ASTRONOMY CLUB NEWSLETTER

Signs of Spring:

Spring is here -- the constellations show it! April evenings find the old giant with the "drizzling look," Orion, sinking into the northwest while overhead the king of the beasts, Leo the Lion rules the sky. The "BigDipper", actually part of the Great Bear (Ursa Major) is also high in the spring sky, joined by Bootes, the herdsman.

Are you familiar with the constellations? Thomas Carlyle (the "dour Scot"and English social critic of the nineteenth century) once asked: "Why did not somebody teach me the constellations and make me at home in the starry heavens which I don't half know to this day?" If you share Carlyle's lament, and would like to have someone introduce you to the constellations, this is your event! Come to our meeting at Explorit at 7:30 on Saturday, April 17th.

The constellations are important for several reasons. First, they link the science of astronomy to cultural myths of other civilizations. For instance, Leo the Lion was known as "Great Dog" to the Babylonians,"Crayfish" to the Tukano people of Brazil, "Sleeping Woman" to the Chuckchee of Siberia, and "Rain Dragon" (Hien-Youen) in China. Learning about the constellations educates us about some aspects of these various cultures. We will have a brief slide presentation on this topic.

Second, constellations have practical uses. In navigation on (and off) the Earth, they help us visualize how our planet moves through space during the year, and how the planets, sun and Moon are moving in relation to the Earth.

Finally, constellations are a good way to begin finding your way around the sky. It seems that our minds enjoy forming patterns from the positions of stars, and puzzling out the shape of a lion or a sleeping woman from a field of stars is fun.

At the meeting, we will be constructing planispheres from paper. These adjustable maps will help you begin your acquaintance with the sky as it looks now and throughout the year. They also illustrate all of the three of the aspects of constellations. Also, if you have a planisphere, please bring it along!

Weather permitting, after our meeting, we'll test our planispheres on the real night sky!

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March meeting on Mars. Though storms were threatening, the meeting on Saturday, March 13, was well attended with approximately 20 members braving threatening skies to learn about Mars, and what two new space probes will be revealing about the red planet this fall. A book on projects suitable for beginning astronomers was awarded as a door prize to the first members to arrive.

The youngest member at the meeting, Erik, demonstrated how meteors form impact craters with "rays" by dropping a rock into a pan of flour coveredwith a thin layer of paprika. A later experiment attempted to make craters in liquid plaster of Paris but was not as successful - despite much higher projectile speeds.

The meeting ended with the group making stereoscopic viewers from plastic report covers and using them to watch 3D slides from the recent Pathfinder mission to Mars. Thanks to everyone for an enjoyable evening!

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Astronomical Sights worth seeing in April.

Venus is dazzling in the west after sunset as ruddy Mars appears in the east, growing brighter all this month.

. 1st and 2nd Wednesday and Thursday, in the East soon after sunset, the Moon is near Mars and Spica (the brightest star in Virgo).

. 18th Saturday, in the West soon after sunset, the Moon is near Venus and Aldebaran, the reddish star in the constellation Taurus.

. 24th Saturday, Moon is near Regulus.

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To Receive These Bulletins via E-mail Contact densmith@dcn.davis.ca.us

The Astronomy Club is hosted by Dennis Smith with the assistance of Tim Feldman and other eager astronomy buffs. The club is for everyone - adults, children, knowledgeable or ignorant. Come to listen, look and learn, or to share your expertise or experience.