Highlights of the January Sky

- - - 2nd - - -

First Quarter Moon 11:45 pm EST

- - - 4th - - - AM: The Quadran d meteor shower peaks at ~3am.

- - - 5th - - - Earth is at perihelion, its closest point to the Sun for the year (just 3% closer than at aphelion in July).

- - - 7th - - - DUSK: A waxing gibbous Moon is between the horns of Taurus, the Bull, only 3° le of Aldebaran.

- - - 8th - - - PM: The Moon is less than 1° from Zeta (ξ) Tauri.

- - - 10th - - - Full Moon 2:21 pm EST

- - - 17th - - - Last Quarter Moon 7:58 am EST

- - - 20th - - - DAWN: A waning crescent Moon, Mars, and Antares form a triangle along the border of Ophiuchus and Scorpius before sunrise.

- - - 22th - - - DAWN: A very thin waning crescent Moon rises in the southeast with Jupiter trailing it by around 6°.

- - - 24th - - - New Moon 4:42 pm EST

- - - 27th - - - PM: About 6° separate Venus and a thin waxing crescent Moon in Aquarius. Neptune is less than ¼° from Venus, but a telescope is required to spot it.

A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

KAS

General Meeting: Friday, January 10 @ 7:00 pm Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center - See Page 10 for Details

Board Meeting: Sunday, January 12 @ 5:00 pm

Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome

Remote Session: Saturday, January 18 @ 9:00 pm

WMU Rood Hall (Room 1110) - See Page 9 for Details

Inside the Newsletter. . . December Mee ng Minutes.............. p. 2

Board Mee ng Minutes..................... p. 3

Observa ons of 2019......................... p. 4

Transit of Mercury Report................. p. 5

Remembering the 2017 Eclipse......... p. 5

NASA Night Sky Notes........................ p. 7

January Night Sky............................... p. 8

KAS Board & Announcements............ p. 9

General Mee ng Preview.................. p. 10

January 2020

The KAS annual meeting, featuring our 21st Holiday Party, began at 6:30 pm EST on Friday, December 6, 2019. Approximately 43 members and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center (KAMSC). Special thanks to Richard Bell, Joe Comiskey, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and Roger Williams for assisting Jean De Mott with setup. Dinner was served at 6:45 pm. Our potluck hors d'oeuvre and dessert extravaganza was as good as always. These include chicken fajitas, multiple pizzas, tasty meatballs deviled eggs, and more desserts than one could (or should) enjoy in a single evening. Our “hostess-with-the-mostess,” Jean De Mott, supplied the soft drinks and hot wassail again and did another wonderful job with table decorations. Once dinner was complete and everyone had a chance to relax and converse, we played four highly competitive rounds of BINGO. Here are the lucky winners:

• Scotty Macfarlane (tie) – Moon Lamp − Donated by Jean De Mott

• Greg Sirna (tie) – Orion Waist Accessory Holder − Donated by Becky & Kalman Csia

• Rich Mather – Universe: The Illustrated Guide − Donated by Anonymous KAS Member

• Kevin Jung – Celestial Fabric Material − Donated by Phyllis Lubbert

• Ellen Comiskey – Mini Photo Tripod − Donated by Anonymous KAS Member

Remaining members and guests reconvened in KAMSC’s presentation center at 8:16 pm for the annual meeting. Everyone enjoyed the 2019 Year-in-Review Slide Show painstakingly assembled by Richard Bell. Final nominations and elections for 2020 KAS board members were then held. No additional nominations were made. Kevin Jung moved

