Volume 32—Number 10 October 2015

Roanoke Valley Astronomical

Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views

In Southwestern Virginia

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 1 of 10

The September 21st monthly meeting was opened with

24 members and 6 guests present at 7:32 p.m. by Club

president, Dan Chrisman, who told all present that it

was his third meeting as president, and reminded the

members that “the third time is the charm”. Dan

acknowledged our special guest, Mr. Jim Rollings, cur-

rent director of the Science Museum of Western Vir-

ginia (SMWV), and our guest speaker, Mr. Nick Ander-

son, a student at Virginia Tech.

As the first order of business, Dan invited Jim Rollings

to the front of the room and asked Frank Baratta to

make a presentation on behalf of the RVAS member-

ship. In appreciation of Mr. Rollings’ interest, support

and friendship shown to RVAS over the years, Frank

presented Mr. Rollings with a plaque signifying an Hon-

orary Membership to Mr. Rollings, conferring all the

benefits of membership that other members receive,

including membership in the Astronomical League. In

accepting the plaque and RVAS membership Mr. Rol-

lings acknowledged that our own Mark Hodges, being

associated with both SMWV and RVAS, was instrumen-

tal in binding the SMWV/RVAS relationship.

Following the presentation Dan Chrisman made several

announcements regarding upcoming events, including:

9/26, 10 a.m.-12 noon, solar observing led by Frank

Baratta at the Virginia Science Festival at SMWV;

9/27, 8-12 p.m., total lunar eclipse public viewing at

VWCC hosted by Dr. John Anderson; 10/3, Virginia

Association of Astronomical Societies (VAAS) confer-

ence at UVA Charlottesville; 10/3, RVAS public observ-

ing event; 10/9 Cahas Messier observing hosted by

Rand Bowden; and 10/10, RVAS annual picnic/star par-

(Meeting Continued on page 2)

September RVAS Meeting Notes

Dark Energy……………So, what’s

the speed of Dark, anyway? By Bill Dillon, Secretary

Retiring Science Museum Director Jim Rollings is awarded an

Honorary Membership in the Society by RVAS Past President

Frank Baratta.

Photo by Carolyn 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 news-

letter 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 (president@rvasclub.org )

Rand Bowden, Vice President (vicepresident@rvasclub.org) Bill Dillon, Secretary (secretary@rvasclub.org) Jeff Suhr, Treasurer (treasurer@rvasclub.org)

Carol Mesimer, Member at Large (memberatlarge@rvasclub.org)

Michael Good, Immediate Past President (immediatepastpresident@rvasclub.org) Frank Baratta, Past President (pastpresident@rvasclub.org)

David E. Thomas, RVAS Newsletter Editor (editor@rvasclub.org)

Roger Pommerenke & David E. Thomas, Webmaster (webmaster@rvasclub.org)

RVAS web page: http://rvasclub.org

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 2 of 10

ty (and October meeting) at Apple Ridge Farm at Cop-

per Hill from 3 p.m. to well after dark, weather permit-

ting.

Observing reports were next on the agenda, headlined

by Paul Caffrey’s roughly 9-hour odyssey to and from

Micaville NC to attempt to record asteroid

2001QM137 occulting Delta Aquarii. With all the right

equipment, help from some members of the Blue Ridge

Astronomy Group (a non-Astronomical League-

affiliated club for Yancy County and the Toe River,

North Carolina, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/

group/blueridgeastronomygroup), and dark skies “all the

way to the horizon”, in Paul’s words “2001QM137 was

uncooperative so we recorded a miss. But we still had a

great observing session.” Rand Bowden spoke briefly

about the latest Messier observing session, and Jeff

Suhr discussed his recent trip west and his serendipi-

tous visits to Meteor Crater and the Lowell Observa-

tory, the “Home of Pluto”.

Next up was Frank Baratta’s “What’s Up”, highlighting

the near and deep sky from September 21, 2015 to Oc-

tober 18, 2015. During this period, Fall skies begin to

fill our main viewing area, with many constellations con-

nected with water, such as Aquarius, Capricornus, Ce-

tus, and Pisces. Planet viewing is tough at this time

with Saturn the only naked eye planet of the evening.

There will be a Last Quarter Moon on October 4th, with

Cahas observing on the 2nd and 3rd. On October 12th

there will be a New Moon, with Cahas observing on the

9th and 10th. Frank next gave us some interesting tidbits

and challenges for the coming few weeks. We all experi-

enced the Fall or autumnal equinox at

4:21 a.m. on September 23rd. On September 27th at 8:12

p.m. there will be a “Supermoon” Total Lunar Eclipse.

