HAC Meeting, Friday, May 16, 2008, 7 p.m.
Cochise College
Speaker: Andrea Boattini, "Catalina Sky Survey Comet Discoveries"
Comet Boattini, C/2007 W1, found on the
20th of November. It is mag. 8 and the exposure time is 20 sec. The limiting magnitude for this image is around 21. [Click image for larger version.]
Copyright © 2008 Andrea Boattini. Used with permission.
 Catalina Sky Survey
The mission of the Catalina Sky Survey is to contribute to the inventory of near-earth objects, or more specifically, the potentially hazardous asteroids that pose an impact risk to Earth and it's inhabitants. The identification of the iridium anomaly at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, associated Chicxulub impact crater, and the Permian-Triassic "great dying" possibly being associated with the Australian Bedout crater strongly suggest that impacts by minor planets play an important role in the evolution of life.
 Club News
Deep Sky Report
Glenn Minuth , "Earth's Energy Balance "
Glenn Minuth spoke about "Earth's Energy Balance " at the HAC meeting on Friday, April 18, 2008, 7 p.m., at Cochise College.
Club News
Star Party Report
Keith Mullen gave the Star Party report. See the HAC Events Calendar for dates, times, and locations. The biggest upcoming event is the “Stars, Cars, and Telescopes” event at Lawley GMC/Honda/Buick/Pontiac to celebrate National Astronomy Day, on Saturday, May 10. Keith and Wayne request all members with telescopes or binoculars to come out and help with the event. Please wear your HAC T-shirts, jackets, and other HAC-logo clothing to display our presence to the public. Club members may come to set up equipment as early as 3:30 p.m., or to enjoy some solar-viewing activities. Even if you do not have any equipment, your time and efforts towards making this a successful event will always be appreciated. You can help out with tasks such as setting up a coffee and hot chocolate stand, or bring some food and snacks. There will also be two telescopes raffled off at this event, so make sure you get your raffle tickets: 1 for $1, and 6 for $5.
Astronomical League Correspondent
Dave Healy is the HAC’s Astronomical League (AL) Correspondent (ALCor). Dave reported that the usual suspects have achieved more awards. Bob Kepple, who is extremely close to attaining the level of Master Observer, has qualified for the AL's Arp Peculiar Galaxy Club Certificate. Congratulations to Bob on this notable achievement. Congratulations also are in order for Jim Taylor, who has flown past two more major milestones on his journey to become a Master Observer: 1.) the Binocular Messier Club Certificate, and 2.) the Double Star Club Certificate. Jim encouraged everybody to participate in the AL observing programs to enhance their astronomy skills and knowledge.
Deep Sky Report
The Deep Sky Report was provided by Bob Kepple and Glen Sanner. Their report was entitled, "Travels on the Celestial Sphere: More Fine Spring Galaxies."
This evening’s travels on the celestial sphere focused on some interesting galaxy-pairs. Most of the images used in the presentation slides can be found at the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Glen summarized the attributes of the following galaxy-pairs:
- NGC 3799 & 3800
- NGC 4278 & 4283
- NGC 4340 & 4350
- NGC 4496A-B
- NGC 4666 & 4668
- NGC 4605
AstroBits
Bob Kepple gave a fascinating AstroBits report on "Visualizing the Deep Sky." Here is a fundamental fact of the Universe: the Universe is very, very, very big, and we are very, very, very small!
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The May 2008 Nightfall newsletter is here! Plus, a Good Neighbor Outdoor Lighting insert!
Outreach Star Parties
Would you like to have an educational "Star Party" for your
school, youth group, or organization? Please contact Rich Swanson at:
(520) 803-7298, or send email to:
telegeek-64@cox.net
Event Guidelines and Polices
HAC Sponsors
Starizona: Sponsor and Door Prize donor.
Win a telescope! Click here.
The April 2008 Nightfall newsletter is here!
The 2008 HAC Sky Calendar is here!
Did you know?
As of March, 2008, the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham, Arizona,
is the world's largest telescope. The LBT has taken celestial images using its
twin side-by-side, 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) primary mirrors together, achieving
first "binocular" light. The LBT has a light-collecting area equivalent to a
single 11.8-meter (39-foot) surface and will combine light to produce the image
sharpness equivalent to a single 22.8-meter (75-foot) telescope (900 inches). It is located on
10,480-foot Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona.
U.S., Italian and German partners in the LBT, have released new images. First
binocular light is a milestone not only for the LBT—now the world's most
powerful telescope —but for astronomy itself.
"Amateur astronomers today are exceptionally fortunate to be living in an era when high quality,
and very large, optics are so affordable."
Night Sky Observer's Guide, Kepple and Sanner 
Light Pollution Monitoring with Google Earth, click here.
Upcoming Events
See the list in the sidebar at upper left, or view the HAC Calendar.
Photometry of M57 Field Stars by Brian Skiff, click here.
Mr. Galaxy's Supernovae pages.
The HAC Brochure is available here. Download, print, and distribute.
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