Iowa Great Lakes Astronomical Society

The Iowa Great Lakes Astronoical Society Presents

The Society Page

April 2010 Issue #002

What's Happening?

Greetings again sky-watchers! So much has happened since issue #001 was published a month ago. We had our first meeting on March 5th and got a lot of business accomplished, including electing officers, setting up a treasury, and planning a schedule of events for this month. Somehow I even got myself elected president! As I type this, our April meeting is only a few days away and I am hoping that it will be as productive as the last.
Beginning with this issue, you may notice a reoccuring column entitled, "Telescope Care with Night Sky Girl."

Also, this month is Global Astronomy Month, so I will leave you some words from the program's sponsor, astronomerswithoutborders.org:

The star-filled night fascinates us all. People have gazed upward at it in wonder and awe for thousands of years. Regardless of earthly differences in culture, nationality or religion, the heavens are a common meeting ground for all of Earth's inhabitants. The boundaries we place between us vanish when we look skyward. Whoever, whatever or wherever we are, we all share the same sky.

Adam J. Dietrick
President & Founder

Upcoming Society Events

Sunday, April 11: Apollo 13 Anniversary - No Moon Night, 9:00PM - 12:00AM, West Swan Lake, Parking Area at South End
Thursday, April 22: Spring Viewing - Public Welcome, 10:00PM - 12:00AM, Anderson Prarie (Northwest of Estherville).
Monday, April 26: April Meeting, 7-8:30PM at Sieverts Furniture & Floors, 12 South 6th Street, Estherville. Stargazing to follow.

Upcoming Astronomical Events

Thursday, April 8: 6:00PM Mercury at greatest elongation, Mag. +0.1.
Thursday, April 8: 10:00PM Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth); angular size 29.4'.
Wednesday, April 21: 10:00PM Moon near Beehive cluster (M44).
Thursday, April 22: 2:00PM Lyrid meteor shower peaks. Active April 16-25. Radiant is between Hercules and Lyra. Expect 10 to 20 bright, fast meteors per hour at its peak.
Saturday, April 24: 4:00PM Moon at perigee (closest to Earth); angular size 32.9'.
Wednesday, April 28: 7:18AM Egg Moon.
Wednesday, April 28:12:00PM Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun.

Telescope with Night Sky Girl

Aligning Your Finder Scope

A misaligned finder means that you'll never be able to find what you are looking for. Alignment can even be done in the daytime,while you are waiting for darkness to arrive. I like to double check my finder scope's alignment every time I use the telescope. The process below sounds more complicated than it really is and only takes a few minutes to complete once your used to the process.
Put in your lowest-power eyepiece (usually 20mm-25mm) The magnification is defined as the focal length of the eyepiece: therefore, the higher the focal length of the eyepiece the lower the magnification.
Next simply point your telescope at a distant object such as the top of tree or the cap of an electrical pole. Try to get the object in the center of the telescope's eyepiece. Then look through the finder scope to see if that object is also in the center of view on the finder. It probably isn't. you'll need to loosen and tighten the screws that hold the finder to the mounting ring until the object is centered in the finder. Then look back in the eyepiece to make sure the telescope didn't get jarred during the process.
Once the object is centered in both the finder scope and the eyepiece of the telescope, repeat the process with a higher powered eyepiece. Make sure all the finder scope's adjustment screws are tightened securely, then verify once again that the finder is aligned with the telescope. If the object appears really unfocused in the finder, then come back to the alignment later.

Visit Night Sky Girl's Blog at
http://telescopefun.blogspot.com

First Meeting of 2010 A Success

The spring meeting on March 5th went off without a hitch. The day was warm, the weather was clear and a good number of members attended.
Items on the agenda included the election of new officers for 2010, putting into effect a membership dues system, public outreach, finding good observational sites, and establishing a calander of events for the upcoming month. We left the door open for establishing by-laws at sometime in the future.
Prior to the meeting, I was approached by one of the libarians at the Estherville Public Library who said that the library is interested in hosting an event with us in the future. The event will, of course, have to be hosted at a darker location than the library grounds.

International Sidewalk Astronomy Night

Saturday, March 20 was the fourth annual sidewalk astronomy night. It was cold, but surprisingly clear. A waxing crescent moon was nestled up with the Pleiades and made for quite a site- the two objects almost seemed intertwined. Saturn was breath-taking just one or two days before it reached opposition, when it gives us our best views of the year.

Officials Elected for 2010

At our spring meeting a vote was held to determine who would represent the Iowa Great Lakes Astronomical Society for the upcoming year. The results are as follows:

President: Adam J. Dietrick
Vice President: Tom Grems
Secretary: Clinton Champney
Treasurer: Steve Timmons

Officials will hold office until the March meeting of 2011, when a new election will be held.

Dues Announced for 2010

It was decided that for the Iowa Great Lakes Astronomical society to reach those in the community, to grow, and just to function, a modest amount of dues would need to be collected from our members. These fees will go towards upkeep of the website, advertising costs, and possilby towards building a club library. We have decided upon a three-tiered system which will allow students to pay smaller fees than those not attending classes. All fees are annual.

Non-Student: $20
College Student: $10
K-12 Student: $5*

*Note: Any minors will need to be accompanied by an adult. We can not be responsible for children.

halebop

"This is a photo I took in 1997 when Hale-bopp was here. This is a 3+ minute exposure on ASA 400 Fuji Film. I used a homemade tracking device from plans in Astronomy Magazine. I was using my Pentax Spotmatic with a 50mm lens. I have adjusted the color on my computer. The line going through the comet head is the navigation lights from an airplane."
-Kenneth Ebeling

Want to Contribute?
E-mail articles, stories, or images to adamdietrick@live.com