Download February Astronomy Day newsletter

Kern Astronomical Society
ASTRONOMY DAY
NEWSLETTER
Star Parties
February 22nd Lockwood
General
Membership
Meeting
March 1st & 29th Lockwood
March 7th Meeting
Speaker: Randy Morrow
Subject: Celestial Navigation
February 7th Meeting
Speaker: Darren Bly
Celestial navigation, also known as
astronavigation, is a technique that has
evolved over several thousand years to
help sailors accurately find their position
on the sea without having to rely on the
estimates of speed and distance traveled.
Celestial navigation uses angular
measurements taken between celestial
body (the Sun, Moon, a planet, or a star)
and the visible horizon
Subject: “How’d You Know
That”
Explanation of focal length,
magnification and field of view
William M. Thomas Planetarium
February 13th
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Doors Close at 7:00 p.m.
The Kern Astronomical Society was formed in 1956 to
promote the science of astronomy, between members and
the community. It provides a forum to share knowledge and
experiences between profession, &amateur astronomers
• Fosters a strong interest in astronomy education
• Provides incentive and opportunities for astronomical
observing and research in astronomy
• Assists in communicating with other professional and
astronomical societies, along with NASA and JPL.
Benefits:
• Basic Astronomy Data
• Monthly Newsletter
• Member Astronomical League
• As members of AL, we have the opportunity to participate in
A network of other astronomical and observing clubs
• Encouragement with certificate and pin programs
demonstrating observing skills with a variety of instruments
and objects
• Reflector quarterly newsletter from the Astronomical League
Kern Astronomical Society
KAS logo “T” shirts, sweat shirts, beanies, ball caps,
bucket hats and calendars
Contents:
Page 1 Meetings and benefits
Page 2 Yard Sign
Page 3 Contest & door prizes
Page 4 New Sponsors & TDRS-L launch
Kern Astronomical Society Night
Professor Strobel will host “Cosmic Castaways” a night of fun
& information. He will also the night sky above Bakersfield
Bakersfield College,
William M. Thomas Planetarium
1801 Panorama Drive
GREAT for those new to astronomy.
Astronomy Work Day
Saturday, Feb. 8th
11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Solar Viewing
Jim & Karen Wood
10002 Brookline Woods Drive
Bakersfield, CA93312
Bring your lunch (sandwich, drink,etc.)
Eat lunch, solar viewing, covering the cardboard for display,
wrapping the toilet paper rolls, dividing up the door prizes,
placing handout in OPT bags,etc. A fun day to visit, work, look at
the sun and get ready for Astronomy Day.
Please email me if you can help at [email protected] so we
have enough chairs and tables
Page 5 Rosetta Wakeup Call
Page 6 Mike’s Food Truck & Mt. Wilson
Page 7 Kids Corner
Page 8 KAS Calendar
Page 9 Key Stars
Page 10 Sky Events & School Star Parties
Page 11 Astroid P/2013 P%
Page 12 Volunteer Signup
Page 13 What’s Coming Up Events
Astronomy Day
April 12, 2014
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
DOORS OPEN at 10:30
Free to the Public
Presentations
Kids Activities
Information: KERNASTRO.ORG
Speaker: Professor Alex Filippenko
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Dark Matter & The Runaway Universe
Sponsored By: Dr. Joshua R. Modlin, DPM
Location: Houchin Community Blood Bank
11515 Bolthouse Drive
PLEASE HELP ADVERTISE
ASTRONOMY DAY
Contest
The above poster has been setup as a yard sign
Just print and staple to a wooden dowel or stake
(if you print 2 it will be double sided)
Or
A Wire Hanger
(straighten the hanger hook and push into the ground, pull the body of the hanger up and tape poster to hanger)
Contest #1
Send me a picture of the sign in your yard
A winner will be drawn at the March 7th Meeting & photo in the
Astronomy Day Newsletter
Contest #2
Best original Yard Sign Display
Send me a picture of your own Original Yard Display promoting Astronomy Day
Winner will be announced at the March 7th Meeting
Rules:
Send me a photo by March 1st
Contest is for all ages
Prizes: For adults or children: Astronomy Books for both contests
Celestron Pocket Binoculars, 2014 Sky-Watcher Calendar
