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March, 2016Page 1
At the March 4 Meeting
Conjunctions and Alignments Justin McCollum, HAS Program Chair
C onjunctions and alignments are astronomical
events in which a
combination of
planets, bright stars,
the Earth's Moon,
asteroids, and in
some case human -
made objects appear
in a particular pattern
in the night sky. In the case of conjunctions such
objects can appear as alignments, but in most cases
they tend to form patterns that can be distinct against
the usual background of constellations. Alignments
are a special case of conjunctions where a collection
of stars with certain celestial bodies residing within
the solar system appear to connect together as a
linear grouping along usually along the plane of the
ecliptic. This presentation will be a general and
detailed look at the nature of conjunctions and
alignments.
March, 2016
Volume 35, #3
Houston Astronomical Society
Highlights:
HAS Web Page:
http://www.AstronomyHouston.org
See the GuideStar's Monthly Calendar of Events to confirm dates and times of all events for the month, and check the Web Page for any last minute changes.
The GuideStar is the winner of the 2012 Astronomical League Mabel Sterns Newsletter
award.
Observatory Corner—new orientation 7
Stars Cast Oxygen Away
Possible 9th Planet
11
New Horizon’s Mission to Pluto
Meteors and Meteorites
12
One Object to Go
Need for Dark Skies
13
Cr 63 - Orion's Head 14
The Houston Astronomical Society is a member of the Astronomical League.
All meetings are at the University of Houston Science and Research building. See the last
page for directions to the location.
Novice meeting: ······················ 7:00 p.m.
Bill Spizzirri - “Meteors and Meteorites” See page 12
General meeting: ····················· 8:00 p.m
See last page for directions
and more information.
March, 2016Page 2
March, 2016Page 2
The Houston Astronomical Society is a non-profit corporation organized under section 501 (C) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Society was formed for education and scientific purposes. All contributions and gifts are deductible for federal income tax purposes. General membership meetings are open to the public and attendance is encouraged.
Officers
Directors at Large
Committee Chairpersons
The Houston Astronomical Society
President Rene Gedaly
Vice President Ed Frani [email protected]
Secretary Mark Holdsworth
Treasurer Don Selle [email protected]
Jessica Kingsley [email protected]
Bill Kowalczyk [email protected]
Justin McCollum [email protected]
Debbie Moran [email protected] H:713-774-0924, C:713-562-7670
Bram Weisman [email protected]
Audit Scott Mitchell
Education & Outreach
Debbie Moran, Joe Khalaf
[email protected] [email protected]
Field Tr./Obsg Stephen Jones
Membership Jessica Kingsley, Bill Kowalczyk
Novice Debbie Moran
[email protected] H:713-774-0924, C:713-562-7670
Observatory Mike Edstrom
[email protected] 832-689-4584
Program Justin McCollum
Publicity Bram Weisman
Telescope Allen Wilkerson
[email protected] 832- 265-4773
AL Coordinator
Doug McCormick
Audio/Visual Michael Rapp
GuideStar Bill Pellerin [email protected]
Texas 45 Coordinator
Rene Gedaly
Texas Star Party
Steve Goldberg
[email protected] H: 713-721-5077
Observatory & Trailer Spot Booking
Steve Goldberg
Videography Rob Morehead
Web Technology
Mark Ferraz [email protected]
Urban Observing
Steve Munsey
Ad-Hoc Committee Chairpersons
Dr. Reginald DuFour Rice University
Dr. Lawrence Pinsky University of Houston
Dr. Lawrence Armendarez University of St. Thomas
Advisors
Regular $36
Associate $6
Sustaining $50
Student $12
Honorary n/c
Annual Dues and Membership Information
All members have the right to participate in Society functions and to use the Observatory Site. Regular and Student Members receive a sub-scription to The Reflector. The GuideStar, the monthly publication of the Houston Astronomical Society is available on the web site. Associate Members, immediate family members of a Regular Member, have all membership rights, but do not receive publications. Sustaining mem-bers have the same rights as regular members with the additional dues treated as a donation to the Society. Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines are available to members at a discount. Membership Application:
You can join (or renew at the organization web site, www.astronomyhouston.org. Click the ‘Join HAS’ Tab.
