Rainwater Observatory E-News 11/24/09 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING
NEXT RAINWATER PROGRAM EXAMINES CHRISTMAS SKY LORE DECEMBER 11
Friday December 11 at 7:00 P.M. we will be presenting a revised version of our traditional program for the Christmas season on the possible astronomy links to the Christmas star story. We will look at some of the traditions associated with Christmas, what the Christmas star might have been, and who the Magi could have been. We’ll also look at what astronomy has to say about the possible date of Jesus birth.
We hope you’ll save the time to come join us for this presentation. If you’d like to bring a group, please let us know so we can prepare. After the talk we’ll go out to observe the sky if it’s clear.
GET READY FOR THE JANUARY WINTER “BACKYARD ASTRONOMY SERIES
We’ll be sharing about the winter sky in four Friday programs in January and February.
January 8: Edwin Faughn will give a program about the Orion Nebula star forming region.
January 15: David Teske will share about the Winter Constellations.
We’ll skip a week to do a workshop for the Mississippi NASA Space Grant January 22-3.
The last two programs will be January 29 by Tim Rich telling us about the return of Mars to our evening sky and February 5 Jim Hill will give the story of how we discovered the life history of stars. You can register for these free programs at http://www.rainwaterobservatory.org/programs/backyard.html
SUMMER 2010 PROGRAMS
The dates for two summer activities are set. The “Astronomy for Teachers” college credit class through Ole Miss is down for June13-18. This is an intensive week and you must be enrolled in the university to take the course. Call for more information.
We are working on a having summer astronomy camp to be held June 20-26 in conjunction with the Camp of the Rising Son. At this time we are anticipating a maximum of 20 in the 13-16 year old range. Campers would be at the observatory mornings and evenings and have time in the afternoons for swimming and other camp activities. We’ll have more information available shortly.
MILKY WAY CENTER MURAL UNVEILING PLAYS TO A FULL HOUSE
We had all seats filled with about 75 for the NASA Great Observatories mural unveiling. The clouds kept us from doing much observing except for Jupiter, but Virginia Scott and Libby Montgomery set up a really nice reception with cake and drinks after the talk. Much thanks. Thanks also to WCBI for doing a couple of features to help promote the event. We had campers, an MSMS group, a church group and lots of others. Altogether it was a festive occasion. The murals are now a permanent part of our exhibit. If you haven’t seen them yet, look for them the next time you come out to the hill.
HAPPENING ON THE HILL
Jim Coker and Jarrod Marsh worked with John Martinez from Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network to help with the Sangre telescope. Jim was able to load newly compiled software that we expect to avoid problems the old software had.
By using a conference call to LCO we tracked down a loose wire that was the cause of several cascading problems that would require dismantling the instrumentation and mirror cell. It was decided that since the mirrors needed recoating anyway we would take them out and have them recoated before the first of the year. After that, a crew from LCO would come to Rainwater to reassemble the scope and give us comprehensive training on the instrumentation.
We have approval and the deposit check is ready to mail to order the drive for the 32”. The equipment should arrive after Christmas. Several folks have indicated an interest in helping install the system when it arrives. Please e-mail to remind us of your interest (I may have forgotten your name if I didn’t write it down) and we will set up a weekend to install it.
COMING EVENTS: ATTEND A PROGRAM NEAR YOU
Notice below that we have a number of “away” programs around the state in November. If you’re in the neighborhood of any of these programs, join us. If you know a group that needs a program in your community or wants to set up a field trip to Rainwater, contact us.
December 11: Rainwater Program meeting, 7:00 PM
January 22-23: Mississippi NASA Space Grant Education Conference
February 19-20, 2010 “Hands-On Astronomy Activities Workshop” John Frassinelli will be our clinician. http://www.rainwaterobservatory.org/programs/handson.html
April 14-17, 2010 Mid-South Star Gaze Regional Astronomy Conference and Star Party
April 16-17, 2010 “Mid-South Astronomy Conference Educators Workshop”.
IT’S TIME TO RE-UP
Renewal for Rainwater Astronomical Association membership ($15). If you subscribe or renew your subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine through the club, you get at $10 discount. (Make the S&T subscription checks out to Sky Publishing for $32.95.)
ASTRO NEWS: If you have info or links you’d like to share, let us know.
The LCROSS team had a press conference to show the results of the impact mission on the Moon. Here is a brief article about it. We taped the press conference from NASA TV if you want to check it out of our library and watch it. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/13nov_lcrossresults.htm?list899987
Remember the Phoenix lander on Mars? MRO has imaged the little spacecraft again to see how it fared over the Martian winter. http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=8778
Don’t forget the New Horizons craft on the way to Pluto. It is now at 15 AU from the Sun or about halfway between Saturn and Uranus. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/111209.php
Another mission is back in the news. The Sprit rover has been stuck for months and this week JPL engineers will try to back it out. Here is the info. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/12nov_freespirit.htm?list899987
After a series of delays, NASA’s new airborne infrared telescope facility, SOFIA, is undergoing testing. The replacement for the Kuiper Airborne Observatory houses a large IR telescope in a 747. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/19nov_sofia.htm?list899987
A new Hubble image of star birth in galaxy M-83 shows the capability of the upgraded telescope. http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/05/hubble-unveils-stunning-star-birth-in-m83/
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list: Rainwater Observatory E-Newsletter
Using the following email: example@example.com
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
<http://dada.crossroadscomputer.com/cgi-bin/mail.cgi/u/rainwateren/>
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
<http://dada.crossroadscomputer.com/cgi-bin/mail.cgi?f=list&l=rainwateren>
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at: jhill@rainwaterobservatory.org
The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:
Rainwater Observatory
1 Fine Pl.
French Camp, MS 39745
(662) 547-6377
Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail
http://dada.crossroadscomputer.com/cgi-bin/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/
)