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that all officers be voted by acclamation, since they all ran unopposed. This was seconded by Mike Sinclair and all members in attendance voted affirmatively. Five members were running for the four Member-at-Large positions, so election ballots were distributed. Please see page 9 for the list of 2020 KAS board members. Richard started off a lengthy President’s Report by thanking Jean for organization the Holiday Party for the past 21 years. This earned a well-deserved round of applause. The next Remote Telescope Training Session is scheduled for 8pm on December 7th at KAMSC. Several members still need to renew their membership and were asked to contribute to the Owl Observatory Upgrade Project. Richard said 2019 was an especially busy year for him and listed all that he had accomplished for the KAS (see page 4 for more). Richard also took a moment to thank the 2019 KAS Board, listing the first year they served and the various positions they’ve held. Special thanks was given to Rich Mather. Rich served as treasurer continuously since 2001 and did not seek reelection for 2020. Rich was instrumental in getting our finances in order before applying for non-profit status. Thanks was also given to all those members that serve in various volunteer staff positions. Richard then stated “you’ve joined, now be a part of the KAS” and listed several ways (both big and small) members can participate. Lastly, Richard said this was a special meeting for him. He joined the KAS on December 2, 1994 ‒ 25 years ago. In observing reports, both Kevin Jung and Mike Sinclair reported spotting Venus while en route to the meeting. Joe Comiskey mentioned the gathering of Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky. Dave Woolf invited KAS members to visit his upgraded observatory. New equipment includes an Astro-Physics 1100GTO German equatorial mount and a Celestron 9.25-inch EdgeHD Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Dave was encouraged to write-up a formal invitation in Prime Focus. Under astronomical news, Arya Jayatilaka mentioned that NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered the crash site of India’s ill-fated lunar lander, Vikram, which slammed into the Moon’s surface during a landing attempt in September. SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on November 11th. This received many moans and boos from those in attendance. Another 60 are planed for launch on January 4th. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket on December 20th. Door prize drawings were held after discussing upcoming KAS activities. Thanks to all the members that contributed BINGO/Door Prizes this year. Here are ALL the lucky winners (in order): Phyllis Lubbert (Celestial Fabric Material), Tony Gurczynski (LED light), Luke Bessler (Orion Waist Accessory Holder), Molly Williams (LED Emergency Flashlight), Sophie Loveless (Night Sky Field Guide), Dave Woolf (2020 Moon Phase Calendar), Gus Roman (Mars

December Meeting Minutes

Scotty Macfarlane and Greg Sirna both won the first round of BINGO during the 21st KAS Holiday Party.

January 2020 Prime Focus Page 3

December 14th at room 1110 Rood Hall, with doors open at 7pm and program from 8 - 10 pm. The next general meeting (KAMSC, January 10th, 7pm) would feature short presentations from KAS members. In a discussion of Follow-Up items, Richard reported that he and Jack had removed the Astro-Physics gear boxes for the Owl Observatory 1600GTO mount and sent them back for servicing. They were quickly adjusted and are now back in hand, ready for reinstallation. The numerical lock box desired for the Kalamazoo Nature Center front gate had been OK’d by KNC, and in fact they might have a lock box we could use. A survey of three trees that block the skyline at Owl Observatory suggested that one could be removed but that another had a memorial tag and was therefore off limits. The donated Meade 10-inch f/6.3 Classic LX200 telescope has not sold yet, and it was recommended that a replacement power supply should be obtained to make it more saleable (and make sure it’s operational). Richard had located a power supply from Scope Stuff for $49, and Scott agreed to order it. Finally, after a motion by Rich and second by Don, the Board voted unanimously to authorize Richard to write a grant application for the remainder of the Owl Observatory upgrade [Note added in proof: Richard has decided not to seek another grant at this time]. In other Follow-Up items, Richard reported that the 2020 general meeting program lineup was proceeding pretty well, except for March. Ideas for March are still sought. In a review of 2019/2020 Community Outreach activities, Jack was planning to attend STEM night at Portage Lake Center Elementary School, where he is representing both radio and astronomy topics. Joe Comiskey had agreed to help with this, and Rich also volunteered. Other planned events were Astronomy Night at North Shore Elementary in South Haven (March 5th, 6 - 8 pm), Science Night at Vicksburg Middle School (March 11th, 6 - 8 pm), and Barry County Science Festival (Pierce Cedar Creek, March 21st, 10am – 3pm). In New Business, Richard noted the need for new Public Observing Session brochures. The electronic files were ready, and Richard recommended that we acquire 1,000 brochures from Allegra. After a motion by Jean and second by Scott, all voted in favor. A second topic arose from our experience with the first Remote Viewing Session presented for the public. Jean felt that we had encountered enough problems that we should pull back the publicity for these events and should not bill them as public events for the rest of the 2019 - 2020 year. Others did not feel as negative about our first attempt and felt that we should continue with the original plan. After some animated and at times heated discussion, Jack moved to continue the sessions as planned. The vote was 6 - 1 in favor. Jean also observed that the main course offerings at the Holiday Party were shrinking, and she suggested considering a potluck format in which KAS would supply the meat dishes and members would bring a dish to share. The Board agreed to further discuss options along this line during the coming year. With the conclusion of business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:26 pm. The next meeting was set for 5pm on January 12th at Sunnyside. Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams

