OfficersPresident………………………………...…..Tom Adkins
Vice-President……………………………………….George Bell
Secretary………………………………………….Gary Caldwell
Treasurer……………………………………………..David Witt
STAR Editor……………………………………….Steve Ramey
Webmaster…………………………………………….Rod Ruch

June Minutes

Minutes of the June 9, 2005 meeting of the Barnard Astronomical Society.

The June meeting of the Society was called to order at 7:40PM by President Tom Adkins. There were 11 regular members present.

Treasurer's Report:
David Witt reports a balance of $488.14 as of May 31. There are a large number of members who are greater than 15 months overdue on dues. These people are subject to losing their membership. A book raffle will be held at each monthly meeting to help with a special project fund.

Correction to the MAY MINUTES:
The Astronomical League membership dues are $5.00 per society member which is included in the $15.00 BAS dues. The Society's membership in the Astronomical League is $15.00. Membership requirement in the AL will change in the near future. Some members are not receiving the AL Reflector or benefits of the AL.

Old Business:
Election of Officers
Tom Adkins---------President
David Witt-----------Treasurer
Gary Caldwell-------Secretary
George Bell---------- Delegate to Astronomical LeagueRecommended by the nominating committee and elected by unanimous vote of the membership present at the meeting (quorum present).

New Business:
Rod Ruch being the webmaster receives E-mails and will forward them to the Secretary who will respond to them.

The Society received a THANK YOU!! from the principle of Daisy Elementary School. There were 12 telescopes present. Scopes ranged from David Hannon's 7in Astrophysics refractor to several Dobs and SCT's all the way down to a small Tasco refractor. Everyone was blessed with clear skies, moderately good seeing, a first quarter moon and two planets, Jupiter and Saturn.

The St. Nicholas Star Party was also a success.

Vic Rogers brought business concerning Baylor School, Galaxy Girls and "Uncle Edward". Karen Paik Has provided information the Baylor School may be able to provide a place for the Society's collection of books and provide a place for meetings. The Society will continue to investigate the possibilities.

Ellen Thornburg would like the Society to do a program for Galaxy Girls.

"Uncle Edward's" home at Yerkes Observatory is likely to be included in the sale of the property and subject to being destroyed in favor of commercial or subdivision development. A letter is to be drafted, approved and signed by the officers if the Society. The letter is to include the importance of the observatory to the advancement of astronomy, its cultural impact and the fact that the telescope is still the worlds largest refractor. The letter is to be printed on the Society's letterhead.

A motion was made by Victor Rogers supporting the above and was seconded by Rod Ruch. The motion passed unanimously.

Does anyone know Ray Zimmerman's telephone or address???

There is a Star Party scheduled for July 9 at Orion Acres weather permitting.

There will be a conjunction of Mercury, Venus and Saturn on June 25-27.

The program for the July meeting will be presented by Dr. Douglas Durig from Sewanee University on Gamma Ray Bursts.

June Program: Show and Tell

Ronnie Floyd brought a new bino viewer by Stellarvue that costs $199 including a matched pair of eyepieces. This viewer has a 22mm clear aperture and is identical to the Burgess Optical bino viewer.

Respectfully submittedGary Caldwell, 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. 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.

NOTE:

Beginning this month, the expiration date of your membership will appear on your mailing label on the front of this newsletter. At least, the expiration date as best as we can determine it. David and Bill have put a lot of hours into trying to automate the process. If your expiration date says “Overdue” or if you don’t agree with the date shown, contact David the address shown above.

DEADLINE-

All articles and other materials for publication in the next STAR are due no later than Wednesday, August 3^rd. 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.

At press time, we had not officially scheduled a star party for the next new moon. The July star party was held July 9^th, before this newsletter was printed. The moon is new on August 4^th. We will probably set a star party date of either July 30^th or August 6^th at the next meeting. Check out our website for the latest news. In anticipation of our next party, I am reprinting directions to Orion Acres.

ORION ACRES DIRECTIONS:

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. A sign will be posted at 7pm on Saturday May 7th.

