ACA Calendar of Events
2014-15
Encourage your family to study astronomy!
Helpful Information about Refreshments and Programs
2014 Aps, Astronomy News
Please volunteer:
Outreach,
2-Minute Talk,
Refreshments
Please support astronomy and your local Astronomy Club of Augusta.
If you have not already done so,
bring your 2014-15 dues to the picnic, and
give/mail to John White, ACA Treasurer, 4254 Woodland Drive, Martinez, GA 30907
Please include your name, address, phone, email, with your $10.
Thank you.
2014
Monthly Meeting
The Public is invited!
July 11 , Friday,
7:00 PM at GRU
Moonrise 1850 Set 0432 Lunar.
Program: Long Ago, in Galaxies Far, Far Away
about distant galaxies, quasars, their evolution, intergalactic matter, etc.
Speaker: Dr. Varsha Kulkarni
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina
PhD University of Chicago 1996
See her website.
Please welcome her to our meeting, and to our community.
Club Business: Annual Awards
Refreshments: Mark Moffatt
Observing Informal discussion after the meeting
Club Star Gaze
July 26, Saturday,
7:30 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise 0522 Set 1909 Dark sky.
Bring your planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks & shoes
July Minutes
Annual Club Picnic
August 16, Saturday,
6:00 PM at Boyd Observatory
Moonrise 2317 Set 1214
Club members are requested to let us know how many people will be coming.
Notify any club officer prior to
August 13th, or
Sign up now.
Bring your whole family! - Get in on a great experience.
The Club will provide hamburgers, hot dogs with buns.
Members are requested to bring "something picnic", enough for your family and to share.
Prep your food ahead, take an afternoon nap, and come hungry!
Make your plans for a great time to get to know each other, share astronomy experiences,
You may need something to sit on because seating is limited at the observatory.
ACA Star Gaze
The Public is invited!
August 16, Saturday,
at Boyd Observatory
Moonrise 2317 Set 1214
David Boyd, planetarium director, will provide us with an interesting astronomy program
and observing through the "LARGE" telescope.
Please come and enjoy this "astronomical" experience.
Wear socks & shoes, pants.
Bring what you have of: binoculars, telescope, planisphere, AL Messier list,
lounge chair, 2towels, bug spray.
August Minutes
Monthly Meeting, and OMN = Observe the Moon Night
The Public is invited!
September 06 , Saturday,
6 -10:00 PM at RPSEC
Moonrise: 1656 Set: 0311 Lunar: Waning Gibbous
All members can help. Thank you.
Please wear your ACA logo polo shirt.
6PM: Lunar Program
The Public is invited!
Lunar Landings: Mark Moffatt
Refreshments: xx
7-10PM: OMN on the Lawn:
The Public is invited!
Observe the Moon
Bring YOURSELF!
Bring what you have of binoculars, telescopes, planisphere, AL Lunar list.
Club Star Gaze
September 20, Saturday,
5:00 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise 0300 Set 1623 Dark sky
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks & shoes.
5:00 PM Please come early to help finalize our SEED projects.
7:00 PM light supper
7:30 PM Club Star Gaze
See Mars and Saturn, even Mercury setting in the west before 8:00PM.
Mercury has taken Mars' place near Spica,
and Mars has positioned itself between Antares, Dschubba, and Acrab in Scorpius.
Al Niyat is a pulsating variable star, mag 3.05.
Find Vesta and Ceres on either side of Saturn (10-4).
Trace the Milky Way Galaxy at its best, pouring out of the Teapot onto the tail of Scorpius,
and steaming across the sky to Cassiopeia.
Learn the names of the Teapot's 8 outline stars.
See Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, the Great Square of Pegasus, and so, so much more.
Please come, Rain or Shine:
Fun astronomy activities planned for cloudy nights.
September Minutes
Oct.8, Wed. Total Lunar Eclipse EST
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 04:15:33
Partial Eclipse Begins: 05:14:48
Total Eclipse Begins: 06:25:10
Greatest Eclipse: 06:54:36
Total Eclipse Ends: 07:24:00
Partial Eclipse Ends: 08:34:21
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 09:33:43
(http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2014.html#LE2014Oct08T)
ACA Solar Observing on the Lawn, DAWN Mission to Vesta and Ceres,
NEW HORIZONS Mission to Pluto, and Planet Walk
for SEED and National Astronomy Day
October 11, Saturday,
10AM-3PM at RPSEC
The Public is invited!
Have it both ways:
Focus on the SUN! and out to the Asteroids and Pluto!
Wear socks, shoes, light clothing to cover, hat, sun block.
