November 2005 One Mile Nearer the Stars Page 1

OBSERVERThe Denver

N O V E M B E R S K I E S

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President’s Corner .................... 2

Schedule of Events ................... 2

Officers ................................... 2

AstroQuiz................................ 3

Astronomy Day Recap ........... 3,7

Caching In on Cloudy Nights .. 4,5

DSS Information ..................... 6

Image Processing Class ............. 7

Membership Info ........ back page

NOVEMBER 2005

Solar Minimum?Excuse me? Our star has been very active in spite of solar minimum. This image was made onOctober 3, 2005, and similar prominences were seen by the crowd present for Colorado AstronomyDay at Chamberlin Observatory. Employing eyepiece projection, David used a Canon Rebel XT ona 20mm Tele Vue Plossl through a Coronado MaxScope 40.

A CELESTIAL CORNUCOPIA

Newsletter of the Denver Astronomical SocietyOne Mile Nearer the Stars

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The stars of summer are bowing toward the westafter their usual grand showing. The globular clus-

ters and nebulae are making way for their autumn sib-lings to take over for a while, and though there’s a chill inthe air, there’s plenty of fire overhead to keep you warm.

THE PLANETSNeptune and Uranus are low, but well placed for view-ing early in the evening; look carefully for their distinc-tive green and blue discs, respectively. Magnificent Marsrides high in the eastern sky as it approaches oppositionand early reports indicate brighter-than-usual polar caps.The ringed giant, Saturn, vaults the horizon near mid-night, showing as a non-twinkling bright beige dot. This

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huge lighter-than-water body and its family of ringsappears enticing, even in modest telescopes.

NOVEMBER PREDOMINANT MESSIER OBJECTS# Description RA DEC57 Ring Nebula 18h 53m49s +33° 02’33"76 Little Dumbbell 01h 42m40s +51° 35’43"31 Andromeda Gal. 00h 43m04s +41° 18’03"33 Pinwheel Gal. 01h 34m11s +30° 41’26"52 Open cluster 23h 24m29s +61° 36’55"15 Globular cluster 21h 30m17s +12° 11’34"72 Globular cluster 20h 53m50s -12° 30’44"103 Open cluster 01h 33m36s +60° 43’43"34 Open cluster 02h 42m23s +42° 48’29"38 Open cluster 05h 28m42s +35°50’00"36 Open cluster 05h 36m06s +34°08’00"37 Open cluster 05h 52m24s +32°33’00"35 Open cluster 06h 08m54s +24°20’00"45 The Pleiades 03h 46m19s +23°56’54"77 Spiral galaxy 02h 42m42s -00°01’00"1 Crab Nebula 05h 34m30s +22°01’00"74 Spiral galaxy 01h 36m42s +15°47’00"

1 ........................................... New moon7 ................................Mars at opposition8 ................................ First quarter moon15 ........................................... Full moon17 .......................... Leonid meteors peak23 .............................. Last quarter moon

Page 2 The Denver Observer November 2005

DAS Information Line:(303) 871-5172

DAS Correspondence:Denver Astronomical SocietyChamberlin Observatory C/O Steve Solon2930 East Warren AvenueDenver, Colorado 80210

Van Nattan Scholarship FundP.O. Box 150743Lakewood, Colorado 80215-0743

Webmistress:Patti KurtzEmail: pkurtz@starfirecreations.comNewsletter:Denver Observer acting editor, Patti KurtzStarFire Creations Unlimited(720) 217-5707The Observer is available in color PDF for-mat from the DAS website.

The Executive Board conducts thebusiness of the DAS at 8 P.M. at

Chamberlin Observatory. Please see theSchedule of Events for meeting dates. All

members are welcome.