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. There will be a sign posted at 7pm on Saturday, May 7th. The following article was inadvertently left out of the last issue of the newsletter. My apologies to Mr. and Mrs. Floyd. Report on the

DAISY Elementary Star Party

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star... Whoever wrote the song would have been impressed with the sparkles in the eyes of the children at our recent event. Tuesday, May 17th, turned out to be a great night for the Daisy Elementary Star Party. The sky was clear, the seeing was good, and the mosquitoes were well behaved. In fact, the interest generated kept our members continuously busy shuffling small children up and down step stools to witness our exquisite solar system.The Barnard Society was well represented with approximately ten telescopes of various types. Children with parents not far behind received their first opportunity to view Jupiter, and it's four largest moons, along with Saturn, and various other sights around the Terminator of the First Quarter Moon.The Star Party was a great success due to the combined efforts and talents of our participating members including David Hanon, and his incredible 7" Astro Physics APO Refractor Telescope. The telescope offered the unique opportunity to many young children to observe planetary activity at a level which few amateur astronomers have an opportunity to experience. Also, the members present provided a tremendous variety of equipment and personal knowledge creating a very unique learning environment. Having been able to witness first hand the excitement and enthusiasm sparked in these children, it is my recommendation that the Barnard Society schedule Star Party events on a bi-annual basic at Daisy Elementary School, and seek to sponsor similar events at other schools, as well. This will help raise public awareness and establish a higher level of appreciation of the taken for granted overhead tapestry known as the Night Sky.Recognizing the positive effects this event had on everyone present, youth and Barnard Society members alike, I personally volunteer to help establish other Star Party events within the Hamilton County school system. The Barnard Astronomical Society has provided a very worthwhile volunteer service and the participating members are to be applauded. ~ Ronny Floyd and Dr. Victoria W. Christian Floyd, PhD, DOD.

The Perfect Lens not Possible?
Synopsis of an Article in Physical Review Letters E,

West Lafayette, IN | 4 October 2004 -- Researchers at Purdue University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have completed a mathematical analysis showing that it isn't quite possible to build a so-called "perfect lens," but the underlying theory still makes it feasible to design better imaging systems.

A perfect lens would be able to focus light more narrowly than conventional lenses, making it possible to etch finer electronic circuits and create more compact and powerful computer chips. Such lenses also might lead to better fiber-optic communications systems and more precise medical imaging technologies.

Researchers have now shown, through rigorous mathematical analysis, that a perfect lens is not possible, said Kevin J. Webb, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue.

"It may be possible to build a better imaging system, but it could never be perfect," Webb said. "That's the bottom line."

The findings are detailed in a paper appearing online in Physical Review E, a journal published by the American Physical Society. The paper was written by Webb, Purdue engineering doctoral student Ming-Chuan Yang, MIT doctoral student David Ward and Keith Nelson, a professor of physical chemistry at MIT.

Perfect lenses theoretically could compensate for the loss of a portion of the light transmitting an image as it passes through a lens. Lenses and imaging systems could be improved if this lost light, which scientists call "evanescent light," could be restored.

Central to the concept of a perfect lens is refraction. All natural materials, such as glass, air and water, have positive refractive indices. In the late 1960s, researchers hypothesized what would happen if a material had a negative refractive index. At the interface between a material with a positive index and a material with a negative index, light would bend in the opposite direction.

In 2000, researcher John Pendry at the Imperial College, London, theorized that slabs of such material might be used to create a perfect lens. The idea was that an imaging system that used a combination of positive and negative refraction could restore the lost evanescent light.

No materials have yet been created that have negative refraction indices for visible light, but in 2001 researchers at the University of California, San Diego, used combinations of copper rings and wires to cause a microwave beam to undergo negative refraction, enlivening the debate about the possibility of perfect lenses.

"Through a rigorous mathematical analysis, however, we have been able to show that, while a negative refraction index could conceivably be used to build better imaging systems, a perfect lens is not possible," Webb said.

"It's always useful to use effects found either in nature or in fabricated structures to improve optical systems," said Fil Bartoli, a program director in the Electrical and Communications Systems Division within the NSF's Engineering Directorate. "But any time you employ some cute effect, such as negative refraction, it's important to quantify it and to determine to what extent it could be useful. That is what Dr. Webb and his colleagues tried to do, and I think that they succeeded in quantifying it and making a useful statement. The concept of using materials with negative refractive indices to improve imaging systems is likely to receive continued attention in the years to come. It's a topical area that has a fair amount of interest in the scientific and engineering communities and still needs to be investigated," Bartoli said.

Good Seeing!