From bhavner at earthlink.net Wed Jan 2 21:31:39 2002 From: bhavner at earthlink.net (Bob Havner) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Extrasolar Planetary Transit Search Project Message-ID: Tim Castellano of the NASA Ames Astrophysics Branch is looking for amateur astronomers with CCD experience and equipment to participate in a very exciting project. The Extrasolar Planetary Transit Search Project is a collaboration between NASA Ames scientists and amateur astronomers to detect extrasolar planets that transit their host stars. Attached is Tim?s Abstract, take the time to read through it. It would be great to have SJAA members part of this project. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20020102/9da1679d/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Tim Castellano.doc Type: application/msword Size: 29696 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20020102/9da1679d/TimCastellano.doc From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Thu Jan 3 21:43:02 2002 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] SJAA Events this Weekend! Message-ID: Happy New Year! Hopefully, this coming year's observing will be as good as 2001, but without the terrorist and recession stuff. A) SJAA Observational Astronomy Class starts Friday Night! B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight, Fri 1/4/02 6:30 PM - 12:00 AM C) APD's, RASC, and Calendars! Oh My! D) Other Astronomical Events in the Bay Area E) Astrophoto Offer to SJAA Members from James Turley *********************************** A) SJAA Observational Astronomy Class starts Friday Night! Are you still confusing your RA from your Dec? Have you just received a new telescope and your looking for some help in understanding the basic operation of your scope? The San Jose Astronomical Association Observational Astronomy Class is here to help you! This informal monthly series will teach basic astronomy, the constellations, the movement of the sky, and the use of the telescope. It occurs every third quarter moon Houge Park Star Party Night until November. No Reservations needed and you can join the class at any time. The class is a free public service provided by the SJAA. Class starts at 7:30 PM on Friday, January 4th in the hall at Houge Park. Weather permitting, after the class we will be pointing out the constellations in addition to viewing some deep sky wonders through telescopes. Tonight's Topic: Introduction to the Sky A general overview and getting started in amateur astronomy in the Bay Area, understanding the celestial sphere and coordinate systems, basic understanding of constellations, star-hopping and finding one's way around the sky. *********************************** B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight, Fri 1/4/02 6:30 PM - 12:00 AM Weather Permitting Public observing session on the grounds at Houge Park. Families welcome. Feel free to bring your scope and share views with others. Saturn and Jupiter are primed for public viewing along with some of our favorite winter objects. *********************************** C) APD's, RASC Books, and Calendars! Oh My! The SJAA is selling Astronomical Pocket Diaries as a fundraiser for loaner telescope program. This handy daily guide to the heavens offers weekly information that includes evening and morning star maps along with the planet positions. Daily information features lunar phases and visibility, astronomical events (meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, and eclipses, for example), and significant dates in history, with plenty of room for your own notes. This Diary is customized for the San Jose area and the SJAA events are listed in here, so you no longer have a good excuse for missing an event! It even has a cool animated solar system view as you flip the pages. Cost is $10 per book or $25 for three. Buy some for friends who keep forgetting when the Houge Star Parties are! For more information see The club is also selling the RASC Observer's Handbook 2002. The Observer's Handbook is a 288-page guide published annually since 1907 by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Through its long tradition and the expertise of more than 35 contributors, the Observer's Handbook has come to be regarded as the standard North American reference for data on the sky for the year. It normally sells for $23, but you can purchase it at a discounted club price of $15. For more information see We also have copies of the RASC Wall Calendar available for $10 (Discounted from $15) and copies of the RASC Beginners guide available for $15. RASC 2002 Calendar: RASC Beginners Guide:< http://www.rasc.ca/pubs/beguide.htm > Get yours today before they run out! *********************************** D) Other Astronomical Events in the Bay Area this weekend from Jane Houston Jones NCHALADA - http://www.nchalada.org/ Northern California Historical Astronomy Luncheon and Discussion Association meets Saturday, January 5th. in the boardroom, Dellums Building at Chabot Space and Science Center. Parking is free in the overflow lot and $4.00 in the parking structure. Website has directions and AC