timesPhoenix Astronomical Societywww.pasaz.orgFebruary 2008Volume 60 Issue 6

P H O E N I X A S T R O N O M I C A L S O C I E T Y — E S T A B L I S H E D 1 9 4 8

This month PAS is pleased to have asour Speaker Dr. Don Page a Professor ofPhysics from the University of Alberta. Hewill be speaking on the topic “Does GodSo Love the Multiverse?” Please note thatthe lecture starts promptly at 7:00 PM.

“Monotheistic religions such as Juda-ism and Christianity affirm that God lovesall humans and created them in His image.However, we have learned from Darwinthat we were not created separately fromother life on earth. Some Christians op-posed Darwinian evolution because it un-dercut certain design arguments for theexistence of God. Today there is the grow-ing idea that the fine-tuned constants ofphysics might be explained by a multiversewith very many different sets of constantsof physics. Some Christians oppose themultiverse for similarly undercutting otherdesign arguments for the existence of God.

However, undercutting one argument doesnot disprove its conclusion. In this lecture,Dr. Page will argue that multiverse ideas,though not automatically a solution to theproblems of physics, deserve serious con-sideration and are not in conflict withChristian theology.

Dr. Page received his bachelor’s de-gree in physics and mathematics from Wil-liam Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.He completed a Ph.D. in physics and as-tronomy in 1976 at the California Instituteof Technology, under the supervision ofKip Thorne and Stephen Hawking. Pagewas a postdoctoral researcher under Hawk-ing at the University of Cambridge in Eng-land 1976-79. He served as Professor ofPhysics at Penn State University beforemoving to the University of Alberta in Ed-monton, Alberta, Canada where he pres-

ently holds the position of Professor ofPhysics.”

By Terri, Events CoordinatorYou won't want to miss some of these

exciting events. Please look them over, andjoin us. RSVP where required!

Feb 7: We have an awesome speakerfor the Feb PAS Meeting. Please see frontpage about this event. This speaker willbegin PROMPTLY at 7pm. Do not be late.We expect a huge turnout. No snacks ordrinks will be provided at this event andnone are requested either. This is a Countywide invite, so seating will most likely belimited. See you there!

Feb 9: Come to the PAS SOCIAL. Ifyou haven't already RSVP'd I NEED toknow you are coming, to make name tagsand include you in all the events. Just a listof people attending will be fine. Remember,

we are gathering at 4pm, eating at 5pm,cleaning up and playing darts at 6pm. By7pm we will start the White Dwarf GiftExchange, and by 9pm we will be helpingRod and Sue clean up before we depart by10pm. Remember to bring: Food and Drinkto share (one per person), White Dwarf giftif you wish to play the game, your Dartthrowing arm, and a Table Decoration ifyou wish to participate in that. Bring alsoany Door prizes you wish to donate for thispurpose, as we are still lacking prizes. NoPrize is not much fun. Prizes do not need tobe wrapped. Thanks for your help and yourRSVP! RSVP's so far (and if you are not onthis list you are not planning to attend so letme know today you are coming...) Ed, Bet-te, Bruce Wurst, William & Terri Finch,Rod and Sue Sutter, Sam and Frank Insana,

Jerry Belcher, Don Boyd. Where's yourname?

Feb 10: Bookman's is the location.Time is 3pm to 6:30pm. Mike will be doinga special presentatio beginning at 3:30pm"Stars and Stellar Jets." Bring everyone youknow, and please RSVP your attendance.We have one public RSVP so far. He wantsto know about purchasing a new telescope.If you can help with that info, or if you wantto see Mike's presentation, let me know youare coming. Seating is limited. Dinner after-wards will be at Carlos O'Briens at 12thStreet and Northern.

Feb 14: Happy Valentine's Day. Join usfor a star party at PVCC 6pm to 10pm bythe Telescope Domes. RSVP is with Rodfor this event. Continued on page 6

February 2008 2

By Leah SapirThe winter circle stretches across the

sky this month, although Leo the lion isstarting to reappear in the east, reminding usthat spring is just around the corner!

Now that Canis Major is fully visible,we can explore this side of the winter circle.Starting from Sirius, the stars of Canis Ma-jor make an easy dot-to-dot stick figure of adog, although the triangle representing thedog’s head might be difficult to see in light-polluted areas. If so, you can probably seethose three stars with binoculars, or justconsider Sirius to be the dog’s head!

Canis Major, and the area around it, isfull of open clusters, many of which arevisible in binoculars. An easy one to find isM41, sometimes known as “the Dog SpotCluster”, about 1/3 of the way from thedog’s “foreleg” to the dog’s “hind leg” - i.e.from the line joining Sirius and Mirzam(beta Canis Majoris), to the line joiningWezen (delta CMa) and Adhara (epsilonCMa). Several of the stars in this cluster arered or orange giants, making the clustersomewhat colorful compared to other openclusters.