The KAS Board met on December 8, 2019 at Sunnyside Church. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Bell at 5:10 pm. Others present were Jean DeMott, Scott Macfarlane, Rich Mather, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and Roger Williams. Don presented the Treasurer’s Report, covering current account balances and cash flow since January 1, 2019. While the accounts all balanced, the summary reports did not display all of the desired information. The suggestion was made that Don should generate a Category Report that would show these details. Don also mentioned receiving notification from Amazon that some people are naming KAS as the recipient of payments generated automatically when the customer makes a purchase. In order for this to work, Amazon wanted our account number and our permission to make direct deposits to the account. Don suggested that it would be discreet to open a separate account for this purpose, in order to minimize exposure to the primary account. The Board agreed, and Don and Jack will check on how this could be done. In a summary of December/January events, Richard mentioned the Remote Viewing Session scheduled for

Mud), Maeve Macfarlane (Arboretum from Kalamazoo Candle Company), Shannon Loveless (LED Last Stylus Ink Pen), Susan Severance (Space Atlas), Scotty Macfarlane (The Stars: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Cosmos), Jack Price (Glow-in-the-Dark Moon & Stars), Katie Weller (2020 Moon Phase Calendar), Florence Roe (Astronomy: Fact & Feats by Patrick Moore), Joe Comiskey (Orion LaserMate), Melody Woolf (Miller Planisphere), Ellen Comiskey (LED light), Arya Jayatilaka (Carson Smart Phone Telescope Adapter), McKenzie Roman (Laser with LED light), Don Stilwell (45° Erect Image Diagonal), Karen Woodworth (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter poster), Gary Lubbert (Lux Pro Flashlight), Janet Dykens (USPS First Moon Landing Stamps), Jean DeMott (Astronomy For Kids), Duane Weller (Orion SkyGlow SCT Filter), Sue Sirna (How to Make a Telescope by Jean Texereau), Mike Sinclair (Color Filter Set), Kevin Jung (Winter Star Party Bag), Scott Macfarlane (Backyard Star Guide), Aaron Roman (Polarizing Filter), Arthur Woodworth (Edmund Scientific Planisphere), and Drew Loveless (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter poster). Kevin Jung donated a special Grand Door Prize this year, which, after unwrapping, turned out to be a 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin from the United State Mint. The lucky winner was Scott Macfarlane! The meeting concluded at about 9:47 pm. Thanks to all the volunteers that helped with clean-up and putting all the tables and chairs away.