Carla Swartz, Past PresidentPresident Emeritus, Larry Brooks

DAS Officers

t h e d a s . o r g

PRESIDENT’S CORNERPresident:Steve Solon (303) 932-7613Email: Galaxyshots@att.netVice President:Wayne Green (303) 530-1023Email: wayne@infosavvy.orgSecretary:Stuart Hutchins (303) 670-1299Email: stuart-atm@earthlink.netTreasurer:Sandy Shaw (303) 234-0264Email: m6m7@earthlink.netALCor:Sandy Shaw (303) 234-0264Email: m6m7@earthlink.netIDA Representative:Dr. Robert Stencel

NOVEMBER

5 Open House at ChamberlinObservatory (begins at 7:00 P.M.)

11 E-Board meeting, 8 P.M.18 General Meeting (Members Show

‘N Tell, 7:30 P.M.)24 Thanksgiving

Public nights are held every Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning at thefollowing times: October 1 - March 31 at 7:00 P.M.

April 1 - September 30 at 8:30 P.M. at Chamberlin ObservatoryCosts to non-members are: $3.00 adults, $2.00 children.

Please call (303) 871-5172 for reservations.DA

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They came—they saw—and theyexperienced. Such was our Oc-tober gathering of the astronomi-

cal —Colorado Astronomy Day. You know,organizing this day is no easy feat. I am gratefulto everyone who provided, displayed, lecturedand counted beans, but we all owe a deep debtof gratitude to one Mr. Darrell Dodge for put-ting together a day that I truly believe was amongour best. Darrell, my friend, you assembled onegreat show. The weather was perfect, right downto the temperature, which, as we all know, canbe a little dicey in October; but luck prevailed.

While ‘ole man Sol was a bit quiet on thesunspot front, the displays of prominences andfaculae in h-alpha were tremendous, and wecertainly provided enough scopes for everyone(including the volleyball teams) to take a peek;all this in addition to ingenious spectral-analysishardware that spiced up the viewing.

We had terrific presentations by the ATOMgroup of teens from the Denver Museum ofNature and Science on meteor showers, andAaron Reid provided his always-informativelecture on light pollution and the IDA; my

thanks to him and to Dr.Stencel for keeping darkskies in the forefront of theday’s topics.

And the scopes, thescopes, the scopes—

somewhere in theneighborhood of 60, by some accounts, and

personnelled, as always, by the ever-enthusiasticmembers of the Society. I can tell you that thefeedback from guests was very warming—youall did a wonderful job the entire day.

On a political note, although it’s a few monthsaway, t’is time to starting thinking about electionsfor the Executive Board. Serving the Society isinvigorating, among many other things. We arethe fourth largest astronomical Society in thecountry; thus, there are opportunities to shapethe way we govern ourselves, present to the publicand look to the future of the Society and ourhome, Historic Chamberlin Observatory. If youhave experience and enthusiasm to offer, considerrunning for one of the Officer or Board seats.Your valuable time and contributions will bemuch appreciated.

Best to all.—Steve Solon

DECEMBER

3 Holiday Potluck (Takes the place ofthe General Meeting)

3-4 Dark Sky Site Weekend10 Open House at Chamberlin

Observatory (begins at 7:00 P.M.)16 E-Board meeting, 8 P.M.25 Christmas Day

Hanukkah begins at sundown31-1 Dark Sky Site Weekend

Ron MickleBill Ormbsy

David ShouldiceDan Wray

Darrell DodgeJack EastmanJoe GaffordFrank Mancini

Executive Board Members

Frank Mancini and Darrell Dodge at the 2005Colorado Astronomy Day on October 8.

Photo copytright Steve Solon

November 2005 One Mile Nearer the Stars Page 3

colorado astronomy day

By all accounts, the 2005 version of Colo-rado Astronomy Day was a big success. TheDAS is a truly amazing volunteer organiza-tion, and the flexibility and commitmentof its members was really on display this year.For a change, even the weather cooperated!

Visitors during the daytime were rathersparse, perhaps because people driving upto Observatory Park were confronted witha huge, noisy, 12-court DU club volleyballtournament on the lawn in front of the ob-servatory. Even this worked out, however,when Frank Mancini started promotingCAD 2005 through the tournament’s DJand groups of curious students came overto look through our solar telescopes. In ap-preciation, the clubs treated DAS membersto a tasty lunch from Quiznos.

