VOL 34 NO 4 APRIL 2005 PUBLISHED MONTHLY

Star Party at Orion Acres: Saturday, May 7th. Camping is fine if you wish to spend the night. All Star Parties are weather dependent, and subject to cancellation due to clouds or rain. For more information or for confirmation the event is a go in the event of questionable weather, call Victor Rogers at (423) 842-5595. See the BAS website for directions to Orion Acres or visit www.orionacres.org  

MEETING NOTICE:

The regular meeting of the BARNARD ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY will be held Thursday April 14th at 7:30 PM (EDT) at University of the South at Sewanee. The meeting will be held in the Cordell-Lorenz Observatory in Carnegie Hall. From I-24 north, take exit #134 on top of Monteagle Mountain. Turn left and go approximately 5 miles. The observatory is located on the roof of Carnegie Hall just north of All Saints Chapel on the main quad of the University along University Avenue.

OFFICERS

MARCH MINUTES

The March meeting of the Barnard Astronomical Society was called to order on March 10,2005 at 7:40 PM by president Tom Atkins. There were 14 regular members present. There were no visitors. 

The minutes were read and accepted with no additions, deletions or corrections. 

Treasurer's Report: David Witt reports a current balance of $672.81 and no outstanding debts.

Old Business: 

BAS Library: An offer has been made by Rose Secrest to organize the library. Tom Atkins discussed reactivating the library and where to locate it. All of the new books donated to the library are now on the library computer file. 

NASA NightSky Network: BAS has not submitted any reports of qualifying activities and the membership is subject to cancellation. A suggestion was made to include the NightSky Network programs on the nights the observatory is open to the public. 

April Meeting: The April meeting of the BAS will be held in Sewanee, TN. A volunteer will be needed to pick up Francis Cordelle in S. Pittsburg on April 14. 

Changes to the BAS Constitution: (see prior newsletter) The change proposed is to convert to a "rolling" membership, i.e. your membership renewal become due on the anniversary of your becoming a member rather than June of each year. The motion was made by Victor Rogers and seconded by George Bell. The motion was passed by a unanimous vote.

New Business: 

DVD/VCR Player: A motion was made for Victor Rogers to purchase the DVD/VCR player for $99. It was seconded by Jim Lauck and passed by a unanimous vote.

Fund Raiser: A raffle of astronomy related items may be held in May. 

Tennessee State Star Party: TSSP will be held at FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK this weekend. March 11-12. No pre-registration is required. 

There will be a Star Party at Orion Acres April 9, weather permitting. 

There is a new publication from Sky & Telescope for the beginning amateur astronomer called Night Sky Magazine. 

The Society has been asked to do another star party for Daisy Elementary School. 

The nominating committee for the 2005 slate of officers consists of David Witt, chairman, George Bell and Jim Lauck.

Respectfully submitted

Gary Caldwell, Secretary

REMINDER

Your annual BAS dues of are now due on June 1, in accordance with the adopted amendment to the by-laws. They 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 $29.00 for Astronomy.

DEADLINE

All articles and other materials for publication in the next STAR are due no later than Wednesday, April 6th. The following media are acceptable: hard copy, disk (IBM), video tape (VHS), prints, or e-mail to bas@chattanooga.net or stramey@catt.com and attach a file or mail to:

Steve Ramey
109 Sioux Trail
Ringgold GA 30736

PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ALSO ACCEPTABLE.

A Brief Overview of the February 2005 AAAS Symposium On Dark Matter

A variety of observations have led cosmologists to conclude that our universe is dominated by a mysterious form of "dark energy" (in addition to the well established "dark matter", which now seems prosaic by comparison). We have a complete inventory of the universe: five percent is ordinary matter, twenty five percent is dark matter, and seventy percent is dark energy. The dark energy component is the most surprising and hardest to understand, and consequently poses the greatest challenges and opportunities to physics and cosmology. Indeed, dark energy may hold the key to the long sought unification of quantum mechanics and gravity.

Given the high stakes, experimenters and theorists are devoting major resources to the quest to understand dark energy. This symposium presented an overview of the most exciting directions these efforts are taking -- the most profound ideas, and the most ambitious experiments. It demonstrated how cosmologists are observing supernovae, galaxy clusters, large scale structure, and the cosmic microwave background in a comprehensive attack on the nature and evolution of dark energy. And we investigated how theorists are proposing dramatic new ideas about space and time in order to answer the deep questions raised by dark energy's very existence.

Good Seeing!

A Report from the Tennessee Spring Star Party, on Saturday, March 12 at Fall Creek Falls State Park

The weather forecast had looked bad all week, but it seemed to clear on the drive up. I got there a little before dark, bought an eyepiece from Bill & Tammy Burgess of Burgess Optical, then went up to the observing field. Had about 20 or 30 folks up there, and close to that many scopes. Turned into a perfectly clear night, with no dew. Great dark skies.

A lot of regular park guests staying at the Inn, who were not there for the star party, wondered up to have a look through the telescopes. One of my best views of the evening was of the Orion Nebula through a Burgess Bino viewer. Somehow using both eyes really does make it look better.

I left about 3 AM. One of the rangers from Fall Creek Falls I spoke with, seemed very glad we were there, and told me how much they want us to come back more often. I think the event was a great success, although most of the people were from Knoxville and Nashville, and it would have been nice to see more folks from Chattanooga up there. I got to talk to a lot of people from the astronomy clubs in Nashville and Knoxville, and made some new friends (although I would never recognize them except by their voice, since it was dark). Hopefully the event will be held again next year.

David Witt

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