Reflections
Newsletter of the Popular Astronomy Club
July 2013
THE PRESIDENTS CORNER
Wayland Bauer
I have notice during my
13 years of more active
involvement in the hobby
of astronomy that one
event that causes a great
deal of excitement for the
general population is
watching the International
Space Station pass overhead.
It always provokes
questions such as: How high is it? How fast is it going?
How long does an orbit take? Will we see it again
tonight? The biggest question is how do we find out when
it can be viewed in our location?
The subject for this “Presidential Corner” came to me as I
listened to a series of four podcasts on
AstronomyCast.com. The four podcasts, featuring Fraser
Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay, traced the history of “space
stations” from 1971 to the present.
The podcasts also took me back to an event in August,
2001, when I learned that some easily obtained
information could impress people who hadn’t even
thought about doing a little research.
I was one of four retiring teachers who had sought out a
“cute” way to bug our fellow teachers who were not
retiring and had to go back to school. Instead of having a
retirement reception in June when we retired, we decided
to hold a “Back to School---NOT Party” the night before
they started teacher training meetings for the new school
year.
The party was held at Bettendorf’s Middle Park Lagoon.
At the proper time I asked those present to come and
stand by the edge of the lagoon and study the sky to the
northwest. I informed them that “in honor of our
retirement” NASA was flying the ISS over our reception.
About three minutes later the space station appeared and
went almost straight overhead. We were able to view it
for about 5 minutes.
It created quite a stir among those present and best yet,
one of the retirees, a science teacher still talks about how
a “lowly social studies” teacher could carry out such a
surprise! I still have that sense of accomplishment when
we are able to provide that experience for visitors to our
public star parties.
For those of you who haven’t discovered where to find the
information for sightings the “secret” is: get on your
computer and go to www.nasa.gov, click on “International
Space Station, click on Station Sightings, click on Quick
& Easy Sightings by City, click USA, then pick the state
and closest city. You will be presented with a list of the
next possible sightings. It may not be at your favorite
time and is subject to locale weather situations, but tells
you when it should be visible.
For those of you with “Smart Phones,” and/or Tablets,
there are apps available that will do most of the work for
you.
For those of you interested in more of the history of space
stations, I encourage you to go to AstronomyCast.com and
either listen to Episodes 296 – 299, or read the transcripts.
Fraser Crane and Dr. Pamela Gay provide some
interesting insights and information about the political and
economic evolution of the International Space Station.
2014 PAC ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
September is our annual PAC membership renewal period
for the following calendar year. The PAC Board has
elected to revise our membership categories, adding
Supporting, Sustaining, and Patron memberships to the
regular membership category. An article can be found
elsewhere in this newsletter that explains these added
categories.
Please renew your 2014 PAC membership as soon as
possible after you receive the renewal letter. We send a
quarterly PAC membership roster update to the
Astronomical League in October and we need to have you
included so you will continue to receive the Astronomy
League publication, Reflector, and be eligible to take part
in other national astronomy observing programs.
Members are reminded that subscriptions for Sky and
Telescope magazine are now renewed directly with S&T
rather than through the club. When you receive a renewal
notice from S&T, fill out their card and return it with your
remittance in the prepaid postage envelope provided.
ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
PLANETARY PATHS – 3rd QUARTER 2013
(PAC Activities in Bold print)
(Possible photo Op dates shown in red)
Cancer
M-44
Castor
Gemini
Jul 3, 2013 – Venus appears within the star field of M44,
the Beehive Cluster, at sunset. While Venus may be
visible, it is doubtful that M44 will be visible in the
evening twilight.
Jul 5, 2013 – Earth is at Aphelion.
Jul 8, 2013 – New Moon.
Jul 8, 2013 – PAC Monthly Meeting - Augustana
Planetarium, 7:00 p.m. Program: “Astronomical
Smorgasbord”. Rescheduled from June 2013.
Jul 9, 2013 – Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the
sun.
Jul 16, 2013 – Mars appears very close to M35 in the
early predawn morning sky.
Jul 20, 2013 – Public observing night at Niabi Zoo
Jul 21, 2013 – Mars and Jupiter appear about 1° apart
in the early predawn morning sky.
Jul 22, 2013 – Full Moon, called the Buck Moon
Jul 27-28, 2013 – Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower.
Jul 30, 2013 – Mercury is at greatest elongation west,
19.6°.
Aug 6, 2013 – New Moon.
Aug 10, 2013 – PAC Picnic and Perseid Meteor
observing.
Aug 12, 2013 – No meeting tonight – PAC picnic and
Perseid Meteor observing month.
Aug 17, 2013 – Public observing night at Niabi Zoo
Aug 21, 2013 – Full Moon, called the Sturgeon Moon.
