Welcome to the new millennium!  Our first meeting of the new century (Web Master: Isn't it the LAST year of the 20th Century?) was called to order at 7:30 PM by Jim Walker.  There were 22 people present.
        Jim introduced our new Vice President, John Bell.  Appearing as "Professor" Bell, circa 1900, recently returned from a tour on the Chautauqua circuit, John wore an appropriately cut suit, celluloid collar, and foulard tie.  "Professor" Bell gave an engaging presentation on the state of knowledge in astronomy at the turn of the last century (see below).
        New President Bernie Zelazny presided over our business meeting after "Professor" Bell's program.  The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as printed in the December, 1999 Newsletter.  There were no corrections or additions.
        Betty Grimm presented the treasurer's report below:

        Discretionary Funds.  On behalf of the Board, Bernie requested the authority to spend up to $150.00 in 2000 for unbudgeted and unforeseen expenses or purchases.  The general membership approved the request unanimously.
        Murray Newman Fund.  We have a CD that matures on 1/19/00 and another that matures on 5/18/00.  The Board proposed investing the proceeds of the 1/19/00 CD, together with any new funds that become available to the Newman Fund in the near future, in a CD that will mature on 5/18/00; and proposes to invest the proceeds of both CDs maturing on 5/18/00 in another 1-year CD.  This proposal was approved unanimously by the voting members.
        Designated Observing Locations.  The Board has decided to develop a list of Designated Observing Locations for fellow Society members to observe from, in addition to the scheduled Star Parties.
        The interim locations are:

Petei & Bernie Zelazny's, Sunny Glen Estates, Alpine
Brenda & John Bell's, Limpia Crossing, Fort Davis.

        This is my first article reporting on the activities of BBAS members.  A couple of years ago, Jack Mollard and Jim Walker undertook the construction of a Cookbook CCD camera (charge-coupled device) for use with Jim's telescope.  A CCD camera is essentially a very sensitive video camera for still astrophotography.
        The electronic components were bought in kit form.  As the saying goes, some assembly was required - actually a lot of assembly, a whole lot of resistors, capacitors, transistors, and other electronic components on two small printed circuit (PC) boards.
        A special power supply was also built.  The power supply was complete upon my entering the project.  My part involved the construction of the PC boards, wiring, testing, and trouble shooting.
        A CCD is controlled by a computer, and the image is viewed on the monitor.  Jack's 286 died midway through construction and testing, and Jim's Compaq 386 proved incompatible with the camera.  Fran Sage contributed a 386 that worked very well for a while, but eventually died.  Yvonne Newman contributed a 486 that continues working for us.
        After completing the electronic assembly, Jim spent considerable time assembling a cooling system for the camera.  CCDs perform much better when cooled to about 0 deg Fahrenheit.  A small pump circulates windshield wiper fluid through a heat exchanger in the camera and a reservoir consisting of a closed 5-gallon bucket.
        The sensitivity of a CCD is much greater than that of film, allowing CCD exposures of several seconds that would require tens of minutes with film.  Although we're still having some problems, some of our images have been pretty good.  When we're ready for prime time, we'll let you know.

        Gamma-ray bursters are highly energetic sources of gamma rays lasting a few seconds to a few minutes.  For their brief durations, GRBs are perhaps the most powerful emitters of energy that we know.  Because they are so short lived, only a few GRBs have been identified optically.
        The American Association of Variable Star Observers, founded in 1911, is the oldest organization in this country dedicated to helping amateurs make scientifically important observation.  The Amateur Scientist section in the February 2000 issue of Scientific American (pp 96-97) describes a project in which the AAVSO will attempt to put together a network of amateurs to look for GRBs with optical scopes, perhaps with CCDs.  When a GRB has been detected by a gamma-ray satellite, amateurs in the network will be notified where to look optically.
        Some of us know people who have pretty good scopes, some with CCDs, so please pass this information on.  For further information, see the Scientific American article, above, and visit the AAVSO website:     http://www.aavso.org. When Jack, Terry, and I have our CCD project farther along, this is something we may look into.

        NASA reported on Jan 24 that the Hubble Space Telescope is back in action and working better than ever after the recent Shuttle mission.  The computer was upgraded to a mighty 486 (!) and the failed gyros were replaced.  There are some great pics at the following website, a gorgeous view of the Eskimo Nebula and some good examples of gravitational lensing in two fields peppered with galaxies:    http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast24jan_1.htm

        The current issue of Time (January 31, 2000, pp. 56-57) carries a nice article on light pollution.  There is a good picture of uplight and glare at a casino, presumably somewhere in the southwest.  The article mentions the International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society, and quotes some of the people prominently involved in efforts to reduce light pollution.
        The article is very good, but the emphasis is almost wholly on astronomy.  The issue of glare as a factor in the safety of drivers and pedestrians is not directly addressed.  This safety issue affects far more people than does the reduced visibility of the sky.  Thus, I have sent an e-mail to the editor of Time commending them for the article, as far as it goes, and suggesting that Time and everyone else should pay greater attention to the hazards of uncontrolled glare from unshielded fixtures.
        Have a look at the article, and write a letter or e-mail to the editor if you feel so inclined.  The article is on the side of the angels as far as it goes, but the writer missed an opportunity to address glare more directly - and this is a safety issue that affects everyone out and about at night, whether anyone ever looks at the sky.  Time can't publish every letter they receive,  but they do count the letters and often publish the numbers.  So here's an opportunity to take part in a kind of informal referendum on light pollution!

If we have not yet received your dues, then please use the convenient envelope addressed to our treasurer that is included with this copy of your Newsletter.

Betty Lou Grimm, Treasurer
Big Bend Astronomical Society, Inc.
1001 N 2nd Street, Apt F-22
Alpine, TX 79830