Prime Focus (02-16).pub - Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Highlights of the
February Sky
- - - - AM: Mars is 2º below the
Last Quarter Moon.
- - - 3rd - - AM: Saturn is about 5º
below a waning crescent
Moon, and Antares is
about 8º to the lower right
of Saturn.


- - - 6th - - DAWN: Mercury is about
3º below a thin crescent
while brilliant Venus is 5º
to the Moon’s lower right.
- - - 8th → 18th - - DAWN: Mercury and Venus
are only 4º apart.
- - New Moon
9:39 am EST
- - -
15th
- - - - First Quarter Moon
2:46 am EST
- - - 18th - - PM: Algol is at minimum
brightness for about 2
hours centered on 10:50
pm EST.
- - - 21st - - PM: Algol is at minimum
brightness for about 2
hours centered on 7:39 pm
EST.
- - - 21st → 22nd - - PM: Regulus, in Leo, is
near the Full Moon.
- - - 22nd - - Full Moon
1:20 pm EST
- - - 23rd - - PM: Jupiter is less than 2º
from a waning gibbous
Moon.
- - - - AM: Red Mars is about 5º
below the nearly Last
Quarter Moon.


KAS
General Meeting: Friday, February 5 @ 7:00 pm
Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center - See Page 10 for Details
Observing Session: Saturday, February 6 @ 7:00 pm
February Freeze Out - Kalamazoo Nature Center
Board Meeting: Sunday, February 14 @ 5:00 pm
Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome
Inside the Newsletter. . .
January Meeting Minutes....................... p. 2
Observations............................................p. 3
Board Meeting Minutes......................... p. 4
NASA Space Place.................................. p. 5
A.L. Observing Clubs.............................p. 6
Star Parties in 2016................................ p. 7
February Night Sky.................................p. 8
KAS Board & Announcements............ p. 9
General Meeting Preview......................p. 10


January Meeting Minutes
The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society
was brought to order by President Richard Bell on Friday,
January 15, 2016 at 7:13 pm. Approximately 34 members
and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math
& Science Center (KAMSC).
Members and guests that attended the meeting celebrated the
20th anniversary of Comet Hyakutake’s discovery. Before
introducing the feature presentation, Richard spent about 10
minutes talking about the man that discovered the famous
comet. Yuji Hyakutake was born on July 7, 1950 in
Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan. He became interested in comets
when he was 15 years old, after hearing of Comet IkeyaSeki, which appeared in 1965 and was the brightest comet of
the 20th century. Hyakutake said his interest in astronomy
increased steadily since that time.
Hyakutake received a degree in photography from Kyushi
Industry University and then worked as newspaper
photoengraver. He started searching for comets in 1989 but
began a serious search for them after quitting his job in 1994.
He then moved to Kagoshima, where the skies are darker and
clearer. Hyakutake used a giant pair of pedestal-mounted
25×150 Fujinon binoculars at a rural mountaintop site about
15 km (9.3 miles) from his home to get a better view of the
eastern horizon. He discovered his first comet, C/1995 Y1,
on Christmas Day of 1995. This comet never became visible
to the unaided eye.
His greatest find, C/1996 B2, came on January 31, 1996 after
searching for the comet he discovered only 5 weeks earlier.
The comet was 11th magnitude when discovered and had a
coma 2.5ʺ across and was about 2 AU from the Sun.
Astronomers calculated Comet Hyakutake was going to pass
just 0.1 AU (9.3 million miles) from Earth on March 25,
1996. Only four comets in the previous century has passed
closer. The comet’s orbit suggested it visited the inner solar
system about 17,000 years ago. This meant it had probably
passed close to the Sun several times before. Odds were
In his introduction to the feature presentation, Richard
discussed the life of the late, great comet hunter Yuji
Hyakutake and the discovery of his Great Comet of 1996.
Prime Focus
good this would become a bright comet. New comets from
the Oort Cloud tend to brighten dramatically only to
suddenly fade after a layer of fresh volatile gases has
sublimated. Comet Hyakutake reached a maximum
brightness of 0-magnitude and had a noticeably blue-green
color. The average tail length was 35°, but some observer’s
at very dark sites reported an 80° tail!