January 2020

Another year and decade have come to pass. Both have been very productive ones for the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. In the remote chance you’re interested in a summary of the past decade, I encourage you to review the annual year-in-review reports I’ve written in Prime Focus starting with the January 2011 issue. Please continue reading on as I summarize 2019, which was overall another historic year, but certainly had its ups and downs. This was the year I completed several major projects for the KAS. On January 14th, I launched our redesigned website, KAS Online. Work on the new website began in the summer of 2018 and continued on and off for months. Good things about the new website include a version for mobile phones and that it requires much less maintenance than previous versions. Over this past summer, I also redesigned the Gallery section of the website after years of neglect. This should have been pretty straight forward, but I also decided to reprocess nearly every image with new software. Several new gallery pages have also been added and I hope to keep it up-to-date this time. If you haven’t visited the Gallery yet, please take a look. Another highlight of the year also occurred in January. Thanks to frigid temperatures, we had to cancel the Lunar Eclipse Watch on January 20th. This time I think it turned out for the best! While live tweeting the eclipse from home, Elon Musk shared one of my images on Twitter and it went viral. Over 130,000 people liked his tweet and this led to a surge of people following my progress. It was great fun! Other than that, 2019 was a terrible year for planned observing events. We canceled the Freeze-Out, Messier Marathon, and the Mercury Transit Watch. Only four out of fourteen Public Observing Sessions were successful. That’s just brutal. Great strides were made with the KAS Remote Telescope. I thoroughly tested it during the first half of the year and was

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convinced it was ready for member use. I wrote the Remote Telescope User’s Guide and we held the first-ever training session on April 26th. Several attended and paid the user fee, but not too many have used the telescope thus far. Hopefully that’ll change as we work out the remaining bugs. I was more than confident the telescope was ready for the long-planned Remote Viewing Sessions. The inaugural season began on November 16th, along with a ceremony. Things didn’t quite go as planned for the first session, which caused some hurt feelings after a brutal assessment from one prominent member. Fortunately, the second session on December 21st went considerably better. Members have come to expect great presentations at our general meetings and 2019 was no exception. Astronomy Open House was held for the second year-in-a-row in January and Joe Comiskey, Mark Miller, and I each gave 10 to 20-minute presentations. My original plan for February was to have someone from New Horizons give a Skype talk about the encounter with Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69 (now known officially as Arrokoth), but failed to find someone in time. Therefore, I gave an updated version of my extrasolar planet talk Infinite Worlds. Mike Sinclair gave another excellent presentation in March. This time about the Great Debate between Harlow Shapely and Heber Curtis. Special thanks to all our guest speakers: Dr. Lauren Woolsey (GRCC), Dave DeBruyn (GRAAA), Prof. Thomas Brooks (Lafayette College), John French (Abrams Planetarium), Prof. Xianzhe Jia (U-M), and Prof Artemis Spyrou (MSU). We said goodbye to the 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain in Owl Observatory on June 5th. My ideal scenario was to sell everything to one buyer, but instead pieces of the telescope are now scattered all over the country. Thanks to 2017 Eclipse Shade sales and generous donations from a handful of KAS members, we were able to install the soon-to-be christened Leonard James Ashby Telescope during an “Installation Party” on September 8th. Special thanks to Josh Taylor-Lehman for building and installing the new pier. Unfortunately, contributions from the majority of the membership have been non-existent. Perhaps the main reason is donor fatigue. After all, I know I started the Owl Observatory Upgrade Project too close to the conclusion of the Remote Telescope Project. The Board recently gave me its blessing to write a grant for the rest of the project, but I’ve decided against it. Fortunately, we just received another very generous donation that will help us complete most of the project! We hope to dedicate the new telescope in May. It’s still not too late to make a contribution! One area of concern is the membership total. In my 25 years with the KAS, membership has never declined two years-in-a-row...until now. We finished 2019 with 156 memberships. We did see an unusually large increase in 2017 (no doubt due to the eclipse), so perhaps its been tumbling back down to normal levels. The record high before 2017 was 151. I guess we’ll know for sure after 2020.

Richard readies for a long night of astrophotography at Richland Township Park on August 3, 2019.

