THINGS TO DO!

 

We encourage and appreciate any ideas that you imaginative members can offer.
Think of this as an opportunity to start and share research activity in astronomy.
Spring Compton Lectures
 The Spring Compton lectures begin on Saturday, April 6th at 11 A.M. in the Kirsten Physics Building, 5720 S. Ellis Avenue on the campus of the University of Chicago. This series of 8, one-hour Saturday morning lectures is entitled, "Frustrated Geometry: The shapes of things in science are not always the way they should be." It is not necessary to have a degree or experience in math or science to understand and enjoy the talks. The speaker will be Effi Effrati, a Post Doctoral fellow at the Fermi Institute.

Parking is available on the street with payment of $1.50 per hour. There is a FREE (usually) parking garage at 55th and Ellis.

CTA?? Red or Green Lines to Garfield (55th Street); 55th Street Bus to Ellis avenue then walk 3 blocks south.

AUGUST 10, 2013
 In conjunction with the banner event below, CAS Board member Audrey Fischer is looking
for ideas for our organization to participate.  Please contact her at:

773.233.5037, 773.233.7579

Volunteers needed:
"Dark Side of the Moon"
concert at Ravinia
Sunday, Sept 8, 2013 at 7PM

Sunday, Sept 8 at 7PM is the "Dark Side of the Moon" concert at Ravinia.

Volunteers from 5 local astronomy organizations will be providing public telescope viewing

of the conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Saturn. We'll also have a nice tent display

of astronomical goodies and activities. We'd really appreciate your coming down!

http://www.ravinia.org/ViewDate.aspx?show=689 The timing happens to work out perfectly with Astrofest.

Astronomers will be able to break camp on Sunday morning, enjoy the state park and, if they want to,

join us at Ravinia for the Dark Side of the Moon Concert. So, let us know if you can make it...

and we'll put you on the RSVP. Registration required, but also FREE : )   

Contact Audrey if you would like to participate as a volunteer.  audreyfischer@sbcglobal.net

 

Our March 2013 lecturer Peter Doran, University of Illinois at Chicago, is also co-founder of the
Homewood Flossmoor Science Pub,
a monthly gathering of academics, engineers and regular guys who like science. They gather at Grady’s Grille in Homewood or the Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery every month to hear public lectures from scientists.  The spots are easily accessible by Metra electric.  Those interested can sign up at the blog spot, http://homewood-flossmoorsciencepub.blogspot.com/
or check them out on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/HomewoodFlossmoorSciencePub#!/HomewoodFlossmoorSciencePub/info.

BUILD YOUR OWN SCOPE
Do you want to make the optics for your telescope?
Call Dan Joyce at (773) 580-2480 any day after 10:00 am.
His shop is at 9701 Grand Ave. (under the lawyer's office) in Franklin Park.
Times vary (Right now Wed & Thu 7:30 pm and Sat at 1:30 pm.)
Students have finished up to 23" optics.
Graduated fee for both size and design.

TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY COURSE
 The Calument Astronomical Society is holding a comprehensive astrophotography course this summer at Conway Observatory near Lowell, Indiana. Details can be found at www.casonline.org/CAS/astrophotographyclasses.html

A new observatory / laboratory has been constructed specifically for this purpose, the Mildred Hunter Astrophotography Lab. This observatory, which is a unique asymmetrical roll off roof building, features a 6" refractor sporting cutting edge technology, yet is surprisingly affordable. Encourage your members to sign up, they will learn a lot!

Christopher B. Brownewell
President
Calumet Astronomical Society
 www.casonline.org
219-741-2686

Below is the page that was started some years ago by
former CAS President and public school teacher Walter Glogowski.   Walter is no longer affiliated with
the Chicago Astronomical Society, but his inspiration lives on.  Some of the links may no longer work:

Height of Lunar Mountains
With a little geometry, algebra, and a CCD camera you can estimate the height of lunar features to within one pixel error! Below, you will find some basic information to get you started and a few well-tested web sites for reference.

Determination of Jupiter’s Mass
If you are an observer of Jupiter there are several interesting projects you can perform. One project is to take CCD images of Jupiter and one or more of it’s moons to determine the approximate mass of the planet! Another is to take CCD images of Jupiter concentrating on its giant red spot to determine it’s approximate rotational period. Below, you will find some basic information to get you started and a few well-tested web sites for reference. Center for Backyard Astrophysics
If you are interested in observing variable stars, here’s a twist. The Center for Backyard Astrophysics was founded by David Skillman in the 1970s. The single product of the CBA was, and still is, light curves of variable stars, but not just ay variable stars! You can study cataclysmic variables (CVs). There are many ways to become involved please check their web site. Beautiful Astronomical Images
We know that many of our members are interested in taking and processing astrophotographs. If you would like to have them proudly displayed on our web site, send a high quality image (jpg format) to the Webmaster with the following information:
Telescope used:
Focal Length:
Camera used:
Exposures used:
Date of exposure:
Processing techniques:
Object name:

Want to Discover a Comet?

ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s realtime coronagraph movies are online. Anyone can access the data. Half of the top ten SOHO comet hunters are amateurs. Oates: 28 discoveries; Stezelberger: 14 discoveries; Boschat: 11 discoveries; Lovejoy: 9 discoveries; and Meyer: 7 discoveries.

If you want to become a hunter, go to the SOHO webpage. The coronagraph data is posted every 30 minutes or less. Find out the criteria for comet discovery. Discovery info should be sent to Goddard Space Flight Center. Confirmed discoveries are listed on "What's New" at: http://sungrazer.gsfc.nasa.gov

Source: "Some Comets Like it Hot", NASA Science News; 7-7-00 release via stardust-owner (NASA) and baalke (NASA).