With almost no sunspot activity, the smallflotilla of H-Alpha Coronados was a life-saver this year, showing the spectacularprominence and filament activity. JohnAnderson’s spectroscope and display, Stuart’sinfrared demonstration, Jim Holder’s field-of-view project, and the DAS CollimationTeam (which tried to answer the question“how many male astronomers does it taketo adjust a pretty female astronomer’s tele-scope?”) provided some additional outsideactivities.

Inside the observatory, the Active Teensof the Museum (ATOM) staffed an outreachtable; Dan Wray’s meteorite display caseswere set up; Wayne Green and DSES dis-played a solar radio telescope; Dr. Stencel’sdark sky lighting display was featured; andSteve, Rich and Brad kept the Clark trainedon the three tiny sunspots for observers.Well-attended presentations were made byNaomi Pequette of the ATOM group, whodiscussed the Draconid meteor shower;Aaron Reid, who went over dark sky light-ing equipment; and Steve Solon, who en-tertained in his usual inimitable way on thenight’s sky and this year’s Mars apparition.

The evening observing session attracted abig, diverse and appreciative crowd and wasstaffed by literally dozens of DAS telescopeoperators. Several members provided spe-cial computer software and video demos.

An expected change of weather held offjust long enough to give us a fine evening ofobserving, ending with fuzzy views of Marsover the trees to the East before the cloudsclosed in after 10 pm.

Special thanks go to Dr. Stencel and DU;Patti for DAS newsletter and Web site sup-port; Cathy and S&S staff for word of

Astr oQu i zAs t r oQu i zAs t r oQu i zAs t r oQu i zAs t r oQu i z(Look for the answer in this issue.)

Q. Where is the largest canyon system inthe solar system and how did it get itsname?AstroQuiz is contributed by Sandy Shaw.

Colorado Astronomy Day Recapby Darrell Dodge

All images copyright SteveSolon

Brad Gilman gets ready for“customers” at the “businessend” of the 20-inch Alvan Clarkrefractor in the ChamberlinObservatory dome.

mouth promotion and handing out dozensof brochures; Bill Ormsby, for being therewith the key at 7:45 A.M.; Chuck Carlsonfor many hours staffing the DAS Table inChamberlin; Michael, Naomi, and Adrienneof the ATOM group for their outreach tableand day-long participation; Steve Solon,Rich, Brad and other tireless Clark opera-

Continued on page 7

Bryan White displayed his fabulous 3-Dphotos.

Dan Wray’s meteor display made quite animpact on visitors.

Page 4 The Denver Observer November 2005

Caching in on ThoseCloudy Nights

o b s e r v e r s d e c k

Frustrated by a spell of cloudynights that have kept you fromobserving? Are you wild to

embark on yet another astronomicaltreasure hunt? And, in a seeminglyunrelated problem, have you ex-hausted the uses for your GPS re-ceiver? Now that you’ve GPSed yourfront yard, back yard, favorite observ-ing sites, and all of your friend’s andrelative’s houses, what next?

There’s a simple solution to bothproblems: geocaching, a sport thatnicely complements astronomy. Thisrelatively new game began in 2000when one GPS user hiked into thewoods, hid a container with a logbookand prizes, and then posted the coor-dinates on an internet GPS users’group. Within days others had usedtheir GPS receivers to find the cacheand sign the logbook. Today the gameis worldwide, with caches in 218countries.

During its first five years,geocaching has expanded far beyondthe traditional concept of searchingfor a container, signing a logbook, andtrading prizes. Multi caches direct youto a preliminary set of coordinates;once there, you retrieve clues or co-ordinates to the next waypoint andsolve or follow them to find the finalcontainer and sign its logbook. Puzzlecaches challenge the brain withriddles, mathematical problems, orknowledge quizzes in order to figureout the coordinates that will guide youto the logbook. Virtual caches takeyou to a scenic or historic spot where

there is no logbook or container oftrading items; instead, you explore thesite and email information you seethere to the cache owner to verify yourfind. Webcam caches require you tolocate a particular camera, positionyourself in its view, wait until the cam-era catches you, and post the photo.Traditional caches have evolved: manyare astonishingly tiny (less than 1/2" x1/2" x 1/2"), containing only a minia-ture logbook; many are highly camou-flaged, making them difficult to find;many are hidden in surprisingly unusualplaces, earning the esteemed praise ofbeing “devious;” many are best done atnight, either because they have beendesigned to be reflective and show upbetter when it’s dark or because throngsof people won’t be present to impedethe search.