Aug 25, 2013 – Mercury is at Superior conjunction with
the sun.
Aug 27, 2013 – Neptune is at opposition tonight.
Sep 4, 2013 – Venus and Spica appear about 3° apart in
the western sky at sunset.
Sep 5, 2013 – New Moon.
Sep 8, 2013 – A three day old Moon and Venus appear
about 2½° apart in the western sky at sunset.
Sep 8-9, 2013 – Mars appears within M44, the Beehive
Cluster, in the early morning sky.
Sep 9, 2013 – PAC Third Quarter Business Meeting Augustana Planetarium, 7:00 p.m. Program:
“Obsolete Constellations” by Roy Gustafson.
Sep 9, 2013 – A four day old Moon and Saturn appear
about 5½° apart in the western sky at sunset.
Sep 19, 2013 – Full Moon, called the Harvest Moon.
Sep 21, 2013 – Public observing night at Niabi Zoo
Sep 22, 2013 – Autumnal Equinox at 20:44 UTC.
Oct 3, 2013 – Uranus is at opposition tonight.
Oct 9, 2013 – Mercury is at greatest elongation east,
25.3°.
Taurus M-45
Aldebaran
Pollux
Aires
6hr
Oct 1
9hr
Leo Regulus
Jul 1
Hamal
3hr
Oct 1
Jul 1
Pisces
Denebola
Oct 1
Jul 1
12hr
0hr
Oct 1
Virgo
Fomalhaut
Jul 1

Spica
Jul 1
Aquarius
15hr
Oct 1
18hr
Arcturus
Antares
21hr
P
Scorpio
Capricorn
Libra
Sagittarius
Altair
Mercury makes its complete 88 day orbit around the Sun,
and moves the four additional earth days covered by
this quarterly newsletter, hence the slightly overlapping
circles on the chart shown above. Refer to the calendar
at the left to view the major orbital events for Mercury
during the period.
Venus is an evening object during the period, but remains
fairly close to the horizon, only about 10° to 15° above
the horizon around sunset for the entire period.
Late summer, and autumn sunset apparitions are rather
poor during this time of the year since the ecliptic
makes a very shallow angle with the horizon. Venus
reaches greatest eastern elongation on November 1,
2013.
Earth travels ¼ of its yearly twelve month orbital period
around the sun during this three month period, and
arrives at our Autumnal Equinox on September 22nd.
Mars is an early morning object during the entire period.
Jupiter is an early morning object during the entire
period.
Saturn remains a fine early evening viewing object in the
western sky for most of the period, but by late August
Saturn sets before 10:30 pm. By October 1 st it appears
close to the horizon at sunset.
Uranus is not an easily observable object at the beginning
of this period. By September 2013, Uranus is rising in
the eastern sky by 10:00 pm.
Neptune rises about two hours ahead of Uranus and in
September 2013 rises in the eastern sky by 8:00 pm.
Pluto remains within the star field of the constellation
Sagittarius for the next several years.
Dr. Harry Nelson Augustana Plaque Dedication
April 8, 2013
Roy E. Gustafson
with the wording on the plaque and we are grateful to
them for this inscription from their hearts.
Question: Why does Augustana College have a “Carl
Gamble Observatory” … a John Deere Planetarium … a
556 pound Canyon Diablo meteorite … the main mass of
a meteorite that only has two pieces (the Bloomington
Meteorite) … and a visit to the campus by the first man to
walk on the moon (Neil Armstrong)?
The answer to this question is: Dr. Harry Nelson. Dr.
Nelson taught mathematics and astronomy at Augustana
for 42 years.
He graduated from Augustana in 1935 and eventually
returned to teach mathematics in 1946, commuting to The
University of Iowa to work on is PhD in Applied
Mathematics. One evening when he was walking home he
looked up, saw the constellations in all their glory, and the
dream was started. Augustana should have a telescope to
enhance the science program. His advisor instructed him
to contact a John Deere Executive by the name of Carl
Gamble who had a small observatory south of Moline on
Coal Town road. Harry and Carl became close friends
and when Carl passed away in 1958 he willed his
telescope to Augustana. Now Harry had a telescope but,
with the weather not guaranteeing cloudless nights,
something more was needed. A planetarium: a place
where you could see the stars even if the night was cloudy
and rainy. The Advisory Board of the Popular Astronomy
Club recommended to the College Board of Trustees that
a Carl Gamble Memorial Fund Drive be undertaken to
make it possible to have an observatory and a planetarium
on campus. Initially the Popular Astronomy Club began
sponsoring Carl Gamble Memorial Lectures. And, well,
ah, well, these didn’t bring in a lot of money, and the
project sort of languished until Harry returned from a 2
year teaching assignment in Indonesia. When he returned
the project became part of the Acceleration Program – a
fund raising venture to raise 10 million dollars for the
expansion and remodeling of the Denkmann Library, a
new Physical Education Center, and the conversion of the
Seminary Library into a new Science Center – the last one
coupled with a planetarium/observatory.