Either a Lunar Chart or Caldwell Card and Astronomy CD’S
Thank You for the scope
Thien Ngo
Thank You for the beautiful base
Dr. Steve Collett
Astronomy Day Door Prizes
April 12, 2014
Orion Resolux 10.5x70
Waterproof Astronomy
Binoculars
Orion Resolux 10.5x70 Waterproof
Astronomy Binoculars (Doug Stewart)
Wonder Globe (Walter Albrecht)
2 IQ Lamps ( Prashant Vaidya)
10 Planispheres (Jose’ Rodriguez)
2 Free 2014 Calendars
Astronomy Bracelets (kids)
10 Free Celestron Pocket Bino’s
Lunar Chart or Caldwell Card
And more
The Resolux 10.5x70
Waterproof Astronomy
Binoculars have highresolution, flat-field optics in
a rugged fully waterproof
casing. Advanced multicoatings on all optical
surfaces give you bright,
sharp, high contrast images.
New Sponsors
Thank You
Larry Sharette Jr. "Joey"
CAD Drafter // Owner
(661) 431-4917 Cell
&
KAS Member
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lights up the night sky over Space Launch Complex 41 at
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it carries NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or
TDRS-L, to Earth orbit. Launch was at 9:33 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 23 during a 40-minute
launch window. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure
vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The
spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for
numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble
Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel
designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements.
TDRSS is one of three NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) networks providing
space communications to NASA’s missions. > More about TDRS-L Image Credit: NASA/Dan Casper
Rosetta Wake-up signal
20 January 2014
It was a fairy-tale ending to a tense chapter in the story of the Rosetta space mission this evening as ESA heard from its distant
spacecraft for the first time in 31 months.
Rosetta is chasing down Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it will become the first space mission to rendezvous with a
comet, the first to attempt a landing on a comet’s surface, and the first to follow a comet as it swings around the Sun.
Since its launch in 2004, Rosetta has made three flybys of Earth and one of Mars to help it on course to its rendezvous with 67P/
Churyumov-Gerasimenko, encountering asteroids Steins and Lutetia along the way.
Operating on solar energy alone, Rosetta was placed into a deep space slumber in June 2011 as it cruised out to a distance of
nearly 800 million km from the warmth of the Sun, beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
Now, as Rosetta’s orbit has brought it back to within ‘only’ 673 million km from the Sun, there is enough solar energy to power
the spacecraft fully again.
Rosetta calls home
Thus today, still about 9 million km from the comet, Rosetta’s pre-programmed internal ‘alarm clock’ woke up the spacecraft.
After warming up its key navigation instruments, coming out of a stabilizing spin, and aiming its main radio antenna at Earth,
Rosetta sent a signal to let mission operators know it had survived the most distant part of its journey.
The signal was received by both NASA’s Goldstone and Canberra ground stations at 18:18 GMT/ 19:18 CET, during the first
window of opportunity the spacecraft had to communicate with Earth. It was immediately confirmed in ESA’s space operations
centre in Darmstadt and the successful wake-up announced via the @ESA_Rosetta twitter account, which tweeted: “Hello,
World!”
“We have our comet-chaser back,” says Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration. “With Rosetta, we
will take comet exploration to a new level. This incredible mission continues our history of ‘firsts’ at comets, building on the
technological and scientific achievements of our first deep space mission Giotto, which returned the first close-up images of a
comet nucleus as it flew past Halley in 1986
How Rosetta wakes up from deep space hibernation
“This was one alarm clock not to hit snooze on, and after a tense day we are absolutely delighted to have our spacecraft awake
and back online,” adds Fred Jansen, ESA’s Rosetta mission manager.