Send funds to address shown on last page of GuideStar. Attention - Treasurer, along with the following information: Name, Address, Phone Number, Special Interests in Astronomy, Do you own a Telescope? (If so, what kind?), and where you first heard of H.A.S.
March, 2016Page 3
Table of Contents 4 ............... President's Message 5 ............... March/April Calendar 6 ............... Observations of the Editor 7 ............... Observatory Corner 11 ............... Stars Cast Oxygen Away ............... Possible 9th Planet 12 ............... New Horizon's Mission to Pluto ............... Meteors and Meteorites 13 ............... One Object to Go ............... Need for Dark Skies 14 ............... Cr 63 - Orion's Head 15 ............... Parking at the UH Campus
Other Meetings...
Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society meets in the the Lunar and Planetary Institute on the 2nd Friday of each month. Web site: www.jscas.net
Fort Bend Astronomy Club meets the third Friday of the
month at 8:00 p.m. at the Houston Community College Southwest Campus in Stafford, Texas http://www.fbac.org/club_meetings.htm. Novice meeting begins at 7:00 p.m., regular meeting begins at 8:00 p.m. Website: http://www.fbac.org
North Houston Astronomy Club meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 4th
Friday of each month in the Teaching Theatre of the Student Center at Kingwood College.Call 281-312-1650 or [email protected]. Web site: www.astronomyclub.org
Brazosport Astronomy Club meets the third Tuesday of each
month at the Brazosport planetarium at 7:45 p.m. The Brazosport planetarium is located at 400 College Boulevard, Clute, TX, 77531. For more information call 979-265-3376
GuideStar deadline
for the April
issue
is March 15th
Check the web site: www.astronomyhouston.org
The HAS website not only has news and information about our society, but also a variety of features to manage your membership and connect with other club members. Current members can post photos, trade gear, pay dues, manage discount magazine subscriptions, swap stories in the forum, and more.
Questions about the site? Need a hand to get your account set up? Contact [email protected].
The HAS web site is the winner of the 2012 Astronomical League award for excellence.
March, 2016Page 4
Keep Looking Up
..Rene Gedaly President
President’s Message by Rene Gedaly
I was at the family homestead in Florida recently. They say you can’t go home again, but not much has changed over the years in that
part of Florida citrus country. The skies were still dark enough to see my mom’s beloved Milky Way from the back porch and the winter constellations were spectacular. So were the summer ones.
A great season to observe
The clear skies found me lost in time and space watching constella-tions from succeeding seasons travel the night skies. When the sum-mer Milky Way arose, it reminded me that it would soon be Messier Marathon season.
The full moon blots out the very best nights this year, but it’s still an excellent season for observing. Skip the marathon sprint for 2016 and use the night of March 5/6 to capture those Messier objects missing from your Astronomical League list. Almost all of them are visible from our latitude.
Stephen Jones has scheduled another of his popular Novice Labs on the crescent moon night of March 12. Incidentally, Mar 5 and 12 are both good nights to complete the HAS Texas 45 in a single night. You can read a firsthand account about the program by the most recent awardee, Steve Goldberg, elsewhere in this GuideStar.
All the committees have been hard at play—take a look.
Ground breaking on new bunkhouse
It seems we just announced plans for the new family and women’s bunkhouse when ground was broken on the slab. In truth this project has been on the drawing board for years, and I’m truly honored to see it come to fruition.
Special thanks go to Bill Kow-alczyk, Allen Wilkerson, Ame-lia Goldberg, Mike Edstrom, the Observatory Committee, and the vision of the Board of Direc-tors to fund it.
Bill K says it won’t be long before we’ll be having a good old fashioned barn raising to put up the frame.
Urban Observing: East Houston
Henry Gonzalez hosted the first official East Houston Urban Observing group at Double Bayou Park in Anahuac, TX. Congrats, Henry! I’ve
observed in those parts and it is dark. If you’re on the east side, make plans to get to the next one.
Join [email protected]
In January Amelia and I sent women mem-bers an email announcing a new club within a club at HAS, a special interest group for women. This is a social group as well as a place for hands on astronomy. Make sure you’re in the know by sending an email to [email protected] with your request to join HAS-Women. Steve Goldberg will verify your membership and add you to the list. If your spouse shares your email account, Steve can handle that, too. One of our first events might be something for the “barn raising” of our new bunkhouse!
