Cape Fear Skies The Cape Fear Astronomical Society Newsletter - Editor Ric Longren This Month's Meeting will be: Sunday, June 4th, 2006 Gastronomy! Join us before the meeting for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings behind Cracker Barrel, at 5:15 pm. Meeting Minutes for May 7th, 2006 - by CFAS Secretary Letisha McLaughlin The CFAS Business Meeting for the month of May commenced at 7:02 PM, May 7, 2006 in Morton Hall Auditorium. 18 members were in attendance, and one guest who later became a member. Welcome to the club! Officer's Report: Vice President Terry Herrin announced he would be sending emails to the club in order to test different size limits for email attachments. At the time of the meeting, he had suggested a 50kb limit. Ultimately the response of the club will determine the appropriate size. President Ronnie Hawes thanked Terry Herrin and Tom Jacobs for representing the club at the Astronomy Day celebration at Carolina Beach state park this past Saturday. The most popular objects of interest to the public were the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn and could be seen through the C5, ETX 70, and the 9 x 63 binoculars provided by the members. Treasurer Ben Steelman reported the club is in the black with approximately $1,960. Secretary Letisha McLaughlin made known to the club that she was leaving for Bozeman Montana and would miss the next three club meetings. Ben Steelman has agreed to take over her duties as secretary for the period in which she will be absent. She will return to her position in September. Old Business: Billy Kidney reminded the club that the decision to remain in the Astronomical League should soon be reached. He pointed out that the AL now has a surplus of over $21,000 in its account, yet "we are paying a lot for a small return." In addition, he was given an award from the league in 2003 which he has yet to receive. When questioned, their reply was simply that he was a "patient man." Mr. Kidney proposed instead of paying the $235.00 annual fee, nearly a quarter of the club's total dues, we could use the new AL bylaws, which would drop the amount paid out to nearly $85. The consequences of doing this, however, are only a couple of members will receive "The Reflector," but they of course could pass their copies around to those who were interested. Changing our Astronomical membership status would require amending the constitution. A motion to do this could not be done due the lack of a quorum, or 25% of the club's membership. The decision whether or not to keep the Yamacraw site arose again. The annual fee of $100.00 is due soon. Present members commented on the last time they used the site, which was two years ago, and also how there was a problem with getting vehicles stuck in the muddy terrain. In response, President Ronnie Hawes appointed a small committee to visit the site and assess the club's need for the land. The committee includes Tom Jacobs, Billy Kidney, and Terry Herrin. New Business: Ronnie announced that Morton Hall Auditorium is reserved for the rest of the year- except for July 2nd. A motion was passed to move July's monthly meeting to the 9th, because of a lack of facilities and the first Sunday's proximity to Independence Day. Also the club was reminded that September's meeting will take place on the 10th, so it will not interfere with Labor Day festivities. The club approved a motion to give $100.00 of the club's funds, roughly $2.50 per member, to Lower Cape Fear Hospice. The money will be donated out of respect for the memory of Sam Bissette. Observing Reports: Ric Longren, Billy Kidney, and Alan Hillburn and Ronnie Hayes reported visiting the Mooretown site recently. Tom Jacobs commented on his experience at the SSAC, or Southern Star Astronomical Convention, which took place the weekend before the May meeting. This year being his 19th trip out to the star party, he said it was "wonderful," and that there was one excellent night of viewing where most of the focus was on the Schwassmann-Wachmann comet and fragment. News Cluster Bob Fetterman suffered a heart attack during the week following the May CFAS meeting. He was admitted to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center and underwent quadruple bypass surgery on May 15. He came through the surgery without problems and is recovering at home. Let's keep him and his wife, Jackie, in our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. The next meeting of the Cape Fear Astronomy Club is June 4 starting at 7:00. Event Calendar June 03 - First Quarter Moon, 7:06 pm, Moon at apogee, 9:40 pm (251,084 miles) June 04 - CFAS June Meeting 7:00 pm June 11 - Full Moon, 2:03 pm June 16 - Moon at perigee, 12:59 pm (229,236 miles) June 17 - Mars passes 0.6 degrees north of Saturn, 7 pm June 18 - Last quarter Moon, 10:08 am June 21 - Summer solstice, 8:26 am June 23/24 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions June 25 - New Moon, 12:05 pm June 30/ July 1 - CFAS Group Viewing Sessions What's Up Down Under? (News from our Sister Society in Albury-Wodonga, Australia) Solar Eclipse 29 April 06 - David and Sue Thurley were able to attend the Solar Eclipse in Libya with travel group 'Journeys Worldwide' and David presented an extremely interesting slide show and travelogue of their experiences and highlights of the eclipse and travels in Libya and Egypt. The eclipse lasted nearly 4 minutes and David estimated there were thousands of people at the site on the border of Libya and Egypt. A very flat and open site enabled clear viewing and David's many photos instilled a sense of envy in all of us. While the eclipse was an obvious highlight for David it appears that the ancient buildings, ruins, artifacts and statues have left David with a lasting impression as well. David will be able to present more eclipse photos at the next meeting when he completes his collation. The next eclipses, Russia in August 08 and China in July 09 will provide good viewing (subject to weather conditions) and David recommended that members attend if possible. Jupiter web-cam video, Bob Price - Bob presented a video of his recent shots of Jupiter that displayed the well known ‘Red Spot' and the much fainter and much more difficult photo objective; the 'Junior Red Spot' could also be seen briefly. King of the Planets Jupiter is a colossal world big enough to contain all the other planets in the solar system with room to spare. Astronomer Carl Sagan once called Jupiter a "failed star." What he meant is Jupiter is a gas planet, mostly made of hydrogen and helium. The Sun is also primarily hydrogen and helium. The difference between the two is that Jupiter is not massive enough to produce the immense pressures required in its core to "burn" (fuse) hydrogen as the Sun does. To do so, Jupiter would have to be at least 80 times more massive. The immensity of Jupiter comes into focus by comparing a watermelon and a grape. Jupiter is the watermelon and Earth is the grape. The visible face of Jupiter is cloud tops, a colorful veil of haze and ice crystals floating at the surface of a vast atmospheric ocean. The clouds cover the giant gaseous globe like the skin of an apple. Encased at the center is a small rock and metal core approximately the size of the Earth. ____________________________________________________________ All content unless otherwise stated Copyright (c) 2002-2006 CAPE FEAR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. All Rights Reserved.