During closest approach Hyakutake was moving so rapidly
across the night sky that its movement could be detected
against the stars in just a few minutes; it covered the
diameter of a full moon every 30 minutes. Its coma, close to
the zenith as seen from Kalamazoo, appeared approximately
1.5° to 2° across, roughly 4 times the diameter of the full
moon. The comet brought Yuji Hyakutake worldwide fame,
which he found overwhelming. He found himself unable to
comet-hunt because the spotlights of television crews
followed him to his observing site. When asked about his
sudden fame he said:
I’m a bit perplexed by all the attention paid to me, when
it is the comet that deserves the credit.
Yuji Hyakutake died on April 10, 2002 from an aortic
aneurysm.
Everyone then enjoyed the feature presentation, the 1997
independently made documentary Comet Odyssey. The
documentary chronicles the story of how Comet Hyakutake
was brought to life through stunning time-lapse photography
by a group of Canadian amateur astronomers that traveled to
Arizona. The full video can be viewed at this link or an
edited version here. The time-lapse video of Hyakutake can
also be viewed on Peter Cervolo’s personal website; one of
the amateur astronomers featured in the documentary.
After the snack break, Richard gave his President’s Report.
He shared a pair of Lunt 8×32 SUNoculars that he won in
their monthly giveaway. By an amazing coincidence, Jim
Kurtz was also a winner in the same monthly drawing and
received a pair of SUNoculars. Richard then gave a brief
update on the Robotic Telescope Project, but promised more
details on the recent installation at the February meeting. He
again encourage members to join him at the Texas Star Party
in early May. Richard ended by previewing some of the
excellent general meeting guest speakers we have planned to
celebrate our 80th anniversary.
Members were then encouraged to share their observations
of Comet Hyakutake in 1996. Mike Sinclair first heard
about the comet from Richard and no one was sure how to
pronounce its name! He was amazed that the Michigan
weather cooperated during the comet’s peak. He also talked
about an amazing composite photograph of the comet
entered in the 1996 NIAGFest astrophotography contest. Joe
Comiskey took Ellen on a mystery date to celebrate her
birthday, where they observed the comet while hot tubbing!
Roger Williams only briefly observed Hyakutake and took
pictures of the comet with film (a first for him) and an early
CCD camera. Jack Price’s sister, Phyllis Lubbert, worked at
Page 2
February 2016
the Meijer Photo Lab on Westnedge and asked Dave Garten
for a copy of the comet to share with her brother. Jack’s
been a KAS member ever since!
Richard recalled observing the comet on March 25, 1996 at
Astropad, the 8-foot square roll-off roof observatory on S
Avenue that was owned by former member Dave Moore.
Richard said both he and Pete Mumbower noted how the
comet could be seen moving in real time! He also observed
the comet with Dave Moore, Pete Mumbower, and Tom
Taylor at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. News 3 filmed a
story there that night. The comet was passing near Polaris at
the time. The temperature was 8° F with a wind chill of -10°
F. It was so cold that he couldn’t slew his LX200 for fear of
ruining the motors and the LCD display on his keypad went
blank. Richard ended by saying both Hyakutake and HaleBopp came at the perfect time for the KAS. The appearance
of two bright comets in two years played a major part in the
growth phase that continues to this day.
Members then shared current astronomical news. Jack
encouraged everyone to watch a video released by SpaceX
about the successful landing of the Falcon 9 launch and
landing. Jack also mentioned the upcoming launch of the
Jason-3 satellite on January 17th. Jason-3 data will be used
for monitoring global sea level rise, researching human
impacts on oceans, aiding prediction of hurricane intensity,
and operational marine navigation. Jack also encouraged
members to get up before sunrise to observe all five naked
eye planets.