M41 was observed 2300 years ago byAristotle, who described it as a “cloudyspot” in the sky. It was also observed byGiovanni Hodierna, whom we talked aboutlast month.

If we follow the line from Mirzamthrough Sirius and continue for about 12degrees – about twice the length of thedog’s “foreleg” – we come to an interestingtrio of clusters: M46, M47, and NGC 2423.All three should be visible in the same fieldof binoculars; but their proximity is an opti-cal illusion. While they share the same lineof sight, M47 is about 1500 light yearsaway from us, M46 is about 4500 lightyears away, and NGC 2423 is somewhere inthe middle, around 2500 light years away.

Although we know it by its Messiernumber, M47 was actually discovered byGiovanni Hodierna in the 1600’s. M46 wasdiscovered by Charles Messier in 1771, andNGC 2423 was discovered by William Her-schel in 1786.

M46 also in-cludes a surprise:planetary nebulaNGC 2348. Whilethis nebula seems tobe embedded inM46, it’s actually aforeground object,

about 3000 light years away. But while theclusters can be seen in binoculars or a smalltelescope, NGC 2348 is more of a chal-lenge, requiring dark skies and high magni-fication to be visible.

M46, M47 and NGC 2423 are not actu-ally in Canis Major, but in the neighboringconstellation of Puppis. The surroundingarea has more clusters: M93 in Puppis;M48 in Hydra; and M50, NGC 2244, andNGC 2264 in Monoceros (an almost-invisi-ble constellation representing a unicorn,between Sirius and Orion). NGC 2244 is ayoung cluster of bright stars, and is locatedat the center of an emissions nebula, theRosette Nebula. Its stars apparently formedfrom the dust and gas of the Rosette Nebuladuring the past 2 million years, and they arenow making the nebula glow. But althoughthe cluster can be seen in binoculars or asmall telescope, the nebula is very faint andrequires dark skies and high magnification.The cluster and nebula are estimated to beabout 5000 light years away.

With all of these open clusters, is thereanything else in this area? Yes! The con-stellation Lepus – a rabbit sitting just belowOrion’s feet – holds the globular clusterM79, estimated to be about 40,000 lightyears away. Most globular clusters arelocated in a halo around the center of ourgalaxy, but M79 is a loner, farther out fromthe center of the galaxy than the sun is.

Another attractive object in Lepus isthe variable star R Leporis, also known asHind’s Crimson Star. This is a carbon star,an old star that has finished fusing its hydro-gen into helium, and its helium into carbon.A carbon star is surrounded by molecules ofcarbon compounds, and these filter the lightand make the star look very red. Carbonstars, by nature, are unstable at this latestage of their life, and this causes the vari-ability that we see as gravity causes them tocontract a little, squeezing out a little morefusion; the heat of the fusion makes themexpand; the expansion stops the fusion andcools the outer layers; and the outer layersthen contract again due to gravity. R Lepo-ris varies from about 6th magitude to about12th magnitude over a period of around 14months.

This February brings us two planetaryconjunctions, both in the predawn sky:Venus and Jupiter on February 1, and Ve-nus and Mercury on February 26. But,you’ll need a clear eastern horizon to seethem, because they’ll be very low in the

sky! Getting up at 5 am to view the eventsis an extra bonus, of course.

During the first few days of the month,Mercury will still be an evening star, low inthe southwest during twilight, and settingabout an hour after the sun. But by the endof the first week, Mercury will disappearinto the sunset, to reappear as a morningstar by midmonth. Venus, which hasgraced our early morning skies for the pastfew months, will still be a morning starduring February, but rising later and later.By the end of the month, both Mercury andVenus will be rising about an hour beforesunrise, passing each other in the sky onFebruary 26. Jupiter will also be visible inthe predawn sky, rising steadily earlier (andmoving away from Venus) as the monthprogresses: 5:30 am at the beginning ofFebruary, and 4 am by the end of the month.

Mars will be high in the sky at sunsetthroughout the month, between the horns ofTaurus, and it will be visible for most of thenight, but setting earlier each morning:4:30 am at the beginning of February, and 3am by the end of the month. Saturn, still inLeo, will also be visible for most of thenight. It will rise around 8 pm, soon aftersunset, at the beginning of February, and bythe end of the month it will rise around 6pm, and will already be in the sky when thesun sets.

The big event of the month, though, isthe lunar eclipse on February 20. A lunareclipse can be viewed from anywhere onthe nighttime side of the earth; but depend-ing on your time zone, the eclipse might beat an inconvenient time for viewing. Arizo-na will have a ringside seat for this onethough: the eclipse will begin at 6:45 pmMST and end at 10 pm. Couldn’t ask forbetter timing! (Now we just need to hopefor clear skies…) The phase of totality willlast from 8:00 to 8:50 pm.

