Explorit Science Center
ASTRONOMY CLUB NEWSLETTER |
October 1999 IssueWHERE: AT EXPLORIT Science Center, 3141 5th Street, Davis. |
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CLUB EVENTS: You're cordially invited to the Club's next meeting at Explorit Science Center on Saturday, October 30 at 8:00 p.m. The topic will be "Dreaming of Space Ships: Classic Science Fiction & Science Fact" We'll view slides and discuss the fanciful designs for vehicles to travel in space that early science fiction writers proposed We'll compare the requirements for space flight onboard the Space Shuttle with illustrations from the works of Verne and the covers of pulp fiction magazines that catered to science fiction enthusiasts in the first half of this century. Some of their predictions of space travel were quite accurate. If the weather cooperates, we'll spend the remainder of the evening viewing constellations and other celestial attractions from Explorit's front yard. --------------------------------------------- Eclipses were discussed at our meeting held at Explorit on September 18. Approximately 15 attended the meeting, despite the heavy clouds that prevented sky gazing afterwards. We saw slides of the activities aboard the Marco Polo cruise ship during the solar eclipse of August 11, which was visible in parts of Europe and the Middle East. Seven members of the club were on the cruise, and agreed the eclipse was a spectacular event-though totality lasted just over 2 minutes. Member Jeff Granett was in Hungary and he shared his photos and impressions of this amazing event.Davis will witness a partial solar eclipse on December 25, 2000, but the next "major event" is likely to be the total solar eclipse on December 4, 2002 over parts of southern Africa, Mozambique, and Australia. You have plenty of time to make plans for the next total solar eclipse in North America. It will occur August 21, 2017. Not mentioned at the meeting was a total lunar eclipse which should be visible on the evening of January 21, 2000, with maximum eclipse occurring around 8:45. Will our notorious Valley fog spoil the display? If you want to make travel plans for a more auspicious site, this eclipse should be visible from any clear sky in North or South America. We discussed the approaching transit of Mercury which will be visible from Davis Monday November 15, at 21:41 UT (13:41 PDT). If you miss this one, the next will be May 7, 2003. The first transit of Venus since 1882 will occur at 5:21UT on June 8, 2004 but will be visible only from Europe, Africa and Asia. ----------------------------------------------- Early Fall Evening Skies. Dirt and smoke are frequently evident in fall skies in Davis. This year, several destructive wild fires north of our area have contributed to the opacity of our traditional "dark skies" of October.Jupiter and Saturn will be the highlights of many amateurs' observing sessions in the evenings of October and November. Jupiter has dark belts and bright zones of clouds to observe, including the "red" spot (which often looks more pale brown than red). This, the largest planet in the solar system, has four bright moons, whose motions around the planet can be plotted and summarized over the month to show their orbital periods. Saturn is famous for its spectacular rings, and many amateurs claim that their first view of Saturn through a telescope was what "hooked" them on astronomy. Dim Mars, by contrast, sinks in the southwest soon after dusk, and will be lost of observation by October's end. Early risers in October will be greeted by dazzling Venus, which is located near dimmer Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, early in the month. On October 5th look for this duo joined by the Moon, making a beautiful triangular formation. ----- ----- --- ----- ----- ----- To Receive These Bulletins via E-mail Contact Dennis Smith at: 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.
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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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