Mike Sinclair shared a story that says China plans to land a
probe on the far side of the Moon by 2018. Greg Sirna
mentioned that astronomers have discovered the brightest
supernova ever seen. The supernova, discovered in June
2015 and named ASASSN-15lh, was 20 times brighter at its
peak than the combined light of the Milky Way galaxy’s 100
billion stars, making it the brightest supernova ever
observed. In fact, it’s twice as bright as the previous recordholder. The supernova occurred in a galaxy located between
3.8 and 4 billion light-years away.
Rumors abound that newly upgraded LIGO, the Advanced
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory or
aLIGO, has finally seen the gravitational-wave signature of
two stellar-mass black holes spiraling together and merging.
This would confirm one of the most elusive predictions of
Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Mike said that
Lawrence Krauss started the rumor. Finally, Mike reported
that he’s seen Star W ars: The Force A wakens four times!
Richard said he’s seen it three times. Joe & Ellen mentioned
that they used the tickets they won at the Holiday Party to
see the movie.
Richard then covered upcoming events. Our first Full Moon
Theater of the year will be held on January 23rd at WMU.
We’ll play Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Interstellar. We
will also play The Martian on March 26th. That Full Moon
Theater will likely be held at KAMSC, so we can enjoy
KAMSC’s new state-of-the-art high-definition projector and
wide angle screen. Richard encouraged members to
contribute to the March 2016 issue of Prime Focus, which
will be the 200th issue he has assembled. The meeting
concluded at 9:12 pm.
Prime Focus
Observations
by
Richard S. Bell
You all know that I wear many hats in the KAS, i.e.
President, Webmaster, Astronomy Day Coordinator, Robotic
Telescope Committee Chair, etc. The position in which I’ve
served the longest is Editor-in-Chief of Prime Focus. My
first tenure as editor began in 1996 - twenty bleeping years
ago! In those days it was a board position with the title
Editor/Secretary. I felt that was the position in which I could
have the most impact. After all, in those days, there really
wasn’t a website and most members didn’t have e-mail yet.
The newsletter was the major way to inform the membership
about KAS news, events, and more.
My first run as editor ended in 2002. Mike Sinclair and then
Robert Wade filled that roll until the end of 2005. I’ve been
doing the newsletter ever since. I tell you this tale because
next month’s issue is a special one for me. It will be the
200th issue I will assemble! It staggers me when I think how
much time I’ve spent on this periodical over the past 20
years. Each issue probably takes an average of 6 hours to
put together. The newsletter is easiest to do when members
contribute, which is the exception rather than the rule
unfortunately. Help me make my 200th issue special.
Contribute! I’ll be contacting everyone that has ever wrote
an article for Prime Focus shortly and ask them to share an
article again. The rest of you are welcome to contribute
something as well. The deadline is the 15th every month, but
contact me if you need more time. I can save space for you
if I know something is coming.
An event even more momentous than my 200th issue
occurred at the end of last year. The robotic telescope has
been assembled! Please be sure to join us at KAMSC on
February 5th at 7:00 pm. I’ll give a little background on the
Robotic Telescope Project and discuss its recent installation.
Hopefully others that joined me in Arizona will chime in as
well. I’ll also talk about what goals still need to be
accomplished. Hope to see you there!
Richard holds his first issue of Prime Focus (January
1996) and sits at the desk were he assembled all 199
issues (thus far). . .including this one.
Page 3
February 2016
Board Meeting Minutes
The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society Board met at
Sunnyside Church on January 17, 2016. President Richard
Bell called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm. All of the other
board members were present (Joe Comiskey, Mike Cook,
Scott Macfarlane, Rich Mather, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and
Roger Williams).
The meeting began as usual with the Treasurer’s report. Not
surprisingly, the largest capital outflows were related to the
Robotic Telescope Project, in which there has been serious
activity. Inflows came primarily from dues and from some
very generous donations to the Robotic Telescope Fund.
After acceptance of the report, Richard gave a quick review
of coming KAS events. These include Full Moon Theater on
January 23rd (with a showing of Interstellar), the February
General Meeting (February 5th), at which Richard will
present details of the trip to set up the robotic telescope, and
February Freeze Out (scheduled for February 6th at the
Kalamazoo Nature Center).