Comets are considered the primitive building blocks of the Solar System and likely helped to ‘seed’ Earth with water, perhaps
even the ingredients for life. Many fundamental questions about these enigmatic objects remain, and through its comprehensive,
in situ study of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Rosetta aims to unlock the secrets contained within.
“All other comet missions have been flybys, capturing fleeting moments in the life of these icy treasure chests,” says Matt Taylor,
ESA’s Rosetta project scientist. “With Rosetta, we will track the evolution of a comet on a daily basis and for over a year, giving
us a unique insight into a comet’s behavior and ultimately helping us to decipher their role in the formation of the Solar System.”
First, essential health checks on the spacecraft must be completed. Then the eleven instruments on the orbiter and ten on the
lander will be turned on and prepared for studying Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
“We have a busy few months ahead preparing the spacecraft and its instruments for the operational challenges demanded by a
lengthy, close-up study of a comet that, until we get there, we know very little about,” says Andrea Accomazzo, ESA’s Rosetta
operations manager.
Rosetta’s first images of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko are expected in May, when the spacecraft is still 2 million km from its
target. Towards the end of May, the spacecraft will execute a major maneuver to line up for its critical rendezvous with the
comet in August.
After rendezvous, Rosetta will start with two months of extensive mapping of the comet’s surface, and will also make
important measurements of the comet’s gravity, mass and shape, and assess its gaseous, dust-laden atmosphere, or coma. The
orbiter will also probe the plasma environment and analyze how it interacts with the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the solar wind.
Using these data, scientists will choose a landing site for the mission’s 100 kg Philae probe. The landing is currently scheduled
for 11 November and will be the first time that a landing on a comet has ever been attempted.
In fact, given the almost negligible gravity of the comet’s 4 km-wide nucleus, Philae will have to use ice screws and harpoons
to stop it from rebounding back into space after touchdown.
Rosetta: cont.
Among its wide range of scientific measurements, Philae will send back a panorama of its surroundings, as well as very highresolution pictures of the surface. It will also perform an on-the-spot analysis of the composition of the ices and organic material,
including drilling down to 23 cm below the surface and feeding samples to Philae’s on-board laboratory for analysis.
The focus of the mission will then move to the ‘escort’ phase, during which Rosetta will stay alongside the comet as it moves
closer to the Sun, monitoring the ever-changing conditions on the surface as the comet warms up and its ices sublimate.
The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on 13 August 2015 at about 185 million km, roughly between the orbits of
Earth and Mars. Rosetta will follow the comet throughout the remainder of 2015, as it heads away from the Sun and activity
begins to subside.
Mike E’s Food Truck
11:00 am - 6:00pm
Mike E’s Food Truck
Mike will have his food truck available for lunch, dinner
and snacks. Selections include vegetarian,
Salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs, juices and
sodas.
His prices are very good.
Chairs and tables will be available.
Mike will be setup by the Solar Viewing & A Walk
Through the Universe
Mount Wilson's 60-inch telescope provides incredible views of some of the most beautiful
objects in the night sky and is among the largest in the world accessible to public viewing.
Mount Wilson Trip April 26th - 27th 2014. Cost is $120.00 Each
We will meet at Valley Plaza by Sears Auto Repair shop on Saturday afternoon.
The bus will promptly leave at 3:00 p.m.
We will return on the 27th .
To reserve your place on the bus, contact one of the officers below
V. President
Cathy Jones
[email protected]
or (661) 319-4424
President
Diane Franco
[email protected]
or (661) 487-2519
Kid’s Corner
Whats New
Space Racers
Maryland Public Television will launch Space Racers, an animated series for young children, on
Space Day, May 2, 2014. Meet Eagle and his friends Hawk, Robyn, Starling and Raven - a superelite space-bound task force known as the Space Racers that teach science lessons during their
space adventures. Join the team in their colorful home at Stardust Bay - a fantastic world
populated by talking spaceships and vehicles. In collaboration with NASA, Space Racers will take
young children on thrilling adventures with a science curriculum that teaches exploration,
investigation, observation and collaborating as a team. Experts from NASA evaluate every
episode to ensure the accuracy of science and technology lessons. Maryland Public Television
will discuss opportunities for you to play short pieces in your facility, hold a screening, and
download educational materials connected to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
The Space Place
Fall into a Black Hole!
