Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society - rvasclub.org Valley Astronomical ... sooty rain, the Cuyahoga...
Transcript of Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society - rvasclub.org Valley Astronomical ... sooty rain, the Cuyahoga...
Roanoke Valley Astronomical
Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views
In Southwestern Virginia
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 1 of 15
Volume 33—Number 12 December 2016
With twenty-four members and two guests in at-
tendance, President Dan Chrisman opened the No-
vember 2016 monthly meeting at 7:30pm. A very
full agenda prompted Dan to move right into the
first item, a presentation by Vice President Clem
Elechi, “Coping with Light Pollution”.
Interspersed with humor, Clem’s interesting and
informative presentation focused on definition,
dark-sky advocacy, impact on nature, and how ama-
teur astronomers might cope with light polluted
skies. Providing common pollution comparisons such
as acid rain, sooty rain, the Cuyahoga River and
Love Canal, Clem offered “sky glow”, “light tres-
pass” and simply “a waste of light” as better names
for this bane of nighttime astronomy. International
advocacy for preserving dark skies led by the In-
ternational Dark-Sky Association has recently
made progress with regulations at the National lev-
el focusing primarily on National Parks and Pre-
serves, lighting standards and emphasis on energy
(Meeting Continued on page 2)
November 2016 Meeting Report
Telescope Mobility is Relative By Bill Dillon, Secretary
RVAS Vice-President Clem Elechi presents our Novem-ber meeting’s featured program, “Coping with Light
Pollution”.
Photo by Frank Baratta
RVAS member Clark Thomas addresses a point about pollution during Clem’s talk,
Photo by Frank Baratta
The Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society is a membership organization of amateur astronomers dedicated to the pursuit of observational
and photographic astronomical activities. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. See calendar on last page
of newsletter for location. Meetings are open to the public. Observing sessions are held one or two weekends a month at a dark-sky site.
Yearly dues are: Individual, $20.00; Senior Individual, $18.00; Family, $25.00; Senior Family, $22.00; Student, $10.00. Articles, quotes,
etc. published in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the RVAS or its editor.
Officers/Executive Committee/Editor/Webmaster Dan Chrisman, President ([email protected] )
Clement Elechi, Vice President ([email protected])
Bill Dillon, Secretary ([email protected])
Larry Hill, Treasurer ([email protected])
Ray Bradley, Member at Large ([email protected])
Michael Good, Immediate Past President ([email protected])
Frank Baratta, Past President ([email protected])
David E. Thomas, RVAS Newsletter Editor ([email protected])
David E. Thomas, Webmaster ([email protected])
RVAS web page: http://rvasclub.org
efficiency. However, budgetary constraints have
pushed much of the burden for implementation of
regulations to the State and local level where zon-
ing, choice of lighting fixtures and permitted levels
of illumination have become the most accessible
tools for dark-sky advocates.
Reminding the meeting attendees that our planet
has had about four billion years of naturally dark
skies within which nature and the environment has
developed, Clem pointed out that while astronomers
are often the most vocal in decrying the lack of
dark skies, the environment may actually be suffer-
ing unmeasured long-term impacts to sleep/wake
cycles, hormone development, gene regulation,
mood/cognition, predator/prey relationships, and
mating behavior which may have far-reaching im-
pacts to the environment and ultimately to the hu-
man race.
So, how does one cope with the problem of light
polluted skies? Clem suggested that a move to New
Mexico although desirable for many astronomers is
probably not practical for most. A more likely solu-
tion is to travel to a nearby site away from city
lights, such as our Cahas Knob Overlook, or to uti-
lize remote observing via currently existing com-
puter connections with either personal or commer-
cial observatories located in geographical areas
with much darker skies.