A lunar eclipse is a fascinating event towatch. At first it seems like the moon is justgoing through its phases in fast motion; butwhen the moon reaches totality and thewhole moon is bathed in the earth’s shad-ow, it begins to glow with a golden (andsometimes reddish) light – the effect ofsunrises and sunsets around the world, re-flected from the moon’s surface. The exactcolor varies from one eclipse to the next;what color will the eclipsed moon be thistime around?

3February 2008

A lunar eclipse doesn’t require a tele-scope, but a telescope or binoculars willshow interesting details as we watch thedarkness falling over the craters and moun-tains of the moon. Interestingly, while wesee this as a lunar eclipse, an astronaut (or

alienJ ) on the moon’s surface would seethis event as a total eclipse of the sun!

PAS will be holding a star party onFebruary 20 to view the eclipse, and also toget in a little Mars viewing while the red

planet is still relatively close to us. Hope tosee you there!

Join us next month when we begin toexplore the spring constellations. And tillthen – wishing you clear skies, and happyobserving!

By Terri, Events CoordinatorWe had an awesome turnout at this

event! Shannon, a teacher at N. CanyonH.S. came with her school scope. She andRod spent a bunch of time setting it up andtalking about how to use it. Cherie camewith the intent of getting notes on how to setup her scope. She didn't bring the scope butwe found out what kind of scope it was andhelped her to write down instructions onhow to align it. She was pleased with theinfo. And then there was a nice coupleFrank and Shalise who have a newly pur-chased scope. They brought it and Rod andBruce assisted in the set up and demo of thatone.

While at the workshop, Rod and I de-cided to schedule a special Telescope Train-ing Workshop for 1/19. As you know, theSocial was canceled due to Termites. Howdare they eat our floor just before our party!Anyway, we have since rescheduled that

event. But since we weren't doing anythingon that date, we set up to have a telescopetraining session. 2 RSVP's were made atthis Bookman's event by Frank and Shan-non. I then, the next day, sent out a requestto have PAS volunteers come help at thetelescope training workshop.

I took photos at this event to cover forour Editor who couldn't make it. You canview them at http://tinyurl.com/32n6hg forthe next 3+ months.

After the telescope workshop, we wentto dinner at Carlos O'Briens. I wish to thankBruce and Rod for all the help with the 2telescopes. I wish to thank William and Suefor their assistance, William on the comput-er, and Sue with her info on recoating amirror. I wish to thank Shannon, Cherie,Frank and Shalise for attending our work-shop. We hope to see them again at morePAS events! ***

Have you ever wondered why PASdoesn't have a speaker for January? Well, Iwas talking, for quite a long time, to JerryBelcher, the other day. Jerry said that hejoined PAS a long, long time ago, and thenfaded away for about 22 year. When hereturned, he got talked into being Vice Prez.Well, as Vice, it was, then, his job to findthe speakers for the club meetings. Oneyear, he was unable to find a speaker, sothey canceled that meeting, that year. In-stead, they talked about have the PAS So-cial at Heimhenge (Dan's house). Well,from that day forward, the January PASmeeting never existed and instead there wasthe Social. Now, at that time it was calledthe Holiday Social, meaning it was an afterChristmas Christmas party for the clubmembers. Currently, we are calling it thePAS Social, and it has nothing to do with aholiday. The idea behind our current Socialis to enjoy the company of your fellowastronomers, see what they look like bydaylight, and get to know them a bit more,

away from their telescope. We Socialize,enjoy food, and play games at our Socialevent. And we are getting away from itbeing a HOLIDAY SOCIAL, and more ofa CLUB SOCIAL.

Now, what came of this discussionwith Jerry is that he wants to start in withhaving January speakers and meetings. So,we will be discussing this topic at the nextMOM and I will, if everyone agrees this isa good idea, plan to have a speaker at ourJan 2009 PAS meeting. So, if you haveinput on whether to do this or not, pleasecome to the Meeting of the Minds and shareyour mind with PAS.

The PAS Social for Jan 19, 2008 hasbeen Canceled, and is in the planning stagesto be moved to February. I got word todayof a possible date, however, I can not con-firm it until I talk to Mike, as his star partyfalls on that date. If he is willing to give uphis Star Party date in trade for the Social, wewill go with the new Feb date. I hope to hear

from him tonight and if we do, the noticewill go out tomorrow morning. I wouldthink that since Mike is working on hisseptic tank piping, that he would want someextra time to get ready for the next star partyat his home. We will see. Watch for thenotice! And attend the MOM on Jan 31st tofind out if we will be having a JanuarySpeaker/Meeting.

The other thing Jerry wants to do ishave it be a Members' night. We shouldhave one date in our schedule that allowsfor PAS Members to share their interests ina brief presentation. Jerry said we used todo that at the May PAS meetings but, thathas changed to a Speaker scheduled for thatnight. I think I accidentally did that change.Anyway, we may make the January meet-ings a MEMBERS NIGHT, for years tocome. So, start planning your brief, 5 – 15minutes presentation now, in case that isvoted on by the members at the MOM's. Weneed your input! ***

February 2008 4

By your PAS Events Coordinator, TerriWe have an exciting year coming up.