Many caches are dedicated to as-tronomy themes. “The AmazingSpacewalk Adventure” (GCNF73) in-vites cachers to be astronauts for anhour as they tour the Colorado ScaleModel Solar System in Boulder. Ex-tending about half a mile from a pyra-mid topped with a golden sphere rep-resenting the Sun, the walkable outdoormodel illustrates the relative sizes anddistances of our star and nine planetswith plaques marking the location ofeach object. (While in Boulder, astro-nomical history buffs can visit the graveof physicist and cosmologist GeorgeGamow at N 39° 59.649' W 105°16.168.) “Grant Ranch Scale Solar Sys-tem” (GCHZDJ) in southwest Denvertours another walkable planetary map.Starting with a yellow circular pavingstone representing the Sun, walkersstroll along an urban greenbelt wherehidden film canisters mark the planet’spositions. “On a Clear Night You CanSee Forever” (GCPXTG) explores his-toric Chamberlin Observatory. Begin-ning at the main building with a de-scription of the dark night sky a hun-

by Sandy Shaw

A benchmark and GPS unit.Photographer unknown

November 2005 One Mile Nearer the Stars Page 5

o b s e r v e r s d e c k

dred years ago, the cache takes visitorsthrough the dramatic history of theobservatory, stops at the student obser-vatory, and ends with a logbook in acontainer stocked with celestial themedtrading items. “Charlie’s Nemeses”(GCPJX1) presents a rhyming puzzlethat will seem oddly familiar to ama-teur astronomers. Solving the poem’ssecret takes cachers to a lovely pan-oramic view where they will find thelogbook. “Starry, Starry Night”(GC68FE) invites people on a tour ofastronomy, art, music, and maps. Al-though the cache is located in Massa-chusetts, you don’t need to travel far-ther than your computer to solve it.“The Right Stuff ” (GCQM2B) pre-sents another puzzle for amateur as-tronomers to navigate.

Sundials are featured in variousgeocaches. To see some beautiful solartimepieces, visit “What Time Is It?”(GCJ2X7), “Rock Through Time”(GCFB9O), and “Sundial” (GCPK1O).

Geocaching dovetails perfectly withstar parties. Clear nights devoted to ob-serving and pleasant days reserved forexploring the surrounding landscape bylooking for caches make a delightfulvacation. Non-observing family mem-bers especially appreciate the diversionof cache-seeking side trips. Coinciden-tally, the first geocache placed in Colo-rado, “Tarryall” (GC18), is within a fewmiles of the area used by the annualstar party Rocky Mountain Star Stare!

Excellent caches are not necessarilydevoted to astronomy. “Algebra 101”(GCQ68B) hones math skills and re-wards seekers with two scenic areas.“Desktop triangulate” (GCFC32), nowarchived, turns geometry into fun; suc-cessful calculations take you to the rightspot. “Cache Free GDM” (GCN2BB)requires trigonometric functions tohelp seekers zero in on the container.

“Accordion a lobefin” (GCN5K7) pro-vides an entertaining and challengingpuzzle with a photograph for its pri-mary clue. “Mondo’s Star #1"(GCNCJM) and the growing list ofMondo’s Star caches offer differentpuzzles each time; after solving one,you’ll know what the final destinationof each will include. The amusing“Hootie’s Patootie” (GCJJCC) will keepyou smiling for the rest of the day. Nu-merous caches take you on scenic trails,to local historic sites, through gorgeousurban parks, to outdoor sculptures, andto unusual places that would have beenmissed without geocaching. While trav-eling, caching introduces visitors tobeautiful views and memorable placesthat most tourists never see.