If none of those options are available, and
nighttime observing is limited to one’s driveway,
Clem’s advice is to be prepared for inaccessible
objects, temper one’s expectations in terms of
both availability and quality of objects, and make
use of imaging filters. Broadband filters which en-
hance blue, green and red colors are used to im-
prove viewing in light-polluted skies, whereas Nar-
rowband filters are designed to capture specific
wavelengths of light which is especially helpful in
imaging emission nebulae. Narrowband filters re-
quire long exposures, meaning steady mounts, relia-
ble tracking and sensitive cameras. The narrower
the bandpass, the better the filter……..and the
higher the price. There’s always a tradeoff.
In response to a question, Clem reminded everyone
that we see with our brains, not our eyes, and it is a
skill that has to be learned through practice.
Dan next introduced Frank Baratta for his
“What’s Up?” for December. The month of De-
cember is the time of the Winter Solstice. While
autumn’s star patterns still occupy our main viewing
area, winter’s patterns are rising in the east as
summer’s set in the west. Brilliant Venus and first-
magnitude Mars are readily visible to the naked
eye. Uranus is at the edge of naked-eye visibility,
while Neptune will require at least binoculars to
spot. Early evenings during December will find the
Milky Way passing high overhead. The Last Quar-
ter Moon on December 20th and the New Moon on
December 29th will offer Friday and Saturday ob-
serving opportunities on December 16th and 17th,
and December 23rd and 24th.
On Monday/Tuesday, 12th/13th, a Waxing gibbous
Moon will occult Aldebaran with the first contact
(Meeting Continued from page 1)
(Meeting Continued on page 3)
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 2 of 15
at about 23:00:13 on the 12th and last contact a
little over an hour later at about 00:14:12 on the
13th. On Tuesday/Wednesday, 13th/14th the Gemi-
nids Meteor Shower will make its appearance. Un-
fortunately this year, all but the brightest meteors
will be hidden by a full Moon. Algol, designated Be-
ta Persei and known colloquially as the Demon
Star, an eclipsing binary usually at magnitude 2.1,
will be at minimum magnitude (3.4) for about two
hours centered on 10:46 p.m. EST on Sunday the
18th. Minima occur for Algol every 2 days, 20 hours
and 49 minutes, so that on Wednesday, the 21st,
centered on 7:35 p.m., Algol will again be at mini-
mum for about two hours. Also on the 21st, the
Winter Solstice will occur at 5:44 a.m., giving us
the shortest day of the year.
After reviewing the overall look of the night sky
for our area on December 15th, including the place-
ment of Venus, Mars, Neptune and Uranus along
the Ecliptic, the WNW movement of the constella-
tions and the placement of the Milky Way versus
where it appeared on November 21st, Frank remind-
ed everyone that “What’s Up?” programs are post-
ed on the RVAS website under “Tips and Topics”
or at http://www.rvasclub.org/page23.htm.
Before giving up the floor, Frank asked President
Dan Chrisman to come to the front at which time
Frank presented Dan with the Astronomical
League certificate and pin for his exemplary lead-
ership and work with RVAS outreach events.
Dan then introduced Astronomical League Presi-
dent and RVAS member John Goss to present his
“Where’s That?”, a brief description of how to
find the deep-sky object of the month: NGC 7662,
Caldwell 22, the Blue Snowball planetary nebula.
In seven moderately easy steps clearly described
on a white board by John, you can find your way to
this planetary nebula which appears as a tiny round
glow in a medium to large scope. John reminded us
that a “planetary nebula” does not necessarily con-
tain or produce planets, that William Herschel
coined the term for this deep sky object because it
reminded him of his recently discovered gas giant
Uranus. Those seven steps can be found in a brief
article by John Goss elsewhere in this newsletter.
For our next agenda item, President Dan intro-
duced member John Wenskovitch to speak on his
“Telescope Mobility Adventures and Messier Ob-
serving”. John W. began with a series of slides
showing how he manages to squeeze his very large
Dobsonian into a very small automobile. Using his
Dob and three other scopes including a 1901
Brashear 9.5” refractor mounted in the Newton
(Meeting Continued from page 2)
(Meeting Continued on page 4)
RVAS President Dan Chrisman (left) receives his Astro-nomical League Outreach certificate and pin from Past-President Frank Baratta.