Please put the following dates on your cal-endar and sometime prior to a week beforethe events, RSVP if you wish to help withthem or attend any of them. There will bemore events, as the school year progressesand elementary schools contact us for starparties. But currently, here are the PASevents you will definitely want to attend!!!

These are only a few of our eventslisted here. Please see the Upcoming Eventslist on line, or in the Digest, or on a printedpage picked up at any PAS event for a morecurrent list as well as directions to and mapsto these events. I begin our list with Febru-ary because this article is in the Feb News-letter. And I do not list all the dates for allthe events. We hope you will check backwith us often for more info on more eventsas the year unfolds. I highlight the reallycool events we have scheduled so far.

We begin our year with the PAS Socialon Jan 19th. Then it just gets more and andmore active and interesting as the year goeson.... I hope everyone had an awesome timeat the Social. See you again next year for thePAS Party!!!

BOOKMAN'S TELESCOPEWORKSHOPS

Throughout the year, we have manytelescope workshops. If you have a tele-scope and need assistance learning how touse it, please, look at our upcoming list ofevents or check with Terri for a flyer of justthe Bookman's Telescope Workshops for2008, and join us. We have a fun timehelping you learn about your telescope andthe accessories you can get for it. Some ofthe dates starting in February will be: Feb10th, Feb 24, Mar 30, May 25th + more. Wehope to see you at one, if not, all of theselearning experiences.

MARS PARTIESWhile Mars is still in sight in the eve-

ning skies, PAS is hosting several MarsParties. These are held at PV Park from6pm to 10pm. Mars is still visible after10pm but because the park closes, we mustdepart. However, you can take your tele-scope or binoculars and view it after 10pmfrom your home or another dark location.We offer a variety of views of Mars at ourMars Parties. Please RSVp with Rod if youplan to attend. The 2008 Mars Party datesfor February forward is the last one on Feb

16th, Mars Party #4. You won't want tomiss this party!

FULL MOON PARTIES & METEORSHOWER PARTIES

We have several wonderful new starparties lined up for 2008. If you haven'talready attend and would like to do so,please RSVP with Terri. These are held atPV Park from 6pm to 10pm, and like theMar's Parties, you can go home when thepark closes and continue the viewing of theFull Moon or Meteor Showers. Some ofthese 2008 dates are: Full Moon Feb 20th,Full Moon Mar 21, Meteor Shower May 3+ more. PAS Hopes to see you there!ASTRONOMY LECTURES at locations

other than PVCC LibraryPAS has set up some extra informa-

tional lectures. Some with and others with-out star parties. We have 2 locations we aredoing these extra lectures. Bookman's backroom will be one location. Watch for an-nouncements of these special events. Andwe are now doing special Lectures and starparty combos at North Mountain Park Visi-tor Center. This year promises to be a greatyear for Astronomy. Here are some dates toadd to your calendar:

The first of 2 Lectures done by Mikewill be at Bookman's on Feb 10th. TheBookman's Telescope class is from 3pm to6pm, but the Lecture starts at 3:30pm.Those wishing to attend the workshopand/or lecture must RSVp with Terri.

There will be a star party, without lec-ture on Mar 14 at North Mountain ParkVisitor Center (N. Mt. Pk. V.C.) from 5pmto 9:30pm. RSVP with Terri for this event.

The second of Mike's lectures will beheld at North Mountain Park Visitor Centerat 5pm on Apr 26. The star party will beginafter the lecture. Lecture begins at 6pm. Starparty will run until 9:30pm. RSVP withTerri.

And there will be one more star partywithout a lecture at N. Mt. Pk. V.C. on May9th beginning at 5pm and going until9:30pm. Again, RSVP with Terri.

PAS is also considering ONE SummerLecture scheduled for this summer some-time between June 1 and July 4 during thePVCC Summer class session. Watch for theannouncement of this specialLecture/meeting.

SALLY RIDE FESTIVALEvery year PAS volunteers to help pro-

mote astronomy to the girls who attend theSally Ride Festival. We will be looking forvolunteers to do Solar Viewing, as well asprojects with the girls. We had a fun gamelast year, where the girls went from scope toscope, collected a playing card, came up tothe front PAS table and tried to beat meplaying poker, their cards against ours.They won prizes for doing it. This year weshould come up with a new game, eventhough the girls are not repeat. It is a differ-ent group of 5th and 6th graders each year.The Sally Ride Festival is from 11 - 4pm atASU Tempe campus. Your help is request-ed. They feed us breakfast and lunch for ourhelp. RSVP with Terri if you plan to attend.