The Art & Science of Astronomy
March is museum month for Outreach fea-turing the art and science of astronomy. On March 19 at the Contemporary Arts Muse-um Houston, astronomers Amelia Gold-berg, Bob Menius, and Will Young will exhib-it their astronomy-themed artwork at the museum the entire week leading up to Fam-ily Fun Day at CAMH. This is a daytime event and all manner of scopes will be on hand.
Another event you won’t want to miss is the re-opening of the Burke Baker Planetarium on March 26. It’s members night for the Houston Museum of Natural Science and HAS will be on hand with telescopes to show folks the real thing on the front plaza of the museum building. Way to go Joe Khalaf!
It’s always a great season for astronomy at the HAS.
March, 2016Page 5
Follow the GuideStar on Twitter at:
GuideStar_HAS
Join Facebook and look for:
Houston Astronomical Society
Starline
Call 832-go4-HAS0 (832-464-4270) for the latest information on the meeting and other information about activities within the HAS.
Event Notification or Cancellation HAS uses RAINEDOUT.NET to communicate late breaking updates about our various events. . Message delivery is via text messaging and e-mail. There are several ways to subscribe. If you would like to receive these notices via text messaging directly to your phone, subscribe to any of the sub-groups which interest you as follows:
To receive text messages, send any or all of the following (one at a time) to 84483 You will receive a confirmation message back for each successful enrollment.
You may also enroll your phone numbers or individual e-mail addresses via the website: Here's a shortened link to get you there: http://goo.gl/evrGsR For more information, please visit www.RainedOut.net. RainedOut notices will also automatically be sent to our e-mail list. Note that regular e-mail list conversations are not part of RainedOut communications and will not be sent to your phone as part of this service. Instructions to sign up for the e-mail list (a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of the club) are found here: http://www.astronomyhouston.org/about/email-list.
March, 2016Page 5
March/April
Calendar
Date Time Event
March 1 5:11 p.m. Last Quarter Moon 4 7:00 p.m. HAS Novice Meeting, U of H 8:00 p.m. HAS General Meeting, U of H 5 Prime Night, Columbus 8 5:00 a.m. Jupiter at opposition 7:54 p.m. New Moon 12 5:30 p.m. Novice Lab, Columbus 15 11:03 a.m. First Quarter Moon 6:30 p.m. HAS Board Meeting, Trini Mendenhall Community
Center 19 10:30 p.m. Vernal equinox 23 6:01 a.m. Full Moon 27 2:00 a.m. DST begins, change clocks forward
1 hour 31 10:17 a.m. Last Quarter Moon
April 1 7:00 p.m. HAS Novice Meeting, U of H 8:00 p.m. HAS General Meeting, U of H 2 Prime Night, Columbus 7 6:24 a.m. New Moon 13 10:15 p.m. First Quarter Moon 18 9:00 a.m. Mercury at greatest elongation east 22 12:24 a.m. Full Moon 1:00 a.m. Lyrid meteors 26 3:00 p.m. Asteroid 3 Juno at opposition 29 10:39 a.m. Last Quarter Moon 30 7:30 p.m. Novice Lab, Columbus
Send calendar events to Doug McCormick - [email protected]
For the latest information on club events, go to http://www.astronomyhouston.org/
HAS Board Meeting HAS Board meetings are scheduled regularly (see the calendar, above). All members are invited to attend these meetings, but only board members can vote on issues brought before the
board. Meetings are held at the Trini Mendenhall Community Center (1414 Wirt Road) at 6:30 p.m. on the date specified.
Text Message Alerts about...
OUTREACH Public Outreach Events
STARPARTY Members Only Star Parties (HAS observ-
URBAN Urban Observing Events
MEETINGS HAS Meetings
March, 2016Page 6
March, 2016Page 6
AL Web Site Articles Coming
I was asked by John Goss, the president of the Astronomical League if I
would edit and re-post some articles from John Dire’s “Deep Sky
Object” series. In addition to this, I’ll be posting some of my “Shallow
Sky” items that have appeared in the GuideStar. John Goss wants to
encourage League members to get outside and observe, and providing
targets for those observations will encourage member to do so.