Photo by John Goss
Astronomical League President and RVAS member John Goss launches into his “Where’s That?” short program, targeting the Blue Snowball Nebula.
Photo by Frank Baratta
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 3 of 15
Observatory at Allegheny College in Meadville,
PA, John ran the table on the Messier 110 over a
three year period from June 2013 to June 2016.
He reported capturing 69 objects with his dobsoni-
an, 35 objects under the Newton Observatory
dome with the 9.5” Brashear, 5 objects with a 21”
Newtonian of the Amateur Astronomers Associa-
tion of Pittsburgh, and 1 object using a borrowed
8” Schmidt Cassegrain. John’s primary source for
his Messier 110 journey was the National Audubon
Society’s “Field Guide of the Night Sky”. John
W. applied his developing expertise in visual ana-
lytics toward his Messier observing. He described
what, when and where he observed in ways hereto-
fore never seen by club members. John W. contin-
ues his observing, having completed about half each
of the Caldwell Catalogue and the Herschel Cata-
logue.
With the clock rapidly spinning toward 9:00 p.m.,
Dave Thaler and Frank Baratta graciously agreed
to postpone their presentations to the next meet-
ing. Dan then thanked a number of members who
had helped make the Annual Picnic and Star Party
a success, especially Mark Hodges who once again
slaved over the hot coals serving up delicious dogs
and burgers. He also thanked those who had partic-
ipated in our many recent outreach events including
the VT Science Festival (Ray, Rene’ and Sierra
Bradley), Virginia Mountain Vineyards’ “Wine,
Moon and Stars” (John and Genevieve Goss,
Robin and Josh Jones, Carolyn Chrisman), the
Mountain View Elementary PTA STEM (Ray and
Sierra Bradley, Michael Martin), the Science
Museum of Western Virginia “Science Spooktac-
ular” (Roger Pommerenke, Carolyn Chrisman and
four Bradleys), and the VAAS Solar Observing
Outreach (Mark Hodges).
A quick review by Dan of potential future outreach
events and activities in December and February,
two questions concerning our club’s Facebook pres-
ence, followed by a call for any questions or com-
ments from the attendees, and the meeting was
closed promptly at 9:00 p.m.
(Meeting Continued from page 3)
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 4 of 15
“You don’t run 26 miles at five minutes a mile on
good looks and a secret recipe.”
Frank Shorter, Gold Medalist, 1972 Summer Olym-
pics.
Neither did club members depend on their good
looks or a secret recipe. Like marathons, there is
no secret recipe for attempting eight outreach
events in seven weeks. Everyone knows that enthu-
siastic club members and thoughtful preparation
are required ingredients.
Most of the members that participated in this mar-
athon of outreach events have been at this for
many years prior to my joining the club. Their dedi-
cation is documented in our newsletters over the
decade. However, I do not believe that our club
members have ever attempted so many events in
such brief a time. Here is the list of what we recently accomplished:
Sep. 11: Banff Radical Reels at the Jefferson Cen-
ter (Genevieve and John Goss, Ray Bradley, Dan
Chrisman).
Sep. 24: Blue Ridge Vineyards (Genevieve and
John Goss, Ray Bradley); curtailed by cloudiness.
Oct. 7: Virginia Mountain Vineyards (Robin and
Josh Jones, Genevieve and John Goss, Carolyn
and Dan Chrisman).
Oct. 8: Virginia Tech Science Festival (Rene’, Si-
erra and Ray Bradley, Carolyn and Dan Chris-
man).
Oct 11: Mountain View Elementary School (Michael
Martin, Sierra and Ray Bradley, Dan Chrisman).
Oct. 22: Science Museum of Western Virginia’s
Science Spooktacular (Roger Pommerenke, Darien,
Rene’, Sierra and Ray Bradley, Carolyn and Dan
Chrisman). (Eight Continued on page 6)
Omega Outreach: Mark Hodges shields the eyes of a Roanoke College student who is observing the sun through the club's Coronado solar refractor on October 29.
Photo by Dave Thomas
Eight Events in Seven Weeks!