To enter the geocaching game, visithttp://www.geocaching.com to read de-scriptions of caches all over the worldand helpful hints on finding them. Eachcache has a unique waypoint name be-ginning with GC to identify it. Everycache description lists the type, whethertraditional, multi, virtual, puzzle,webcam, or other; lists the initial coor-dinates (if not puzzle); shows the sizeof the container (if not virtual orwebcam); rates difficulty level and ter-

rain; provides a mini-map of the gen-eral location; may offer clues or picturesto help searchers; and shows logs of pre-vious finders. Register a user ID (it’sfree), print out a cache listing, and takeyour GPS receiver to enjoy your firsthigh tech treasure hunt. There’s prob-ably a cache near you.

Geocaching is uncannily similar toastronomy: you’re searching for thingsyou may not find, you’re enjoying beau-tiful views, you’re exploring new ideasand mental challenges, you’re often ina lonely spot performing rituals thatmight appear bizarre to onlookers,you’re frequently out at night in oddlocations and may find yourself explain-ing your presence to the police! Butthere is one big difference between as-tronomy and geocaching: when it’s toocloudy to use your telescope to huntfor treasures in the sky, you can use yourGPS receiver to find treasures beneaththe sky.

When Sandy is not observing the nightsky or performing her duties as DAS Trea-surer, she can often be spotted on the cach-ing trail. Sandy has found more than 300caches in seven states and has placed ninecaches, including three with astronomythemes.

Astro-Quiz Answer

A: Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system, is located just southof the Martian equator. The system is about 4000 km (2400 miles) long, and, if superim-posed on earth, would extend all the way across the United States. The central indi-vidual troughs, generally 50 to 100 km (30 to 60 miles) wide, merge into a depression asmuch as 600 km (360 miles) wide. In places the canyon floor reaches a depth of 10 km (6miles), 6 to 7 times deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon. Part of the canyon was mappedas one of the so-called Martian “canals” by Schiaparelli, Lowell, and others in the late1800s.Originally named Coprates by Lowell, the true extent of the feature was revealedwhen Mariner 9 began the first close-up mapping of Mars in 1971. As a dust stormabated, an unexpected whitish streak appeared in the position of Coprates and grewuntil it stretched 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) east-west. The mystery was solved whenthe dust settled further, exposing the canyon’s rim and showing the bright band to beairborne dust swirling in a enormous system of parallel and cross canyons. Mariner 9scientists wanted a grander name than Coprates for this grandest of all canyons andrenamed it Valles Marineris (Valleys of Mariner) after their own spacecraft.—AstroQuiz is contributed by Sandy Shaw.

Page 6 The Denver Observer November 2005

The DAS Edmund G. Kline Dark Site isabout 60 miles east of the “mousetrap”in downtown Denver.

Take I-70 east to the Deer Trail exit(exit 328), turn left at the end of the exit

ramp, and turn left again on CR 217 (af-ter the Texaco station). Take CR 217 just

over 1/2 mile, and turn right (east) ontoCR 34. Stay on CR 34 about 6 miles until

you get to CR 241. Turn left (north) ontoCR 241 and continue about 1.5 miles –

you’ll see a culvert with a wide gate onthe right (east) side of the road.

Directions to the site from Denver, arrivalfrom the North (for after-dark arrivals):

Take I-70 eastbound to exit 316(Byers). Turn left at end of ramp which

puts you on eastbound US-36. Take US-36 east 17.2 miles to CR 241. Turn right

(south) onto CR 241 and continue for 6.2miles. The DSS entrance is on the left be-

tween two tall posts.Note: Travel distance from Denver

using the North route is actually 3.9 milesshorter than the traditional route. Thefirst 5 miles of CR 241 going south fromUS-36 is narrow and somewhat rough.Be careful.

• The last people on the site must turn

off the lights and the heat.

• A microwave will be provided for

warming food. Please clean up after

yourself.

• No pots and pans, appliances, or other

supplies are to be left in the shed.

• No personal supplies are to be left in

the shed overnight.

• Do not donate furniture or other things

unless you clear it with the D.S.S.

committee first.

• No food left overnight in the shed.

• No sleeping overnight in the shed.

• Quick naps are permitted if you feel

you might fall asleep on the way home.

We would prefer you get your nap

rather than falling asleep on the road.

However, we don’t want it to become

a tent for camping.