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Like all solar eclipse type events, the weather is the main interference. On the morning of November 11, 2019 there was a wide band of clouds from southern New Mexico diagonally northeast across the country into the Great Lakes region. Clear sky spots appeared on satellite in Kentucky and in the far southeast. This time I was NOT traveling to observe as my main telescope is pier mounted in an observatory (N32.49°, W107.98°). The plan was to observe from 9am to the event end at 11:04 am MST. The last 2 hours (1600 – 1804 UT) I saw that the Michigan clouds were delivering snow, but in the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico) the clouds were moving and “lumpy.” I am not a trained meteorologist so I am free to make up weather names as I see them.

So, glimpses, officially = minimum “success”! There was a narrow blue-sky streak in the southwest, and portending to be an approaching “sucker hole.” The altitude of the Sun was also improving and made the cloud gaps larger. About 10:45 am the blue-sky streak was here. So, I switched from the 3.8 filter to the Baader 5.0 filter on the bright Sun for excellent views – Mercury had now moved very near the solar edge. I added a Tele Vue 2.5× Barlow for 157×. This was at the limits of “seeing” as Mercury started to appear as a black ball of Jell-O. With my 6-digit atomic clock and Jan as my “computer” we timed Contact III at 11:02:54 MST and Contact IV at 11:04:32 MST. The clear sky conditions yielded far more rewarding seeing than the previous glimpses. Maximum Success!

The morning sky was overcast, but I opened the dome at 9am and aimed the telescope at the brightest cloud spot. I am using the Baader 3.8 optical density solar photo filter on the Astro-Physics 130mm refractor with a 16mm Brandon Orthoscopic eyepiece plus Baader Contrast and light green filter. I normally observe the sunspots at 63× because the Sun completely fits in the field-of-view. Patiently looking between the cloud lumps, I was able to fleetingly glimpse the Sun with the tiny dot of Mercury near the disk center. My neighbor, Robert, stopped by and watched for 4 glimpses over a 20-minute period. My lady friend Jan also saw several apparitions.

My first total solar eclipse was August 21, 2017 at Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. My wife Jenna and I left the previous day and after reaching Iowa I realized I left my solar glasses at home. Great!!! Signs along the highways and roads were stating everyone was sold out of Eclipse Shades. After spending so much time and effort ensuring others had their shades, I forgot mine. REALLY!!! Just have to take a chance the museum will still have some left when I get there.

Third Contact

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Once we got to Nebraska, we stopped at the local Subway to get some food. The locals there really made us laugh hard because when Jenna got out of the car, their mouths dropped wide open, shocked at her hair color - bright purple. They couldn’t stop staring, almost like we were from another planet! We finally arrive at the hotel after 11 hours of travel. I tried to convince my wife how badly she needed to see the eclipse and how incredibly cool and beautiful it would be, but she absolutely didn’t want to see it. She wanted to stay at the hotel and spend time with me before and after. Okay, good enough. The day finally came, and after a weather report calling for clear skies all week, I woke up to - you guessed it - clouds! After preparing for this moment for so long, working to sell solar glasses and convincing people they just HAD to see it, the clouds were incredibly crushing. I didn’t have time to relocate, so I decided that since I’m already here, I might as well go. Maybe I’ll get lucky and skies will clear. I left early morning attempting to beat the crowd and wound up being one of the first 30 cars in line. Cool, now I wait. After quite a wait I finally get inside the grounds of the museum and parked in the telescope parking section, one car of 15 and headed straight to the museum to buy some Eclipse Shades. YES! They have plenty, I’m good to go! I just know I’m all set now. I figured I’d take some time to capture video and photographs of the grounds, showing a bit of what it looked like. Now time to set up the ‘scope long ahead of time so I can kick back and enjoy when totality happens. Now for the last pieces of the ‘scope - the cables, controller and GPS. Haul out the tote, open it up and see all my wonderful

