Jan. 10, 2010 - ANNUAL NEW-TELESCOPE SEMINAR:The entire meeting will be devoted to helping beginners learn how to set up and use their new Christmas telescopes.(click here for flyer)
1. Getting Started With Your New Telescope - Part I – Optics and Telescopes by Richard Moore (Short Course Session No. 3)
Richard will cover the various types of telescope designs, power (magnification), the magnitude scale, finder scopes, and types of mountings.
2. Intermission
During the break, knowledgeable M.A.S. members will individually assist visitors in setting up their telescopes.
3. Getting Started – Part II – Finding Celestial Objects by Bill Busler (Short Course Session No. 4)
Bill will demonstrate the use of sky maps in finding and learning the major constellations and locating important celestial objects. He will then cover how to use your telescope to find the Sun, Moon, and planets, naked-eye stars and deep-sky objects, and a few other interesting objects which are located near easily-found stars.
4. After the Meeting
Weather permitting, we will proceed outside to the parking lot, where once again, knowledgeable M.A.S. members will individually assist visitors in locating celestial objects with their own telescopes. (In case of inclement weather, we will hold an informal question-and-answer session.)
Due to the July 4th holiday, the MAS General meeting will be held July 10th, 2009
THE CROSS ON THE MOON * * by William M. Wilson and Freddy Diaz.
The Lunar Cross (or “X”) is a feature sometimes seen near the first-quarter Moon when the Sun’s illumination of certain mountain peaks and crater rims is just right. Bill and Freddy will discuss the history of Cross observations, how to observe and photograph this feature, and how to predict its next occurrence.
GLOBAL WARMING: FACT OR FICTION? * * by William J. Busler.
Is “global warming” due to human or solar activity? Is it harmful? Is it even real? How did a scientific study turn into a political point of contention? Bill will discuss the data, theories, and implications of this widely talked about but little understood phenomenon of our times
The NASA sponsored "From Earth to the Universe" photo exhibit comes to the Central Branch of the Memphis Public Library.
An exhibition of large-scale astronomical images will soon be showing at the Central Branch of the Memphis Public Library. Memphis is the second stop on the American tour of this photo exhibit called "From Earth to the Universe” (FETTU). The exhibit will bring the beauty of astronomy to the general public in a series of free showings across the country. The Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library will host FETTU in its Goodwyn Gallery, just to the left of the main entrance lobby, between April 1-30.
The FETTU exhibit in Memphis is being coordinated through local efforts by the Memphis Astronomical Society and the physics department at Rhodes College. The Spitzer Science Center in Pasadena, California is also assisting with the Memphis project.
Rhodes College will host an opening event for the Memphis exhibit on April 1. The Peyton Rhodes Physics Lecture will feature the unveiling of a newly acquired image of the Triangulum galaxy from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Dr. Gordon Squires, Assistant Director for Public Affairs of the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Assistant Director for Community Affairs for the NASA Herschel Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, will discuss the international year of astronomy and the role of NASA and the Spitzer Space Telescope in the FETTU exhibit. Dr. Joanna Hinz, senior research associate at the University of Arizona, will discuss her research on the Triangulum galaxy and how the new image affects our understanding of galaxy evolution by letting us see where stars are created, how those stars generate large masses of dust, and how that dust spreads throughout the galaxy. The lecture begins at 7:00pm in Hardie Auditorium in Palmer Hall and is preceded by a reception at 6:30pm outside the auditorium.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Observing Session at Library on April 2. In conjunction with the FETTU exhibition, the Memphis Astronomical Society (MAS) and the Children’s Department of the library will hold a program for children and families on Thursday, April 2 at 6:30 PM at the library. The event will include a talk about the celestial objects visible in the sky that evening, and the MAS will distribute star maps with instructions on using them. Following the discussion, the MAS invites visitors to observe Saturn, the Moon, and double stars through telescopes, weather permitting.FETTU is a major project of both the US and global efforts for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). With images taken from both ground- and space-based telescopes, FETTU showcases the incredible variety of astronomical objects that are known to exist – planets, comets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters, and more.
With IYA2009 underway, FETTU is already being showcased in a variety of formats—both physically and digitally—in over 40 countries across the globe. For more information about the project and the images visit http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org.
These worldwide exhibits have been funded through a variety of local resources and are organized by each individual location. For a full list of known FETTU exhibits—both in the US and internationally—visit http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org/table_events.php. FETTU is one of 11 global cornerstone projects being supported by the International Astronomical Union’s IYA2009 efforts. To learn more about IYA2009 internationally, the cornerstone projects, and other activities please visit http://www.astronomy2009.org
So you got a New Telescope for Christmas. Need help?