Print and play with your kids or students
Go to The Space Place for information, games, and
information all things space related for parents,
teachers, and kids.
You can take an imaginary trip to a black hole right now!
Play our intergalactic adventures board game and be the first to explore a black hole and live to tell about it!
You will also visit such interesting places as a giant array of radio telescopes in the New Mexico desert and NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Then you will blast into space and visit the Earth-orbiting
Japanese VSOP Radio Telescope and Russia's RadioAstron telescope.
Searching the Sky
For years, a group of scientists had been looking through the night sky for a special kind of murky, dim star. These
stars don’t emit much light, so they are pretty hard to find.
What they did find was even more unlikely. They came across a planet. There are planets zipping around many stars
in our galaxy. This one was different. It was hanging out all by its lonesome—drifting aimlessly in space without a
star to warm it or keep it company. READ more about Searching the Sky at The Space Place
February 2014
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1 KAS Star Party Lockwood
2
3
4
5
6 Moon First
Quarter
7 KAS Meeting
What’s Up:
Darren
8 Astro Work Day Meeting
11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.
9
10
11
12
13 BC - Planetarium
14
Full Snow Moon
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 Moon Last tQuarter
KAS Star Party Lockwood
23
24
25
26
27 KAS Board 6:30
Science Camp-Solar
28 Science CampSolar
March 2014
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1 KAS Star Party
Lockwood
New Moon
2
3
4
5 Ash Wed.
Olive Dr
Elem. School
6:30
6 Del Vista
Math & Science
School--Delano 7:00
7 KAS Meeting
Randy: Celestial
Navigation
Science Camp
8 Moon First
Quarter
9
10
11 Redwood
Elementary
6:30
12
13 Science Camp
Solar
14 Science Camp
Solar
15
16 Full Worm Moon
17
18
19
20 Spring
March Equinox
21
22
23 Moon Last Quarter
24
25
26
27 KAS Board
6:30
28
29 KAS Star
Party Lockwood
30 New Moon
31
April
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4 KAS Meeting
6:00
5 Public Star Party
Marketplace
6 LAST
Astro
Meeting
7 First
Quarter
8 Virginia Elem.
7:30
9
10
11 ASTRO Day
Setup
12 Astro Day
13
14
15 Full Pink Moon
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 Last Quarter
Moon
Earth Day
23 Astro Day
2015
6:30pm
24 KAS
Board 6:30
25
26 Mt. Wilson
27
28
29 New Moon
30
Key Stars
The Winter Triangle formed by the stars Sirius, Procyon
and Betelgeuse remains prominent in the evening sky,
throughout February. Other stars well placed for
observing are Rigel and Aldebaran, both in the
southwest. Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini,
are high in the south, and at the same time orange
Arcturus is rising on the eastern horizon.
The Planets
Mercury
As February opens, innermost Mercury is visible about 30
minutes after sundown, relatively near to the western
horizon. The planet fades quickly during the next week,
dimming by 0.2 magnitudes with each passing day. It
disappears in the evening twilight soon before mid-month,
reaching inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 15th.
February, Mercury switches to the morning sky; on the
28th, the innermost world shines at magnitude +1 in the
southeast, far to the lower left of Venus.
Venus
At magnitude -4.6 Venus is the brightest morning "star",
but it is not high above the horizon. Look for it blazing
low in the southeast right around the first light of dawn.
To get a steady view of the planet in a telescope, try
following it until sunrise or even later.