In the first follow-up item, further details of the robotic
telescope setup trip to Arizona were presented. The weather
was extremely bad for driving, resulting in slow and
hazardous going. When conditions became unsafe in aftermidnight hours, the crew decided to get rooms and rest up
until conditions improved. The cost of the rooms had been
fronted by Richard and Rich. The Board felt that this
expense was equivalent to the gasoline cost that we had
previously voted to reimburse, and upon a motion by Don
voted to reimburse the room charges.
Once the group was on site, setup went briskly, with the
mount attached to the pedestal and the telescope (and
camera) put in place on the mount. Unfortunately, some
potentially productive time was lost due to rare cloudy
weather in Arizona, but when viewing was possible, it was
determined that the camera would not reach focus. The
solution is reported to involve moving the secondary mirror
in by about 1.5 mm, which is a precision task best left to
PlaneWave. Richard reported that the lens that had been
donated for use with a piggyback DSLR camera could not be
used, since no adapter is available. He had done some
research and came up with a Rokinon 16-mm lens as the best
solution. After discussion of alternative models and costs,
the Board voted to obtain the Rokinon lens.
In further follow-up items, Richard reported that he had
obtained the portable hard drive authorized last month and
used it to back up KAS files and photos. He had not yet had
any contact with Miller Auditorium about a KAS display
during the Neil deGrasse Tyson appearance on March 22nd.
For the 2016 General Meeting schedule, Kirk Korista has
agreed to present the program in March and “Mr. Eclipse”
Fred Espenak in April (the latter assuming that grant funding
will be obtained). Other possibilities being investigated
include Scott Bolton of the Juno mission and author and
photographer Alan Dyer, again assuming available funding.
One further planned event is Full Moon Theater on March
26th, with a screening of The Martian.
In New Business, Richard reported that we had obtained an
invitation to a gathering of Gilmore Foundation Grantees.
Unfortunately, given that the meeting was scheduled for a
Thursday afternoon at 4-6 pm, neither Richard nor any board
members were free to attend. We accepted an invitation from
the Grand Rapids club to attend a joint meeting (with star
party if clear) with other local groups at Veen Observatory
on Saturday, July 30th from 8 pm – 12 am.
A Girl Scout group with whom we did solar observing last
year has asked for another visit on April 30th from 6 – 11 pm
(details yet to be clarified). This is the same time as the
Rock, Gem, Fossil, and Mineral Expo, but the Board felt that
both events could be adequately covered, given the reduced
nature of our invited activity in the Rock & Mineral Expo
this year.
Finally, Richard noted the need to replenish Public
Observing Session brochures for the 2016 season. After a
motion by Richard and a second by Rich, the Board voted to
order new brochures. Our supply general KAS brochures are
also growing low, but Richard wants to feature the robotic
telescope after it has become operational.
The installation of the KAS Robotic Telescope into Piishii
Observatory (pictured above) was a major topic at the
January 17th board meeting.
Prime Focus
In New Business, Don reported on frustrating efforts to get a
reasonable quote for KAS insurance. Either the agents were
not even interested in making a quote, or they offered what
we would consider quite unreasonable rates. Don will search
further, possibly with the consideration of a higher
deductible (although quite high deductibles have already
been suggested). With no further business, the next meeting
was set for February 14, 2016, same time and place (5pm at
Sunnyside). The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams
Page 4
February 2016
The Loneliest Galaxy in the Universe
by
Our greatest, largest-scale surveys of the universe have given
us an unprecedented view of cosmic structure extending for
tens of billions of light years. With the combined effects of
normal matter, dark matter, dark energy, neutrinos and
radiation all affecting how matter clumps, collapses and
separates over time, the great cosmic web we see is in
tremendous agreement with our best theories: the Big Bang
and General Relativity. Yet this understanding was only
possible because of the pioneering work of Edwin Hubble,
who identified a large number of galaxies outside of our
own, correctly measured their distance (following the work
of Vesto Slipher's work measuring their redshifts), and
discovered the expanding universe.