Watch for these over the next few months at www.astroleague.org.
New Movie—”The Last Man on the Moon”
“The Last Man on the Moon” (movie) — a documentary about Gene
Cernan and his trip to the Moon is available on Amazon (for a fee,
streaming) or you can buy a disk. I haven’t seen it yet, but it comes
highly recommended. It is showing at the Sundance Theater
(downtown) as I write this, but may be gone by the time you read this.
Leap Day—Our 366 day year!
We’re into a 366 day year as a result of the leap day that occurs on
February 29. A trip of the Earth around the Sun takes about 365 days
and 6 hours. Six hours is 1/4 of a 24 hour day, so every four years
includes a leap day to compensate.
Well, not exactly. It’s the ‘about’ that’s the fly in the ointment here.
The actual time is 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 16 seconds. Close
to 6 hours, but not quite there. We’re operating under the Gregorian
calendar which tries to take all this into account.
So, the calendar rules specify that there’s not a leap year in years
divisible by 100 (1900 was not a leap year). All well and good, but
we’re still not quite where we need to be, so there’s yet another rule
which says that if the year is divisible by 400, then, even though it’s
also divisible by 100, it is a leap year (the year 2000 was, therefore, a
leap year).
All this must be problematic for those who program clocks. The clock
in the task bar on my Windows 10 computer showed 2/29 on leap day,
which is correct. While the math isn’t daunting, it still has to be
implemented in the date-keeping function of the clock.
Daylight saving time must also cause significant headaches for those
clock makers. We go on daylight saving time on March 13th this year.
Think about the folks who schedule airline flights —- in the spring
there’s no 1:30 a.m. at all and in the fall, there are two 1:30 a.m. times.
Oh, yes… there’s also the Leap Second. This
is a one second addition to the clock to
accommodate the slowing of the rotation of
the Earth due to tugs by the Moon. The last
leap second was on June 30, 2015 and was
reported by the www.time.gov web site this
way:
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but
most Windows computers (and probably
others) automatically sync their clocks with
a time standard via the Internet. So, the
clock on your computer may be the most
accurate one in the house. You can force a
sync if you want to.
Whatever time you’re on it’s a good time to
get out to the HAS Observatory site and do
some observations. Mike Edstrom and his
team are always doing great things at the
site for the benefit of the members. See his
article this month about dark site training.
Observations... of the editor by Bill Pellerin, GuideStar Editor
Until next time...
clear skies and new moons!
..Bill
From Wikipedia
March, 2016Page 7
W e will be changing the Dark Site gate code on April 2, 2016 for all members. We are instituting a new way to renew your Dark Site orientation and getting the gate code for the next year with an online orientation. We will no longer
be handing out gate code cards at the meetings. We will also no longer have orientation classes at the monthly meetings. This allows all members to attend the Novice sessions at the monthly meetings, it also gives you a refresher course in Dark Site usage.
You will need to go to the website www.astronomyhouston.org, sign in, click on the “About the Society” tab at the top of the first page then click on the “Our Observatory” tab and follow the directions below given you have met the following conditions:
You have been a member for more than 60 days (2 months) and are a paid member for the current year.
Don't yet have your site certification for the current year.
Then you will go to the training page. It's here you will be presented the orientation materials for your review and study, after which you may follow the link at the bottom of the page to proceed to the certification quiz.
(Continued on page 8)
Observatory Corner By Mike Edstrom, Observatory Director
March, 2016Page 8
(Continued from page 7)
(Continued on page 9)
March, 2016Page 9
This is the Quiz, only 10 random questions right now, but we expect that to grow with time. You only get 3 tries at this or you will need to contact Mike Edstrom at [email protected]. You will proceed through each question, like so:
Until you, either pass or fail. If you fail, you will be directed back to the orientation materials for further study. When you pass, you will see this:
(Continued from page 8)
(Continued on page 10)
March, 2016Page 10
Mike Edstrom
Observatory Chairman [email protected] [email protected]
When you see the screen above, the following things automatically happen behind the scenes:
The outcome of your test is verified by the system along with your active member status
Emails are sent out to Mike including the member's username, full name, primary phone, and email address
Once Mike updates the "Site Orientation" check box on your membership page you will receive a link to the gate code and Dark Site directions.