Mars
Mars rises around 11 P.M. local time in early February and
nearly two hours earlier by month's end. The best time to
look, however, comes around 5 A.M. local time early in
the month and shortly after 3 A.M.in late February. The
planet is then much higher in the south, nearly halfway
from the horizon to the zenith.
Jupiter
Jupiter reached opposition and peak visibility in early
January, but shows little decline this month. It still climbs
in the east shortly after sunset, remains visible well after
midnight and looks stunning through a telescope. The
planet's disk measures 45 arc-seconds at the start of the
month, but by late February, as Jupiter gets farther from
us, the disk's angular size shrinks to 42 arc-seconds.
Saturn
Throughout February, Saturn pokes above the horizon
roughly two hours after Mars, and lies a good 30 degrees
high in the south as dawn begins. The ringed planet resides
among the background stars of the
constellation Libra and shines at magnitude +0.5, two full
magnitudes brighter than any of Libra's stars. Through a
telescope, Saturn sports an angular size of 17 arc-seconds,
while the rings span 39 arc-seconds and tilt 23 degrees to
our line of sight.
Uranus
Uranus stands about 20 degrees above the western horizon
as evening twilight fades to darkness. Look for it in the
southern part of the constellation Pisces the Fish, some 5
degrees southwest of
4th-magnitude Delta Piscium. At magnitude +5.9 the
planet is bright enough to spot with binoculars, but only a
telescope will reveal its pale bluish or greenish disk, 3.3
arc-seconds wide.
Neptune
February finds Neptune very low in the evening twilight, just a few
degrees above the western horizon. The distant planet reaches
conjunction with the Sun on the 23rd, when it begins its slow crawl
towards dawn visibility. Neptune will again be visible in backyard
telescopes starting around mid-April.
Pluto
The dwarf planet lies in northern Sagittarius and stands 15 degrees
high in the southeast shortly before dawn. It glows dimly at
magnitude+14, which means you will need at least an 8-inch
telescope to have a decent chance of spotting this glimmer of light.
Asteroids
4 Vesta
The best time to observe Vesta is in the wee morning hours, when
Virgo - the constellation through which the asteroid tracks - is
highest above the southern horizon. Zeta Virginia serves as a good
guidepost for following the slow nightly motion of 7th-magnitude
Vesta, but it may take a few nights of telescopic observing before
you notice the asteroid's movement.
C/2012 X1 LINEAR
Throughout all of February, C/2012 X1 should remain around 8th
or 9th magnitude, making it an easy target for 6-inch telescopes.
The comet cuts through the constellations Ophiuchus, Serpens,
and Aquila, which stand highest above the horizon in the predawn
sky.
Meteor Showers
February and March are quiet months for meteor observers,
particularly those in the Northern Hemisphere. No major showers
occur, and the only minor one lies deep in the southern sky. The
Alpha Centauri shower produces about six meteors per hour under
optimal conditions at its
February 8 peak, but its radiant never rises for skywatchers north
of latitude 30 degrees north. However, sporadic meteors can
occasionally flash to brilliance, so it pays to brave the cold. Their
rates typically run about two meteors per hour during the dark
evening and six just before the first light of dawn.
Perigee
Apogee
---------------------------------
Jan 30 9:59 357079 km Feb 27 19:53 360438 km
Mar 27 18:31 365705 km
Apr 23 0:28 369764 km
N- 11h Feb 12 5:11 406231 km + F-2d18h
N-1d12h Mar 11 19:47 405365 km F-4d21h
N-3d 0h Apr 8 14:53 404501 km F-6d16h
N-6d 5h May 6 10:23 404318 km N+7d 4h
New and Full Moons
New
2014 Jan 30 21:41
2014 Mar 1 8:03
2014 Mar 30 18:48
2014 Apr 29 6:18
Full
2014 Feb 14 23:55
2014 Mar 16 17:11
2014 Apr 15 7:45
2014 May 14 19:19
Sky Events
February 11 - The Moon is 5 degrees south of Jupiter (1 A.M. EST).