When Elwood Curtiss, the president of John Deere and
co-chairman of the Acceleration Program learned of
Harry’s vision; that the planetarium would be available to
school children and the public (as well as Augustana
students) – he committed $250,000 and earned the right
for it to be named The John Deere Planetarium. And,
on May 2, 1969 this facility was dedicated. Harry’s
dream came true after 24 years.
Tonight we will place a plaque in the foyer honoring
“Harry”. All those who come to this facility will see this
plaque, look at the photograph, read the inscription, and
know who the man was behind it all. His wife Lillian’s
Illinois PEO Convention committee purchased this plaque
for her for her birthday last month. The family helped
LILLIAN NELSON WITH HARRY’S DEDICATION PLAQUE
The inscription reads:
Dr. Harry Nelson
Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy 1946 – 1988
“Mr. Astronomy” for the Quad-Cities
He had a dream. He envisioned it; led the effort to make it
happen; and in 1969 became the first Director of this
John Deere Planetarium and Observatory, thus fulfilling
his dream.
Above this inscription is the favorite photograph of
Harry’s wife, Lillian. This is how Lillian remembers him,
always with chalk on his chin!
Tonight we are honored to have Lillian here along with
their son, Alan. Would you please stand.
LILLIAN NELSON WITH HER SON, ALAN
Before we proceed to the foyer, the current Planetarium
Director, Dr. Lee Carkner, would like to say a few words.
Dr. Carkner:
After we hang the plaque, we have cookies and punch
available. Have a cookie, drink some punch and then
return for the rest of the meeting.
ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE NEWS
ADDITIONS TO PAC MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
ALCon 2013 will be hosted by the
Atlanta Astronomy Club at the
Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta,
Georgia on July 17 – 20th.
The PAC Board of Directors, as a result of the discussion
of the action to raise dues taken at the June board meeting,
would like to encourage members to consider upgrading
their membership status for 2014.
Beginning with the September 2012
issue, the Reflector magazine is now
available online. Printed copies will continue to be
mailed to Astronomical League members.
Members would gain a tax deduction, a certificate of
appreciation from the club, recognition for their additional
support of PAC, and (depending on membership category,
free use of a PAC rental scope for 1 to 2 months at a time.
The Astronomical League would like to receive your
comments about the online offering of the Reflector.
Send your comments to the Reflector editor, Andy Oliver,
at [email protected].
NCRAL NEWS
Congratulations to Gerry
Kocken, our newly-elected
NCRAL Chair as well as the
2013
Region
Award
Winner! Thanks to Rebecca
Setzer for her service as
outgoing Chair.
Charlotte DuPree has also been re-elected as NCRAL
Vice-Chair. Thank you and congratulations to her.
Thanks to the Rochester Astronomy Club for hosting a
wonderful NCRAL 2012 Convention. It was a superlative
event all around!
The 2014 NCRAL Convention is will take place in
Port Washington, WI on April 3-4. For more
information, see the NCRAL Events page.
We are looking for club logos to put on the Northern
Lights website. If you would like to submit yours, please
send an email to the webmaster in GIF format, 150×150
pixels in size.
PAC would benefit by having a “tight” financial situation
eased. The Membership Categories and benefits are listed
below:
Supporting Membership, Additions to:
1. A certificate indicating Supporting Membership Status.
2. A tax deductible receipt for the amount over regular
membership rate.
Sustaining Membership, Additions to:
1. A certificate indicating Sustaining Membership Status.
2. A tax deductible receipt for the amount over regular
membership rate.
3. One free month of club rental scope use per year of
Sustaining membership.
Patron Membership, Additions to:
1. A certificate indicating Patron Membership Status.
2. A tax deductible receipt for the amount over regular
membership rate.
3. Two free months of club rental scope use per year of
Patron membership.
2012-2013 PAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT - Wayland Bauer
3256 Pleasant Drive, Bettendorf, IA., 52722
Phone: (563) 332-4032; Email: [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT - Alan Sheidler
3528 56th Street Court, Moline, IL, 61265
Phone: (309) 797-3120; Email: [email protected]
SECRETARY - Cindy Pippert
3532 12th Street, Rock Island, IL, 61201
Phone: (309) 787-3559; Email: [email protected]
TREASURER – Roy Gustafson
11 Deer Run Road, Orion, IL, 61273
Phone: (309) 526-3592; Email: [email protected]
PACMO NEWS
Rusty Case reports that we
now have a new PACMO
telescope and it works fine.
