MEETING NOTICE: The regular meeting of the BARNARD ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY will be held Thursday, May 8 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: Dr. John Mannone, Distinguished Professor of Physics for Knox County Schools, will present a program titled, “Adventures in Astronomy: A Rediscovery.”

 

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

Planned Activities to Enjoy The Wonders of Astronomy—

“Giving amateurs their due: The term ‘amateur' is often used negatively as a synonym for ‘unskilled.' Not here! In astronomy, the word remains true to its Latin root, amator, meaning ‘lover.' Amateur astronomers spend countless hours under the starry sky purely for the love of it. Many become as skilled at telescope observing or astrophotography as any professional—often more so.”

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

 

Technical Areas of Specialization within BAS for Member Participation 

Large Aperture/Dark Sky/Deep Space Optical Astronomy
For more information, contact David Witt or Victor Rogers.

Astrophotography
For more information, contact David Hanon , Dr. Gary Caldwell, or Victor Rogers

Radio Astronomy
For more information, contact Bill and Melinda Lord, or Bill Seymour

 

April Special Meeting Program

On April 10th, BAS members made the annual field trip to the Cordell-Lorenz Observatory and Astronomy Laboratory at the University of The South , Sewanee , TN. In keeping with tradition, a tasty dinner was enjoyed at the famous Smokehouse Restaurant in Monteagle along the way.

When the BAS group arrived at the Sewanee Astronomy Facilities, Dr. Douglas Durig, a gracious host, described his asteroid research program. He introduced his specialized ASTROMETRICA software which detects objects down to 21st magnitude as it searches for moving objects against a fixed star background in his CCD time exposure images. Outside, on the roof of the four story building, guests then braved 35 mph wind gusts to see the group of automated SCTs with 10-14 inch apertures which are dedicated to asteroid studies. Fortunately, partially clear skies also allowed participants to view the first quarter moon, Mars, and Saturn through several smaller telescopes which had been set up for the occasion.

The beautifully restored Clark 6 Inch Refractor in the dome with its brass finish is always a high spot of the Sewanee visits.

Once again, BAS members and guests got to hear about Dr. Durig's close reporting relationship with the prestigious Minor Planet Center , Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge , MA , the world clearinghouse for asteroid discoveries. He competes with asteroid hunters from all over the world to see who can be the first to report a particular undiscovered asteroid.

In October of 2007, the most recent month that the Sewanee Program was in operation, Dr. Durig and his students were credited by The Minor Planet Center with discovering 20 previously unknown asteroids. Since that time the his program has temporarily ceased operation due to his Spring Semester Sabbatical and also as result of a recent lightning strike to the top of the building which destroyed some vital electronic components in his systems.

Thank you, Dr. Durig, for inviting BAS to see your facilities and be exposed to some of your internationally recognized astronomy research.

 

May Regular Meeting Program

At the Jones Observatory on Thursday, May 8, 2008 Dr. John Mannone, Distinguished Professor of Physics for Knox County Schools, will present a program titled, “Adventures in Astronomy: A Rediscovery.” Abstract: This talk will explore just some of the fascinating facets of astronomy through a set of eyes complementing the astronomer's—a rediscovery of astronomy through history, culture, and literature. The topics will range from ancient astronomy to modern cosmology. The presentation will be interactive and particular topics developed according to audience interest and participation. DON'T MISS THIS FASCINATING INTERDISCIPLINARY AND CULTURAL APPROACH TO ASTRONOMY!

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

 

New Introductory Astronomy Course To Be Taught at Jones Observatory

Over the years, many visitors and new BAS members have commented that they know very little about astronomy and want to learn more, but desire some kind of formal structured course to be offered at the observatory.

Now, at the suggestion of several BAS members, Jack Pitkin (the Jones Observatory Director and Coordinator of The Physics and Astronomy Laboratories at UTC) has agreed to teach such a course beginning in the Fall of 2008. It will be a non-credit offering presented for 40 minutes immediately prior to each Sunday night Open House for the general public. A preliminary schedule of topics is being prepared and will be publicized. BAS members will be assisting in the course.

Jack says that the first (2008-09) year will be an informal trial run for experimentation with the idea of having such a course. If there is some success, the course may be incorporated into the more formal UTC Continuing Education Program in subsequent years

 

Election of 2008 BAS Officers

At the May BAS meeting, members will elect officers from the slate prepared by the Nominating Committee below and from any nominations from the floor.

President—Dr. Gary Caldwell
Vice-President---Bill Lord
Secretary---Bill Seymour
Treasurer---Melinda Lord
Barnard Star Editor---Steve Ramey
Webmaster---Rod Ruch
Star Party Chair—Victor Rogers
Program Committee--- Co-Chairs Dr. John Mannone and Bill Lord
Member-at Large David Witt

 

The Basics

Planetary Reflections

A planet's or moon's reflectivity is known as albedo. Venus has an albedo of about 65, which means that it reflects about 65 percent of the sunlight that strikes it back into space. The earth's moon has an albedo of around 10 and appears bright to viewers on earth only because the moon is so close and therefore quite large in the sky. Other high albedo planets include Jupiter and Saturn, which are enveloped by clouds. The planet with the lowest albedo is Mercury, which like the earth's moon has a surface of volcanic rock.

