OUR ANNUAL PERSEID METEOR SHOWER PARTY:
will be held THURSDAY AUGUST 12, AT 8:30 P.M.
(No Club Meeting in July)

Bad Prospects for Meteor Viewing. The Moon will be nearly full, giving us a bright sky. Terrible for meteor watching! But, so what? We'll have stars and the constellations to attract our attention. The meteor shower is a good excuse for getting out of the house and under the summer sky. As usual, our party will be at Fairfield Elementary School at the intersection of Road 32 and Road 96. Take Russell Blvd. (Road 32) west 4 miles beyond the Highway 113 overcrossing until you come to Road 96. Watch for the school crossing sign; the school is on the right corner. There is a big grassy area (for chairs and blankets) and an area of asphalt (for telescopes, etc.).

What to Bring? There are some items you'll want to bring with you to observe regardless of where you decide to observe. Binoculars are optional; but warm clothes, some-thing relaxing to sit or lie on that will protect you from the heavy dew, mosqui-to or gnat repellent, a flash-light in a paper bag or with a red filter (to keep lights dim) are more important. A warm non-alcoholic drink can be helpful (alcohol will cause drowsiness and reduce visual acuity) If you are joining us at Fairfield School please remem-ber that the school's rest rooms are not available.

How to watch? Try to lie or sit so that you can see as much of the unobstructed sky as possible~the direction you are facing is unimportant. The darker the sky, the more meteors you will see. You can usually expect to see a bright meteor approximately every 15 minutes from our site but with the Moon so bright, maybe we will see 5 or 6.. Certainly Fairfield School is not what astronomers consider a "darko/oo site favored by amateur astronomers, but the Moon will prevent "dark skies" everywhere.
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World Famous Astronomer To Visit Dixon Star Party on August 18
John Dobson, world famous astronomy popularizer, founder of Sidewalk Astronomy, and inventor of the Dobsonian telescope mount, has agreed to participate in the Dixon Star Party on August 18. Everyone is invited to attend or participate in this free event. Look for the party in the vicinity of Northwest Park in Dixon.

Among the events planned for this day long event are solar observing and viewing objects in the night sky after sunset. Come out and see what is in the sky, look at our equipment, and meet John Dobson.

A barbecue dinner is planned at which John Dobson will speak. Tickets for the barbecue will be available at a reasonable price to cover the cost of the event.

For more information on the Dixon Star Party or for information on the dinner, please contact Joseph Roeper at (707) 678-1052 or contact Dixon,s Independent Voice, 529 N. Adams St., Dixon CA 95620 (Phone (707) 678-8917
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ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE TAPS DAVIS FOR REGIONAL STAR PARTY.
[from The Davis Enterprise 6/18/00]
Astronomy Magazine has chosen Davis for its annual star-gazing party on August 4-5. As many as 2,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, which will feature astronomical exhibits and demonstrations, along with talks by noted astronomers, Alex Filippenko, Ray Jayawardhana and Seth Shostak.

Daytime activities will include exhibits, activities for children and families, vendors, photo and book signings and solar viewing.

The most popular component of the weekend will include basic observing stations one for constellations, one for lunar and planetary, and one for deep sky observing. Hundreds of telescopes are expected to be available for sky watchers.

Davis was chosen for the star gazing party in part because it has one of the strongest light pollution ordinances in California, according to Kris Koenig of Chico, one of many volunteer coordinators for the event. Visitors are expected from a region stretching from Reno to San Francisco, Redding to Bakersfield.

A trade show will have more than 20 exhibitors, including local astronomy clubs, telescope makers, optics manufacturers, space artists and photographers all displaying the tools, telescopes, books and accessories that represent stargazing and astronomy.

For more information regarding the astronomical outreach event, call the Davis Conference & Visitors Bureau at (877) 71-DAVIS

If you are interested in helping the club with this event, please contact Tom Wickersham at Explorit (756-0191)
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June Meeting.
Approximately 15 members attended and we all had a great time at the June meeting, held on the 24th at Explorit. The topic was "Puffed Stars" - - in other words, planetary nebula. "Nebula" means cloud and "planetary" refers to the faint white or greenish disk that is characteristic of the appearance of many of these objects. To me, they often resemble planets such as Neptune or Uranus when seen through a small telescope.

Planetary nebulae are the gas and dust shells of stars that have grown old and have begun exhausting their hydrogen fuel. As the core of the star collapses, the shell of gasses that make up the star's "atmosphere" are released into space. This creates the gas shell around the star. The gas shell is illuminated by the intense radiation, especially ultraviolet light, coming from the collapsed, but extremely hot core of the star. Approximately 200 of these puffed stars are visible with large backyard telescopes.

Because the shape of planetaries either supports or attacks theories of how stars behave, the true nature of these "gas balls" was important - - and still is the object of considerable research. We looked at a current model of a "typical" planetary nebula. It consists of a bright dough nutlike torus of dense material with lobes of fast moving gas and particles shooting out the top and bottom of the "doughnut hole" Depending on one's viewpoint a nebula can appear to be a ring, a box, or a butterfly. Thanks to many pictures from the Hubble, we saw some beautiful close-ups of these structures.

After the meeting we adjourned to a rather hazy night sky. To continue our exploration of planetary nebulae, we saw the Ring Nebula (M57)in Lyra, the Dumbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula, and the Blinking Nebula (NGC6826) in Cygnus. For comparison to a true "planetary," we also viewed Neptune, which to my eye resembled the Blinking Nebula at low power. The time seemed to fly by and the meeting ended around midnight. Thank you all for making this such an enjoyable evening! NOTE: The sky map of the month for June (www.skymaps.com) includes a brief description of planetary nebula.

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To Receive These Bulletins via E-mail Contact Dennis Smith at: d2smith@pacbell.net

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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.