He rewired the power supply
so we can flip a switch to use
either 12 volts or 18 volts.
We ordered a memorial
plaque to put on the new telescope thanking the Dr. Harry
Nelson family. We plan to have a dedication at a Niabi
Zoo event when Lillian Nelson and other Nelson family
members can attend.
ALCOR / NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Lee M. Farrar
Illinois - 2232 24th Street, Rock Island, IL, 61201
Arizona - 808 N. 82nd Street, Townhouse F-2, Scottsdale, AZ, 85257
Phone: (309) 721-4301; Email: [email protected]
PACMO DIRECTOR - Rusty Case
2123 W. 16th Street, Davenport, IA, 52804
Phone: (563) 323-7168; Email: [email protected]
PAUL R. CASTLE MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY
DIRECTORS:
Wayland Bauer
3256 Pleasant Drive, Bettendorf, IA., 52722
Phone: (563) 332-4032; Email: [email protected]
Roy Gustafson
11 Deer Run Road, Orion, IL, 61273
Phone: (309) 526-3592; Email: [email protected]
PRC MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY NEWS
March 29, 2013
Wayland Bauer
Al & Eric Sheidler, Rusty
Case, Bryan Raser and
Wayland Bauer met shortly
before Sunset on Friday,
March 29th, to attempt to
complete
the
March
Observation Challenge. The
strategy was to use two
telescopes, Rusty’s 8” Celestron goto scope and the
observatory’s 6” refractor using the setting circles to
locate target objects.
We started off by observing Jupiter and four of its moons
(not on the list but the first objects visible.) It was fitting
that we ended the evening by viewing the Ghost of
Jupiter, a planetary nebula. In between those two objects
we were able to locate and view 32 of the 42 objects on
the March Observing list, and enjoy several cups of
Sheidler hot chocolate. In addition to the list objects we
observed the late rising Moon, Saturn, and M43 in Orion.
While we were successful in the use of the setting circles
in locating objects, the use of Rusty’s goto scope greatly
accelerated the process. Probably 2/3 of the objects were
found with the goto scope.
The evening was very comfortable, enjoying and
educational. We hope as we move into April more of you
will join in taking the Observing Challenge. By working
in cooperate groups we all learn where the constellations,
what can be found in each constellation, earn rewards and
have lots of fun. BE READY TO CHANGE PLANS ON
SHORT NOTICE BECAUSE WE ARE NEVER SURE
OF WHEN WE WILL HAVE CLEAR SKIES!
May 11, 2013
Bryan Raser
On Saturday, May 11th, Wayland Bauer, Rusty Case, Al
and Eric Sheidler, and Bryan Raser met at the Paul Castle
Memorial Observatory. The objective was to try out the
new Meade 12” LX200 – ACF, utilizing the May
observing list.
THE LX200 SCOPE, SOON TO BE INSTALLED IN PACMO
The LX200 proved to be user friendly, utilizing GPS to
align itself. Locating objects with the hand controller was
straightforward. The go to positioning placed all objects
within the eyepiece field of view, tracking was excellent
too. The optics on the LX200 proved to be very good.
The atmosphere was somewhat unsteady, but many double
stars were resolved, galaxies were easily visualized,
Jupiter and Saturn provided crisp images.
Grouped by constellations are the objects we observed:
Auriga: M36, M37, M38, & 14 Auriga
Cancer: M44 (Beehive Cluster), M67 (one of oldest
known clusters)
Canes Major: M41, h3945 (intense double star)
Canes Venatici: M3, La Superba, Cor Coroli
Cephus: Erakis (Garnet Star)
Draco: Nu Draconis (double star)
Gemini: M35
Hydra: Ghost of Jupiter (planetary nebula)
Leo: Gamma Leonis, 54 Leonis, (both double stars)
Lepus: R-Leporis (Crimson Star), Gamma
Monoceros: (Christmas Tree cluster, M50, Rosette
Nebula, 11-Beta (Triple star)
Orion: M42, Trapezium A, Trapezium B, Sigma Orionis,
Collinder 69
Ursa Major: Mizar and Alcor, M81 (Bode’s Galaxy)
AL SHEIDLER AND RUSTY CASE WITH THE PACMO SCOPE
With Rusty Case’s go to Celestron Nexstar 8, we were
able to observe much of the May Observing Challenge
List: Cancer’s open clusters, M51 , globular clusters (M
13 and 92) in Hercules, Leo’s colorful double stars, M57
(Ring nebula), open (IC 4665) and globulars (M10, 12) in
Ophiuchus.
With Scorpius rising, we saw the doubles Graffias,
Antares and the globular M4. Virgo’s provided a galaxy
showcase: M49, 61, 84, 86, 87, and 90. The Sombrero
galaxy (M104, in Corvus) provided a striking image in the
LX200. Jupiter and Saturn were also observed for good
measure.