Transit bus routes. http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/directions.asp John Dillon, Curator of Natural Science, Randall Museum discusses Ancient Greek Astronomy in the morning session from 10 - 12:30 p.m. and after lunch Andrew Bell discusses Wavelengths - 19th Century Spectroscopy and the birth of modern Astrophysics from 2 - 5:00p.m. Eastbay Astronomical Society also meets at the new Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland on the first Saturday of each month, which is January 5. General Meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Biology Lab, 1st floor Spees Building at Chabot Space and Science Center. Lecture starts at 8:00 p.m. This month ASP Mercury Editor Robert Naeye presents The Great Pluto Debate. Info and directions: http://www.eastbayastro.org/ *********************************** E) Astrophoto Offer to SJAA Members from James Turley "Sky Image Lab, of Saratoga, http://www.skyimagelab.com offers high resolution photos of the Universe. Digitally mastered images of the Earth, its Sky, the Planets and Moons, our Star, the Stars, our Milky Way, and Galaxies near and distant. Selected from the Hubble, NASA, and Observatory image archives. Produced in high resolution, large format, photo grade editions, framed and matted. Free shipping or hand delivery under Dark Skies to all SJAA members. Use coupon code SJAA." *********************************** Directions to Houge Park: Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos. From jvn at svpal.org Fri Jan 4 15:12:17 2002 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Dates of two ATM class Message-ID: <3C3636D1.3DF@svpal.org> This is a correction/clarification to the ATM class schedule, as given in the Ephemeris for December 2001, page 5. Under "Thursday Classes" are listed Mar.8 and Apr.5, which are Fridays. They should be Mar.7 and Apr.4. BillA: Please make this change in the 2002 schedule previously sent. For each date, change the "Fr" to "Th", and decrement the date. Thanks! The hall at Houge Park is already reserved for those two Thursdays, as well as all the others. Clear Skies (and schedules)! -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's home page From bhavner at earthlink.net Sat Jan 5 11:27:00 2002 From: bhavner at earthlink.net (Bob Havner) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Copy/Extrasolar Planetary Transit Search Project Message-ID: This is a copy of my previous announcement for those who may not have received it. Sorry for the problem. Tim Castellano of the NASA Ames Astrophysics Branch is looking for amateur astronomers with CCD experience and equipment to participate in a very exciting project. The Extrasolar Planetary Transit Search Project is a collaboration between NASA Ames scientists and amateur astronomers to detect extrasolar planets that transit their host stars. Attached is Tim?s Abstract, take the time to read through it. It would be great to have SJAA members part of this project. Tim Castellano Extrasolar Planetary Transit Search Project ABSTRACT > > The discovery since 1995 of more than 60 planets around nearby > solar-like stars and the photometric measurement of a transit of the > planet orbiting HD 209458 has heralded a new era in astronomy. It is > now possible for small telescopes equipped with sensitive and stable > electronic detectors to produce fundamental scientific discoveries > regarding the frequency and nature of planets outside the solar > system. The modest equipment requirements for the measurement of > extrasolar planetary transits are achieved by commercial small > aperture telescopes and CCD imagers common among amateur astronomers. > With equipment already in hand and armed with observing techniques > and software procedures developed by scientists at NASA's Ames > Research Center amateurs can contribute significantly to the study of > planets around others stars. > > OBJECTIVE > > The objective of the work is to develop a collaboration between NASA > Ames scientists and amateur astronomers to facilitate the efficient > detection and characterization of extrasolar planets that transit > their host stars by increasing the numbers of objects under > surveillance. The short orbital periods and size of the transit > signal of "hot jupiters" recently discovered around solar type stars > brings transit photometry into the realm of the achievable via > commonly available amateur telescopes and imagers. The public > outreach potential of this effort is enormous based on the response > elicited by exploratory discussions with amateur and educational > groups conducted to date. A prototype telescope system shows promise. > The resources requested will be used to enable the widest possible > audience of potential contributors, refine the technique and > facilitate coordination of a large distributed team. > > NASA Ames scientists have identified several dozen stars likely to > possess short period planets. These planet candidates come from two > independent search projects being conducted at NASA Ames. > Confirmation of transits via photometry is inefficient in terms of > observing time because of the