Hawaii Star Partys

A Tale of Two Pizza Star Parties!
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Greetings Fellow Stargazer,

YES... it is true... you have 2 chances for the weather to clear and be
able to attend a Star Party in April. Will it ever stop raining???
Don't remember this much rain, this continuously, since I arrived in 1978.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/03/11/news/story01.html

Speaking of expansion and inflation, the current prevailing cosmological
model of the Big Bang Theory is that the universe experienced an
explosive growth spurt within its first trillionth of a trillionth of a
second. I can't even eat a piece of pizza that fast! This fleeting
moment of hyperexpansion known as inflation. It states that the
universe's volume probably increased by a staggering 10 to the 60th power
times (that's a 1 followed by 60 zeros) or more, from the size of a
marble to the size of today's visible universe. WOW... hard to believe.
Sooooo faster than the speed of light the universe expanded to almost the
size it is now and then formed stars over the next millions of year that
we now look back in time to see how some of the early stars and galaxies
formed.

If you would like to look back in time come to one or both of April's
Star Party at Dillingham Airfield on the 1st or 29th. We have a bunch of
time machines (telescopes) you can use to go look back in time! However,
to demonstrate events happening in "real time", bring a pizza and we see
how many trillionths of a second it will take make it disappear. Well,
speaking of Star Parties YOU are invited to two in April!

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Star Party Invitation for April 1st AND April 29th,
Sponsored by the Hawaiian Astronomical Society
http://www.hawastsoc.org
Dillingham Airfield - before sunset 6:50ish)
(http://www.hawastsoc.org/directions/...Dillingham.jpg)
(Star Party Directions are at the end of this message)
Bring:
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetar...6/04/apr06.pdf

Here is where I go to check the weather on a Star Party Night:
http://www.wunderground.com/radar/ra...&scale=1&noclu
tter=0&ID=HMO&type=N0R&lat=0&lon=0&label=you

If it is clear, you will be able to see many astronomical sights.
It's now that time of year to and Saturn, the Orion
Nebula, THE BIG DOG, the Seven Sisters and many other heavenly bodies!

If you won't be in Hawaii, fear not. Check this link for a Star
Party near you!

http://SkyandTelescope.com/resources/organizations/
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April's Sky Tour
http://hubblesite.org/fun_.and._game...onth=april&yea
r=06
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If you miss this month's HAS Star Party then join us at the next:

***** 2006 *****
May 27th
June 17th
July 15th
August 26th
September 23rd
October 14th
November 11th
December 23th

***** 2007 *****
January 20th
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Bishop Museum's Science on a Sphere

YOU HAVE TO GO to the Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium at the Bishop Museum
and see the new Planet Sphere. It was almost as exciting as my visit to
its big cousin:

http://web.mac.com/macyoda/iWeb/Site/SBX.html

At the Bishop Museum's Planetarium you can see the colorful infrared
images of cloud tops meet, join, grow, collapse and disperse on Earth.
You can watch dust blow across the surface of Mars. You can observe our
Sun erupting in violent solar storms sending streams of deadly particles.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/28/news/story10.html

Science On A Sphere provides a dramatic visualization of complex
information in an understandable form for the public. It is a unique
instrument for teaching students science, math, and geography and a handy
scientific tool to translate numerical information into visual images.

Science On A Sphere is the brainchild of Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald,
Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration¹s (NOAA)
Forecast Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. Four projectors cast
rotating images onto a sphere, approximately six feet in diameter to
create the effect of Earth in space. Because the images originate from
data collected by satellites, researchers refer to the projected images
as ³data sets². The possible data sets that can be projected using
Science On A Sphere seem limited only by imagination.

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Google Earth et al - For the price of "Free"!

Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic
information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and
Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals,
etc.

http://earth.google.com/earth.html

Google Mars and Google Moon

http://mars.google.com/ and http://moon.google.com/
http://labs.google.com/
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The Wanderers (The Planets) this Month

Mercury (about magnitude +1) is deep in the glow of sunrise.

Venus (magnitude *4.2, in Capricornus) is the bright "Morning Star" low
in the southeast during dawn.

Mars (about magnitude +1.2, in Taurus) shines high in the west at dusk
and lower in the west later in the evening. Mars is passing between the
horntips of Taurus, Beta and Zeta Tauri. In a telescope Mars now appears
only 6 arcseconds wide a tiny blob.

Jupiter (magnitude *2.4, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around
9:30 p.m. and is highest in the south around 2 or 3 a.m. There's a
strange event happening on Jupiter. Its long-enduring "white oval"
designated BA has reddened to become what observers are calling "Red Spot
Junior."

Saturn (magnitude +0.1, in Cancer) glows pale yellow very high in the
south to southwest during evening, midway between Gemini and Leo.