At 11:00 pm, Wayland Bauer pronounced the May
observing list effectively completed. Items not observed
(such as in Cygnus) will be better positioned for observing
later in the year. Of course, hot chocolate was available,
courtesy of the Sheidlers. For its size, the LX200 was
easily dismantled and stored. It proved itself an excellent
telescope for the public and PAC members. With 2 goto
scopes available, it was easy to observe most of the items
on the observing list. Also, one had plenty of eyepiece
time to study each celestial object acquired. The
observing lists provide a wide variety of celestial objects
throughout the evening sky while also highlighting the
best visual items. With warmer weather finally arriving,
feel free to join us at future sessions. You may see many
objects you’ve already observed, but there are also many
opportunities to see more challenging objects you
might’ve overlooked-or had trouble finding!
June 22, 2013
Al Sheidler
Let it never be said that astronomers are not optimists.
Despite the fact it had been overcast and threatening to
rain all day, a number of us convened at the Castle
Memorial Observatory hoping to glimpse some of the
objects listed in the Challenge of the Month observing list
for June.
Though it was overcast, Eric and I decided to go out to do
some weed trimming around the deck of the observatory.
Rusty Case also came out to take a look at what needed to
be done to repair some minor damage to one of the
electrical conduits leading to the outside electrical outlets.
So the three of us met there around 7:30 to take care of
those tasks while we waited to see if the weather would
cooperate for us or not. In the meantime, Chris Nordick
came over and in addition to discussing various
astronomical topics we also conversed about farming and
the impact the vagaries of the weather has had on crops
this year.
By the time the sun set at 8:39PM, the sky was beginning
to clear a bit (and our optimism elevate about our
prospects). Wayland Bauer arrived around this time and
by the time the moon rose, Dino Milani, Mitch Milani,
and Bryan Raser arrived to round out the observing crew.
The moon was full, very bright and coupled with the hazy
sky, limited our ability to see any of the deep sky objects.
The first object we targeted was the Moon, which was at
perigee and full (the television news programs had been
talking about how this month's full moon would be a
"super moon" because it is full at the point in its orbit
where it is closest to earth). We can attest that it was very
bright and super to observe. We also targeted the planet
Venus which we glimpsed shortly before dropping below
the tree line west of the observatory. Rounding out the
solar system objects, we targeted the planet Saturn next.
Saturn was very splendid, even through the murky
atmosphere. Two of Saturn's larger moons, Titan and
Rhea, were also visible. We used the Starry Night
planetarium software on my laptop to verify the positions
of Saturn's moons at the time of our observation. We then
decided to attempt observing some of the brighter double
stars on the Observing list for June. Using the
observatory's 6" refractor we targeted Albireo, the
beautiful blue and gold double star in Cygnus. There was
so much sky glow from the bright moon that we could
only just barely glimpse Albireo with the naked eye. But
once we got it in the field of view of the observatory's
scope we adjusted the setting circles to correspond to
Albireo's RA/DEC coordinates. Using the setting circles,
we were then successful in finding 17 Cygni, a close
yellow and orange double star, and M39, a very nice open
cluster. All of these objects were in Cygnus. We then
moved to Delphinus and successfully found Gamma
Delphini, a beautiful yellow and green double star.
By this time, clouds were starting to roll in and we
decided to call an end to another successful observing
session.
PAC MEMBERS OBSERVING FORUM
This feature column is devoted to the
contributed articles from our members
regarding
recent
observations,
thoughts, and other comments about
astronomical phenomena and events.
THE CELESTRON SKY PRODIGY 6 INCH SCT
Lee M. Farrar
This is a view of my
new Celestron 6 inch
Schmidt - Cassegrain
telescope
that
I
purchased recently for
observing in Arizona.
As with the other
telescopes in the Sky
Prodigy series, it aligns itself automatically with a single
button press on the control paddle. The system then uses
an integrated camera to create an internal image of the sky
at the user’s site. The telescope has a data base of over
4,000 objects, or the user can enter RA and DEC values to
find objects that are not contained in the data base.
ASTRONOMY DAY APRIL 20, 2013
Sara Sheidler
After a week of clouds and rain Mother Nature gave us a
fabulous day to celebrate Astronomy. Daytime activities
got underway at the Moline Public Library at 2:00 pm,
and wrapped up at 5:00 pm.
We concluded our
Astronomy Day activities with evening observing at Niabi
Zoo. We estimate attendance at both locations to be over
300 persons.
Children used planet stickers and made their “Planet
plates”. Karen Stonestreet helped Anne at that table.