This one is special as the Moon will be at its closest per-

igee for 2015 at 55.95 Earth-radii distance. Frank very

nicely described with a slide the timing of the Moon’s

path and through the Penumbra and Umbra of the

eclipse.

Frank then challenged us with some tough observations.

The first is 4 Vesta, the brightest of the asteroids,

shining at magnitude 5.99 as it reaches opposition on

(Meeting Continued from page 1)

(Meeting Continued on page 4)

Paul Caffrey informs and amuses everyone about his recent

occultation timing activity, “A 9-hour trip for a one-second

event that didn’t happen!” he quipped.

Photo by Carolyn Baratta

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 3 of 10

June 28, 2015 June 29, 2015

June 29, 2015

For Sale (Will consider partial trade for 10-12" Dobsonian telescope)

Losmandy GM-8 S mount, with an extra 7 lb weight: $1,000.00 negotiable

Losmandy DV 13.5" dovetail plate, $25.00

Losmandy DVCM 2 - 3-axis 360° piggyback camera mount, $75.00

Losmandy DVR 108 - 108mm guide scope rings, $60.00

Contact Gary Hatfield at 540-397-2524 or e-mail starmangmh57@gmail.com.

ANNUAL RVAS PICNIC AND STAR PARTY Saturday, October 10th, 3:00 p.m. until???

Apple Ridge Farm, Copper Hill, VA.

It’s time once again for our annual fall event for RVAS members and their families—an afternoon and evening

of enjoyment that you don’t want to miss!!!. There’ll be food, fun and friends, along with prize drawings and

solar viewing and stargazing, weather permitting. Bring a covered dish, salad or dessert for our table. The

burgers, hot dogs, and beverages are provided by the RVAS.

Haven’t signed up yet? There’s still time. Just call the Message Line, 540-774-5651, and provide your name,

phone number, number of adults, teens and children coming and the food item(s) you’re bringing.

Need directions? Google Apple Ridge Farm, 9230 Pine Forest Rd, Copper Hill, VA 24079.

Reminder: This event takes the place of our October monthly meeting! The next regular monthly meeting will

be November 16th, in Classroom A, third floor, Center on Church, downtown Roanoke.

September 28th. Approximately 2o E toward the horizon

from zeta Cet, you’ll find 4 Vesta nestled in a “V”

formed by three stars of approximately 7th magnitude.

On October 4th, 10th magnitude Comet 22P Kopff ap-

pears just 0.13o N of 0.6 magnitude Saturn which will

be 15o high in the W at 8 p.m. And on the 8th of October

at 5:45 a.m. there will appear a very nice celestial line-

up of the waning crescent Moon, Venus (with Regulus

about 2.5o to its left), Mars and Jupiter, low in the

East just before morning twilight.

As there were no questions for Frank, Dan quickly and

smoothly transitioned to a Garrison Keillor-inspired in-

troduction of our guest speaker for the evening, Mr.

Nick Anderson. A former president of the Astronomy

Club of Virginia Tech, author of several articles on cut-

ting edge astronomy topics for another Astronomy

Club’s newsletter, the recipient of a Master Observer

Award from the Astronomical League and an “about to

graduate early” undergraduate student in physics at

Virginia Tech, Nick came to speak to RVAS about “Dark

Energy and Our Evidence for the Accelerated Expan-

sion of the Universe”, a deep topic to cover to be sure,

especially with a 35 minute time limit, Nick painted the

topic with broad brush strokes, creatively presented in

such a way as to whet the appetites of the meeting at-

tendees for follow-on questions.

Nick’s presentation touched on the life cycle of the

Sun, the Chandrasekhar limit, the Hertzsprung-Russell

diagram, type 1a supernovae, the inverse square law for

light, Hubble’s law describing the expansion of the Uni-

verse, the results of a type 1a supernova survey, the

estimated energy distribution of the Universe, and last-

ly, four future models of the Universe to include,

“accelerating”, “coasting”, “critical”, and “re-

collapsing”.

Leaving plenty of time for questions, there were several

for Nick. Members asked about the correlation between

early Universe expansion and current models of acceler-

ated expansion; Dark Energy/Dark Matter relation-

ships; antimatter; the uniformity of expansion and

whether expansion is an essential property of space; and

whether Dark Energy is directly related to the volume

of space.

All of the questions were deftly handled by Nick, and he

left us all with a thought provoking statement that,

“Theoretical Cosmology experimentation can, and often

does, result in bizarre results”, presumably leaving us

with we don’t know what we don’t know!

At the conclusion of Nick’s presentation, Dan Chrisman

thanked him and presented him with the infamous Goss-

delivered, Baratta-prepared, chocolate-filled, limited-

edition RVAS coffee mug.

Dan concluded the meeting at 9:03 p.m.

