February 1998 Issue
CLUB NEWS and EVENTS
NEXT MEETING: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1998, at 7:30 P.M.
WHERE: AT EXPLORIT Science Center, 3141 5th Street, Davis.
CLUB EVENTS
Come to our meeting at Explorit Science Center on
Saturday February 21, at 7:30 p.m., when our meeting will have two topics:
Find The Great Bull and Computerize Your Telescope. We will be finding the
stars, such as Aldebaran, and interesting objects, such as the Hyades and
Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus. This meeting will continue our
series "Where Is That Star?" This series is designed to introduce you to the
night sky one constellation at a time. We will also display the NGC Micro
MAX computer from JMI, Inc. This device is a computer that attaches to your
telescope and helps you point the telescope to celestial objects of
interest. Weather permitting, we'll also demonstrate this useful tool .
If the night is clear, we will have a look at Orion and perhaps discover why
Taurus and Orion are two of the easiest constellations for beginning
astronomers to recognize.
Report: JANUARY MEETING ON ORION.
Despite overcast skies, 15 were at Explorit to
begin our "Where's that Star" series. Four boys in the audience help
demonstrate why we see Orion in the winter, but not in the summer. We used
slides to help "observe" the constellation Orion. We noted the relative
magnitudes of the stars, and their colors. We designed alternative
constellations using the stars of Orion. One of the most interesting of
these designs turned Orion the Hunter into Orion the Dragonfly! We examined
the Stellarscope (a telescope-like device that displays a map of the
heavens), as well as several planispheres and typical maps of the night sky
that are usually found in books and magazines.
The slide show included some slides on "Orion in the News." In the last
few years Orion has been discussed as a possible "clue" to the "mystery" of
the Egyptian pyramids, and the Hubble Space telescope has taken dramatic
pictures of star forming regions in Orion's Great Nebula. The biggest
surprise of the evening was after the meeting, when the clouds parted and
Orion appeared in all its glory, just as the ground fog was beginning to form!
WHAT'S UP FOR FEBRUARY?
Some diminishing of fog and clouds should occur this month. According to
Guy Ottewell's The Astronomical Companion, cloudiness around Sacramento is
worst in December and January when cloudiness averages around 70 percent..
February and March average 65 to 55 percent cloudy skies. We are most free
from clouds from May through October.
If observing planets is your "thing" then February is not your month. Only
Saturn is easily visible most of this month in the evening. In the pre-dawn
hours only Venus is puts in a good appearance.
Below are a few dates of note for observers for February:
- 1st Sunday evening, Saturn near the Moon
- 5th Thursday evening, star Aldebaran in Taurus near the Moon
- 11th Wednesday evening, full Moon near star Regulus in Leo
- 16th Monday pre-dawn, star Spica in Virgo is near the Moon
- 20th Friday pre-dawn, Venus at its brightest above eastern horizon
- 23rd Monday pre-dawn, Venus is joined by the Moon
- 27th Friday at dusk (around 6:00 p.m.), the slender young Moon near Mars.
- 28th Saturday at dusk, Moon near Saturn.
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.
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