For SEED Volunteers
Oct. 19-26 PSSG Peach State Star Gaze
at the
DAV
Oct.20-21 Orionid Meteor Shower
Oct.23, Th. Partial Solar Eclipse
Magnitude at maximum : 0.34912,
Moon/Sun size ratio : 0.94805
Start 17:02:25, Max 17:42, End 17:42
Club Dark Sky Star Gaze
October 24, Fri. 5:00PM at NMR-DSO
Sat: Moonrise 0814 Set 1908 Dark sky
5:00 PM Pork BBQ with all the fixin's
Please bring a side dish, only for 3-4 people/person, and let us know ASAP what you are bringing. Thank you.
6:00 PM Speaker: Dave Cotterell, North York Astronomical Association, Ontario, Canada
Program: A Guide to Double Star Observing
Dave has been in amateur astronomy for over 50 years, and has owned refractors, Newtonians and Catadioptrics
from 2" to 20" diameter. Though he has always been an observer of all types of objects, his first love
continues to be double stars. Recently he has been doing high-resolution imaging of doubles with a 202mm Maksutov.
His goal is to be able to make scientifically valid measurements of the separations and position angles of double stars.
7:00 PM Dark Sky Star Gaze
Focus on Double Stars: Alberio, Almaak, Mizar/Alcor, and more. . .
Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlight toward the road.
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks, shoes, hat, layered clothing.
October Minutes
Monthly Meeting
November 07, Friday,
7:00 PM at GRU
The Public is invited!
Program: AGN = Active Galactic Nuclei
or
"Radial Distances of Dust Sources in Low Ionization Broad Absorption Line Quasars"
Recent studies of very unique quasars (FeLoBALs) have shown that these objects have the potential
to shape both super massive black holes and their host galaxies.
Unfortunately, these objects tend to be extremely reddened due to dust.
This dust poses a large problem for FeLoBAL (and LoBAL) studies that attempt to determine the energies of these quasars.
Our search through objects in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's vast database has uncovered a set of these FeLoBALs
that has shed light upon the locations of dust sources and potentially their nature.
Speaker: Jay Dunn,
2007 PhD GA State University, 2008-10 Post Doctoral Researcher, VA Polytechnic Institute and State University,
2010-11 Temporary Associate Professor, ASU (GRU) Since 2011 Assistant Professor at Perimeter College near Atlanta,
teaching physics & astronomy. Jay has mentored undergraduate students in research that lead to published papers.
His research focuses on Spectral Analysis of FeLoBAL Quasars and Ultraviolet Studies of Active Galactic Nuclei
(See 1 and 2).
Jay presented a program to our club in 2011 about Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei, and in 2012 Interstellar Medium.
He is a member of our club, and sometimes comes to help us on Astronomy Night &/or at SEED.
We are pleased to welcome him back again, and look forward to his contributions and keeping in touch.
Refreshments: Mike & Michael Axel
Lunar Observing after the meeting
Wear layered clothing.
November Minutes
ACA Holiday Dinner
December 13, Saturday,
6:00 PM at Bobby's BBQ
Program: ___
December Minutes
Happy Holidays!
2015
Club Dark Sky Star Gaze
January 10, Saturday 5:30PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise 2248 Set 1033 Dark sky
Focus on Venus hugging Mercury! at 5:30
Cassiopeia: Caph, Shedir, Ruckbah,
New views of Andromeda Galaxy, Perseus
Stories of the Princess and her family
Full view of the Winter Hexagon
Cetus: Menkar to Diphda. Uranus in Pisces
Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlights toward the road.
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks, shoes, hat, layered clothing.
Chili, chips, coffee, hot chocolate
This week: skyandtelescope.com/observing
Monthly Meeting
January 23, Friday,
7:00 PM at GRU
The Public is invited!
Moonrise 0931 Set 2144 Lunar
Program: Astro Wheel of Mis-Fortune
Speaker: John White
John served in the Army Medical Corp. in Vietnam, retiring with the rank of Major.
Post Vietnam he worked at Doctor’s Hospital in Augusta, GA.
Around this time he joined the ACA, and he has served in every officer position at one time or another.
He is currently our ACA Treasurer. Now retired, John has taken time as our number one telescope mechanic,
including lessons on how to keep scopes clean and aligned. He can also tell you about atmospheric phenomena
and other interesting sights in our sky.
Refreshments: Suzanne & Gary Harris
Lunar Observing after the meeting - cancelled due to rain
Wear layered clothing.
January Minutes
Club Star Gaze
February 14 , Friday, 6:00 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise 0308 Set 1349 Dark sky
Who will be the first to see Venus, Mars, then Jupiter? Where are they?
Check out the entire Winter Hexagon and all the stars, constellations, and wonders that go with it.
Why is Praesepe, the Beehive cluster, in such a buzz?
See royal Leo before the night is out!
Bring what you have of: planisphere, binoculars, telescope, towel to lay on.
Wear layered clothing, hat.
Monthly Meeting
February 27, Friday,
7:00 PM at GRU
The Public is invited!