Finally, NONE of this is even possible if you aren't: a) logged in, and b) a current paid member. Only after 2 months of membership will you even see the option to pursue training from the observatory page.
Clear Skies,
(Continued from page 9)
March, 2016Page 11
Little Galaxy’s Own Stars Cast 95% of its Oxygen Away From: UT McDonald Observatory, Originally Published in ‘New Scientist’
“It’s tough being a little galaxy,” says Kristen McQuinn at the Universi-ty of Texas at Austin. Not only does a dwarf galaxy’s feeble gravity fail to retain debris from supernovae that explode within it, but giant gal-axies such as the Milky Way can also raid the dwarf of stars and gas.
Dozens of dwarf galax-ies orbit the Milky Way, and all have low levels of heavy elements. But we did-n’t know how much of the dwarfs’ poverty to attribute to our galaxy’s thieving ways, or how much material simply escaped.
Enter Leo P, a small galaxy 5.3 million light years from Earth that as-tronomers spotted in 2012. “It’s the perfect laboratory,” McQuinn says: it lies just beyond the Local Group, the gathering of nearby gal-
axies that includes our own, so no other gal-axy interferes with its development.
McQuinn and her colleagues decided to look at oxygen, the most abundant element heav-ier than hydrogen and helium. Using models of how much oxygen Leo P’s massive stars should have produced and subsequently cast out when they exploded, the team found that the galaxy has lost 95 per cent of its oxygen, even without the Milky Way’s med-dling (arxiv.org/abs/1512.00459).
Still, similar galaxies orbiting the Milky Way have lost 98 to 99 per cent of their heavy elements. “Leo P has been wise to keep its distance from us,” McQuinn says.
(Image: Hubble Space Telescope; NASA, ESA, and Kristen McQuinn (University of Texas at Austin))
(Image: Hubble Space Telescope; NASA, ESA, and Kristen McQuinn (University of Texas at Austin))
Courtesy The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, publisher of StarDate
magazine http://stardate.org/magazine
T o be or not to be? That’s the question preoccupying the minds of, well, everyone on planet earth who heard this week’s an-
nouncement of a possible ninth planet in our solar system.
Is it really there and, if so, how can we tell? And why doesn’t it have a name yet?
At this point, there seem to be more questions than answers, yet scientists feel more certain now than ever before that a large “ninth planet” truly exists.
In the interview, Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons speaks with Dr. Steven Finkelstein, astronomy professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about the science behind the discovery and why UT’s
McDonald Observatory is not likely to be the first to discover this new planet.
To see the interview, click here
http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2016/01/21/full-interview--burton-fitzsimmons-speaks-to-astronomer-on-a-possible-9th-planet.html
Burton Fitzsimmons Speaks to UT Astronomer Dr. Steven Finkelstein on a
Possible 9th Planet
March, 2016Page 12
Dr. Alan Stern—The New Horizon’s Mission to Pluto Free Public Presentation
T here will be a free public presentation by Dr. Alan Stern, from the Southwest Research Institute, who is the Princi-
pal Investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mis-sion. The New Horizons mission has seen amazing features on Pluto and its moon Charon, including ice volcanoes, glacier flows, and floating hills! We are
inviting the public to hear about Pluto's icy wonderland at The Exploration of Pluto, a free public presen-tation on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel in The Woodlands, Texas.
RSVPs for the event are not required, but if you will
be attending please send an email to the address below.
Julie Tygielski Communications & Media USRA - Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77058 281-486-2122 [email protected] LPI │ Facebook │ Twitter Editor’s note — I had the opportunity to hear Alan Stern present on the New Hori-zons Mission a few weeks ago. It is very much worth your time to see this presen-tation and to hear about the work that was required to make this mission a suc-cess.
Novice Presentation—March 4, 2015
Meteors and Meteorites By Debbie Moran
B ill Spizzirri will speak in March about Meteors and Meteorites.
Topics will include the asteroid belt and comets as sources of
meteors, why meteor showers occur, types of meteors, and impact
craters. He will also hopefully come with a little show and tell from
his personal meteorite collection. Bill is always an entertaining speak-
er no matter the topic. You won’t want to miss this one!