Bring your new telescope to our General Meeting Friday night, January 9th, 2008 at Christian Brothers University for help and information.
In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, the MAS will present it's annual New Telescope workshop for the general public at our first meeting of 2009. You are welcome to attend with or without a telescope. The first part of the meeting will be presenations on how telescopes work and how to find objects in the night sky through your telescope followed by some parking lot set-up assistance and observing if weather permits.
MAS members Lee Cole, assisted by his son Adam, and Bill Wilson helped kick off the Raleigh branch of the Memphis Public Library system's summer reading program for kids on June 4, 2008. Called Starship Adventure at Your Library, it's designed to encourage kids up to the age of 11 to continue reading over the summer in order to maintain and improve the reading skills they gained during the school year. The kids were enthusiastic and as kids usually do, asked great questions.
Starship Adventure was an appropriate theme for the Memphis Astronomical Society. The Coles and Wilson showed the kids, who ranged in age from 7 to 10, how the sun works and how to observe it safely. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast, so direct viewing of sunspots was not possible. However, with charts, a magnet and iron filings, and drawings of the sun, the MAS members gave the kids as much hands-on experience as possible. They and Lavada Wheatley, the librarian who coordinates the Raleigh branch's Starship Adventure, were given the web address of SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, where they can see real-time images of solar activity in several wavelengths. They were also shown a tile from the Space Shuttle and told how it works to keep astronauts safe during their return from orbit, and Wilson showed them with his drawings of the sun over the years what it looked like on or very close to the day they were born.
2009 is the International Year of Astronomy
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has proclaimed 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009). 2009 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the first astronomical observation through a telescope by Galileo Galilei. It will be a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with a strong emphasis on education, public engagement and involvement of young people, with events at national, regional, and global levels throughout the whole of 2009.
The MAS is currently planning outreach activities for IYA2009 and would appreciate ideas and recommendations for activities and involvement in local area events. If you have any, please send an email to ric@memphisastro.org
Keep checking our Links and Forum (BLOG) web pages for exciting news and links to resource web pages supporting IYA2009. I will use our BLOG to post the latest MAS plans for local events and activities.
August 3, 2007 - Roy Tucker, famous Asteroid Hunter will make a presentation at the MAS General Meeting.
Come to our General Meeting on Friday night, August 3rd, to hear a presentation by the famous Asteroid Hunter and former MAS member, Roy Tucker on a new astroid observing program. You can follow this link to a recent article talking about Roy's work in Discover Magazine.
Roy Tucker codiscovered Apophis, an asteroid that has a 1-in-45,000 chance of striking earth in 2036, with his backyard telescope.
May 4, 2007 - Dr. Gerrit Verschuur to speak on "Radio Astronomy" at MAS General Meeting.
Don't miss this treat! Dr. Verschuur is a well known pioneer and author in the field of radio astronomy. Among his books is the recently published The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy.
Dr. Verschuur is a recognized scientist, speaker and lecturer in the field of radio astronomy and cosmology. In addition to his seven books on the subject, he has had numerous research papers and articles published and holds several patents. He has spoken to audiences throughout the world, lecturing on astronomical topics. Dr. Verschuur will be speaking on the subject of Radio Astronomy as well as discussing several of the remaining issues in Cosmology.
November 8, 2006 - Mercury Transits the Sun
Some members of the MAS, including famous solar observer, Bill Wilson (see August 23, 2006 new item below) set up telescopes for a public observation of Mercury as it transited the face of the Sun.
Below is a photo (or part of one actually) that Bill Wilson took by hand holding a digital camera to the eyepiece of his telescope.
August 3, 2006 - MAS Newletter available "on-line".
The MAS Newsletter is undergoing some changes. It will soon be available "on-line" and will be emailed to the membership rather than printed and mailed via the US Postal Service. "Snail Mail" will still be available to those who request it. Check the "Newsletter" web page for the latest issue.
July 10, 2006 - MAS member, Dr. William (Bill) Busler to go on speaking tour of Australia (or something like that...)
Dr. Bill Busler, the author of our books on finding Messier objects, is going to Australia so he can observe the southernmost 30 Caldwell objects, the subject of his latest book. Not wanting to lug a telescope to the other side of the Earth, he emailed several Australian astronomical societies to see if they would let me him observe with them, using their telescopes to test out his finding methods. In exchange, he would give them a talk. The net result is that he has hooked up with three societies: Mornington Peninsula (Melbourne), Astronomical Society of New South Wales (Sydney), and Wollongong (south of Sydney).
He's also going to be photographing the southern constellations.
He gave one of the talks at the July MAS meeting; he'll be giving another in September.
