Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Debbi Hayden July 6, 2003 Meeting Featuring Terry Herrin with a presentation of some of the most beautiful and intriguing space images from "Astronomy Picture of the Day". Don't miss it! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Tomatoz restaurant, at the corner of South College Road and Wrightsville Avenue at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for June 1st, 2003 by CFAS Secretary Terry Herrin President Si Cantwell called the meeting to order at 7:01pm. Under officer's reports, Ben Steelman reported that the club's Astronomical League dues will be coming due soon. Under old business, Tom Jacobs said the club will need to spend $25 to $30 for a new lockbox for the Yamacraw dark sky site. He also said he would need some help removing the old lock. Si Cantwell and Terry Herrin volunteered to assist. There are still t-shirts to be picked up and paid for by some who ordered them. There was discussion on having a club banner made. On May 6th the Wilmington City Council proclaimed May 10th as Cape Fear Astronomical Society Day, in honor of the club's 20th anniversary. Ronnie Hawes presented the proclamation document to the club, and it was agreed it should be displayed at his house. Under new business, the Mars opposition in August was discussed. Ronnie proposed scheduling public viewing sessions. Si suggested having one at Ingram Planetarium in Sunset Beach. By voice vote, the club passed a motion to have public sessions on Wednesday, 8/27/03, and the weekends before and after that date. A session at the planetarium was also approved. Ronnie said the club has been asked to give a presentation at Plantation Village in Porter's Neck on Monday, 6/9/03. If the sky is clear the moon will be observed; otherwise, a video will be shown indoors. For observing sessions, Ronnie said that he and Becky Lewis observed at the Holly Shelter boat ramp site on Saturday, 5/25/03. The skies were very clear. Also, on Friday, 5/30/03, Ronnie was accompanied by Buist Langley, Dan Flohr and Becky Lewis for another night at the boat ramp. The skies were marginal. Ronnie finished up by saying the telescope clinic and public viewing Saturday, 5/10/03, was a great success, and the viewing was nice that night. He thanked everyone who helped out. The meeting broke for fifteen minutes at 7:30pm. Ronnie Hawes then showed a ninety minute video showing archive footage of the club's activities over the past twenty years. After Ronnie's presentation Si asked if there was any other business, and having none, adjourned the meeting at 9:20pm. News Cluster The Aspen Fire consumed more than 30,000 acres of forest northeast of Tucson, Arizona, but the Steward Observatory on Mount Lemmon has been spared. Housed there are two 1.5 meter telescopes, two 40-inch telescopes, and the 61-inch Kuiper Telescope. For those of you who enjoy a challenge, go to http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JPass/25/JPass.asp for predictions on when the ISS will transit the Moon. It will probably take a video camera at the eyepiece to catch the split-second event! Colors of the Night Sky - By Debbi Hayden At one of the more recent group viewing sessions, I experienced a very pleasant discovery - Becky Lewis had suggested we look at Albireo, a lovely stellar pair of golden yellow and striking blue hues. Being relatively new to the hobby, I am always finding new things in my telescope that I find truly breathtaking. This sight, for some reason, really inspired me to go looking into other celestial wonders that display their colors to the naked eye. Most things in the night sky, at first glance, appear to be simply white. When you take the time to look closer, there is a virtual "rainbow" of colors to be behold! I have read of another yellow and blue pair of stars called Omicron Cygni, which can be found 5° west-northwest of Deneb in Cygnus. This one you can actually see using just binoculars. This month's Astronomy magazine mentions NGC 6826, which is a planetary nebula with an unmistakable gray-green glow. The Orion nebula is somewhat blue to me through my eyepiece, but when exposed on film is pinkish-red. Vega is well-known to be the "sapphire" of summer nights, Antares being red is called the "heart of the monster" aptly named for its fortunate location in Scorpius, and Arcturus is a pleasing orange color. Now the planets also have some color to them. Jupiter and Saturn are, of course, a somewhat pale yellow, but Uranus is green through the eyepiece. And who could forget Mars! This planet is not only a lovely orange-red hue, but it is also the stuff stories of alien invasions are made of! It's coming ever so much closer as summer continues on, but more on that next month! Take some time to appreciate the color palette of the night sky. Give those rods a break and take your cones for a spin at the eyepiece! (Hmm...Optometry humor - sometimes it works, sometimes...)