Roberta Wright and Mike Haney had a variety of activity
sheets with coloring papers for the youngest to the Sky-QQuiz for adults.
MIKE HANEY AND ROBERTA WRIGHT
Sara Sheidler and Roberta’s friend Leon helped dozens of
children make a Star Finder for May.
GENERAL DISPLAY AREA AT THE MOLINE LIBRARY
Inside the library we had a variety of Astronomy themed
crafts including a clever idea Anne Bauer had to use paper
plates with one side being the inner planets and the other
the outer planets.
Dino Milani brought a large visual display of comet
pictures and even included pictures of the recent Pan
STARRS Comet.
KAREN STONESTREET AT THE PAPER PLATE ACTIVITY
COMET DISPLAY INCLUDING THE PANS STARRS COMET
ANNE BAUER WITH POCKET SOLAR SYSTEM STICKERS
In the Children’s Program Room Chef Frank Stonestreet
presented a lesson about comets.
Roy Gustafson did the Magnetic Sun presentation and also
had many hand-outs that explained the activities that go
on in our Sun.
ROY GUSTAFSON TALKS ABOUT OUR MAGNETIC SUN
Gerry Pearson and John Douglas handled the Weight
Station. Young and old are amazed to find out what their
weight would be on different planets as they tried out the
different modified bathroom scales.
FRANK STONESTREET PRESENTS A COMET LECTURE
Then, Chef Frank Stonestreet and Chef Mitchell Milani
made comet nuclei out of dry ice and common household
ingredients.
JOHN DOUGLAS AND GERRY PEARSON
COMET COOKING CHEFS STONESTREET AND MILANI
Several children donned gloves and goggles and helped
mold the comet core before it was pulled out of the bag
and revealed to the audience. It’s an amazing presentation
every time it is done!
WEIGHING IN AT THE SOLAR SYSTEM WEIGHT STATION
In the Display Room, Jan Gustafson, Gail Sederquist, and
Cindy Pippert handled the stand - up displays we had and
the items we received on loan from NASA.
The two pairs of astronaut gloves were fun for the kids to
try on and the astronaut food tray and assorted food items
were interesting for everyone to look over. Wayland
Bauer and Al Sheidler manned the Telescope Display and
answered questions about how telescopes work.
NASA DISPLAY TABLE
SARA SHEIDLER AND WAYLAND BAUER
Rusty Case, Ken Boquist, and Eric Sheidler handled the
outside activities. In the rear parking lot, the PACMO
was available to look through, along with several other
telescopes and the Sunspotter unit.
ROCK AND SOIL SAMPLES FROM THE MOON
Jan was able to get a nice disk with rock and soil samples
from the Moon and had a map of the moon to show where
the samples came from. The 1/100 scale model of the
shuttle Discovery was displayed along with pictures and a
brief history of the 39 missions the Discovery flew on.
We had another display of meteorites including pictures
from the recent event in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
THE PACMO OUTSIDE IN THE LIBRARY PARKING LOT
It should be noted that PAC was in danger of not being
able to receive the NASA display material due to the
federal government sequestration cost-saving reductions
imposed in early 2013. Jan received the following email
good news from NASA just in time for PAC to receive the
material for our Astronomy Day activities.
“Dear Jan, I am very happy to inform you that the recent
suspension of the Lunar and Meteorite Sample Disk
Education Program due to the sequestration cost-saving
reductions has been lifted by a waiver effective March 28,
2013. All requests previously cancelled will be honored
dependent on an approved loan agreement and security
plan as per usual procedures. On behalf of Mary Luckey,
NASA Educator Sample Curator, and myself, I would like
to thank you for your continue support of this program
and NASA.
Bridget C. McInturff,
Curation Education Disk Specialist”
RUSTY CASE WITH A FEW FUTURE ASTRONOMERS
VISITORS LOOK THROUGH THE PACMO TELESCOPE
BRIANNA HARTWICK, THE 5,000th VISITOR TO PACMO
At 3:00 pm, Dr. Craig Kletzing, Professor of Physics and
Astronomy, University of Iowa, presented a program “The
Auroral Borealis: Nature’s Lightshow in the Sky”.
KEN BOQUIST AND A TELESCOPE WITH SOLAR FILTER
DR. KLETZING GIVES HIS AURORAL BOREALIS PROGRAM
Dr. Kletzing presented an informative program and was
able to explain these colorful phenomena at a level
understandable by all. He brought along an electron
apparatus that was able to simulate aurora inside a large
vacuum tube. At the end of his presentation, Dr. Kletzing
invited the audience to come up and experiment with a bar
magnet to show how disturbances in the magnetic field
near the artificial aurora caused the glowing ring of
rarified gas inside the device to twist and distort.