small duty cycle of transit events > (Castellano, 2001). Randomly-phased observations of HD 209458 have > about a 1 in 30 chance of catching the 3 hour long transit during the > 85 hour orbital period. The complete phase coverage monitoring of > dozens of stars requires a dedicated telescope and observing staff or > a network of telescopes and observers available part time. Our > intent is develop this network via collaboration with amateurs. > > Metal Rich Stars > One of the major discoveries to emerge from the detection of > extrasolar planets is the fact that stars which contain a high > proportion of heavy elements in their spectrum have up to a ten times > increased probability of harboring a detectable short-period > companion. Statistical analyses of the population of parent stars of > the known extrasolar planets indicate that approximately one in ten > metal-rich stars should harbor a short-period planet. Given the ten > percent chance that a given short-period planet displays transits, we > therefore expect that approximately 1% of the most metal rich stars > will have a planetary companion detectable by this project. A catalog > of highly metal rich stars has been compiled, and these stars will be > one target focus of the project. > > Hipparcos Satellite Photometry Identified Candidates > A search of the Hipparcos Satellite photometry conducted by one of us > revealed several dozen main sequence stars with photometric features > consistent with a planetary transit (Castellano, 2001). Although some > of these are likely due to previously unknown stellar companions, > stellar variability or noise, a few may be newly discovered > extrasolar planets that transit. Because the Hipparcos photometry > did not provide an adequate number of measurements or sufficient > precision to determine an orbital period and phase at which a transit > is expected (Perryman, 1997, van Leeuwen 1997), many observations are > required for each star to confirm or refute the planet hypothesis. Of > course, the stars that are found to have previously unknown > companions or are variable (but don't have planets) are interesting > in their own right and these will be a publishable findings. > > ROLE OF THE AMATEURS > > NASA scientists have obtained a telescope/CCD/software system > representative of what a dedicated amateur might own and have begun > experiments to develop the necessary procedures to achieve the > required photometric precision. These procedures will be > communicated to the amateur community along with candidate lists, > finding charts showing suitable comparison stars and sample images. > Of the thousands of amateurs who own the necessary telescope/CCD > systems it is hoped that a few percent will take up the challenge and > make the necessary observations. Results will be communicated to Ames > in electronic form, where they will be further analyzed and their > quality checked and placed in an online database along with the > contributor's identity. A night's worth of data will consist of a few > dozen images of the specified field of stars. To reduce the data each > observer will download the images to a computer and use commercially > available software to calibrate the images and extract the > photometric brightness of each star in each frame via aperture > photometry. These tables of individual brightness measurements along > with their time tags and estimated errors can then be imported into a > spreadsheet program resulting in differential photometry and a graph > of the results. It is these tables of stellar brightness and times > that will be the end result of the amateurs efforts to be transmitted > to the Ames data center. > > STATUS OF PROTOTYPE SYSTEM The proposed amateur > telescope/CCD/computer/software system is a Meade LX-200 telescope, a > Santa Barbara Instruments Group ST7E CCD, a laptop computer running > Microsoft Windows and MIRA image processing and photometry software > from Axiom Research. All items are commonly available and within the > budgets of serious amateur astronomers. The telescope, CCD, and > reduction software have been received and checked out. The CCD noise > was measured, telescope tracking and autoguiding tested. Sample > images were taken and reduction to epoch photometry indicates that > the error estimates given above are realistic and achievable. The > next step is high precision measurements of HD 209458 on the nights > of August, 13, 20 and 27, 2001 during times of predicted transit. > Tim Castellano > Astronomer > Astrophysics Branch > Space Science Division > NASA Ames Research Center > MS 245-6 > Room 312 > Moffet Field, CA 94035 > Phone: (650) 604-4716 > FAX: (650) 604-6779 > email: tcastellano@mail.arc.nasa.gov > "Sic transit gloria mundi" > Bob Havner San Jose Astronomical Association bhavner@earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5796 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20020105/ad09c320/winmail.bin From mojo at whiteoaks.com Sat Jan 5 20:23:04 2002 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] January Ephemeris available online Message-ID: The January issue of the SJAA Ephemeris