October 1997 IssueCLUB NEWS and EVENTSWHERE: Explorit Science Center
CLUB EVENTS Come to our next meeting at Explorit Science Center on Saturday October 25 at 7:30 p.m., when our topic will be GALILEO, PATHFINDER AND SURVEYOR. This meeting is the second installment of our look at robots in Astronomy. Last month the Club saw a robot telescope demonstrated by Frank and Arzella Dann from our neighboring club, the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society. This month, we'll have a slide show on the latest images and findings from three NASA missions that are using robotic space probes to investigate Jupiter and Mars. Come out and see what's up. After the demonstration, and weather permitting, there will be viewing of the astronomical sights in the fall sky. Join us!
SEPTEMBER MEETING --WINDY, WITH 'SPRINKLES' AND FUN Approximately 20 members of all ages met on a clear and windy night at Explorit Science Center on Saturday September 27 at 7:30 p.m. The Astronomy Club's topic was WHERE IS IT, LX200? Our guests were Frank and Arzella Dann, who demonstrated their 12 inch Meade LX-200 telescope. They showed us how they set up and align this technological wonder, and how easy it is to find and view all sorts of objects in the sky merely by typing in instructions to the telescope's computer. They are veteran sky watchers and members of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society. They enlivened descriptions of what was in the sky with stories about star parties and observing sessions they have attended. One of the attendees, Daniel Looney, age 6, showed how easy it was to punch the correct buttons and turn the telescope to Saturn. A few tense moments for your Club host occurred when Explorit's automatic lawn sprinkler system engaged during the demonstration! Fortunately, the sprinklers are set to begin watering in areas other than where the telescope was located; I was able to disrupt the sprinklers' timing circuit before the telescope was sprayed. The club is very grateful to Frank and Arzella for their generosity and good humor throughout the evening.
OCTOBER'S SKY--Planets and Meteors. The brightest planets are visible in the evening this month, and the month ends after a meteor shower. Saturn rises in the east at sunset and is prominent there this month. Get out your telescope, even if it is small and inexpensive and buried in the garage, and sight Saturn. Even small telescopes show the rings that Galileo first observed in 1610--though to him they looked like companion stars or "handles." In the west, Venus and Mars are putting on a great show at dusk this month. On October 16 and 17 (Thursday and Friday), Venus is between the red star Antares (name means: not Mars) and Mars. Light from Mars takes a little more than 15 minutes to reach us, about 8 minutes from Venus, but light from Antares takes about 400 years to arrive. Antares is a giant red star whose circumference is about as large as the orbit of Mars around the Sun! Venus and Mars appear closest to each other (about 2 degrees apart) on Sunday, October 26--get out your binoculars! Jupiter dazzles in the southern sky each evening, and its 4 largest moons can be seen with binoculars. Finally, Earth enters an area of debris from Comet Halley in the latter half of October, and the comet dust will be visible as meteors--our annual Orionid Meteor shower. The shower peaks on Tuesday the 21st, and you should have good viewing from a dark site at least until the Moon rises around 11:30 p.m. 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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Explorit Science Center
P.O. Box 1288, Davis, CA 95617, USA
Phone: (530)756-0191 Fax: (530)756-1227
Page last updated: July 23, 2005
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