An Outreach Marathon By Dan Chrisman
Alpha Outreach: Ray Bradley introduces a young lady and her father to astronomical software at the Banff Radical Reels event on September 11.
Photo by Dan Chrisman
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 5 of 15
Photos Wanted!!!
For the Annual Slideshow Have you photographed RVAS members at club activities or other astronomy/stargazing-related activi-
ties during 2016? Your photos are needed for our 5th Annual Slideshow to be shown at the December 19th
Winter Solstice Social. Email your photos to Frank Baratta at [email protected] or call 540-774-5651 for additional
information.
Did you know that the RVAS is on Facebook? Follow the largest
amateur astronomy club in southwest Virginia – just look for the
Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society public group and become a
member! (You must have a Facebook account to access the RVAS Facebook page.)
Also, learn more about amateur astronomy across the nation by
liking the Astronomical League on Facebook!
Oct. 22: Cahas Knob Overlook Public Outreach
(Frank Baratta), cancelled by cloudiness and high
winds.
Oct.29: VAAS 2016 Solar Observing (Mark Hodg-
es).
These members invested their time to prepare for
these events. The weather permitted most of
them to bring astronomy outreach to hundreds dur-
ing these seven weeks. Please consider joining us!
[My appreciation to Ray Bradley for his idea that
inspired this article.]
(Eight Continued from page 5)
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 6 of 15
On Saturday October 8th, we participated in the
Virginia Tech Science Festival. Students of all ages
spent the day visiting dozens of exhibits through-
out the Alumni Mall and within the Moss Arts Cen-
ter. Our designated space was strategically lo-
cated outside Henderson Hall near the registration
tent where we found a large assortment of food
and refreshments available to exhibitors and volun-
teers. The morning began at 8:30 am with two
families, Dan and Carolyn Chrisman along with
Ray, Rene’, and Sierra Bradley setting up our ac-
tivities in a drizzle of rain under a pop-up canopy
provided by the college. Our theme – “Exploring
the Solar System”.
We decorated the 10’x10’ exhibit space with RVAS
banners and a lunar poster provided by the Night
Sky Network. The Chrismans brought a LiTel tele-
scope, scale models of the planets, and the ever-
favorite astronomical scales. The Bradleys
brought a planetary shuffle activity (inspired by
Rand Bowden), several handouts, and VAAS promo-
tional material. At the last minute, Rene’ and Si-
erra trekked to a local hardware store and bought
marking flags which Dan and Ray used to pace off
a scale model of the solar system that stretched
from our site to the doorstep of the Lyric Theater
in downtown Blacksburg. As we completed our ex-
hibit setup, the sprinkling of rain stopped and we
all enjoyed fruits and cookies pillaged from the
registration tent while waiting for our first visi-
tors.
At first, a few local families approached sporadi-
cally from the town of Blacksburg. This gave us
time to practice our activities and develop our
shtick which proved very fortunate because, soon
afterwards, school buses loaded with children ar-
rived. They came from Radford City, Norton City,
Buchanan County, Henry County, Carroll County, and
as far away as Norfolk City. Naively, we tried to
keep count of the people who stopped at our exhib-
it. Keep in mind, our exhibit was by far NOT the
main attraction and we were placed on the out-
skirts of the festival. Nevertheless, we lost count
of attendees after about an hour. For much of the
day, it was all the five of us could do to run our ac-
tivities with so many curious minds to feed. Of
course, we did make time to raid the registration
tent of sandwiches and more cookies on a couple of
occasions.
With so much activity and so many passer-byers,
one person can’t tell the whole story. And, no
doubt, each of the five participating members re-
member certain visitors more than others. So, let’s
hear the anecdotes from each one.
Ray Bradley: “Our visitors weren’t limited to
school-aged children. There were many adults
(Science Continued on page 8)
Virginia Tech Science Festival
By Rene’, Sierra & Ray Bradley and Carolyn & Dan Chrisman
Dan Chrisman visits the Science Museum of Western Va.'s table inside the Moss Center as their staff pre-pares. (L-R, Hannah Weiss, Education Manager; Jordan Thayer, Museum Educator & Sarah Van Zele, Marketing & Development Manager.