But what if the Milky Way weren't located in one of the
"strands" of the great cosmic web, where galaxies are
plentiful and ubiquitous in many different directions? What
if, instead, we were located in one of the great "voids"
separating the vast majority of galaxies? It would've taken
telescopes and imaging technology far more advanced than
Hubble had at his disposal to even detect a single galaxy
beyond our own, much less dozens, hundreds or millions,
like we have today. While the nearest galaxies to us are only
a few million light years distant, there are voids so large that
a galaxy located at the center of one might not see another
for a hundred times that distance.
While we've readily learned about our place in the universe
from observing what's around us, not everyone is as
fortunate. In particular, the galaxy MCG+01-02-015 has not
Prime Focus
Dr. Ethan Siegel
a single known galaxy around it for a hundred million light
years in all directions. Were you to draw a sphere around the
Milky Way with a radius of 100 million light years, we'd find
hundreds of thousands of galaxies. But not MCG+01-02-015;
it's the loneliest galaxy ever discovered. Our Milky Way, like
most galaxies, has been built up by mergers and accretions of
many other galaxies over billions of years, having acquired
stars and gas from a slew of our former neighbors. But an
isolated galaxy like this one has only the matter it was born
with to call its own.
Edwin Hubble made his universe-changing discovery using
telescope technology from 1917, yet he would have found
absolutely zero other galaxies at all were we situated at
MCG+01-02-015's location. The first visible galaxy wouldn't
have shown up until we had 1960s-level technology, and
who knows if we'd have continued looking? If we were such
a lonely galaxy, would we have given up the search, and
concluded that our galaxy encompassed all of existence? Or
would we have continued peering deeper into the void,
eventually discovering our unusual location in a vast,
expanding universe? For the inhabitants of the loneliest
galaxy, we can only hope that they didn't give up the search,
and discovered the entire universe.
This article is provided by NASA Space Place. With articles,
activities, crafts, games, and lesson plans, NASA Space
Place encourages everyone to get excited about science and
technology. Visit spaceplace.nasa.gov to explore space and
Earth science!
Page 5
February 2016
Observing Clubs
Motivate & Direct Your Viewing
by
Roger Williams
Have you had the experience of waiting days for clear
viewing weather and then finding excuses for not setting up
all of your equipment when a good night finally presents
itself? One way to maintain enthusiasm for getting out under
the sky is to have a long-range viewing plan or goal. As a
member of the KAS, you are also automatically a member of
the Astronomical League. This makes you eligible to receive
observing awards from a large variety of observing clubs.
These are summarized on KAS Online’s Astroweb Yellow
Pages, with links to the A.L. site. Each club has a set of
required observations or activities to be carried out and
documented. After verification of the observing logs, A.L.
awards a certificate and a pin.
There are appropriate clubs for every level of experience and
equipment. For the new enthusiast, a planisphere and
eyeballs are all that is needed to carry out the observations of
the Constellation Hunter Club or Universe Sample Club.
Add a pair of binoculars, and you can do the Lunar Club,
Sky Puppy Club (children 10 or younger), or Binocular
Messier Club. For telescopic observations, several levels of
difficulty are presented.
The Messier Club requires observation of 70 of the 110 Mobjects, with an Honorary certificate available for
observation of all 110 (there are eight KAS members on the
Messier Club list). Moving up in difficulty, the Herschel 400
Club chooses 400 NGC objects from the Herschel catalog
that are not on the Messier list. Two members (Mark Miller
and Robert Wade) have completed this list. An even greater
challenge is offered by the Herschel II Club, with a list of
another 400 NGC objects. Other observing clubs concentrate
on asteroids, comets, double stars (five KAS members
completed this one, the last in 2009), meteors, planets, and
the Sun.
While some of the observing programs require dark skies
and large-aperture telescopes, others are deliberately oriented
towards mediocre viewing conditions. The Urban Observing
Club actually requires that light pollution should prevent the
Milky Way from being visible to the naked eye.