(Meeting Continued from page 2)

RVAS President Dan Chrisman confers upon our guest speaker,

Nick Anderson, the coveted Order of the Mug, replete with

chocolates to aid his journey home.

Photo by Carolyn Baratta

Club members share travel stories while awaiting their

pre-meeting meal.

Photo by Dan Chrisman

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 4 of 10

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 5 of 10

MESSIER PROGRAM OBSERVING

The Messier objects for October are: M11, M16, M17,

M18, M24, M25, M26, M55, and M75.

The observing session will be held at 8:15, Friday October

9th. at Cahas knob overlook, MP 139 on the parkway.

Club members are welcome to join in the Messier hunt at

any time. (Using a scope or binoculars)

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.

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 6 of 10

RVAS 25 years ago

In October of 1990, Club members were lamenting “the

wash-out of one observing session after another due to

cloud cover.” (Imagine that?!) The Newsletter reported

that according to the Astronomical Companion, by Guy

Ottewell, the “mean percentage of sky covered by cloud

in daylight hours” is lowest in October, which according

to the National Climatic Center in 1990 means that for

Roanoke on average “only 49%” of our days are cloud-

covered, with January the highest at about 63% and all

other months averaging percentages anywhere from the

mid to high 50s. (Oh woe is us!)

It was reported that the featured speaker for the No-

vember meeting would be Dr. Laurence Frederick of the

Astronomy Department, University of Virginia. It was

also reported that Carl Sagan would be appearing at the

University of Virginia. Presented by the Planetary Soci-

ety, the American Astronomical Society and the Univer-

sity, Dr. Sagan’s program was entitled “A Pale Blue Dot:

Exploring Other Worlds and Protecting this One.”

In an effort to recruit more members to RVAS, the

Club was offering current members a $7.50 credit to-

ward membership dues with each “new” full-member

successfully recruited.

RVAS 10 years ago In October 2005, RVAS was gearing up to host the

VAAS convention on November 5, 2005. RVAS vice-

president, Mike Overacker, was encouraging all mem-

bers to help with, personally support and promote the

event with friends, acquaintances and the teachers of

the children or grandchildren of members.

Katherine Hix, Club president, reported on a lecture at

Sweet Briar College, attended by several RVAS mem-

bers, given by Brian Greene, theoretical physicist at

Columbia University, and author of The Elegant Uni-

verse and The Fabric of the Cosmos. In addition to

Katherine, Mike Overacker, Paul Caffrey, John Goss,

Isaac Campbell and Fred Hoffman were present. Kathe-

rine goes on in the article to describe the historical

events related by Greene, beginning with Newton and

how they fit into the string hypothesis.

John Goss reported on the Club’s recently purchased a

Coronado MaxScope 40, a solar telescope. The article

goes on to describe the operation of the scope and the

views it can safely give an observer. The scope is availa-

ble to members for conducting daytime outreach pro-

grams.

The Newsletter reported that the annual RVAS picnic,

at the Franklin County Recreational Park on September

24th was “a non-viewing success” (what a surprise!). Afer

everyone had fully stuffed themselves, a short but

complete business meeting was held. A good time was

had by all (sans observing).

RVAS from the past By Bill Dillon

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 address. 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 moderator.

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— October 2015— Pg 7 of 10

Member Observation

During the Lunar eclipse of September 27/28, at 0028 EDT, there was a momentary thinning of the cloud

cover which allowed me to get a quick shot of the Lunar disk almost clear of the shadow umbra.

Photo by Dave Thomas

Thanks to Alan Hale at the South County Library for the data.

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 8 of 10

RVAS Library Telescope Loan Program

Utilization on 9/25/2015

Click here for more info

Location Currently

loaned?

Patrons

Waiting

Total Times

Loaned

Date Available to Patrons

Blue Ridge Yes 16 58 6/7/2012

Gainsboro Yes 1 9 4/23/2015

South County Yes 1 19 9/22/2014

Williamson Road Yes 5 15 10/6/2014

Welcome Mat

The Society bids a warm and cordial welcome to Peter and Betty-Paige Rosenfeld, of Roanoke County, who joined

in September with a Family Membership. A Navy veteran originally from New York City, Pete’s a radiologist at

Lewis Gale Hospital; Betty-Paige is from Newport News and is a homemaker. The Rosenfelds have lived in Roa-

noke for 14 years, having moved here following Pete’s completion of a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. They learned

about the club by searching the web and checking out our website. Pete says that he and Betty-Paige are both

astronomy beginners (“underlined and asterisked,” he notes) who are interested in learning more and having fun.

Other than binoculars, they don’t as yet own any equipment and want to gain from others’ experience before pur-

chasing a telescope. Among Pete’s interests is mountain climbing, an activity that has less pull on Betty-Paige,

though together they have scaled the famed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak. “She’s the runner of the fami-

ly,” according to Pete. Both enjoy traveling.

