DR. SMITH'S BACK YARD ASTRONOMY

WVAC STAR PARTY SCHEDULE & INFO

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NEXT STAR PARTY JUNE 16, 2012

SEE ARIZONA TRUST

LAND PERMIT NOTICE BELOW

DON’T FORGET

THE WEST VALLEY ASTRONOMY CLUB MEETING APRIL 3, 2012

NOTE: You do not need to have a telescope to attend the West Valley Astronomy Club star parties (FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC); those with scopes are always happy to share. If you do have a scope and are having trouble setting it up there will be someone there who can help. By all means bring binoculars if you have them and a folding lawn chair or something to sit on. Come and stay as long as you like. Try to arrive before sunset. See you there!

Bring a folding lawn chair or something to sit on, binoculars and your planisphere, if you have one; I will show you how to use it. Of course, some of you have your iPods or iPhones with planetarium Apps and don’t need a planisphere; lucky you (see comments below).

Finally, it is still on the cool side after dark, so bring a light sweater or jacket and perhaps a thermos of hot chocolate or coffee might be a good idea too. Also don't forget to have your Arizona Trust Land Permit displayed in your car. See you there.

REMINDER--IT MAY BE TIME TO RENEW YOUR PERMIT

ARIZONA TRUST LAND PERMIT NOTICE

Recently we learned that the location where we have gathered for our star parties is on Arizona State Trust Land. That isn't necessarily bad news. However, it does mean that in order to continue gathering there, individuals who attend the “Star Parties” will need to obtain either an "Individual" or "Family" use permit. The fees for these are $15 and $20, respectively and are an annual fee good for all State Trust Land that is open for recreation throughout the state. The permit also allows a wide range of recreational activities, hiking, camping, etc. The form for the permit may be found at:

http://www.land.state.az.us/programs/natural/recreation_permit.htm

You should decide which type of permit applies to you, print it and fill it out and mail in the form with your payment. I have looked into the "Group" and "Special Use" permits and found them to be too expensive for the club and are very restrictive on dates and times of use. I talked to Mr. Kenneth Lamb (ASLD) and he recommended that it would be much easier if our club members or other star party attendees obtained "Individual" or "Family" permits rather than for the club to try to meet the requirements for the "Group" or "Special Use" permits. Mr. Lamb also pointed out that individuals found without proper permits risk being cited for "Criminal Trespass". While this is a bit troublesome, it means that we will be able to continue using the site for our star parties and not have to seek another location. It is convenient and has proven to be an excellent dark sky location with good viewing. I hope this will not prevent you from enjoying the wonders of the night sky with us. PLANISPHERE etc. One of the things you can do in your backyard is learn or review the constellations. An excellent and handy aid for this is a “Planisphere” which shows the sky (north and south views) and constellations for a given latitude (ours is 30^o to 40^o) at any hour or date. I always keep one handy to use in my backyard or in the field at star parties. David Chandler’s Planispheres (blue figures on white background) are the “standard” and can be purchased from Oceanside Photo & Telescope. Sky & Telescope offers an excellent planisphere (white stars and constellations on black background). Orion Telescope & Binocular sells their planisphere in a “Beginning Stargazer’s Toolkit” with red light and several other useful charts.

Some of you gadget folks have discovered the Astronomy applications (apps) available for the iPhone and iPad; many are now also available for the new Droid. These all utilize the built-in GPS, motion sensor and graphic capabilities of the units. Unlike the planisphere, you just point the device at a region of the sky and it shows you what you are looking at; pretty handy indeed. I do not own one of these devices and am relying on a professional astronomy friend in California who does. He uses “GoSkyWatch Planetarium” as his primary planetarium app; a handheld planisphere. There are a bunch of astronomy apps available, some FREE or minimal charge. Here are a few you might checkout if you have one of these devices.