Whatever program is chosen, it is important to learn the
details of the requirements from the A.L. website before
beginning observations, because the rules differ. Programs
that want to teach recognizing the skies and finding deep-sky
objects may prohibit using GOTO telescopes and computers
to find the objects. Those that concentrate more on observing
the objects may allow any method of finding them. Some
are strictly visual, while others may allow or even
recommend imaging.
require buying a guidebook. Finally, some certificates are
awarded based on confirmation of the observations by your
ALCOR, while others require a copy of the observing log to
be submitted to a specified A.L. representative. So find a
club that fits with your interests, learn the rules, and get out
there under the skies! It is time for more KAS member
names to be added to those awards lists.
Here’s a breakdown of observing clubs completed by past
and present KAS members:
Binocular Messier Club
Richard Bell, Mike Cook, Becky Csia, Michael Dupuis,
Mark Miller, Eric Schreur, and Mike Sinclair.
Comet Observers Club
Roger Williams
Deep Sky Binocular Club
Richard Bell, Mark Miller, and Mike Sinclair.
Double Star Club
Richard Bell, Michael Dupuis, Jim Kurtz, Mark Miller, and
Mike Sinclair.
Globular Cluster Program
Mike Cook
Herschel 400 Club
Mark Miller and Robert Wade.
Lunar Club
Richard Bell, Joe Comiskey, Mike Cook, Becky Csia, Mark
Miller, Mike Sinclair, and Don Stilwell.
Messier Club
Richard Bell, Mike Cook, Michael Dupuis, Mark Miller, Eric
Schreur, Don Stilwell, Mike Sinclair, and Henry Van
Gamert.
Southern Sky Binocular Club
Mark Miller
Universe Sampler
Jeff Kavanaugh, Christopher Sinclair, Karen Sinclair,
Kimberly Sinclair, and Mike Sinclair.
All require keeping observing logs that include specified data
fields. Most of the targets can be downloaded as lists from
the A.L. site, but a few (i.e., the Globular Cluster Club)
Prime Focus
Page 6
February 2016
Star Parties in 2016
Pack your bags, collimate your scope, and clean those eyepieces! It’s time to hit the road and attend a star party (or two).
Listed below are some the major star parties that have already announced their dates for 2016. Registration deadlines for each
star party may be different (or even passed), so please visit their websites for the latest information.
If you plan to attend any of the events listed (or not listed) here then let us know. Maybe other KAS members would like to
attend. Plus, if you do attend any star parties this year, please consider writing a report for Prime Focus. Clear Skies!
Winter Star Party
February 8 – 14
http://scas.org/winter-star-party/
Oregon Star Party
August 2 – 7
http://www.oregonstarparty.org/
Staunton River Star Party
March 9 – 13
http://www.chaosastro.com/starparty/
Table Mountain Star Party
August 2 – 6
http://www.tmspa.com/
Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show
April 9 – 10
http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.html
Starfest
August 4 – 7
http://www.nyaa.ca/
Texas Star Party
May 1 – 9
http://www.texasstarparty.org/
Stellafane
August 4 – 7
http://stellafane.org/
RTMC Astronomy Expo
May 26 – 30
http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/
Manitoulin Star Party
August 5 – 8
http://gordonspark.com/astronomy-and-stargazing/
Cherry Springs Star Party
June 2– 5
http://www.cherrysprings.org/
Black Forest Star Party
September 2 – 4
http://www.bfsp.org/
Grand Canyon Star Party
June 4 – 11
http://tucsonastronomy.org/gcsp-2/
Okie-Tex Star Party
September 24 – October 2
http://www.okie-tex.com/
Golden State Star Party
June 29 – July 3
http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org/
Great Lakes Star Gaze
September 29 – October 2
http://www.greatlakesstargaze.com/
Rocky Mountain Star Stare
June 29 – July 3
http://www.rmss.org/
Illinois Dark Skies Star Party
September 29 – October 1
http://sas-sky.org/
Stargazing Manitoulin
July 1 – 4
http://gordonspark.com/astronomy-and-stargazing/
Hidden Hallow Star Party
September 30 – October 2
http://wro.org/
York County Star Party
July 27 – 31
http://yorkcountystarparty.org/
Chiefland Star Party
October 23 – 30
http://www.chieflandastronomy.com/
Nebraska Star Party
July 31 – August 5
http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/
Eldorado Star Party
October 24 – 29
http://www.eldoradostarparty.org/
Prime Focus
Page 7
February 2016
February Night Sky....................