• Clean up after yourself before you leave

the site.

• Please clean up all food that drops or

is spilled, otherwise it will attract mice

and insects.

Warming Hut Rules

Directions to the

E.G. Kline Dark Site

Dark Sky Site CourtesyPlease remember that white light disrupts the eye’s dark adaptation and can ruin

astrophotography. Following these simple guidelines will improve the experience for all:

� Prospective members, out of townastronomers, and others may be guestsone time.

� Members can bring family any time andpersonal friends on a limited basis, butshould not abuse the privilege.

� Groups of five or more guests must becleared through the President or VicePresident prior to visiting the Dark Sky Site.

� There is no sleeping in the warming shedovernight. However if you need to nap for ashort period, you can use the shed. We wouldrather you fall asleep there rather than at thewheel on the way home.

� You may warm drinks in the microwave—it is not there for warming food and cookingsince we have no water to clean up. If youspill, please clean up after yourself

OTHER SUGGESTIONS:� Wear warm clothing. The nights can be

extremely cold in the winter andsurprisingly cold in the summer.

� Bring your own power such as a batteryand/or an inverter since the power sitesare limited. Also bring extension chords.

� Hot drinks can help you survive the night!� When approaching the telescope of

someone who does not know you, introduceyourself and ask before looking through thescope. Most members (with the exceptionof astrophotographers when they are takingpictures) will be happy to share their scopes.

� Bring your own toilet paper in case that in theporta-potty runs out.

� Upon arrival at the site, check to see if signin has been instituted at the warming hut.We hope this will help alleviate problemsmembers may be experiencing in trying tofind a place to set up.

� Drive carefully on the road, there are blindspots in the low area and you will find cattleon the road at times.

� Try to arrive before dark.� If you have to arrive after dark, turn off

headlights when turning into site.� Turn off all dome and trunk lights. If a light

can’t be turned off, pull the fuse, use layeredred brake light tape or just duct tape overit.

� When you drive in, position your car so youcan drive out directly instead of using yourback up lights.

� Use only dim red flashlights. Never shine aflashlight in someone’s face or on their scope.

� Please wipe your feet carefully beforeusing the warming hut.

� Please chip in and do some cleaning up in thehut or at the observing sites. It is theresponsibility of all users to keep the place nice.

� Serious astrophotographers may wish to usethe South field since it is somewhat isolatedfrom the rest of the area.

� If you are the last person to leave the site,turn off the lights and the heaters in thewarming hut. Then, lock the warming hutand close the gate to the site.

� Members are responsible for educating theirguests as to the rules.

edumund g. kline dark site

Image copyright Craig Anderson

Triple TreatThe Trifid Nebula (M20)

November 2005 One Mile Nearer the Stars Page 7

o b s e r v e r s d e c k

Image Processing Class AnnouncementOver the past year or so, there have been

many requests for a class on how toprocess images taken with CCD cameras—what do you do with them once you’vetaken them and how do they all cometogether?

On Saturday, November 5th at OlinScience Hall, Room 105, your questions willbe answered. DAS President and astro-imager Steve Solon will present, “CCDImaging - The Basic Process”, a2-hour “how do you do it?”class which will take imagesfrom raw FITS filesthrough the myriad ofsteps to the finishedproduct, black andwhite or color.

This is a free class and is open toeveryone, but pre-registration is requestedby calling (303) 932-7613 and leaving yourname and the number in your party.

There are no knowledge or equipmentprerequisites, just the desire to squeezeevery bit of data and beauty out of the

images you’veworked so hard to

acquire (a notebookand pen certainly won’t

hurt.)So come one, come all on

Saturday, November 5th from 1to 3 p.m. (length approximate) to

Olin Science Hall, room 105, twoblocks west of University on Iliff. Parking

is free on the streets around Olin, but watchsigns carefully to avoid tickets.

If you know there is much more to theimages you’ve been taking, this will be aterrific opportunity to learn some tricks youmay not have known before and have yourquestions answered. See you there.