February 12 - The Moon is at apogee, the point in its orbit when it is
farthest from Earth (12:10 A.M. EST).
February 14 - Full Moon (6:53 P.M. EST).
February 15 - Mercury is in inferior conjunction with the Sun (3 P.M.EST).
February 19 - The Moon is 3 degrees south of Mars (7 P.M. EST).
February 21 - The Moon is 0.3 degree south of Saturn (5 P.M. EST).
February 22 - Asteroid 2 Pallas is at opposition (4 A.M. EST). Last
Quarter Moon (12:15 P.M. EST).
February 23 - Neptune is in conjunction with the Sun (1 P.M. EST).
February 25 - The Moon is 0.4 degree north of Venus (1 A.M. EST).
February 27 - The Moon is at perigee, the point in its orbit when it
is nearest to Earth (2:51 P.M. EST). The Moon is 3 degrees north of
Mercury (4 P.M. EST). Mercury is stationary (6 P.M. EST).
Learn more! Visit NightSkyInfo.com (http://www.nightskyinfo.com).
KAS School Star Parties
2/27 - Science Camps @ Panorama Vista Preserve (Solar)
2/28 - Science Camps @ Panorama Vista Preserve (Solar)
3/5 - Olive Drive Elementary - 6:30
3/6 - Del Vista Math and Science Academy (Delano) - 7:00
3/7 - Science Camps @ Panorama Vista Preserve (Solar)
3/11 - Redwood Elementary School - 6:30
3/13 - Science Camps @ Panorama Vista Preserve (Solar)
3/14 - Science Camps @ Panorama Vista Preserve (Solar)
Join us for these great Star Parties
The kids are great!
Contact Darren Bly to volunteer <[email protected]>
DEC. 2013
Asteroid with Six Comet-like Tails Surprises Astronomers
Asteroid on Sept. 10, 2013:
Many tails are visible
The Hubble Space Telescope has found an odd-looking asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust streaming from its body like
spokes on a wheel.
Astronomers spotted the asteroid in our solar system's asteroid belt, a reservoir of space rocks between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter. Asteroids are some of the leftover debris from the construction of our solar system 5 billion years ago.
Comet anatomy changes as it approaches the Sun
The object's unusual appearance has puzzled astronomers. Almost all other known asteroids look like tiny points of light and do
not have tails of dust trailing behind them. Tails are normally seen trailing from comets, when they orbit near the Sun. Comets are
made up of ice, dust, and some rock. They hail from the outer solar system and visit the inner solar system during their journey
around the Sun. As comets get closer to the Sun, they develop tails when some of their ice vaporizes and gets pushed away from
them.
Astronomers also noticed that the tail structure of this oddball asteroid changes dramatically over just two weeks as it releases
dust. Hubble images have shown that the ancient asteroid, known as P/2013 P5, has been ejecting dust periodically for at least five
months.
Why is the asteroid losing material? Astronomers hypothesize that over billions of years the asteroid began rotating faster and
faster, eventually causing it to start losing material from its surface. The researchers do not think the tails formed from a collision
with another asteroid. A collision would cause a large cloud of dust to blast into space all at once. A series of Hubble telescope
images, taken over five months, has not shown that type of catastrophic event.
Instead, calculations show that the tails could have formed by a series of dust ejection events, from April 15 to Sept. 4. A rather
curious feature is that between the Hubble observations on Sept. 10 and Sept. 23, the entire structure appeared to have swung
around.
So far, the asteroid has lost a small amount of its mass. Its nucleus, which measures 1,400 feet wide, is thousands of times more
massive than the observed amount of ejected dust.
Astronomers will continue observing the unusual object. Asteroids that fall apart by spinning too fast may be common in the
asteroid belt. As one researcher said, "In astronomy, where you find one, you eventually find a whole bunch more."