is online: http://ephemeris.sjaa.net Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> San Rafael, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From mojo at whiteoaks.com Thu Jan 10 20:42:45 2002 From: mojo at whiteoaks.com (Morris Jones) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] February Ephemeris deadline Message-ID: Please note that today (January 10) is the nominal deadline for the February issue of the SJAA Ephemeris. If you have articles or items of interest, please send them as soon as you can to ephemeris@sjaa.net Note: Do not send ephemeris information by replying to this email! It'll just go to the SJAA chat email list. :) Mojo -- Morris Jones <*> San Rafael, CA mojo@whiteoaks.com http://www.whiteoaks.com From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Fri Jan 18 16:03:34 2002 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Houge Park Star Party Tonight and Calendars! Message-ID: A) Houge Park 1st Quarter Star Party tonight! Come on out and observe with us! We have a nice 5 day old moon to look at along with Jupiter, Saturn and some of our favorite winter objects. It's going to be cold tonight. Remember to dress warmly and don't forget the chapstick. For other ideas on how to keep warm while observing check out Sky and Telescope's tip page B) APD's, RASC Books, and Calendars! The SJAA is selling Astronomical Pocket Diaries as a fundraiser for loaner telescope program. This handy daily guide to the heavens offers weekly information that includes evening and morning star maps along with the planet positions. Daily information features lunar phases and visibility, astronomical events (meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, and eclipses, for example), and significant dates in history, with plenty of room for your own notes. This Diary is customized for the San Jose area and the SJAA events are listed in here, so you no longer have a good excuse for missing an event! It even has a cool animated solar system view as you flip the pages. Cost is $10 per book or $25 for three. Buy some for friends who keep forgetting when the Houge Star Parties are! For more information see The club is also selling the RASC Observer's Handbook 2002. The Observer's Handbook is a 288-page guide published annually since 1907 by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Through its long tradition and the expertise of more than 35 contributors, the Observer's Handbook has come to be regarded as the standard North American reference for data on the sky for the year. It normally sells for $23, but you can purchase it at a discounted club price of $15. For more information see We also have copies of the RASC Wall Calendar available for $10 (Discounted from $15) and copies of the RASC Beginners guide available for $15. RASC 2002 Calendar: RASC Beginners Guide:< http://www.rasc.ca/pubs/beguide.htm > Get yours today before they run out! *********************************** Directions to Houge Park: Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos. From jvn at svpal.org Tue Jan 22 00:22:00 2002 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] [Fwd: [AANC Contacts] ASP Amateur Outreach Survey] Message-ID: <3C4D2128.21D7@svpal.org> This came in the mail today, and is relevant to our school program. The website for the survey is buried in the message; it is at . Each question is a separate web page, but they load very quickly. The Mike Bennett mentioned in the second paragraph will be speaking to SJAA on Saturday, Jan.26, telling us about SOFIA, the flying observatory that is being built by NASA. -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's web site Robert Naeye wrote: > > Astronomical Society of the Pacific > 390 Ashton Avenue > San Francisco, CA 94112 > http://www.astrosociety.org > (415) 337-1100 > > Contact: Robert Naeye, Editor, Mercury magazine > (415) 869-2913 > rnaeye@astrosociety.org > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2002 > > ASP AND ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE SURVEY AMATEUR OUTREACH > > The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), in conjunction with the > Astronomical League (AL), is conducting a web-based survey of amateur > astronomers who do, or want to do, public outreach activities of any > kind. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the survey will help > the ASP and AL make informed decisions about what kinds of materials or > activities might help amateurs do more and better outreach. The survey > is part of an NSF planning grant called Amateur Astronomers as Outreach > Ambassadors. > > ?We know that most amateur astronomers concentrate on observing. But > many amateurs express their enjoyment of astronomy by helping others > enjoy the universe through public star parties, school visits, talks to > youth and community groups, and other activities,? says ASP Executive > Director Mike Bennett, principal investigator for the survey. ?We want > to hear from any amateur astronomer who has ever done outreach, or who > thinks he or she might want to. Eventually, this will lead to improved > products and services to help amateur