Astronomy Clock: http://emeraldsequoia.com/eo/

Moon HD: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/deluxe-moon-hd/id428453273?mt=8

Planets: http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=66730&expand=false Messier list: http://smokinapps.com/app/messier-list/
Exoplanets: http://exoplanet.hanno-rein.de/iphone/

NGC list: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-general-catalogue-ngc/id396440918?mt=8

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/iphone/index.html

APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/astronomy-picture-of-the-day/id304006512?mt=8

3D Sun: http://3dsun.org/

RED LIGHTS AND PROTECTING YOUR NIGHT VISION Seeing some of the faint deep sky objects can be difficult at times and this may be more so if your eyes aren’t fully “dark adapted” (see discussion of “Averted Vision” on the “Projects” page). It takes about thirty minutes for your eyes to become fully adjusted to the dark. A bright white light will wipe out your “night vision” and it will take another thirty minutes to reacquire it. Thus, we use a “red light” to find our way around at a star party. NOTE: As a matter of courtesy, try to keep your red lights down directed and try not to shine them in people's eyes. If you arrive after sunset, please switch your headlights to parking, if possible, to avoid wiping out everybody's dark vision. Also when leaving the dark sky site, please use your parking lights until you turn onto the road to depart. We all thank you. Red lights may be purchased at any number of places (see “reputable vendors” at the bottom of the Telescope page). Or, you can make one very easily—“quick and dirty”. You can purchase a small cheap flashlight at Walmart, Target, etc. and simply use a deep red fingernail polish to paint over the lens; two coats may be necessary. You may also use a piece of deep red cellophane cut to fit or cover the lens; several layers may be necessary.

DIRECTIONS TO OUR DARK SKY SITE

We have found and been using an excellent and conveniently located dark sky site for the last few years for our star parties. It is located on the Castle Hot Springs road just off of SR 79. Directions from the intersection of Bell Rd. and Grand Ave. are as follows: Take Grand Ave. (US 60) northwest toward Wickenburg for approx. 20 miles to Morristown Turn right on “Castle Hot Springs Rd.” (this turn off is 1/2 mile beyond the "Refuse Transfer Station" at the bottom of the Morristown railroad overpass on US 60) Follow “Castle Hot Springs Rd.” for approx. two miles (you will cross SR 74) The dark sky site is a large, wide RV pullout area on your right (you will see the telescope field); it is about 1.3 mile after you cross SR 74.

The roads are paved all the way. If you miss the turnoff at US 60 and Castle Hot Springs Rd. simply continue on to SR 74 in another mile and turn right on it, you will come to Castle Hot Springs Rd. in about a mile, turn left and continue for about 1.3 miles; the dark sky site will be on your right

The GPS coordinates are: N 33^o 52.696’ and W 112^o 35.925’.

STAR PARTY SCHEDULE FOR 2012

     May 20, 2012: TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE plus Saturn, Mars and the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies*
     June 5, 2012: VENUS TRANSIT [no organized viewing planned]*
     June 16, 2012: Setting Planets and rising Summer sky
*The May 20, 2012 and June 5, 2012 Star parties will concern solar (daytime) events both starting in the early PM. There will be more information coming as we get nearer those dates.

Depending on traffic, it is about a 20 to 30 minute drive from Bell and Grand. Plan to arrive 30 to 40 minutes before sunset so you can become oriented in the daylight. Those bringing telescopes will want to arrive a bit earlier so they can set up and get ready to align your scope.
If you have binoculars, by all means bring them as well as a folding lawn chair or something to sit on. Dress for the weather; I recommend a light jacket. Street shoes will be sufficient; I would not recommend open-toed sandals.  Bring a flashlight but cover the lens with some red cellophane or bring a “red light” flashlight if you have one (see above). A red light is important because it takes about 20 minutes for your and other’s eyes to “dark adapt”; white light wipes it out. Red light does not harm “dark adaptation”. Red lights can be purchased at either OPT or Orion (see links on Telescope page).

A small thermos of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate can be a nice creature comfort.

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WVAC STAR PARTY SCHEDULE & INFO