Events
The meeting date for SOL has again changed. We are going back to Thursday evenings. The meetings will be on the first Thursday of each month at room 127 of the Bolin Science Hall on MSU. For more information, call 636-1816.
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Events in October
October 5th is the next general club meeting at Bolin Science Hall, room 127. The public is invited to join us for amateur astronomy conversation and discussion of the latest related news. The meeting will start at 6pm and end at 9pm. Call 636-1816 for further information.
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Maps
The Museum and Arts Center on Eureks Circle is found east of Sikes Senter Mall and southwest of Midwestern State University campus just behind Mc Grath creek that crosses under Midwestern Parkway. The Bolin Science Hall is on campus of MSU and is off of Taft Blvd.
See the map below or call 636-1816 for more directions.
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Messier Marathon 2006
March 25, 2006
Mankins, TX JARU Acres
33,46N 98,48W
The first ever Messier Marathon and first annual Star Party for Starlight Observers League occurred under good skies at a new location in Mankins.
The dozen or so members and guests arrived before sundown at the JARU Acres off Hwy 25 to set up their telescopes and binoculars for the opportunity to race the clock this season for the coveted Messier Certificate. This marathon opportunity only occurs once each year when the sky is indexed just right to allow a patient and persistent observer the chance to see all 110 bright deep sky objects listed by the famous Charles Messier. The marathon goes from dusk until dawn, but only the hardiest can make it that far.
None of our group made the full list, but the effort wasn’t in vain. Richard Harris, who incidentally was the member that proposed and setup this event, made it further than any other. He cataloged an entry for nearly half the objects before we left the field a around 1:30 am Sunday morning. Richard’s achievement also comprised of making a neat handbook that each member received prior to the event. It contained a detailed instruction on what the event was, how to do it and a catalog page for data entry. Very nice Richard!
The excellent dark site at the JARU home site was courtesy of Betty Robertson from Denton. John Rhoades who is a member of the University Kiwanis Club had met a tenant of hers that suggested we connect for this. As it turns out, the place was very good for what we needed. Thanks John!
Larry Smith and Bert Stewart from 3RF joined us to do the event. Larry dragged out the portable bathrooms for our convenience. It certainly was welcomed as he also brought coffee for us too! Among the other 3RF items in debut were a new Takahashi TOA-150 refractor, an Astro Physics AP900 mount and a Particle Wave pier for the mount. I had the pleasure of first light through the TOA-150 on an NJP mount, and Russell Horn had the fun of first run on the PW pier and AP mount with his own Takahashi FS-156. It was whispered that he’s working covertly for that inbound medical tourism group in Houston.
The other members brought their own equipment with great results too. Many reflectors and a compound scope or two rounded off the field. Some had binoculars to use in the aid for the search. A highlight for me was seeing M105, NGC3371, and NGC3389 all in the same view. Admittedly, I didn’t see NGC 3389 in the TOA-150, but I did see it in the 3RF 15″ f4.5 Obssesion dobson. Russell Horn said he could see it in the TOA-150 though, so that says it all – I’m getting old!
Around 10:45 pm the skies started hazing and clouding up a bit, thwarting our effort to grab the bright sky objects, but within an hour all was even better than before. Jupiter made a showing for a spectacular view, only topped by the showy Saturn with it’s ancient rings. Many satellites and meteors were seen by all. Of course the many open clusters, planetary nebulae, gas nebulae, globular clusters, double stars and galaxies comprising the Messier Catalog graced the optical tubes too. What a great night and one that I hope we do again next year!
-David Ryle
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Mars Star Party
About 25 people from the Wichita Falls and surrounding area showed up for the 2005 opposition of Mars. SOL presented the Red Planet to the viewers which ranged in ages from 4 to 65. The loan of the awesome 3RF 8″ f/9 APO refractor was a welcomed instrument to add to the arsenal of telescopes from the membership of SOL. Having the view available early was key to the success of the night’s activity. The cloudy skies came over around 9:30 and it actually sprinkled a little bit at nearly 11pm when we were leaving. Desptie this weather, we were able to see the closest opposition of Mars since 2003 and for 13 or so years in the future. The dark features of Terra Cimmeria through Terra Arabia and the darkened loop of Syrtis Major Planum at the limb was juxtaposed against the brighter region of Hellas Planitia.
I took a short webcam shot of Mars just before the clouds rolled in, but it wasn’t much better than the view through the eyepiece. The high winds and low altitude prevented a high power view, but enough excitement was generated from the guests to make a few say they were going to try to see Mars using their own telescopes. Good enough for me!