Photo by Carolyn Chrisman
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 7 of 15
interested in our ac-
tivities, many of whom
were teachers. A Ko-
rean professor came
by our tent, escorting
a visiting Chinese fam-
ily. After discussing a
few recent discoveries
within our solar sys-
tem, my curiosity led
me to ask how the
planets were named in
both Korean and Chi-
nese. I learned that
the meaning and char-
acters of each planet
are the same in both
languages though the
pronunciations are
slightly different.
Interestingly, the five
naked-eye planets
were given names long
ago that correspond
to the five different
elements thought at
the time to make up
the universe. Star of
Water is Mercury; Star of Metal is Venus; Star of
Fire is Mars; Star of Wood is Jupiter; and Star of
Soil is Saturn. The names of the planets discov-
ered in modern time are translations of the Greek
gods, e.g. King of the Sea for Neptune. Earth is
simply Sphere of Ground or “JeeGoo”. Interest in
astronomy knows no language barrier!”
Rene’ Bradley: “One gentleman who stopped by the
tent was from Germany. He was here for 2 ½
weeks visiting his son who is earning his Master’s
degree at Virginia Tech. In discussing the scales
and how much you’d weigh on the different objects,
I learned that his son also works for the European
Space Agency!”
Sierra Bradley: “It seemed like it was going to be
a cold, miserable day at the festival. Well, it was
cold. A good breeze and light
rainfall added to the cold temperature brought on
by hurricane Matthew. I thought for sure that no
one would show up. To my pleasant surprise, howev-
er, we had a decent crowd at our tent for most of
the day. Our visitors consisted mostly of small
children, though we had quite a few interested
adults come up, too. I remember clearly one par-
ticular boy. He came right up to the tent and
started talking to everyone. He seemed very inter-
ested in each activity, especially the scales. Even
after he finished all the activities, he stuck around
to talk. He seemed to have a passion for science.
We jokingly offered to let him teach the other
kids. Of course, he was ready and willing to do so.
I kept thinking to myself that we’ve got a future
scientist on our hands! No matter how cold or rainy
it was that day, it was definitely worth it just to
see all these kids so interested in astronomy!”
Dan Chrisman: “Often, you could not see the RVAS
banner hanging from the table because children
were packed three and four deep around the scales
and Planetary Board game. Seeking safety, eight to
ten parents stood back on the concrete walk with
me, watching the activity and chatting about the
library telescope, our club, their telescopes and
their favorite dark site.”
Carolyn Chrisman: “At first, we were jealous of
the exhibitors who scored spaces inside the Moss
Center; warm, dry, with bathrooms nearby. Howev-
er, those inside spaces soon became hot, muggy and
crowded. It was much more fun to capture poten-
tial visitors with the offer of “Do you want to know
(Science Continued from page 7)
(Science Continued on page 9)
A little brother checks out his big sister's weight on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as Ray Bradley looks on.
Photo by Dan Chrisman
Sierra and Rene' enjoy a break in the action.
Photo by Dan Chrisman
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 8 of 15
Use Our Message Line!
Want to check whether anyone is getting out on a scheduled observing session night or share that you’re
planning to do so? Have questions about the club or need its assistance? Call the RVAS Message Line,
540-774-5651, and leave a message or listen for any information available.
Are You Receiving Your Newsletters
and Other Club Emails? To save having to download newsletters from our website, these and other items of interest are emailed
to members. If you have not been receiving these items by email, please let us know by calling the RVAS
Message Line at 540-774-5651. Please also check whether your spam blocker is intercepting our emails.
what you weigh on the moon?” as they passed by.
Then we lead them through exercises in ordering
the planets and guessing the planet’s relative size
and distance (using our newly acquired flags). For
someone new to outreach, I quickly learned the ba-
sics and am grateful to both Dan and Ray for being
available for the tough questions.”