SPEAKER LINE UPWe have an awesome speaker line up

for this year. Please see the flyer on line orcheck the Digest or the site (PAS Meetings)for more details. You won't want to miss the1st Thur of each month with PAS at PVCCin the Library from 7pm to 9:30pm.

PAS INDOOR EVENTPlan now to join us on Apr 10 at PVCC

In G-147 for a free, hands on, demonstra-tion and learning experience for kids andadults of all ages. We will will have anawesome collection of things to learn aboutplus, even though this says it is an indoorevent, as long as the weather is cooperative,we will also have telescopes outside view-ing various objects. Come join us. If youwish to volunteer or attend, RSVP withTerri.

A second Indoor event will be happen-ing from 7;30 to 9:30 on Oct 23rd.

PAS SCHOOL STAR PARTIESPAS Hosts many elementary school

star parties. The first one listed, so far forthis year is Sunset Ridge. This is the schoolthat we all enjoyed last year. The date forthis star party is Apr 11th. RSVP with Territo help out.

MAYER GIRL SCOUT STARPARTY

Now, this is our biggest day/night starparty of the year. Apr 12th we will be enjoy-ing the 1200+ girl scouts and their troupleaders in Mayer for the biggest astronomyevent PAS has ever done. We have a ton ofreally awesome activities planned for dayand night, plus they will be feeding us andgiving us over night accomodations. If youhaven’t already RSVP'd and would like to

5February 2008

attend this event to help out, please do sowith me Today. We currently have 24 PASMembers doing this event. More scopes arewelcome. This will be an all day event. Wewill arrive in Mayer by 11am, spend all day,into the night hours, and then sleep over toSunday. Come have a blast with PAS inMayer AZ.

ASTRONOMY DAY 2008May 2 is Astronomy Day this year. We

will be holding an astronomy day, solarviewing by day, evening viewing by night,event from some morning hour, undecidedto 10pm on the PVCC Campus by the Tele-scope Domes. If you wish to attend or helpout, please RSVP with me today. Moredetails will be posted as we have them.Come to the next PAS MOM to find outmore or help with ideas for this event.

PVCC STAR PARTIESPAS Hosts several PVCC Star parties

on the PVCC Campus by the TelescopeDomes. We try to do 3 of these star partiesin a semester and the public is welcome atthese events. Would love to have you at-tend. RSVP with Terri to help out or attend.These star parties are always on a Thursdaynight. Some of these dates for this year are:Feb 14, Mar 13, May 8, Jun 12, + more.

HIGH DESERT PARK & TWO TREESSTAR PARTY SITES

For the cooler months of the year, Feb,Mar, Apr, we hold our Deep Sky Star Partyand 3rd Quarter Moon Star Parties at HighDesert Park in New River. For the warmermonths, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept + more,we hold them at the Two Trees Site north ofCottonwood. If you plan to attend, and be-cause these star parties require a fee, pleaseRSVP with Barbara. She collects the fee atHDP. For the Two Trees Site, if you plan toattend more than one time, it is best to getthe PASS that allows you to attend many

times during the year. That pass is NOTgotten through Barbara, however, if youdrop her an email or phone call, she can tellyou how to get one. We'd love to see youthere! This is the star party you want toattend to see those fainter objects and reallyget to know the darkness of the night sky. Itis well worth your trip. Please remember,the Two Trees site does not belong to PAS.We are guests when visiting this site hostedby the Sedona Serius Observers. DennisYoung is in charge of that star party but youcan RSVP with Barbara for weather condi-tions and so you may caravan out to thelocation. At both locations, please arrivebefore Dark. This is a requirement so youdo not ruin the viewing pleasure of every-one involved with the headlights of your car.

LUNAR ECLIPSE STAR PARTYThis year we will be treated to a Lunar

Eclipse on Aug 16. This star party will beheld at PV Park 5pm to 9:30pm. The LunarEclipse will occur around 9pm. Prior to thatevent we will be observing the Full Moonand possibly enjoy the coloring of theEclipse at the time when the Moon is par-tially eclipsed for a more exciting view.You won't want to miss this event. RSVPwith Terri.

And to close out the year, there will beanother Lunar Eclipse, possibly a star partyinvolved, on Dec 31st.

ANTHEM STAR PARTYNo one has asked, "Where is Anthem

scheduled for this year?" Well, here it is.Anthem decided in order for us to do a"whole day" event, they would have toschedule us when nothing else was happen-ing. So, we are scheduled to do an eventfrom Noon to 10pm on Nov 1. We'd love tohave a bunch of volunteers. This is a Satur-day. If you can't make the day time event,RSVP for just the night viewing. We'd like

to see 20+ scopes for the evening event and10+ hands on day time activities going onthroughout the day. Solar Viewing wouldbe appreciated as well. RSVP with Terri forthis event and come have a great time withus!