Moonrise 1320 Set 0238 Lunar
Program: Characterizing Variable Star Light Curves
Most stars that we see in the night sky shows changes in their brightness. Plots of the brightness over time
reveal patterns that carry with them indications of the physical mechanisms that cause these changes.
This talk will show the major groupings of variable stars, the defining characteristics of their light curves,
and the physical processes at work in
the stars. We will also look at how the observation and characterization
of the light curves
is a topic accessible across broad levels of those interested in astronomy,
from students, to amateurs, to professional researchers.
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Cash
PhD in Physics,University of Wyoming, 2002, dissertation on computational modeling of interacting binary star systems.
She joined South Carolina State University in 2002, and currently serves as an Associate Professor of Physics.
Her duties include teaching courses in Physics, Astronomy, and Earth-Space Science at a range of levels
from non-science majors to upper level research courses. In addition Dr. Cash is involved in curriculum development,
research in astrophysics, and Education and Public Outreach activities.
Refreshments: Mike Close
Lunar Observing after the meeting
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope, towel to lay on.
Wear layered clothing, hat.
February Minutes
Club Star Gaze:
March 14, Saturday, 6:30PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise 0058 Set 1139 - dark sky, Jupiter GRS 20150315,20:05.
Celebrate 2 Events on 1 Dark Night:
1.
Messier Marathon1,2,
and 2. Globe at Night
Join MM Leader, Stan Howard, to find as many Messier Objects as you can in one evening!
Record the date & time on your Messier list for your AL Award.
Join GaN Leader, John White, for a group Star Count
and develop Globe at Night useful international research data!
Bring binoculars, telescopes, planisphere, lounge chair, Messier list.
Wear warm, layered clothing, hat. Some like sleeping bags, gumby outfits, towels.
Come rain or shine:
Astrovideos, New Horizons and other model making, Telescope work, Genesis repairs, New Member scopes, etc.
Chili, Coffee, Hot Chocolate
ACA Road Trip MEA3
March 28, Saturday
6:45 AM: Meet at Lowe's Parking Lot, near Veracruz Mexican Restaurant, 3216 Peach Orchard Road,
Augusta (706-772-9303), NE intersection of I-520 (Bobby Jones) and I-25 (Peach Orchard Rd.)
7:00 AM: Leave (caravan & carpool)
Bing.com,
GSU Planetarium map
8:30-8:45 AM: Arrive Planetarium 912-478-0471, Georgia Southern University, 1332 Southern Dr, Statesboro, GA, 912-478-4636
Program:
9:00-10:30: Planetarium Tour and Hands-On Digistar 5, led by Dr. Clayton Heller, Director of Planetarium, Department of Physics.
10:30-10:45: Break
10:45-12:00: More hands-on Digistar 5 with Dr. Heller. Dome Tour, observing deck, telescopes, solar observing,
planetarium presentations, also with Becky Lowder, Astronomy Lab Coordinator.
12:00- 1:00: Lunch with hosts at the Dining Commons on campus, walking distance from the Math/Physics Building
1:00- 1:30: Campus tour
1:30- 2:30: Center for Wildlife Education
2:30- 4:30: Georgia Southern Museum Tour
4:30-5: Depart for Augusta.
Bring: credit card & cash for meals & tips, layered clothing, pillow or towel to lay on in car.
Handicap facilities available.
If you have not already signed up,
please notify Kenneth Beard.
March 28, Sat.8:30PM, Earth Hour
Club Dark Sky Star Gaze
April 11, Saturday 8:00 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise/Set 0038 1124 Dark sky
Check out Venus and Jupiter
Review the Winter Hexagon
Focus on Cancer, Leo, Hydra, Crater, Corvus,
Ursa major, Ursa minor, Bootes, Virgo.
Look for beautiful double stars, clusters and nebulae.
Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlights toward the road.
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks, shoes, layered clothing.
Refreshments
ACA Telescopes on the Lawn
for National Astronomy Night
The Public is invited!
April 25, Saturday,
7:30-10:30 PM at RPSEC
Moonrise-Set: 1145-0047: 1st Qtr Moon
Members of the Astronomy Club of Augusta will host naked-eye, binocular, and telescope observing
of the moon, planets, and stars this evening on the Lawn.
We will have a number of telescopes available for the public to look through.
Bring what you have of: your planisphere, binoculars, telescope, 2 towels, a lawn chair...
Wear socks & shoes, layered clothing.
Check out the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.
Review the Winter Hexagon.
Focus on Cancer, Leo, Hydra, Crater, Corvus,
Ursa major, Ursa minor, Bootes, Virgo.
Look for famous stars, beautiful double stars, clusters, and nebulae.
For Members:
We appreciate your helping the public locate and identify sky objects.