In April, Jupiter will be a little past opposition which occurs on March
22nd and very well placed for observation. I will give a talk called Ob-
serving Jupiter and will quickly cover a bit about the layout of the
spring sky as well.
A Meteor Streaks across the sky (Wikipedia)
March, 2016Page 13
Courtesy The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, publisher of
StarDate magazine http://stardate.org/magazine
I ’ve got one more object to go to complete the list for the Silver Certificate and pin for the Texas 45. For those that don’t know what
the Texas 45 is, it is a list created by our President, Rene Gedaly, of objects as an observing program. The only limitation is that they must be observed from the Dark Site in Columbus. You need to observe these with either binoculars or telescope or naked eye. Many can be done with binoculars and some are naked eye only.
The list is divided into the 4 seasons, with 15 objects for each. You only need to observe 10 of the fifteen. That is 40 objects. The other 5 are solar system objects of your choice.
To learn more about the program see the HAS web
The Texas 45 Program—One Object to Go By Steve Goldberg
page: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/programs/has-texas-45
On the web page is the list of objects and a log form to record your observations.
Now, all I need is just 1 more clear night at the Dark Site and I can finish the Spring list. Can’t wait to hang that certifi-cate on the wall!
Steve Goldberg
RRC Reminds Permian Operators of Astronomers’
Need For Dark Skies From NGI’s Shale Daily
T he Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is reminding oil and gas producers in a seven-county region of the Permian Basin in West
Texas that they share the sky with the University of Texas McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.
The McDonald Observatory is a state-of-the-art facility where astronomers focus on measuring objects at the very edge of the observable universe. Without mitigation, the light from oil and gas operations could compromise the research for which the McDonald Observatory is famous, RRC said.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at the observatory recently completed a $25 million upgrade that makes it the world’s third-largest optical telescope. "This upgrade makes HET the most powerful wide-field spectroscopic telescope worldwide, and we expect unique scientific discoveries from it," observatory Director Taft Armandroff said late last year.
To protect the dark environment around the observatory, the Texas Legislature in 2011 revised Section 240.032 of the Local Government Code to require the commissioners court of nearby counties to adopt orders regulating the installation and use of outdoor lighting in any unincorporated territory of the county.
Bill Wren, special assistant to the observatory superintendent, said that the skies around the observatory overall are about 10% brighter than they were five or six years ago.
"It's still a very dark site. It's not an existential threat," he said of the
basin and associated light-generating development. "We can still do our science. If it were to get much worse, we would have a problem. We've had great cooperation from the industry...We're hopeful for the future."
Wren said the lighting solutions the observatory is working on with operators in the area are in the industry's best interest as they lower electricity consumption and improve visibility and safety for workers in the field.
March, 2016Page 14
Collinder 69 (Cr69) Orion’s Head By Bill Pellerin, GuideStar Editor
Shallow Sky Object of the Month
Object: CR69—Orion’s Head Class: Open Cluster Constallation: Orion
Magnitude: Stars 3.4 and dimmer R.A.: 5 h, 35 m, 8.3 s Dec: 9° 52’ 3” Size/Spectral: 1 degree field Distance: 1055 ly to Meissa (brightest star)
Optics needed: Binocs or small telescope
This set of stars comprising Orion’s head is easy to spot. Find the top two stars of the constellation, comprising the shoulders of Orion, named Betelgeuse and Bellatrix. Cast your eye about halfway between them then move up (north) about 3 degrees to find this cluster.
You should see about 10 stars with your binoculars and perhaps 50 stars in a small telescope. It’s a fairly dense star field so picking out stars that are part of the cluster from those that just happen to be along the line-of-sight to the cluster may be difficult.
The object is well placed in the sky with a transit time (mid March) of 7:15 p.m. and a set time of 1:40 a.m. You have plenty of time to get a look at this one in your telescope, but it’ll be best, meaning highest in the sky, earlier in the evening.
If you have a go-to telescope you can enter the star name Meissa (Lambda (λ) Ori) to find the cluster. Meissa is the brightest star in the cluster at 3.4 magnitude. Meissa is a double star whose 5.5 magnitude companion is 4.4 arc-seconds to the northwest of its companion. Meisa is a very hot (35,000° K) star that provides 65,000 times the energy of our Sun. It is so powerful that it ionizes (lights up) a very large cloud of dust and gas in the constellation.