MEETING OF THE MINDSIn closing this article of AWESOME

UPCOMING PAS EVENTS, I'd like tomention that the planning of these events aswell as how PAS is structured and involvedthese events comes from those who careabout PAS by attending the Meeting of theMinds. This is where we spend a few hoursdiscussing and planning and organizingevents and business related stuff. We meet,and this is an ADULTS ONLY meeting, atPVCC in G-147 through out the year mostlyon the last Thursday of each month. Yourattendance is requested. Come help us makethe decisions that makes PAS run smoothly.We'd love to have your input. Most of thetime, we have a few topics, we discuss themstarting at 7:30pm (meeting opens rightafter class gets out, usually 7:10) and some-times we get done early like 8:30 this lasttime (December). And then we play on thecomputers, and talk about fun stuff, andenjoy each other's company and sometimesDave shows us meteorites, etc. Other timesthe meeting takes until 10pm. The option isthere, however, you do not need to stay tothe end unless your topic is last on the list.Please come help us make the decisions thatmakes PAS A WONDERFUL ASTRONO-MY CLUB TO BELONG TO. See theschedule for upcoming dates. The next onewill be Feb 28th. We hope to see you there!HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008! Let's all have aloving, fun, prosperous, astronomy fillednew year! SEE YOU AT THE PASEVENTS! ***

Photos of the Bookman’s Telescope class taken by Terri January 13

February 2008 6

By Terri, Events Coordinator

A huge thanks goes to Bruce Wurstand Rod Sutter for their assistancewith this class. We had three in-structors, 2 mentioned above andmyself, and 3 telescopes that need-ed instruction. It started around5:30pm on this particular Saturday.It wasn't cold YET! First to arrivewas Shannon. She brought herschool telescope which was an Ori-on. It has some great views. Brucehelped her the most with it and wefound the Moon, Mars, Orion Neb-ula, Betelgeuse, and a few othercool items with it. She was finding

the objects with a little help. Shan-non did very well. Next to arrivewas Frank. Frank brought his 4".His issue was misalignment and wehelped him polar align and find theMoon and Mars, but he can use alittle more instruction and help withhis scope. He also could use to haveit collimated. Then Keith showedup and his 8" Meade LX200 wasgiving him difficulties with the Go-To portion of it. Bruce and Rodplayed with it and tried to figure itout but somehow, it just wasn't co-operating. We would like get Keithand Don together sometime, at afuture training class. The tempera-

tures started to drop, and the windpicked up just enough to blow thatcold air right though everyone, andso, the class ended around 8:30pm.It was a good class, and I appreciateeveryone braving the cold. We willbe holding another class like this,same location, but preferably inwarmer temperatures, sometime inMarch. Watch for the Announce-ment. It will be around the 3rd QMoon as that lends itself to lightingthe observing area, and a good ob-ject to try out a new scope on.Thanks to all the help and to the 3brave frozen folk who joined us forthe class. ***

Please watch the Total Eclipse of theMoon. Go outside on Feb 20th, around7pm and watch the Moon get eclipsed.That's when the Earth's shadow, cast bythe Sun, falls upon the Moon, turning it adark red color. This is an awesome eventand you can do it from your home. Lookto the East, where the Moon will be rising.

PAS is doing a star party for thisevent. We are not only watching theEclipse that night, but also, enjoying otherobjects and the Full Moon when it isn'teclipsed to view the Craters. This event, ifyou wish to attend, is at PV Park - 40thStreet and Union Hills, from 6pm to10pm. There will be telescopes set up for

viewing. BYO Chair, Snacks, Drinks, andJacket. More info about this event can befound on our website www.pasaz.org UP-COMING EVENTS (in left hand column).The eclipse begins around Moon rise6:45pm and is visible until 10pm. 8:30pmthe Moon should be in Totally Eclipsed.Bring everyone you know to the star party,or tell them about it so they can view it fromtheir home, as well.

Dennis Young adds this info about theLunar Eclipse:

Local arizona time....1) On Thursday Feb. 7 at Sunset

(6:02:47 PM MST, Azimuth 251.9 deg.) theMoon will be 21Hr. 18 Min. old, 2 Hours

younger than last March 19th young moonviewing.

2) Wednesday.Feb 20th--Total Lunar Eclipse;Penumbra begins? 6:05 PMPartial starts 6:43 PMTotal starts 8:00 PMMid 8:26 PMShould be Partial 8;53pm begins--

/totality(ends)10:09PM -Should be partial-(ends)Penumbra ends? 10:45 PM

Feb 16: Mars Party #4: The last of it'skind. PAS Is hosting the 4th Mars Party toview the beautiful Red planet in the sky.RSVp is required with Rod. No RSVP thestar party will be canceled. Dress warmly.PAS Members are urged to RSVP as well incase of cancellation.

Feb 20: TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSEParty from 6pm to 10pm at PV Park. RSVPwith Rod. Eclipse begins at 7pm and goestill 10pm. Moon Rise is when eclipse begins.