By 3pm, the school buses were loaded for their re-
turn trip and the flow of visitors ended. We
packed our wares and headed for home; tired but
feeling good about the day. In all, the VT Science
Festival had 84 exhibits and 6,000 attendees.
We’ll have to do this again next year, though. I am
sure we missed a few!
(Science Continued from page 8)
Carolyn Chrisman kneels to educate a mother and son with the Planetary Board game.
Photo by Dan Chrisman
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 9 of 15
RVAS from the Past
By Bill Dillon
RVAS 25 Years Ago
The December 14th opening of the Galbraith Tele-
scope exhibit at the Science Museum of Western
Virginia highlighted the December 1991 issue of
the RVAS Newsletter. The centerpiece of the ex-
hibit was the display of a telescope built by the
late Bart Galbraith, a Salem amateur and telescope
-maker, in whose memory and honor the exhibit was
conceived. In addition to afternoon workshops fea-
turing UVa’s Dr. Philip Ianna, RVAS members Ray
Greenman and Gary Close, and Planetarium Director
Britt Rossie, The Science was sponsoring an evening
observing session with its newly acquired 17.5-inch
Coulter Dobsonian telescope seeing “first light”.
RVAS members were “welcomed and encouraged to
participate in the December 14th festivities”, and
asked to bring their telescopes to the observing
session to be held at Explore Park.
A humorous article contributed by Gary Close and
taken from the newsletter of the Back Bay
(Virginia) Amateur Astronomers on Astronomical
Mnemonics described the spectral class sequence O
-B-A-F-G-K-M, with the lesser known R-N-S stars
appended as the commonly known mnemonic, “Oh,
Be A Fine Girl(Guy), Kiss Me Right Now Sweetie”.
Several other mnemonics were offered as substi-
tutes. My favorite is “OddBall Astronomers Find
Generally Kooky Mnemonics Really Nifty Stuff!”
RVAS 10 Years Ago
The lead article for the December 2006 Newslet-
ter submitted by Tom Clarke of Roanoke City Parks
and Recreation, honors our own Frank Baratta for
being one of only two individuals to receive the
Commonwealth-wide Distinguished Volunteer Ser-
vice Award for 2005 presented at the 52nd Annual
Conference of the Virginia Recreation and Park So-
ciety attended by over 1200 delegates. The author
reports that over one hundred applications were
received vying for awards in 14 different catego-
ries. Frank’s frequent outreach, hands-on demon-
strations and observing opportunities appealing to
participants of all ages. “Through his passion and
experience he has provided astronomy education to
over 2,000 participants in the past 14 years.” For-
tunately for RVAS, its members and the Roanoke
Valley, Frank has continued to reach hundreds, per-
haps thousands more since 2005.
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 10 of 15
The Science Museum of Western Virginia hosted
the October 22 “Science Spooktacular” on the
fourth, fifth and rooftop floors of Center in the
Square (CITS). Representing RVAS was our
weirdest collection of volunteers ever: Schröding-
er’s Cat, a Star Wars Sith Lord, the Flash with
some torn knee cartilage, a Tweety-Bird-footie-
pajama-clad four-year-old, a vegetarian werewolf
and two bespectacled wizards. When we arrived at
this costume-encouraged event, a Science Museum
staff member assigned us a table at the fifth-floor
entrance to the Science Museum (sadly, no nearby
tables for us to exercise eminent domain, our club
standard operating procedure…). With mostly clear
skies, we decided to send the werewolf with one of
the wizards to the windy rooftop to host the club’s
Coronado solar telescope and white-solar-filter-
clad LiTel-in-Training telescope. The remaining
characters acclimated to the warmer environs with
the weight scales and Planetary Board game.
The Flash (Rene’ Bradley) reports: The morning
started off slowly with just a few small children
toddling over to the table, but it soon picked up.
We quickly learned that some of our games were a
little too advanced for the age groups attending
the event. As always, I think I learned more from
our young visitors. While putting the planets in or-
(Volunteers Continued on page 12)
Weirdest Volunteers Ever at
the Science Spooktacular [This article is another in a series about our seven-week marathon of outreach events.]