-David Ryle
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Camp Fire event at Harrell Park
October 21, 2005
JD 2453665.3
Harrell Park
Wichita Falls, TX
Luminous Venus, glowing stars, shooting meteors and incandescent curiosity from eager kids was the mix for the night as Starlight Observers League teamed with the Camp Fire North Texas Council.
A concentrated display through two reflectors and two compound telescopes permitted the young eyes of 25 kids to sweep the star fields of the Milky Way under cool, clear skies. We were able to introduce the Camp Fire kids to many Solar System, Milky Way and extra-galactic fare while discussing the nature of stars, planets and galaxies. An intense reflection of the Sun off of Venus drew our attention early on. The western sky was accented by the glint of our nearest planetary neighbor. Butch Crenshaw showed the glowing orb to wanting eyes in his 200mm reflector. Their curiosity was harvested by his affluent descriptions of our understanding of the hot planet. At times I heard him clarifying a remote question on the subject of aliens from an imaginative camper. This same query came to me more than once too.
The reach went even further as David “Doc” Dockery stretched their gaze outward to some nice globular clusters. The season has arrived for some nice clusters, but the best displays were still captured by Doc in Hercules and Sagittarius. A hard packed crowd congealed around Doc’s 200mm SCT for a glimpse of the Hercules cluster near the keystone. In ways only Doc could provide, the mystical nature of the legendary ancient clusters were laid to young ears. His patter captivated the kids and was a model of how to keep the fire burning in a young spirit’s heart for discovery.
The camp fire was truly burning at the table set up by Russell Horn. The only thing bigger than the eyes of those that gazed on the fantastic imagery shown on Russell’s laptop was the thrill of seeing Mars and the Sun in photographs. A cacophony of cheers emanated from the children’s mouths as each slide was presented. Occasionally, Russell would tell them there was the same view available in one of our instruments. To his credit, none would run off to see, their vision fixed on the imagery.
Many times I heard the story of how the Three Rivers Foundation 15” Obsession I was using wasn’t able to move on it’s own like Rick Harris’ telescope did. I did notice a steady throng of visitors occupying ground about Rick’s 250mm Schmidt Cassegrain. A young boy pointed out how his had a “remote” and could just point at will. The impressive Catadioptric telescope was promoting the clusters in Cassiopeia and Cygnus for the youthful viewers. Always the promoter, Rick handed out copies of the popular astronomy magazines to all that wanted them.
I was aiming to take their imagination for a ride as well. A look at “Little Smokie”, or M57 the Ring Nebula was a starter treat in the 380mm reflector. A small fellow was so impressed he got down on his haunches and line-sighted the telescope in to find where the big Dobson was pointed at. I helped him find it with a laser pointer. My next stop on the train of imaginary tracks was the Andromeda Galaxy. Even the parents got a kick from this extended object. A review of our place in the Milky Way helped to set the mood for the vast distance to our large neighboring galaxy.
Many times the group thanked us for our presentation. We were able to get an open invitation to do it again on another evening soon. Mars rose as we packed and drifted off like a carnival of magicians, leaving the spackled sky overhead as our calling cards.
-David Ryle
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Spitzer Space telescope teleconference
July 21,2005 Bolin Science Hall Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, Texas
Dr. Michelle Thaller and the Night Sky Network through the Astronomical Society of the Pacific presented a live teleconference about the Spitzer Space Telescope. The teleconference was hosted for Starlight Observers League members and MSU students by the Physics Department and Dr. John Rhoads.
About 25 students and SOL members were present and included a distant traveller – Larry Smith of Three Rivers Foundation for the Arts and Sciences from Crowell, Texas. Prior to the live event, I was able to pass around some preliminary photographic records made by the Spitzer infra red cameras.
The introductions from Dr. Rhoads preceeded the initial hookup to the NSN broadcast and we all settled in for a 45 minute program. Dr. Thaller was most fluent in the technical acheivements of the telescope and brought a lot of human interest to the discussion too. This gave us the feeling of how important and respected the mission of the instrument is in the scientific community. A full explanation of the capabilities and ground-breaking discoveries was presented, and my favorite part was when the mention of extra-Solar planetary systems was revealed. I also learned more about exactly what we were seeing in the images. The ability to see through the intervening interstellar dust and gas and see hidden features and large structures in our galaxy and beyond was very exciting.
A question and answer session followed the main lecture and there were some good points made. As a seasoned Astrophysicist, Dr. Thaller was able to explain some finer details of the physics of light and how it played in the scheme of things with astronomy. A new level of understanding was what I took home from this program and felt honored to be a part of the event.
-David Ryle