telescope manuals and various books staring at me. I grabbed the wrong tote (identical looking), which is conveniently left at home in Michigan! Things are getting better and better! I tried many different methods of trying to find the best way to take the photos I wanted and figured moving my ‘scope manually with the camera attached would give the best results. Good thing I’m here early! Now for the last and most stressful part of it all, clouds needed to disappear, and they started clearing somewhat an hour and a half before totality. Awesome! Totality for me was breathtaking! Even though I knew what was coming down to the second, I wasn’t prepared for how totality would look. The shadow came upon us slower than I anticipated. It was really cool watching it slowly envelop us, slowly getting darker until the birds starting singing then flying to their roosting spots. The sky was really cool. The upper half had stars and planets visible as if it were night and the lower half of the sky looked like a sunset. I had been taking several exposures of the partial eclipse in different stages and now totality was upon us! I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. It looked like a black donut with long coronal strands streaming from it which we’re never able to see except during totality, the diamond ring effect was breathtaking, prominences visible to the naked eye. People’s reactions to it were anywhere from laughing, crying, cheering, saying many different things. I even put my hand to my mouth and uttered “Oh my _ _ _! It will probably go down as the most beautiful astronomy thing I’ll see in my lifetime. Just like that it was over. For a brief couple minutes though it felt to me like time stood still. I highly recommend everyone

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see at least one total solar eclipse in their lifetime! Take vacation from work, travel wherever you have to, do whatever you can to see at least one. Now I know how people like Bill Nigg (who also helped mentor me for this – thanks, Bill!) become Eclipse Chasers. Once you see one, you want to see them all!

stars of the Orion Nebula. These bright young stars are still relatively close together, but have dispersed their birth cocoon of stellar gas, like teenagers venturing around the neighborhood with friends and wearing their own clothes, but still remaining close to home - for now. Astronomers have studied this trio in great detail in order to learn more about stellar evolution. Figuring the exact distance of the Pleiades from Earth is an interesting problem in astrometry, the study of the exact positions of stars in space. Knowing their exact distance away is a necessary step in determining many other facts about the Pleiades. The European Space Agency’s Hipparcos satellite determined their distance to about 392 light-years away, around 43 light-years closer than previous estimates. However, subsequent measurements by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope indicated a distance of 440 light years, much closer to pre-Hipparcos estimates. Then, using a powerful technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), which combines the power of radio telescopes from around the world, the distance of the Pleiades was calculated to 443 light-years. The ESA’s Gaia satellite, a successor to Hipparcos, recently released its first two sets of data, which among other findings show the distance close to the values found by Hubble and VLBI, possibly settling the long-running “Pleiades Controversy” and helping firm up the foundation for follow-up studies about the nature of the stars of the Pleiades. You can learn more about the Pleiades in the Universe Discovery Guide, and find out about missions helping to measure our universe at nasa.gov. This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.org to find local clubs, events, and more!

Mike captured this image of the Great American Eclipse from the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska. He used a Canon T5i DSLR camera and 8-inch Newtonian reflector on a Celestron CGEM mount. It is a 1/750-sec. exposure at ISO 200.

Spot the Young Stars of the Hyades and Pleiades

by David Prosper

NASA Night Sky Notes...

Orion is the last of a trio of striking star patterns to rise during the late fall and early winter months, preceded by the diminutive Pleiades and larger Hyades in Taurus. All three are easily spotted rising in the east in early January evenings, and are textbook examples of stars in different stages of development. As discussed in last month’s Notes, the famous Orion Nebula (M42), found in Orion’s “Sword,” is a celestial nursery full of newly-born “baby stars” and still-incubating “protostars,” surrounded by the gas from which they were born. Next to Orion we find the Hyades, in Taurus, with their distinctive “V” shape. The Hyades are young but mature stars, hundreds of millions of years old and widely dispersed. Imagine them as “young adult” stars venturing out from their hometown into their new galactic apartments. Bright orange Aldebaran stands out in this group, but is not actually a member; it just happens to be in between us and the Hyades. Traveling from Orion to the Hyades we then find the small, almost dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster (M45). These are “teenage stars,” younger than the Hyades, but older than the newborn