By Roger Pommerenke, Ray & Rene’ Bradley and Dan Chrisman
Step right up to test your knowledge with the Planetary Board Game” with The Flash and Schrödinger’s Cat (aka Rene' and Sierra Bradley).
Photo by SMWV staff
A 501st Legion Storm Trooper observes the sun with Ray, Darien and Sierra Bradley on the rooftop of the Center in the Square (CITS).
Photo by Dan Chrisman.
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 11 of 15
der, one young girl sang me a song she learned in
school – a little twist on the mnemonic we were us-
ing to name the planets in order (My Very Educated
Mother Just Served Us Nachos).
After some time when the crowd began to grow, I
enlisted the help of a couple of Storm Troopers. I
sent them to the rooftop to see the solar scope.
When they returned to the table to inform me they
thought it was “cool,” I challenged them to spread
the word. Not only did I overhear them telling the
crowd about the “cool” solar scope, but they also
escorted a few groups to the rooftop! Way to take
a challenge and run with it!
The Dragon Wizard (Roger Pommerenke) continues:
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the
CITS was two Star Wars Storm Troopers interact-
ing with the crowd. And the crowd was happy. Es-
pecially the kids.
I was half an hour early so I had time to view other
exhibits. IMHO, the best exhibits were by Virginia
Tech. The college students were eager to describe
their projects, and they were so young. It made
me wish I was back in college.
Then there was that “I’m getting old” moment. At
the Virginia Tech Microbiology Club exhibit, there
was very poised young woman answering my ques-
tions in a very self-assured manner. It turned out
the’ sweet young thing’ was not a student, but the
professor. I apologized and commented that I
thought cops, airplane pilots, and doctors, also
seemed to be getting younger every year.
Narrator: After a busy playtime from noon until 2
pm of guiding museum goers to our table, the paja-
ma-clad four-year-old (aka Carolyn Chrisman),
ready for a nap, was spelled (bad pun) by a wizard.
The Wizard named Roger continues: At 2PM, it was
time for me to begin my shift. But Ray and Dan
were having so much fun on the roof with the solar
(Volunteers Continued from page 11)
(Volunteers Continued on page 13)
Sierra Bradley and Roger Pommerenke at the Solar Observing Session on the windy rooftop of Center in the Square.
Photo by Ray Bradley
On the fifth floor, Roger Pommerenke answers an inquisitive youngster's question.
Photo by Dan Chrisman
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 12 of 15
telescopes that they declined to be relieved. So I
went downstairs to help Ray’s daughter Sierra who
was apparently dressed in a Halloween costume as
Schrödinger’s cat. Since I didn’t know what Sierra
looked like, I had to ask people if they had seen
Schrödinger’s cat. I’ll never forget the VT student
whom I had previously talked with, who said,
“Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t”.
Eventually I found Rene’ who was happy to take a
well-deserved coffee break. She was showing kids
how much they weigh on earth, and would weigh on
the moon and Jupiter. I learned that very few kids’
mothers want to know their weight on earth --if I
was watching. And none of the kid’s mothers wants
to learn how much they weigh on Jupiter.
The Bespectacled Wizard Not Named Roger (Dan
Chrisman) continues: I learned that wearing a five-
foot-long cape amid gusting twenty mph winds and
$2000 of solar gear was not befitting a wise wiz-
ard. And I learned that fully outfitting those two
Storm Troopers cost them more than all our solar
gear combined. And I learned that my explanation
to second graders of why Sierra was specifically
“Schrödinger’s” cat became an entangled mess…
spooky.
The Vegetarian Werewolf (Ray Bradley) continues:
The rooftop solar observing was well attended with
a constant flow of families and students. Unfortu-
nately, many had to wait for the clouds to get out
of the way long enough to see the sun through our
two scopes. We set up the club’s Coronado scope
that uses an H-alpha filter and, for comparison, an
Orion 4.5” Newtonian with a white light filter. You
had to have pretty good eyesight to see the one
small sunspot visible on the surface of the sun with
the Orion telescope. But the H-alpha filter on the
Coronado revealed coronal mass ejections along the
periphery of the sun throughout the day.
