $50 million, the BES Directorate is responsible for overseeing research in chemistry, condensed matter physics, materials science and nanoscience. Nanoscience, the study of materials at ultra-small dimensions, will expand at Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials state-of-the-art facility that began preliminary operations in 2007 and is expected to be fully operating in the spring.

"Brookhaven Lab has outstanding scientists, extraordinary facilities, and an important role to play in addressing the nation's research needs," Misewich said. "I am honored to have an opportunity to be part of the management team that will help the Lab grow into an even more important contributor to the DOE mission to secure energy independence for our nation." Misewich envisions BES research scientists collaborating with researchers from across the Laboratory, universities and industry to provide scientific leadership for key research challenges in the area of energy sciences.

It is my opinion that these new directions in the science labs of the United States may win back some of the brain drain leaving for the more fertile ground of CERN. Sad to say it may be too late for FermiLab. Further, it is saddening that such is the atmosphere of the physics community over the state of funding these days.

Good Seeing!

BAS members and astronomy friends, 

Here is advance notice of a star party that the Boy Scouts are requesting for this spring, in April 2008 at Camp Columbus . They will most likely ask for us to be there on Friday or Saturday night, April 11th or 12th. I will let everyone know later on when we have more details.

They usually have several hundred Boy Scouts at these Camporee events, so this is an opportunity to introduce a lot of young people to astronomy and the night sky. We gave them a very successful star party at their last Camp Columbus Camporee last winter, and it made a very good impression on them, and it is great that they want us back. I will send more details later on when they become available.

David Witt.

Also, you may wish to check out this blog by a local BAS member Ed Sunder about amateur astronomy and astro imaging. http://flintstonestargazing.com/

He has some great astro images he has taken on it. Ed can be reached at edsunder@3hd.com.

 

OFFICERS

President………………………………………...…. Tom Adkins
Vice-President…………………………………… Gary Caldwell
Secretary…………………………………....………Bill Seymour
Treasurer………………………………….…………. David Witt
STAR Editor…………………………….………….Steve Ramey
Webmaster………………………………...…………. Rod Ruch
Star Party Chairman………………………...……...Victor Rogers
Outreach Coordinator…………………....………...John Mannone

Februeary Minutes

President Tom Adkins called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. There were nine members and five visitors present. (Attendance was hurt by the conflict with Valentine's Day, with several BAS members indicating that they were taking their wives out to dinner instead).

Approval of January Minutes as read by Bill Seymour

Treasurer's Report

From David Witt : Bank account balance was $948.88 in January and $811.18 on February 1st. Expenses coming up are $150 for BAS Prize in Astronomy and Physics at Annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair at UTC (if there are any entries).

Old Business

None

New Business

David Witt announced that the Annual BAS Star Party for Boy Scouts is scheduled for April 11th or 12th at Camp Columbus . BAS members will be kept up-to-date via e-mail.

Bill and Melinda Lord distributed literature for the “Globe at Night” Program, running from February 25th through March 8th.

Tom Adkins appointed the following nominating committee for 2008 BAS officers, who will be voted on at the April meeting: Dr. Gary Caldwell , David Witt , and Bill Lord.

Dr. John Mannone announced that award money from the “Share The Universe” Program will be coming into the BAS Treasury. This stipend will be received over a period of four years. John said that he will also donate his hours to try to obtain NSF grant money for BAS

Respectfully submitted.
Bill Seymour, Secretary

.

REMINDER - Your annual BAS dues of are now due on the anniversary of your membership in accordance with the adopted amendment to the by-laws. The due date appears below your name on the address on the front of this newsletter. If your expiration date says “Overdue” or if you don't agree with the date shown, contact David Witt to resolve discrepancies. The current dues rates are as follows: REGULAR $15.00, REGULAR ASSOCIATE $7.00, JUNIOR $8.00, JUNIOR ASSOCIATE $5.00. Your Sky & Telescope or Astronomy subscription will continue to be handled as in the past. When you receive your subscription reminder card, submit it to:

David Witt
4503 Cove Lane
Chattanooga , TN 37415-2306

Along with the group subscription rate of $32.95 for Sky and Telescope, or $34.00 for Astronomy. Note the increased rate for Astronomy. This was effective July 31, 2005

DEADLINE - All articles and other materials for publication in the next STAR are due no later than Wednesday, March 26 th . The following media are acceptable: hard copy, disk (IBM), video tape (VHS), prints, or e-mail to bas@chattanooga.net or s tramey@catt.com and attach a file or mail to:

Steve Ramey
109 Sioux Trail
Ringgold GA 30736

PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ALSO ACCEPTABLE.

 

DIRECTIONS TO ORION ACRES

FROM NORTH HAMILTON COUNTY :

From 27 (corridor J) take hwy. 111 to Dunlap, continue through the Sequatchie Valley up the next mountain ( Cagle Mountain ). When you reach the summit about 5 miles turn LEFT onto hwy. 399 (sign reads 'to Savage Gulf State Park ' Stay on 399 until it ends, which will be in Grundy Co. Now make a LEFT onto hwy. 108 South. This goes thru Palmer TN. Continue on 108 up to a higher elevation. When this levels off, turn RIGHT onto Palmer Fire Tower Rd. This is a large open area with possibly trucks loaded with timber for the paper mills. Orion Acres will be on the RIGHT about 8 tenths mile.

 FROM INTERSTATE 24 (to Nashville ):

Go to the Dunlap/Whitwell exit (#155). This is hwy. 28. Exit right and keep on 28 for about 11 miles, passing Hardee's on your left. Continue through the stoplight and take the next LEFT on Hwy. 108 North. Continue another 11 or so miles. You will see ' Grundy County ' sign. Take the next left. This is Palmer Fire Tower Rd. Go 8 tenths of a mile and Orion Acres is on the RIGHT