VISITORS STAND NEAR THE SUNSPOTTER SOLAR VIEWER
In the afternoon, Brianna Hartwick was presented a
Galileoscope (courtesy of the Gustafson’s), as the 5,000th
visitor to our PACMO since its construction.
Judging from the photograph in the next column, Brianna,
a grade school student from Clinton, Iowa was very
excited and happy with her gift.
AN AURORA MAGNETIC FIELD DISTURBANCE SIMULATOR
ASTRONOMY DAY EVENING OBSERVING
Ken Boquist
The PAC held a star party at Niabi Zoo on April 20 th to
end Astronomy Day. While the skies didn’t look entirely
promising as folks were heading out to set up at Niabi
Zoo, the clouds stayed away long enough to allow for
some great observing after the sun went down.
A wide variety of scopes were available to show the night
skies to the public, ranging from refractors to Schmidtcassegrains and Maksutovs. The club brought along the
PACMO observatory, and since the club had not yet
received the replacement for the original 12” Meade
Schmidt-Cassegrain, the club used the Norman Utke 7”
f/15 Meade Maksutov that was donated to the club in his
memory.
VISITORS AT THE NIABI ZOO EVENING SESSION
Rusty Case and Al Sheidler reported observing M36,
M37, M38, 14 Aurigae, M44 (Beehive Cluster), M67,
M3, La Superba, Cor Caroli, M35, M13, Alpha Hercules,
M42, Trapezium A & B, and Sigma Orionis. I also
observed M5 and M13. Perhaps the crown jewel of the
night was a passage of the International Space Station,
which crossed from northwest to northeast at a fairly brisk
pace. Wayland Bauer alerted everyone to its upcoming
passage when he arrived earlier in the evening, and when
the time came, all eyes were focused on looking for it.
The club also achieved a milestone with the 5,000th visitor
to the PACMO. Brianna Hartwick was the 5,000th visitor,
and she was present and observed most, if not all of, the
objects mentioned above.
PACMO AT THE NIABI ZOO EVENING OBSERVING
We had a very good turnout from the general public for
this session. A large group of Boy Scouts also came out
to observe, and a lot of time was spent showing the night
skies to them.
ASTRONOMY DAY 2014
Sara Sheidler
At the recent PAC board meeting it was decided to hold
Astronomy Day on April 19, 2014 and not on the
"official" day which falls during Mother's Day weekend.
The Moline Public Library has already reserved all the
meeting rooms for us free of charge and they look forward
to providing their spacious facility to us again next year.
That evening we will hold our usual third Saturday Night
Sky Observing at the Niabi Zoo Parking Lot.
Reserve this date and if you have any ideas or would like
to help plan Astronomy Day 2014, please contact the
Sheidlers. Thank you.
TELESCOPES AT THE NIABI ZOO EVENING OBSERVING
The moon was only a couple days past first quarter, and
still was showing a lot of detail. We also observed Jupiter
and Saturn, which many members of the public really
enjoyed. Many of the other objects shown were from the
April Challenge of the month.
WELCOME NEW PAC MEMBERS
The following new members have recently joined the
Popular Astronomy Club. Welcome to PAC.
Dana and Max Moline, Bettendorf IA.
Charles and Terry Griffith, Orion IL
PUBLIC OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
This newsletter section is devoted
to reports about the various Public
Outreach activities of the Popular
Astronomy Club.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
May 18, 2013
Al Sheidler
We held our regular public outreach observing session at
Niabi Zoo on May 18th. Club members Charles Griffith,
Frank Stonestreet, Ken Boquist, Mitchell Milani, Dino
Milani, Rusty Case, Eric Sheidler, Al Sheidler and
Wayland Bauer were in attendance along with many
visitors from the general public. We observed with the
new 12" Meade LX200 ACF PACMO telescope, which
performed flawlessly for the public that night.
Many club members and some visitors brought their own
telescopes so that multiple different views of objects could
be glimpsed without having to wait in line. We were able
to observe most of the objects in the observing list for
May. In addition to these we also observed the planet
Saturn which was really spectacular in the new PACMO
telescope. Rusty also found his Celestron C8 GOTO
scope has a menu selection of asterisms which he used to
target some interesting star clusters. These elicited a
number of "oooh's", "aaah's" and other gleeful comments
from viewers.
Nate Vandike brought his 6" Maksutov telescope and his
new digital SLR camera. With his camera he obtained a
nice picture of the moon and a beautiful image of the
planet Saturn with the camera attached to the new
PACMO telescope.
SATURN PHOTO BY NATE VANDIKE
At that point it was around midnight and time to conclude
another successful public outreach session.