Asteroid P/2013 P5 may be a fragment of a larger asteroid that broke apart in a collision roughly 200 million years ago. Many
collision fragments are in orbits similar to that of P/2013 P5. Meteorites from these bodies show evidence of having been heated to
as much as 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. This evidence means the asteroid is probably made up of rocks and does not hold any ice as
a comet does.
The asteroid was discovered as an unusually fuzzy-looking object with the Pan-STARRS survey telescope in Hawaii. The multiple
tails were discovered in Hubble images taken on Sept. 10, 2013.
Volunteers
We are in need of volunteers for Astronomy Day
Someone to give directions at the front door and pass out free goodie bags
Kids programs: Help the kids color, cut and glitter
Runner for presenters; food, drink, etc.
Someone to give directions in the back to point the way to Solar Viewing, A Walk through the
Universe, the food truck and Professor Filippenko’s talk.
Just email me at [email protected] with a message about the time and place you would like to
help.
Thank You
Carol
April 12
April 11
Set up
Table and Chairs
Delivered
Arrival Time 10-2
Starting about 2:00 pm
Setup will start
2:00 -?
Table & Chairs set up
10:30 Doors Open
Solar Scopes
Registration
April
7th
Inside Decorations
For the week
11:00 -12:00
All Programs Start
12:00 - 12:45
All Programs
12:45-2:00
Break
Alex Filippenko
2:15-3:15
Programs Start
3:15-4:15
Programs Start
4:15-5:00
Some Programs End
Children’s Programs
End
5:00 - 6:00
All Programs Inside
End
6:00 - 7:00
6:30 - 7:00
Telescope Workshop
Night Viewing Setup
Door Prizes
We Go Home
Jim, Karen, Carol, Ken,
Az, Mike, Jose’
9:00
Thank You for your help and
support
Whats Coming!
The RTMC Astronomy Expo and the Big Bear Starlight Festival
The Big Bear Lake region is hosting two major astronomy events during the long Memorial Day weekend in 2014. The
RTMC Astronomy Expo, held in the area since 1975, welcomes the first Starlight Festival to Big Bear Lake’s Village
area. These two events serve different audiences. Beginning to advanced amateur astronomers attend the Astronomy Expo
from Thursday to Monday to
·
·
·
·
·
·
observe from the dark sky of YMCA Camp Oakes,
see new developments in amateur telescope making,
check out commercial telescopes and equipment brought by vendors for observers,
listen to presentations covering observing, telescopes, and getting started in astronomy,
check out the Saturday swap meet, and
socialize and observe with friends
On Saturday and Sunday, weekend visitors to Big Bear, of all ages, will learn more about astronomy and outdoor
sciences at the Astronomy Outreach Network’s Starlight Festival at Big Bear Lake’s Village as they visit·
sidewalk astronomers
exhibits by the Big Bear Solar Observatory, US National Forest Service, and others,
commercial exhibits of science instruments, games, and activities, and
attend presentations on the current state of astronomy and space science
Come join the fun and learn about the universe your way.
RTMC Astronomy Expo
May 22-26, 2014
Camp Oakes
Big Bear City, California
Welcome to Panamint Springs
Due to flash flood damage, Trona-Wildrose and Panamint Valley Road will be closed until spring of 2014. Visit our Location
page for more information on how to reach us.
May 2-4, 2014
Panamint Springs Resort is a small, rustic, western-style, resort located in beautiful Panamint Valley in Death
Valley National Park that provides lodging, camping and RV services, a restaurant and bar, and a gas station with a
well stocked general store. Marvelous views of distant sand dunes and the soaring 11,000 foot high Panamint
Mountains complete the setting for leisure dining and relaxation. The resort is located at the western end of Death
Valley National Park.
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lodging,
restaurant and bar,
camping and RV services,
gas station with general store services and gift shop
a public wireless network that is available at no charge