Since the stars that comprise the cluster are related to each other by birth, they’re all approximately the same distance (1300 ly) from us.
As is often the case the catalog that includes this cluster’s designation CR69 is less well celebrated that some of the other catalogs that are familiar to amateur astronomers (Messier, NGC, Caldwell, etc.). The Collinder catalog lists 471 open clusters, originally identified by Per Collinder, a Swedish astronomer. Cr 399 is well known to most of us as ‘The Coathanger’ in the summer sky.
Detail chart above, finder chart below — north is up; circle is 1/2 degree on the sky in detail chart
Star chart generated by TheSkyX © Software Bisque, Inc. All rights reserved.
Meissa
Meissa
March, 2016Page 15
15C—Parking
Parking at the University of Houston Main Campus For the monthly Houston Astronomical Society Meeting
The map below shows the location of the 15C parking lot, west of Cullen Boulevard on Holman Street..
The map is from the University of Houston web site and identifies the lot that is available for park-ing while attending the Houston Astronomical Society monthly meeting. This parking is available from 6:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. on the Friday night of the HAS meeting (usually the first Friday of the month).
This parking is free. If you get a notice from the UH campus police on the night of the meeting, call the UH Security office and let them know that this area has been made available on HAS meeting night by the Parking Department.
S&R 1—Meetings
Houston Astronomical
Society P.O. Box 800564
Houston, TX 77280-0564
General Membership Meeting
The Houston Astronomical Society holds its regular monthly General Membership Meeting on the first Friday of each month, unless rescheduled due to a holiday or a conflict with other events at the University of Houston.
Board of Directors Meeting
The Board of Directors Meeting is held on dates and at locations scheduled by the board. Information provided to GuideStar will be published. The meetings are open to all members of the Society in good standing. Attendance is encouraged.
GuideStar Information
The H.A.S. GuideStar is published monthly by the Houston Astronomical Society. All opin-ions expressed herein are those of the con-tributor and not necessarily of Houston Astronomical Society. The monthly Meeting Notice is included herein. GuideStar is availa-ble on the HAS web site to all members of H.A.S., and to persons interested in the or-ganization's activities. Contributions to GuideStar by members are encouraged. Electronic submission is helpful. Submit the article in text, unformatted MS-Word format via email [email protected]. Copy must be received by the 15th of the month for inclusion in the issue to be availa-ble near the end of the same month. Or, bring copy to the General Membership Meeting and give it to the Editor, or phone to make special arrangements.
Contact the editor for writing guidelines.
Editing & Production: Bill Pellerin,
713-880-8061
Email: [email protected]
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The Houston Astronomical Society welcomes you to our organization. The HAS is a group of dedicated amateur astronomers, most of whom are observers, but some are armchair astronomers.
The benefits of membership are:
Access to our 18 acre observing site west of Houston -- a great place to observe the universe!
A telescope loaner program -- borrow a HAS telescope and try observing for yourself!
A monthly novice meeting, site orientation meeting, and general meeting with speakers of interest. Access to meeting videos on the HAS web site.
Opportunities to participate in programs that promote astronomy to the general public (such as Star Parties at schools)
A yearly all-clubs meeting for Houston area organizations
Meet other amateurs and share experiences, learn techniques, and swap stories
You're invited to attend our next meeting.
You'll have a great time.
Houston Astronomical Society
Meeting on Friday, March 4, 2016
7:00 Novice Meeting, room 116 Science & Research 1 Bldg
8:00 General Meeting, room 117 Science & Research 1 Bldg
University of Houston
Directions to meeting:
From I-45 going south (from downtown) exit at Cullen Boulevard turn right on Cullen turn right on Holman Street; the parking lot is past the Hofheinz Pavilion Science and Research is across the street (2nd building back)
From I-45 going north (from NASA/Galveston) exit at Cullen Boulevard turn left on Cullen turn right on Holman Street; the parking lot is past the Hofheinz Pavilion Science and Research is across the street (2nd building back)
Parking:
There is Free Parking. See Parking map and detailed information on parking on the preceding page.