Refreshments: Morris McGahee: cookies, Gary Senn: water & sodas
April Minutes
Club Dark Sky Star Gaze
May 09, Saturday 8:00 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise/Set 0000 1019 Dark sky
Check out Venus and Jupiter, Saturn rises by 21:15.
Review the western Winter Hexagon
Focus on Cancer, Leo, Hydra, Crater, Corvus,
Ursa major, Ursa minor, Bootes, Virgo.
Learn Regulus, Denebola, Algieba in Leo, Alphard the heart of Hydra, Algorab and Gienah in Corvus,
Arcturus in Bootes, Spica in Virgo, Alphekka, the jewel of the Corona Borealis,
Etamin, Rastaban and Grumium as Draco the Dragon rises in the NE.
Look for beautiful double stars, clusters and nebulae.
Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlights toward the road.
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks, shoes, layered clothing.
The Nominating Committee slate of ACA Officers for 2015-16:
President: Mark Moffatt
VP Observing: Stan Howard
VP Programs: Kenneth Beard
Secretary:
Please volunteer
Treasurer: John White
If you would like to volunteer or nominate another member,
please
email
or call: Tedda Howard, Nominating Committee.
Thank you for volunteering!
Election will be held at our Meeting on May 22.
Dues for ACA Calendar year 2015-16
are now being accepted by John White, Treasurer,
at the meetings or by mail:
4254 Woodland Drive Martinez, GA 30907
$10 check to ACA or cash accepted
with your name, address, email & phone.
ACA Outreach for Science Day
May 15, Friday 7AM -3PM at Hammond Hill Elementary
Please volunteer:
Outreach
Monthly Meeting
The Public is invited!
May 22, Friday,
7:00 PM at RPSEC
Moonrise-Set: 0933 2324: Waxing Crescent
Members of the Astronomy Club of Augusta will present short (2-5 minute) talks on topics of astronomical interest:
Mark Moffatt: Amateur Astronomy Online
Jim Price: Nuclear Rockets
Tedda Howard: New Horizons Mission
Photos: Hammond Hill Outreach
Mike McCoy: Moon Bounce
Michael Axel: Interstellar Travel
Club Business: Annual Election of Officers for our July 1, 2015-2016 Club Year.
Appoint volunteers to set / announce draft 2015-2016 Club dates.
Discuss Program topics desired for next year.
Set Planning Meeting of Current and New Officers.
Refreshments: Susan & Karl Feldmann
Lunar Observing on the Lawn after the meeting.
Check out the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.
Bring what you have of: your planisphere, binoculars, telescope, 2 towels,
Wear socks, shoes, pants, layered clothing.
We appreciate USCA and the RPSEC turning off the lights for our observing.
Annual DAV = Deerlick Astronomy Village Memorial Weekend Picnic
May 24th, 2015, Sunday, 4:00 PM
Sign up / RSVP with Marie at http://www.deerlickgroup.com by Thursday, and bring a side dish or dessert for 4-6 people.
If you would like to caravan or carpool, please email Stan.
We have had a group attend every year for several years now, and it is a great day. We look forward to your joining us.
Bring binoculars, water, hat, towel.
Planning Meeting of Current and New Officers
May 29, Friday 7:00 PM at Sconyers
May Minutes
Club Dark Sky Star Gaze
June 06, Saturday 8:00 PM at NMR-DSO
Moonrise/Set 2300 0914 Dark sky
Check out Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Focus on Cancer, Leo, Hydra, Crater, Corvus, Omega Centauri,
Ursa major, Ursa minor, Bootes, Virgo.
Learn Regulus, Denebola, Algieba in Leo, Alphard the heart of Hydra, Algorab and Gienah in Corvus,
Arcturus in Bootes, Spica in Virgo, Alphekka, the jewel of the Corona Borealis,
Etamin, Rastaban, and Grumium as Draco the Dragon rises in the NE.
Look for beautiful double stars, clusters and nebulae.
Please arrive before dark. Park with your headlights toward the road.
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear socks, shoes, layered clothing.
Monthly Meeting
June 19, Friday,
7:00 PM at GRU
The Public is invited!
Moonrise/set 0911/2237 Lunar
Installation of Officers
Officer reports
Program: Cave Man Astronomy
Astronomy of how our early ancestors may have done some "serious" astronomy
or at least some observing.
Speaker: John White
ACA Treasurer, otherwise I'm still retired.
Refreshments: John White
Lunar Observing after the meeting
Bring what you have of planisphere, binoculars, telescope.
Wear layered clothing.
June Minutes
Beginners to experts can benefit
from the abundance of knowledge, skill, and enthusiasm
at our local meetings and star parties.
Astronomy is not a simple sport. Get help to get good.
Go to our Membership page, and become a member now.
Email: Comments
annual Calendar of Events 2014-2015
annual Calendar of Events 2015-2016
annual Calendar of Events 2013-2014