PAC TELESCOPES/BINOCULAR FOR RENT
The Popular Astronomy Club has two telescopes and one
pair of binoculars for rent to members. The equipment in
our rental inventory is:
Meade 90 mm ETX Astro Telescope
This telescope comes with a homemade
mount and tripod, and a solar filter. It has
a 26 mm eyepiece and a 2x Barlow.
The focal length of the telescope itself is
1250 mm, so the effective magnification
is 48x with the eyepiece, and 96x with the
addition of the Barlow.
8" Orion Dobsonian.
This telescope has three
eyepieces: a 25 mm Ploessl, a
12 mm RKE, and a 9 mm
Ploessl.
A moon filter is also provided
with this scope.
Zhumell 20 X 80 Binoculars
These binoculars come with
an integrated tripod mount
for a standard photographic
tripod.
MOON PHOTO BY NATE VANDIKE
The rental rate is $5.00 per month. Contact Al Sheidler at
(309)-797-3120 or email at [email protected]
SECOND QUARTER 2013 BUSINESS MEETING
President Wayland Bauer called the Second Quarter PAC
business meeting to order in the John Deere Planetarium
at 7:00 p.m. local time, on Monday, June 10, 2013.
The First Quarter 2013 business meeting
minutes from March 11th were read by
Secretary Cindy Pippert. The minutes were
approved as read. Minutes from the 1st
quarter were read and approved.
Mitchell Milani mentioned that there are
several opportunities to sell items on the
internet besides E-bay.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Roy Gustafson reported on the financial status
of the club.
Vice Presidents Report
Vice President Al Sheidler reported that there has been no
activity with rental scopes. The only item left to sell is a
tripod.
Programs for the rest of 2013 are listed on the club
website.
He encouraged members to get involved in the merit
observing program. He creates a list of things to observe
for the challenge of the month. This can be done in a
group setting such as Niabi Zoo and at the Paul Castle
Memorial Observatory, or from your own back yard. Just
document your observations and get the information to Al.
Al was contacted by an individual that wants to sell a
telescope. It is a Celestron C-150 HD on a CG4 mount.
This is a 6" reflector. Contact Al and he will get you the
contact information
ALCor Report
Liz and Brad had an article from the Argus featuring the
Moons of Jupiter. The other article was from USA Today
describing a KOA campground in Herkimer, NY that has
an observing cabin. It sleeps 6 and the cost is $170.00 per
night.
Dino Milani told PAC members that the Peoria
Astronomy Club has a nice planetarium. They host
astronomy programs for the public every Saturday night.
PACMO update: Rusty Case reported that we have a new
telescope and it works fine. He rewired the power supply
so we can flip a switch to use either 12 volts or 18 volts.
He also mentioned that we ordered a memorial plaque to
put on the new telescope thanking the Dr. Harry Nelson
family. We plan to have a dedication at a Niabi Zoo event
when Lillian Nelson and other Nelson family members
can attend.
The Nordicks are removing brush near the Paul Castle
Memorial Observatory. We need to contact them for
permission to plant shrubbery or build a fence, in this area
to block head lights from the highway.
The 2013 PAC picnic will be at the Paul Castle Memorial
Observatory. After dinner we can look for meteors during
the Perseid Meteor Shower.
The 2013 PAC banquet will be held on Friday, October
18th. More details later. A budget of $125.00 will be used
to purchase awards and door prizes.
The PAC board voted to raise dues from $25.00 to
$30.00. Additional family members dues up to $7.50 from
$5.00 per person. For those that would like to enhance
their memberships, the dues are as follows: supporting
member $40.00, sustaining member $60.00, and Patron
member $80.00. The enhanced membership does have
some perks and anything spent over the basic dues will get
you a tax break! A student membership for a college
undergrad is $10.00. Dues are due at the September
meeting.
AlCor Lee Farrar did not attend the meeting due to health
problems incurred with the change in climate after
returning from the winter in Arizona. He sent word that
the Astronomical League dues have been paid for 2014.
We will have elections in December for board members.
A list of candidates must appear in the October newsletter.
This is for a two year term.
PAC members wished him well.
For anyone that wants to run for an office please contact
our nominating committee. Jan Gustafson, or Ann Bauer.
Correspondence
PAC received a nice thank you from a lady that got help
using her telescope at Niabi Zoo.
New Business
The Business Meeting adjourned at 7:40.
Respectfully submitted,
Cindy Pippert, Secretary
The Sherrard Public Library would like our help on
Friday, July 12th for an astronomy presentation. They
need us to bring several telescopes.
Business Meeting Program
Several newspaper articles were passed around for
members to read. One had a picture of 3 PAC members
wearing Star Trek uniforms in support of the new movie.
The program was on the Copernicus Theory.
Tonight's constellation report featured Ursa Major.
Both were presented by Roberta Wight.
Popular Astronomy Club
2232 24th Street
Rock Island, IL 61201