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[The background above is part of an image by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Crescent Nebula.]

October 2000 Newsletter

NEXT MEETING: SATURDAY,October 28, 2000, at 8:00 P.M.
WHERE: AT EXPLORIT Science Center, 3141 5th Street, Davis.

THIS MONTH'S CLUB NEWS


Clash of the TITANS! Saturday October 28 at 8:00 p.m. at Explorit Science Center

Astronomy began as stories told under the night sky to "explain" the seemingly random positions of stars. Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the ancient Greeks combined their own observations with stories from earlier cultures to make "sense" of the starry patterns in the sky!

The constellations Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Cetus, Perseus, and Pegasus are part of a myth about a vain African queen, her weak king and their devoted daughter, Andromeda, who is rescued from a sea monster by Perseus, a prince with super powers. But was there more to the story than the familiar ancient Greek moral to "beware of your own arrogance?" We will consider Jerome Y. Lettvin's provocative paper "The Gorgon's Eye" (1979). Lettwin argues that the position of Perseus in the sky suggests that the Greeks were attributing to that super hero the attributes of - - the common Aegean octopus! Sandals and togas are optional. Meet at Explorit on Saturday night October 28 at 8:00 p.m. for a "whale of a tale" (here I'm referring to another interpretation of the "sea monster" constellation, Cetus) After the slide show presentation we'll adjourn, weather permitting, to view these constellations and their special deep space attractions.
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September's Meeting was held on the 30th. The topic was Globular Clusters. It was a warm evening, and we had the slide show outdoors. Three members attended and we had a lot of fun talking about and viewing Globular Clusters. What are they? Globular clusters are spherically shaped groups of 10,000 to several million stars. They orbit around our galaxy (the Milky Way). Approximately 150 such clusters have been observed in our galaxy. In the telescope, clusters are often spectacular objects. Many thanks to Larry Snyder for the use of his telescope and for his keen eyes that identified several globulars including M92 (a first for me!).

Here are some questions (and answers) regarding globulars that we discussed:
  1. Where are the "young" globulars? (In other galaxies)
  2. What is the brightest globular we can see from Davis? (NGC 5139, the Omega Centauri cluster, visible due south at 3.9 degrees altitude on midnight, April 13)
  3. What is the largest globular in our galaxy? (Omega Centauri again)
  4. How can "new" globulars form? (When galaxies collide)
  5. What is the brightest globular in the Local Group of galaxies? (G1 or Mayall II which orbits the Andromeda galaxy, M31)
  6. Do stars in globular clusters have planets, and if so, what would the night sky look like from the surface of such a planet? (No planets found so far. Living in the center of a cluster would require sun block at "night")
  7. How did the observation of globular clusters show that the solar system is not at the center of our galaxy? (Globular clusters orbit the galactic center, which is in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius)
  8. Does the age of stars in globular clusters contradict the estimated age of the universe calculated from the "Big Bang" cosmological model? (No, due to the recent discovery that the universe's rate of inflation is accelerating)
  9. Why haven't stars in the globular clusters crashed together? (There is still enough room for most stars to orbit the center without "crashing" - - though some stars in the center regions of dense clusters appear to have had their red outer atmospheres "pulled off" by close encounters with other stars, and recent discoveries show direct collisions probably do occur.)

Jack-o-Lantern Moon? The moon is full Friday the thirteenth. If you are lucky that day, you will see it looming over the eastern horizon around 6:30 p.m. Chances are that the dust and smoke common in the Davis air this time of year will give the full moon the orange-red aspect of a Jack-o-Lantern. Does the "Man in the Moon" remind you of a grinning pumpkin head?

Bay-Area News --Astro Equipment Sale
The Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society will hold its annual sale, swap and auction meeting on October 24. This year it will include many items from the estate of Owen Durden, owner of The Odd Assortment. Owen, a well known Bay Area amateur astronomer, turned his hobby into a full time profession, widely recognized for its odd assortment of just about everything. He died unexpectedly at his telescope atop Mt. Diablo just over a year ago. His estate is now inventoried and ready for sale. You are welcome to bring other items for sale or trade. Doors open: 7:00 pm. Sale begins: 7:30 pm Location: Concord Police Training Facility on Avila Road. Avila is off Willow Pass Road at the Route 4-Willow Pass junction. You can also take Willow Pass Road from Route 680. Contact: Jim Scala (925) 283-2753

Let the October Moon be Your Guide at 8:30 p.m. over the Eastern Horizon on these two days: Sunday, the 15th the Moon approaches the Lord of the Rings, Saturn. Monday, the 16th the Moon pays its respects to giant Jupiter and the orange "eye" of Taurus the Bull, the star Aldebaran.

Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society will hold its 659th general meeting a 7:30pm, at CSUS Mendocino Hall, Room 1015.Chuck Pullen of the AAVSO/NASA GRB Network will speak on the subject of Gamma Ray Bursters: The New Role Of Amateur Astronomers In Cutting Edge Astrophysical Research.Gamma Ray Burst events (GRBs) are the most energetic events known in the universe, producing energy equal to the output of millions of galaxies for a few seconds or minutes. First discovered in the 1970's, there are many more questions than answers about what GRBs are, how they work, and what they mean about the nature of matter and energy. There is more information at their web page: http://www.skywatchers.org/

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

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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.


Now you can, if you wish, take an exciting side trip to some other sites for a session of:
Astronomical Browsing!
or go
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