Close-up of the Pleiades, with the field-of-view of Hubble’s Fine Guidance Sensors overlaid in the top left, which helped refine the distance to the cluster. The circumference of the field of view of these sensors is roughly the size of the full Moon. (Credit: NASA, ESA and AURA/Caltech)

— January Night Sky —

NORTH

EAST W

EST

T he Quadrantid meteor shower peaks around 3am EST on January 4th. The

Moon sets at 1:47 am, so best to start your observing campaign at ~2am. Peak intensity of the Quadrantids only lasts about 6 hours, but can reach a zenithal hourly rate of 120 - rivaling the more viewed Perseid and Geminid showers. The Quadrantids get their name from the

defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis. Today, the shower’s radiant lies in the northern part of Boötes (not terribly far from the Big Dipper’s handle). Skies above West Michigan are rarely clear in early January, but if they are don’t miss one of the best meteor showers of 2020. A waning crescent Moon, Mars, and

Antares form an obtuse triangle before sunrise on January 20th. Antares (which means “rival of Mars”) currently exceeds the red planet in brightness by less than ½-magnitude. Compare their colors. Venus and a thin waxing crescent Moon will be nearly 7° apart on the evening of January 27th. Always a lovely sight!

SOUTH

This star map is property of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. However, you may make as many copies as you wish free-of-charge, so long as it is for non-profit educa onal purposes and full credit is given to the KAS. www.kasonline.org

• Late December 10 pm

• Early January 9 pm

• Late January 8 pm

• Early February 7 pm

This map represents the sky at the following local standard mes:

PRESIDENT

Richard S. Bell

VICE PRESIDENT

Jack Price

TREASURER

Don S lwell

SECRETARY/ALCOR

Roger Williams

PUBLICITY MANAGER

Joe Comiskey

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

Jean De Mo

Dave Garten

Sco Macfarlane

Aaron Roman

E-MAIL a BOARD MEMBER

January 2020 Page 9

Moving? New E-mail? Have you recently moved and/or changed your e-mail address? If so please let us know ASAP.

If you are moving out of town before your membership expires please contact us anyway. You paid for a years worth (or more) of newsle ers and that’s what you’ll get!

KAS GALLERY UPDATED Please visit these new gallery pages recently added to highlight 2019 ac vi es. Enjoy!

Meetings Observing Outreach

REMOTE VIEWING SESSION Enjoy the wonders of the universe as seen through the “eyes” of the KAS Remote Telescope, located under the dark skies of southeastern Arizona. Par cipants will enjoy views of constella ons and deep-sky objects captured with the system’s CCD cameras in Arizona, transmi ed to Kalamazoo via the internet and projected on the lecture hall screen. Live streaming video will also show the telescope in opera on.

Saturday, January 18th (25th) @ 9 - 11 pm WMU Rood Hall • 2101 Wilbur Ave. • Free Parking in Lot 61

© January 2020, Stargazer Productions

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

STAMP

Astronomy is a subject rich beyond measure. Topics in the science of astronomy can range from microscopic specks of interstellar dust to walls and filaments of superclusters of galaxies. Then there’s the hobby of astronomy. Topics there include basic night sky observa on to advanced astrophotography and image processing techniques. And don’t forget the rich and fascina ng history of astronomy or space explora on. This month, three KAS members will give 10 to 20 minute astronomically-themed presenta ons on topics of their choosing. What will they be? Please join us and find out.

Friday, January 10 @ 7:00 pm Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center

600 West Vine, Suite 400 • Use Dutton St. Entrance

─ Dutton Entrance Locked by 7:10 pm ─

General Meeting Preview