NORTH
This star map is property of the
Kalamazoo Astronomical Society.
However you may make as many
copies as you wish free-of-charge,
so long as it is for non-profit
educational purposes and full
credit is given to the KAS.
 Late January
10 pm
 Early February
9 pm
 Late February
8 pm
 Early March
7 pm
EAST
WEST
www.kasonline.org
This map represents the sky at the
following local standard times:
SOUTH
I
nferior planets Mercury and Venus
move within about 4° of one another
between February 8th - 18th. Look low on
the southeastern horizon about 45
minutes before sunrise. Mercury might
require binoculars to see; look just to the
lower right of dazzling Venus.
planets visible to the unaided eye. First
will be Saturn, which lies about 8° to the
upper right of Antares in Scorpius. Mars,
shining slightly brighter than its look-alike Antares, is next in line. Brilliant
Jupiter will be hanging out above the
western horizon.
Mercury and Venus point to all the other
The Moon, just past first quarter, will be
in the Hyades on the night of February
15th - 16th. The Moon moves to within 2°
of Aldebaran before they set at about 2:30
am EST.
A waning gibbous Moon and Jupiter will
be less than 2° apart when they rise on the
evening of February 23rd. Watch them
drift apart during the course of the night.
PRESIDENT
February 2016
Page 9
Richard S. Bell
373-8942
VICE PRESIDENT
Jack Price
343-3193
TREASURER
Rich Mather
629-5312
SECRETARY/ALCOR
Roger Williams
375-4867
Winter nights can be ideal for observing. When it's
actually clear during a winter night in Michigan, the sky can
be unbelievably transparent. So why don't amateur
astronomers turn out in droves to winter observing
sessions? It's because it gets REALLY, REALLY COLD on a
clear winter night! Now comes the time of year when the
hardcore members of the KAS brave the frigid
temperatures to enjoy the deep sky delights that most
people probably miss because of the frigid conditions.
Saturday, February 6 @ 7:00 pm
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Kalamazoo Nature Center
Joe Comiskey
329-4251
Mike Cook
345-4998
Scott Macfarlane
679-2865
Don Stilwell
963-5856
E-MAIL a BOARD MEMBER
The Miller Planisphere is made with heavy duty
plas c and includes a durable plas c case. All
planispheres sold by the KAS are 10.5” in
diameter and set at 40º la tude. Just dial the date
and me and you'll see what's in the sky for that
moment. Available for purchase at most mee ngs
and observing sessions. Also available online at:
skyshop.kasonline.org
Only $13.00
The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society’s
Orion ShortTube 80mm refractor,
mounted on the light weight and ultraportable EQ-1 mount, is available for
loan.
This little scope gives great wide-field
views and can be setup in a snap. Visit
the Telescopes for Loan webpage and
contact KAS Equipment Manager Arya
Jayatilaka today if you’d like borrow it.
General Meeting Preview
Five members recently made the long trek to Arizona Sky
Village to install the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society’s
robo c telescope. This effort was the culmina on of a 5
year fund‐raising campaign. To date, over $111,000 have
been raised – mostly from the generous contribu ons of
KAS members. KAS President and Robo c Telescope
Commi ee Chair Richard Bell will give an overview of this
ambi ous endeavor and show images taken during the
recent installa on. Richard will also discuss equipment that
s ll needs to be purchased once adequate funds are raised.
Friday, February 5 @ 7:00 pm
Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center
600 West Vine, Suite 400 • Use Dutton St. Entrance
─ Dutton Entrance Locked by 7:10 pm ─
Kalamazoo Astronomical Society
c/o KAMSC
600 West Vine, Suite 400
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
© February 2016, Stargazer Productions
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