Feb 24: PAS Bookman's TelescopeWorkshop. From 4:30 to 6:30 bring yourscope and questions and learn how to useyour scope by daylight. RSVP is required

with Terri.Feb 28: This is it! This is the ASSEM-

BLY PARTY. No topics, other than theMayer April 12th event will be discussed.Come help us assemble the bags of stuff forthe 900 Girl Scouts for the Mayer event.This is a party. Bring a snack to share andBYO Drinks. We will begin as soon as wecan get in the room and go until we are donewith assembly or until 10pm, which evercomes first. We need assembly line folk.The more, the better. Drop me an email orlet me know you are attending so I can getan idea of who is coming. This is a PARTY!Come have fun with us!!! All copies andbag items should attend with you and empty

boxes are very much needed. Bring a handtruck if you have one to help get the filledboxes out to the vehicles.

Mar 1: I'm sneaking one more eventinto this list - SALLY RIDE. Volunteers areneeded. Please let me know ASAP that youcan attend for the Daytime event from 11amto 4pm. Breakfast and Lunch are supplied.Bring Chair, scope, activities. Help withhandouts, or games for prizes for the girls.At the Jan 31 MOM, help decide what activ-ities we will want to do there, this year.

Now, isn't that an exciting month andyou will want to attend most of these events.RSVP where required and please come havefun with PAS!!! ***

From page 1

7February 2008

by Patrick L. BarryImagine someday taking a driving tour

of the surface of Mars. You trail-blazeacross a dusty valley floor, looking inamazement at the rocky, orange-brown hill-sides and mountains all around. With eachpassing meter, you spy bizarre-lookingrocks that no human has ever seen, and maynever see again. Are they meteorites or bitsof Martian crust? They beg to be photo-graphed.

But on this tour, you can't whip outyour camera and take on-the-spot close-upsof an especially interesting-looking rock.You have to wait for orders from headquar-ters back on Earth, and those orders won'tarrive until tomorrow. By then, you proba-bly will have passed the rock by. How frus-trating!

That's essentially the predicament ofthe Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which arecurrently in their fourth year of exploringMars. Mission scientists must wait over-night for the day's data to download fromthe rovers, and the rovers can't take high-respictures of interesting rocks without explicit

instructions to do so.However, artificial intelligence soft-

ware developed at JPL could soon turn therovers into more-autonomous shutterbugs.

This software, called Autonomous Ex-ploration for Gathering Increased Science(AEGIS), would search for interesting orunusual rocks using the rovers' low-resolu-tion, black-and-white navigational cameras.Then, without waiting for instructions fromEarth, AEGIS could direct the rovers' high-resolution cameras, spectrometers, andthermal imagers to gather data about therocks of interest.

"Using AEGIS, the rovers could getscience data that they would otherwisemiss," says Rebecca Castaño, leader of theAEGIS project at JPL. The software buildson artificial intelligence technologies pio-neered by NASA's Earth Observing-1 satel-lite (EO-1), one of a series oftechnology-testbed satellites developed byNASA's New Millennium Program.

AEGIS identifies a rock as being inter-esting in one of two ways. Mission scien-

tists can program AEGIS to look for rockswith certain traits, such as smoothness orroughness, bright or dark surfaces, orshapes that are rounded or flat.

In addition, AEGIS can single outrocks simply because they look unusual,which often means the rocks could tell sci-entists something new about Mars's presentand past.

The software has been thoroughly test-ed, Castaño says, and now it must be inte-grated and tested with other flight software,then uploaded to the rovers on Mars. Onceinstalled, she hopes, Spirit and Opportunitywill leave no good Mars rock unturned.

Check out other ways that the MarsRovers have been upgraded with artificialintelligence software athttp://nmp.nasa.gov/TECHNOLOGY/infusion.html#sciencecraft.

This article was provided by the JetPropulsion Laboratory, California Instituteof Technology, under a contract with theNational Aeronautics and Space Adminis-tration.

Are these rocks of any scientific interest? With the new AEGIS software, the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, will be able tojudge for themselves whether a scene is worth a high-resolution image. (Artist’s rendering.)

February 2008 8

Street Atlas USA® 2008

Data use subject to license.

© 2007 DeLorme. Street Atlas USA® 2008.

TN

MN (11.3°E)

0 180 360 540 720 900

0 40 80 120 160 200

ftm

Scale 1 : 6,400

Create PDF with GO2PDF for free, if you wish to remove this line, click here to buy Virtual PDF Printer

The Clubhouse Social here

Peoria Ave.

9February 2008

Ads in PAStimesAds in PAStimes run for a month and may be renewed on a month by month basis, if submitted by deadline, space permitting. Adsin PAStimes are FREE to members all others are asked to make a small donation. Donations are to be sent to the Editor who willforward them to the Treasurer.

