June 08, 2013, 2:00PM: Club Picnic and Prime Night at Columbus - 8 June
All members invited. More details will be coming in mid-May after TSP.
Theme - Scorpius and Sagittarius
Welcome to Houston Astronomical Society
HAS Store is Now Online! Visit our store at www.zazzle.com/HASStore to order Messier Marathon shirts and other goodies!
Founded in 1955, Houston Astronomical Society is an active community of enthusiastic amateur and professional astronomers with over 60 years of history in the Houston area. The club meets on the first Friday of each month at the University of Houston. Membership has a variety of benefits, including access to a secure dark site west of Houston, a telescope loaner program, and much more. Joining our club is simple; you can sign up online, by mail or in person at a monthly meeting.
Shallow Sky Object of the Month: W UMa - Eclipsing Binary
Object: W UMa
Class: Double star
Constellation: Ursa Major
Magnitude: 7.75-8.48
R.A.: 9 h 43 m 46 s
Dec: 55 deg 57 min 09 sec
Size/Spectral: F class (white)
Distance: 170 ly
Optics needed: Small telescope
Why this is interesting:
The name of this star gives it away as a variable star. (A star that has a letter of the alphabet, or two, starting with R preceding the name of the constellation identifies a variable. This one, with W as the designator is the 6th variable identified in this constellation). One of the things that scientists of all kinds do is to put items in categories. It helps these scientists understand and organize information. This happens with variable stars, too and there are lots of categories for variable stars. The star that defines that category is called the ‘prototype’ star. This star is the prototype for other variables which are thus called W UMa variables.
Steve Fast: A Guidestar Interview
Interview by Clayton Jeter
I first got to know Steve Fast at last year’s “Okie Tex” star party. Both of our tents and scopes were set up close to one another so we shared views through our scopes. We had a great time working on faint objects together throughout the week. He is a very dedicated visual observer…he’s a star-hopping SCT guy. Like me, he loves the challenge of working on an observing program with a lot of faint fuzzies. He will agree with me, it’s all about the hunt.
Steve holds two important positions in our club…he works hard at organizing and distributing all the club members nametag badges during our monthly meetings. Steve is also our current Field Trip and Observing coordinator. He plans our club picnics, Messier marathons, and weekend star parties throughout the year. FYI, Steve also had input on selecting objects that were included in our new HAS “Texas 45” observing program.
I know you readers will enjoy this month’s interview. I failed to mention that Stevie is quite humorous and is known to be somewhat of a prankster. Beware. Here’s Steve…
Has Forum Rules And Procedures
Only active HAS club members in good standing can post to the forum
Club members *do not* need to register to post on this forum. The forum membership database is synchronized with the main HAS site database.
Log in to http://www.astronomyhouston.org and click the forum tab, you will be authenticated without having to re-enter a username and password.
Registrations submited via the forum registration system are ignored, as the club has no way of verifying that registrations come from active HAS club members.
HAS Texas 45 Observing Program
Are you interested in developing skills in observational astronomy? Want to see all kinds of objects and not just those available the first week in May? Well, put down the Sky & Tel, pack up the scope, and head out to Columbus for the HAS Texas 45! Observers who successfully complete this observing program will be presented both a pin and a certificate of completion at the HAS general membership meeting. Observe 45 objects to earn the silver level award; all 60 gets you the gold.
The Art and Science of Visual Astronomical Observations
HAS Program Chair and Master Observer Brian Cudnik has graciously made his new eBook available for complimentary download right here on the HAS Website. It's titled "The Art and Science of Visual Astronomical Observations" and it's a great homage to some of the awe-inspiring aspects of observing at the eyepiece. It's also chocked full of practical techniques for observing and suggestions for how visual observers can contribute to the science of astronomy. In Brian's own words...
The purpose of this book is to provide the visual astronomer, especially the beginner, a greater sense of appreciation of each object he or she observes. In addition, I want to instill a greater sense of wonder for the universe as a whole, to discover for oneself one‘s place in the universe and the privilege to be able to contemplate these ideas. Most of the chapters in this book will be divided into two parts, the “art” (named―“appreciation”) section and the “science” (or “application”) section. You may say, “Sure it may be just a ‘white dot’, but consider what is hidden in that ‘white dot’…”; I want to help with the second by discussing the physical nature of the ‘white dot’, I hope to stimulate observers’ interests to keep looking. This is the “art/appreciation” portion of the book, which also seeks to share my own passion for these things. The “science/application” part of the book outlines how amateurs who either cannot afford the sophisticated equipment becoming more widely available, or just prefer to use their own eyes to view celestial objects, can make a contribution to astronomy as a science.
Download “The Art and Science of Visual Astronomical Observations”
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