Uranus and Neptune are hidden in the glow of dawn.

Pluto (magnitude 14, in Serpens Cauda) is high in the south-southeast
before the first light of dawn.
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Annual Meteor Showers

Quadrantids: January
Virginids: March/April
Lyrids: April
Scorpiids: May
Delta Aquarids: July
Perseids August
Piscids: September
Orionids: October
Leonids: November
Geminids: December
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Find what is moving overhead after sunset:
http://www.bester.com/
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTim.../JTrack3d.html

Check out when the next Iridium Satellite is available for you to
see:
http://www.heavens-above.com/Neighbo...PlaceID=593409
(for non Oahu Star Gazers...)
http://www.heavens-above.com/selectt...p?CountryID=US
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Check out:
http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/12months/m-apr-i.html

and bring the above list...

As for the rest of the Messiers, check out
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/messier.html It also has a link to:

http://www.hawastsoc.org/messier/index.html
(all the Messier Objects as photographed by HAS's local Jay Wrathall)
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Star Party Directions
(http://www.hawastsoc.org/directions/dillingham.html)

To reach the Dillingham observing site, take the H2 to the end at
Schofield Barracks. Drive past Schofield and follow the signs to
Waialua. At the Y intersection at Waialua, bear left and pass under
the bridge. Drive out of town a few miles until you reach Dillingham
Airfield. Dillingham is several miles long. It has three gates. You
need to drive to the far end to the third gate (marked as Gate 1 on
the color map). When you enter the gate, the road will curve left
behind some hangars. It will then take you through a very sharp S
curve. 1/4 mile beyond that is a stop sign in the middle of nowhere.
Turn right at the stop sign, and you will be there. You can find me
by looking for the big red telescope in the corner with a table with
lots of pizza on it.

You will need to reach the site before sunset in order to find the
gate open!!!

A few words on light. We try to maintain dark conditions at the site.
Therefore we have certain rules about light. First, no white
flashlights. The only flashlights that you should use are not too
bright, red ones.

When entering and exiting the site, do not use headlights. Some cars
now can't turn off their headlights. If you have a car like that
please park nearer the windsock then the telescopes. Point it away
from the telescopes. Headlights make you lose your night vision for
up to 30 minutes. It immediately ruins any astro photography that
might be in progress.

Bring some warm clothes, something to sit on, some real powerful bug
spray, a dim or red covered flashlight and some munches to share with
your friends.

Remember there is an absolute need to remain clear of the runway, and
anyone attending the star party needs to remain in the immediate star
party area. Do not be wandering around in areas where we are not
permitted. Especially near any planes (parked or moving)!
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Bishop Museum Planetarium Happenings
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/visitors/dailyschedule.html

Daily Planetarium schedule:
(808) 848-4136 for pre-recorded planetarium schedule.

12:00 a.m. The Stars Tonight (30 Minutes)
12:45 p.m. Explorers of Polynesia in Japanese, (30 Minutes)
1:30 p.m. Explorers of Mauna Kea, (30 Minutes)
2:30-3:15p.m. Observatory is open for solar viewing
3:30 p.m. Explorers of Polynesia in English, (45 Minutes)

Barry Peckham will host the Sky Tonight program on the first Friday
of each month. Reservations are required as there is limited seating
in the planetarium. Call 848-4168 for information and reservations.
Tickets cost $4 for adults, $3 for kids, free to Bishop Museum
members and Hawaiian Astronomical Society members.
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After Dark with Stars in the Park
Waikele Community Park
OR... Kahala Park
(Weather permitting)
***** 2006 *****
April 8th
May 6th
June 3rd
July 29th
September 30th
October 28th
November 25th
December 30th

***** 2007 *****
January 27th

FROM DUSK to 9:30 PM
Bring your children! Tell your friends!
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Visit the cosmos via:

The HAS HomePage: http://www.hawastsoc.org/ or go to
(or show up at meeting 7:30pm first Tue of month)
and check out the Bishop Museum Planetarium Home Page
http://bishopmuseum.org/exhibits/pla...anetarium.html
and the Institute for Astronomy Colloquia/Seminars
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/ifa/astronomy_in_hawaii.htm
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Keep Looking Sky Ward

Namaste and Take care...gww

http://homepage.mac.com/macyoda/PhotoAlbum6.html
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"The computer is to the mind as the amplifier is to sound."
Paul Maurer
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--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond

Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
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www.sidewalkastronomy.info
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http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net
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http://www.cafepress.com/ingarden
Blast Off Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/starlords
Astro Blog
http://starlord.bloggerteam.com/

"Starlord" wrote in message
...
A Tale of Two Pizza Star Parties!
*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:

Greetings Fellow Stargazer,



First of all, it's parties and second of all it's fellow stargazers....Learn
to spell will ya!