NGC 4565 (nicely done), Image copyright Steve Solon

tors; those who provided displays and ex-hibits; the mirror-grinding group; the pre-senters (Steve, Naomi, and Aaron Reid); TedCox and Carla Swartz for help with the pizzadinner; the two Brians for providing par-ticipation from Boulder and ColoradoSprings societies; and especially the mem-bers who shared views through their equip-ment all day and evening, communicatingtheir knowledge and love of astronomy toour visitors.

Note from the editor:I feel extremely fortunate for the

generous contributors this month—many thanks to Sandy Shaw for thismonth’s feature article and“AstroQuiz,” Darrell Dodge for theColorado Astronomy Day recap, andSteve Solon for the President’s Cornerand fab photos of Astronomy Day.Thanks again to the Public Night Team3: Norm Rosling, Bill Ormsby, DavidShouldice and Steve Solon for writing“November Skies.”

Newsletter contributions (ccd and filmastrophotos, star party candids, shortobserving anecdotes, feature articles,observing and imaging tips, etc.) arewelcome and encouraged. This is yourchance to strut your stuff! Pleasecontact me with submission questions.

All articles and images are © theauthor or photographer, and may notbe reproduced without their writtenpermission—Patti Kurtz

Astronomy DayRecap

Continued from page 3

Some of the folks who make ColoradoAstronomy Day a success: (From lower leftto upper right: DAS President Emeritus LarryBrooks with John Johnson; Frank Mancini,

Darrell Dodge and Dan Wray insideChamberlin Observatory; and Jerry Self withhis telescope setup prior to the OpenHouse.

Are you ready forthe Lion?

Don’t forget theLeonids this

month!

Image copyright Ron Pearson

Page 8 The Denver Observer November 2005

j o i n u s

Denver Astronomical Societyc/o Chamberlin Observatory2930 East Warren AvenueDenver, Colorado 80210

About the Denver Astronomical SocietyThe DAS is a group of amateur and professional astronomers

that share a mutual interest in the heavens. The DAS operates theUniversity of Denver’s Chamberlin Observatory, along with itsprized 1894 Alvan Clark 20-inch refracting telescope. Ourmembers have been involved with the first public planetarium atthe Denver Museum of Science and Nature and the SmithsonianAstrophysics Observatory’s “Moon Watch” program. The DASsuccessfully petitioned to have the Chamberlin Observatory listedon the National Register of Historic Places.

Our Credo is to provide members a forum for increasing andsharing their knowledge, to promote and educate the publicabout astronomy, and to preserve the historic telescope andobservatory in cooperation with the University of Denver. Tothese ends we have established three tax deductible funds: theVan Nattan Scholarship Fund, theChamberlin Restoration Fund, and theDAS Dark Sky Site Fund. This last fundwas established in order to construct andmaintain observing facilities near Deer Trailin eastern Colorado.

Please call our Info Line at (303) 871-5172 and drop by the General Membership meetings. Become amember and enjoy speakers, facilities, events, and our monthlynewsletter, The Denver Observer.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP TO THE

DENVER ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

New RenewalName:Address:City, State, Zip:Phone numbers: Home ( ) Work ( )E-mail Address:Occupation:Other Interests:(Students Only) School: Grade:Do you want to download the newsletter in PDF format from ourwebsite instead of by postal mail?

Yes NoDo you want the above information excluded from the yearly roster?

Yes NoPlease Circle All That Apply:

Regular Membership: $35 Students: $12 (Students age 22 and younger).................................................................................................. $

Astronomy Magazine/$34Sky & Telescope Magazine/$32.95.................................................................................................. $

Van Nattan Scholarship Fund .................................................... $Chamberlin Restoration Fund ................................................... $Total Amount Paid .................................................................... $Please mail Dark Sky Site donations to: DAS Treasurer, Sandy Shaw, at theaddress below. (Make checks payable to the Dark Sky Site Fund).Please complete this form, or a copy, and mail it with your check or money orderpayable to The Denver Astronomical Society:DAS Treasurer, Sandy Shaw; 1095 Yank Street.; Golden, CO 80401

S & S OPTIKAYour Extended-Vision SpecialistsColorado’s Premier Astronomical

Supply Store(303) 789-1089

www.sandsoptika.com