Dan continues: At 4 pm, we completed the event
and headed home, secure in the knowledge that we
had performed admirably as RVAS’ weirdest volun-
teers ever.
(Volunteers Continued from page 12)
Under the watchful eye of a Wizard, a Sith Lord ob-serves one thousandth of the intensity of the sun through a white solar filter.
Photo by SMWV staff
Amateur astronomers just don't use this word enough!
constellate |ˈkänstəlāt|verb literary form or cause to form into a cluster or
group; gather together: [ no obj. ] : the towns and valleys where people constel-late | [ with obj. ] : their stories were never constellated. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.:
from late Latin constellatus, from con- ‘together’ + stellatus ‘arranged like a star.’
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 13 of 15
Get Connected!
Want to be more in touch with other RVAS members? Join the RVAS Yahoo Group! Share last-minute
observing plans, articles, ideas, astrophotos—you name it. You’ll need to have or create a Yahoo email ad-
dress. Click the link below. Once logged in, provide the information requested, including your real name
since the group is only for members and those invited. You’ll receive an acknowledgement from the mod-
erator.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RVAS_Club/info
For assistance, call the RVAS Message Line (540-774-5651). We’ll have you connected in no time!
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 14 of 15
Monthly Calendar
MONTHLY MEETING: “Winter Solstice Social”, December 19th, 7:30 p.m., Classroom A, 3rd floor,
Center on Church, Downtown Roanoke. Bring a munchie to share with your RVAS friends as we gather for
our annual fun fest heralding the winter season! We’ll have a variety of activities, including our annual
slideshow, highlights of the night sky, open mic time for anyone who’d like to spotlight a favorite subject and
maybe a game or two to go along with our munching. Be sure to join us at our annual winter bash!
RVAS WEEKEND OBSERVING OPPORTUNITIES: RVAS members observe from various sites. Cahas Knob
Overlook, at milepost 139 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is the traditional location most frequented. For up-
dates on members’ observing plans, log onto the RVAS Yahoo Group (RVAS members only) and/or call the
RVAS Message Line, 540-774-5651, about an hour before sunset on the indicated dates.
-- Friday and Saturday, December 16th and 17th. Sunset is at 5:04 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at
6:38 p.m. The Moon rises at 8:20 and 9:24 p.m., respectively.
-- Friday and Saturday, December 23rd and 24th. Sunset is at 5:08 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 6:41
p.m. The Moon sets at 1:18 and 1:49 p.m., respectively.
-- Future Observing Opportunities: January 20th and 21st; January 27th and 28th.
ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: Saturday, December 17th, 6:00 p.m.,
Cahas Knob Overlook, milepost 139, Blue Ridge Parkway. Nonmembers must register with Parks & Rec. at
540-853-2236. Members can call 540-774-5651 for information. (Next session: January 21st, 6:30 p.m., Ca-
has Knob Overlook, milepost 139, Blue Ridge Parkway.)
Astro-Quiz
The ability of a telescope to show fine detail depends on three criteria: resolution, contrast and definition.
Ignoring sky and human factors, and assuming high quality optical components, what two factors of a tele-
scope’s design most influence this ability?
Answer to Last Month’s Quiz: Last month’s quiz question was posed by John Goss, who asked, “What well-
known and prominent star has rarely, if ever, been viewed through a telescope when it was at the zenith?”
With the “zenith” being the point directly overhead of our given location, his question becomes a search for
the remotest sites where such a star is overhead. And, as Harry Montoro correctly concluded, the North
Pole certainly qualifies, making the star in question Polaris, the North Star. Congratulations once again to
Harry! Have an answer to this month’s quiz (or a future question and answer to suggest)? E-mail it to as-
RVAS NL— December 2016— Pg 15 of 15