602-781-2414

Black Canyon City SiteMap to PAS Meeting Location

For SaleSuper Plossl 5.5mm Eyepiece 1.25 Inch (Hardly Used):$50.00(new on the market $89)Super Plossl 9mm Eyepiece 1.25 Inch (Hardly Used):$50.00 (new on the market $89)

Contact Pratyush R. Pandya, CPAHome: (480) 857-8988 Mobile: (480) 250-9190 Email: pratyush@cox.net

February 2Saturday

SundowntoMoonrise

High Desert Park Jacie LaneBlack Canyon City, AZ 85324

PAS 3rd Quarter Moon Star PartyAll are Welcome! $2 per car donation request. RSVP with Barbara Hartman to attend.

February 7Thursday

7 pmto9:30 pm

Paradise Valley Comm. College18401 N. 32nd St Phoenix, AZ 85032Union Hills and 32nd St. Library

PAS General Meeting Dr. Don N. Page, University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alber-ta, Canada, "Does God So Love the Multiverse?" Lecture to start at 7:00 not 7:30due to Dr Pages schedule

February 9Saturday

4pmTo9:30pm

Clubhouse PAS Social Open to all members and their families. We'll have lots of games andgood food to share. See Article page 1

February 10Sunday

3:00 pmto6:30 pm

Bookman's Back room 8034North 19th AvenuePhoenix, AZ 85021-5101

PAS Bookman's Free Indoor Telescope Workshop 19 Ave. & Northern -Bookman’s back room See Article Page 1

February 14Thursday

6 pmto10 pm

Paradise Valley Comm. College18401 N. 32nd St Phoenix, AZ 85032Union Hills and 32nd St.Near the telescope deck behind roomG147

PAS/PVCC Public Star Party*** Volunteers Needed ***RSVP with Rod Sutter to attend or to help out. * Weather Permitting *

February 16Saturday

6 pmto10 pm

Paradise Valley Park40th and Union Hills Rd.Phoenix, AZ 85032

MARS PARTY (4th of 4)Come see Mars as it make a close approach to Earth and shows us awesome de-tails on its surface. RSVP required with Rod See article Page 1

February 20Wednesday

6 pmto10 pm

Paradise Valley Park40th and Union Hills Rd.Phoenix, AZ 85032

PAS Lunar Eclipse Party *** Volunteers Needed ***RSVP with Rod to attend or to help out. * Weather Permitting *

February 24Sunday

4:30 pmto6:30 pm

Bookman's Back room8034 North 19th AvenuePhoenix, AZ 85021-5101

PAS Bookman's Free Indoor Telescope WorkshopI-17 & Northern - Bookman’s back roomSee article page 1

February 28Thursday

7 pmto10 pm

Paradise Valley Comm. College18401N. 32nd StPhoenix, AZ 85032Union Hills and 32nd St.Room G-147

PAS Meeting of the MindsNo children please (business meeting)

Phoenix Astronomical Society Contact Info

Don Boyd PAStimes Editor701 W. Del Rio St.Chandler AZ 85225

To:

February 15 2008PAS is incorporated in the state of Arizona as a non-profit, scientific and educational 501(c)(3)organization. Our newsletter PAStimes is published monthly from September to May and distributedby USPS and the Internet. All Issues are available for download on our website www.pasaz.org Adsfor astronomy equipment are provided as a courtesy to sellers and buyers, and do not constitute anyendorsement by PAS. All Photos by Don Boyd unless otherwise credited. All articles and photos arecopyright their authors or PAStimes.

Rod Sutter 602-971-9129 President@pasaz.org

Terri Finch 602-561-5398 VicePresident@pasaz.org

Mike Marron 480-488-3031 Treasurer@pasaz.org

Don Boyd 480-963-7189 Editor@pasaz.org

John Pulis 623-570-5308

Barbara Hartman 623-374-5364 Webmaster@pasaz.org

Chet Schuler 480-272-4545 chetsch@cox.net

Jerry Belcher 623-328-9290 http://ahpra.org/launches.html

{MM:Notes 1}{MM:First Name} {MM:Last Name}{MM:Address Line 1}{MM:City} {MM:State} {MM:ZIP Code}

Q3: February 28

New: February 6

Q1: February 13

Full: February 29

Sunrise: 07:10Sunset: 18:10

What’s Up For February?By Rod Sutter, PAS PresidentLunar Eclipse Wed 20th 20:29

Planets

Name Date Rise SetMercury 02-1-08 7:48 18:48Venus 02-1-08 5:28 15:28Mars 02-1-08 13:55 04:38Jupiter 02-1-08 5:30 15:25Saturn 02-1-08 19:48 08:52Uranus 02-1-08 9:08 20:41Neptune 02-1-08 7:56 1840Pluto 02-1-08 4:29 14:59

All Times Arizona TimeMeteor Showers

NONE THIS MONTH