astronomers improve the quality > and quantity of their public outreach efforts.? > > ?Hundreds of amateur astronomers in the United States have conducted > public outreach to schools, scout groups, churches, and other > organizations. Most have never had the benefit of having anyone help > them put together a presentation package for outreach activities. The > ASP?s project will help us provide such assistance,? says Barry Beaman, > past President of the AL and current AL liaison to the ASP. ?My great > hope is that this assistance will help not only those already pursuing > public outreach, but encourage many others to go out and tell the public > about our wonderful universe. The Astronomical League is very pleased to > be a part of this important project.? > > The survey is available through the ASP?s website at > www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomer-survey.html. It should take > about 10 minutes to complete. The ASP expects to make the results of the > survey available by late 2002. > > The non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific was founded in 1889 > in San Francisco, and is still headquartered there today. The ASP has > since grown into an international society. Its membership is spread over > all 50 states and 70 countries and includes professional and amateur > astronomers, science educators of all levels, and people in the general > public. The ASP publishes the bimonthly Mercury magazine for its > members, a technical journal for professional astronomers, and an > on-line teachers? newsletter. The ASP also coordinates Project ASTRO, a > national astronomy education program. The Society produces a catalog of > extensive astronomy-related products for educators and the public. > > The Astronomical League (www.astroleague.org/) is a non-profit > federation of more than 250 local astronomy societies across the United > States. These organizations, along with Members-at-Large, Patrons, and > Supporting members, form the largest amateur astronomical organization > in the world. The AL?s basic goals are to encourage an interest in > astronomy (and especially amateur astronomy), and to promote astronomy > education and astronomical research throughout the United States. The AL > publishes a quarterly newsletter called The Reflector. > > _______________________________________________ > Contacts mailing list > Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org > http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts From bhavner at earthlink.net Tue Jan 22 19:43:47 2002 From: bhavner at earthlink.net (Bob Havner) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] January General Meeting Message-ID: SJAA General Meeting Jan. 26, 2002 8:00pm Mike Bennett of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be speaking at the Jan.26 general meeting. His topic, ?Astronomy from 41,000 Feet--The Story of SOFIA?. In this entertaining talk, Mike Bennett will review the basic principles of "invisible light," the importance of studying the universe using infrared energy, what astronomers hope to learn with SOFIA, why it's necessary to put an infrared telescope in an airplane, and finally, how it's possible to accurately point and guide an astronomical telescope looking out through an open port in the side of a 747 flying at 41,000 feet (it's been described as "trying to use a telescope in a hurricane during an earthquake!"). Also the instructor of the ATM (amateur telescope making) class, Tom Whittemore, will have the class equipment on display and will be available to answer any questions. The class begins on Feb. 7. The SJAA is selling Astronomical Pocket Diaries as a fundraiser for the loaner telescope program. Astronomical Pocket Diaries (Cost is $10 per book or $25 for three). Also available are: The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Observer's Handbook 2002, It normally sells for $23, but you can purchase it at a discounted club price of $15. We also have copies of the RASC Wall Calendar available for $10 (Discounted from $15) and copies of the RASC Beginners guide available for $15. For directions to Houge Park go to: www.sjaa.net/directions.html Bob Havner San Jose Astronomical Association bhavner@earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 2664 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20020122/9cf647ec/winmail.bin From jvn at svpal.org Mon Jan 28 23:06:54 2002 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:03 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Telescopes needed at Union CIty school, Feb.4 Message-ID: <3C564A0E.194A@svpal.org> Hi, All, Bruce Jensen is organizing a star party at Pioneer school in Union City. There are SJAA members that live up that way; please consider going over to help. Contact him for driving directions. You'll need to paste his address into the TO field, as the list processor defaults replies to the chat list. I know that there are SJAA members who can't help at the usual south bay schools due to distance; here's a change to so closer to home. Thanks much! Clear Skies! -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's web site