Pete and Betty-Paige, we’re glad to have you with us, and we hope to meet you soon at a meeting or other club ac-

tivity. You’ll find many of your fellow RVAS members more than ready to share their knowledge and views

through their equipment as you explore amateur astronomy.

2015 VAAS Conference Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies

This event is open to all amateur astronomers and astronomy educators

Saturday, October 3, 2015

National Radio Astronomy Observatory Headquarters

on the grounds of the University of Virginia

Schedule (subject to change)

8:45-9:00 Welcome

9:00 - 9:50 Alan Aylward – Auroras and Atmospheric Observing

10:00 -10:50 Rob Capon – Robotic Telescopes and Automated Observing

11:00 -1:00 Lunch and vendor tables/swap tables

1:00 - 1:50 Shanil Virani – James Madison University Planetarium

2:00 - 2:50 Ed Murphy and Ricky Patterson – History of Astronomy at UVA

3:00 - 3:50 David DeVorkin – History of Modern Astronomy

4:00 - 4:30 Closing remarks & Door Prize Drawing

7:00 – 10:00 Open House and Observing at McCormick Observatory

Door Prizes have been donated by:

Astronomy Magazine – year subscription

Explore Scientific - TBA

Oceanside Photo and Telescope – Celestron binoculars

The Planetary Society – Planetary Radio Swag

Sky and Telescope Magazine – Pocket Sky Atlas and Binocular Highlights

Starlight Instruments – $100.00 gift certificate

Registration is $10.00

(pre-registration before 10/3 – 2 tickets for Door Prize drawing)

More information and to register: http://cvilleastro.com/vaas-2015/

Questions, contact Steve Layman slayman2528@comcast.net

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 9 of 10

RVAS NL— October 2015— Pg 10 of 10

Monthly Calendar

ANNUAL RVAS PICNIC AND STAR PARTY: Saturday, October 10th, 3:00 p.m., Apple Ridge Farm, Cop-

per Hill, VA. Our annual bash for RVAS members and their families, which takes the place of our regular

monthly meeting! It’s an afternoon and evening of food, fun and friends, with prize drawings and solar viewing

and stargazing, weather permitting. Bring a covered dish, salad or dessert for our table. Burgers, hot dogs, and

beverages provided by the RVAS. There’s still time for members to sign up. Call the Message Line, 540-774-

5651; provide your name, phone number, number of adults, teens and children coming and the food item(s) you’re

bringing.

RVAS WEEKEND OBSERVING OPPORTUNITIES: Unless otherwise indicated, observing is held at Cahas Knob

Overlook, milepost 139 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

-- Friday and Saturday, October 2nd and 3rd. Sunset is at 7:01 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 8:28p.m. The

Moon rises at 10:47 and 11:40 p.m., respectively. (Note: October 3rd is the annual VAAS gathering, this year in

Charlottesville.)

-- Friday and Saturday, October 9th and 10th. Sunset is at 6:51 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 8:18 p.m.

The Moon sets at 5:16 and 5:47 p.m., respectively. (Note: October 10th is the annual RVAS picnic and star par-

ty for members and their families. See above.)

-- Friday and Saturday, October 30th and 31st. Sunset is at 6:24 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 7:52 p.m.

The Moon rises at 9:27 and 10:23 p.m., respectively.

-- Future Sessions: November 6th and 7th; November 13th and 14th.

ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: Saturday, October 3rd, 7:45 p.m., Carvin’s

Cover Boat Landing. (Note change of viewing location.) Nonmembers must register with Parks & Rec. at 540-

853-2236. Members can call 540-774-5651 for information. (Next session: November 7th, 6:00 p.m., Cahas Knob

Overlook, milepost 139, Blue Ridge Parkway.)

Astro-Quiz

The Sun has a complex structure composed of many zones and layers. When we observe sunspots through a

properly equipped telescope, what layer of that structure are we seeing?

Answer to Last Month’s Quiz: From 1603 to 1801, four celestial cartographers produced what are generally

considered the “Great” atlases of the heavens: Bayer (1603), Hevelius (1690, published posthumously), Flamsteed

(1729, also published posthumously) and Bode (1801). While striking for their ornate constellation figures over-

laid on the stars, all displayed their stars as dark symbols against a white or light background. Departing from

this approach, in 1799, German born Christian Friedrich Goldbach published his volume of 56 maps, containing

10,500 stars shown as white dots against a black background, as if one were looking at the night sky. Have an an-

swer to this month’s quiz (or a future question and answer to suggest)? E-mail it to astroquiz@rvasclub.org!