About 900 students and faculty attended an introductory program to Space. October is the school’s “Space Month” and we expanded the view of “weather” as we experience it on earth with an introduction to “Space Weather”. In addition to clips of solar flares, CMEs, a flight from the White House to the sun, etc. the presentation explained the effect the activity on the sun has on our lives on earth. An interactive demonstration of the relative sizes of the sun and planets and and distances in the solar system rounded off the presentation. Next week we will be back to participate in the school’s “Space Night” with hands on projects and observing of the night sky through our scopes. Thanks to Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Schrader for contacting us and asking us to participate. Thanks to Frank and Theo to offer their time.

Steve Bieger gave his Galileo presentation for 70 Students at Stone Mountain Middle school on Friday September 24th. The students liked it very much and had some excellent questions! Great job Steve to bring some astronomy and history to the middle school.
Theo

(here’s a link to Steve’s post and pictures from the event – http://ceastronomy.org/sbieger/posts/17)

In my last Current Events presentation I mentioned the reverse positioning of the ISS in the Solar transit images of May 24 and 25th. I send an email to NASA and got a reply. Here it is:
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this.

ISS can maneuver to change its attitude (i.e. rotational orientation) and does so from time to time. Theoretically the ISS could assume and hold any orientation around its X, Y, and Z axes. Typically ISS holds a constant orientation with respect to the Earth, essentially with the US lab pointed in the direction of travel and the axis perpendicular to the truss containing the solar arrays pointed at the center of Earth. Since the Sun’s position with respect to the ISS orbital plane and the angle of the Sun above
or below the orbit plane changes slightly each day, occasionally the direction of travel is reversed. When reversed, the US lab is trailing and the Russian segment pointed in the direction of
travel. This change of attitude is done for operational reasons such as keeping external equipment on the station cooler or warmer, by providing more shade or providing more exposure to direct sunlight. This can be done by changing which end of the station is in the direction of travel. Although I have not had chance to check the Mission Control timelines to see if this was the case on May 24 and May 25, it could account for the apparent change in the direction of travel perceived in the two photos.
Please let me know if there are further questions.

I have gone back and asked them if they would mind checking the mission control log.
Clear Skies,
Theo Ramakers

The Charlie Elliott Chapter of the AAc was fortunate again to participate in Hightower Trail’s Space Camp. This was the 6th Space Camp for the school. The forecast was clear, so we did not participate with the inside activities, but setup 4 telescopes on the playground and let the students experience the views of Saturn with its moon Dione, M42, some double stars, and the moon. We discussed some constelations. Because the clouds kept moving in and out, only a few studens got to see the galaxy M65. But the students loved what they saw and a very rewarding evening for our participating members. Click here for some pictures of the event. HTS is teaming up with NASA for some real exciting activities. Click here for more details.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, the Galileo Telescope website went up today. Besides the sale of the scope there is a lot of nice information available about Galileo’s scope. Check it out.

Theo

Those of you who were at our last meeting learned from Jon, that Venus is lining up to have a nice conjunction with the moon on December 31. At the same time, Jupiter and Mercury wil have their own conjunction.
Check this image out and see how all four of them are getting ready for this. (Image taken at CE on December 29, 2008)

Following a message from Larry Wallace, director of the AAC:

Attached is the detail program for the GRAM meeting tonight and tomorrow.

The Georgia Regional Astronomy Meeting moves to a different college campus in the state each year, and is at Georgia Perimeter College in Dunwoody for 2008. Last year it was in Valdosta, and next year will be in Dahlonega, so this year’s location is pretty convenient for metro area residents. The organizer, Dr. Kae Pearson, really wanted to encourage amateurs to attend the meeting and see some of what’s going on with astronomy science and education in Georgia.

Hope some of the CE chapter members can drop by for awhile.
Regards.

Larry Wallace
President, Wallace Engineering
Director, Atlanta Astronomy Club

678 524 8805

Spaceweather.com writes today:

NEW SUNSPOT: For the first time in months, a significant sunspot is emerging on the sun.  It is a fast-growing active region with two dark cores, each larger than Earth.  The magnetic polarity of the sunspot identifies it as a member of new Sunspot Cycle 24. 

Because the year 2008 has brought so many blank suns, some observers have wondered if we are ever going to climb out of the ongoing deep solar minimum.  Today’s new sunspot is an encouraging sign that the 11-year solar cycle is indeed progressing, albeit slowly.   Visit http://spaceweather.com for sunspot photos and updates.

Expect some activity from the Sundawg pretty soon!!

Clear Skies
Theo

Next CHARM date: September 30, 2008 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pacific

Call 888-677-6566, passcode 3832523, US participants only.

This month we will have a panel of scientists from the Cassini CIRS – Composite Infrared Spectrometer team. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) consists of dual interferometers that measure infrared emission from atmospheres, rings, and surfaces over wavelengths from 7 to 1000 micrometers (1400 to 10 cm-1) to determine their composition and temperatures.

The PDF version of the presentation will be here http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/products/CHARM.cfm on Monday, September 29.

EASY REFERENCE REMINDERS

• CHARM telecons are the last Tuesday of the month at 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Pacific Time
• The phone number is (888) 677-6566 and the passcode is 3832523
• The CHARM pdfs are located at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/products/CHARM.cfm
• The CHARM ppts are located at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/doclib
• This is a password protected site, here are the details (they are case sensitive): Username: cassini Password: Doc$85

SOC members, please spread the word about our Cassini Scientist for a Day Essay Contest.

Teachers, parents, and students: have you ever wondered what it is like to be part of a large science team with a spacecraft as your remote laboratory? The 6th edition of Cassinis Scientist for a Day program is underway! The contest is open to all students in the U.S. between grades 5 and 12, working alone or in groups of up to four students. Deadline for submission is Noon, Pacific Time on Oct. 30, 2008 (3:00 p.m. Eastern time)

Students write a 500-word essay about one of three possible imaging targets (Saturns moons: Tethys, Titan, or Mimas) and justify their choice as to which would potentially yield the best science. Winners are invited to participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists from JPL.

The contest deadline is October 30, 2008. Teachers can download a flyer about the contest at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/6th_edition/resources.cfm. The URL for the Cassini Scientist for a Day website is: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/6th_edition/index.cfm. Inquiries about the contest should be sent to scientistforaday@jpl.nasa.gov.

Thanks for spreading the word about this exciting program to our next generation of scientists!

Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL – 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109

I received an email with the following from Julie Duncan, the Residential Program Director at Charlie Elliott:

“We are hosting a very small workshop for teachers to help us plan our curriculum for the new CEWC Residential Program.  They will be with us Sept. 24-25.  I wondered if it might be possible to share your astronomical enthusiasm with them on Wednesday night – weather permitting.  We wouldn’t require much, just a chance to get outside, learn, and enjoy.  

I’m thinking about asking Stephen if he could come by on Thursday (same location – Discovery Room) for about an hour. ”

I would encourage everyone if you have the time to come out Wednesday evening or Thursday noon and let these teachers see what amateur astronomy is about!!!  This is a perfect opportunity to reach out.

Please let me know if you can make it Wednesday evening and show the night sky and/or Thursday for a Solar hour.

Clear Skies
Theo Ramakers