(Source: STARDATE, a publication of The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory; January/February, 2008)

 

Should BAS Permanently Relocate to A Mountain Top in New Mexico ?

Just kidding! However, after three successive failures of planned Star Parties in recent months due to inclement weather (Dade County, Fall Creek Falls, and Camp Columbus), it doesn't seem like such a bad idea to wish for a geographical location with clearer skies.

Several years ago, BAS member and Chattanooga resident Jim Lauck did move to the top of a mountain in New Mexico where he built a house and observatory to enjoy more than 250 beautiful nights per year.

Meanwhile, back in East Tennessee optical astronomers will usually have to live with an average of only 3-4 dark and clear nights per month (after weather and the new moon are factored in) for deep space viewing. In our region, the weather odds are not very good at all for a Star Party scheduled more than 5 days in advance during certain rainy months.

How we envy you, Jim!

 

Start Your Own Micro-Meteorite Collection

Through a special purchase arranged by the University of The South , BAS is obtaining a large meteorite collection at an unusually low price per gram. These meteorites will be offered for sale to BAS members as a fund-raiser for the Club treasury. Watch for future announcements.

 

Aging Red Shift?

Among the potentially most important results of Cosmology in the last decade is the realization that the star formation rate at redshifts z > 1 may have been higher than at present, and that much of the light produced by stars at high redshift reaches us in the FIR, after having been reprocessed by dust. Most of the FIR radiation background may have been produced at high z, and reaches us in the sub millimeter spectral range. The recent detection of a galaxy at z = 6.4 in CO (Walter et al. 2003; submitted to Nature) indicates that a large fraction of the baryonic material was already converted into metals less than 1 G yr after the Big Bang. Did the origin of galaxies occur in a bath of infrared light? Were the bursts of star formation that may have accompanied the episodes of galaxy birth associated with the formation of quasars and super-massive black holes?

In the late 1990s, the SCUBA bolometer array on the JCMT identified a population of high z, highly luminous and dusty galaxies as the main source of the FIR/sub millimeter radiation background. Painstakingly, more than one hundred such sources have been detected by the SCUBA surveys over the last few years, and for only a handful of them are redshifts known. Many of them are invisible at optical wavelengths. Little is known about the overall properties of these objects. If, as generally speculated, they resemble low z ultra luminous infrared galaxies, which have star formation rates orders of magnitude higher than normal galaxies like our own, their rest frame SED would peak near 100 µm — and the vast majority of their flux would be emitted in the FIR. As galaxies at increasing z are observed, their flux at a fixed rest frame wavelength would decrease as the inverse square of their luminosity distance; however, in the observer's frame the peak of their SED moves into the sub millimeter regime, so that the flux remains roughly constant in the observed sub millimeter band. This is why an understanding of the star formation history of the Universe must necessarily tread through observations in the sub millimeter wavelength range. It is also interesting to note that in the galaxies' rest frame, their non-thermal emission kicks in at a wavelength of about 2–3 mm. Thus, the "window of opportunity'' for observations of the dust emission of ULIRGs from the ground is favorable over the decade between 200 µm and 2000 µm, i. e., from the atmospheric cutoff to the onset of predominance of non-thermal processes.

Good Seeing!

 

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

April Minutes

(Note: A shortened business session was conducted during the Sewanee field trip.)

Old Business

Announcement was made that officers will be elected at the May meeting and the slate from the Nominating Committee was read.

New Business

Members present voted to spend $250 from the BAS Treasury to purchase a micro-meteorite assortment at a very low price per gram through a connection of The University of The South with a commercial vendor. The plan is for BAS to re-sell the meteorites to club members as a fund raiser for the Treasury.

Dr. Durig is seeking a dark sky site where he can set up very large aperture automated telescopes for a study of variable stars. He has received very strong encouragement from the National Science Foundation on the merits of his proposal. However, due to current funding shortages, it may be two years before he is eligible to receive the $300,000 plus grant.

BAS members brought up the idea of seeking the permission of owner Victor Rogers to use Orion Acres, one of the best dark sky sites in the Eastern United States . The security problems in protecting the equipment from theft and vandalism at Orion Acres were discussed. However, it was noted that the same security issues would be involved for just about any remote, unattended location, and that some of the grant money would have to be used to design and construct anti-intruder systems.

It was decided that Victor should be in communication with Dr. Durig for some preliminary discussions. Dr. Durig said that he would like to visit Orion Acres on the first available dark sky night. This would be an opportunity for BAS to be involved in a prominent professional astronomy research program.

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, June 12 th . 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.

 

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