Newsletter of the Big Bend Astronomical Society, Inc. January, 1999 Jim Walker, Editor

Dr. Grant Hill, Resident Astronomer with the Hobby-Eberly telescope at McDonald Observatory, spoke on the above topic at our meeting on January 13.  Chemical abundance refers to the amount of the various elements present in stars.  Determining these elements has a great bearing on what we think we know about stars and galaxies.

In our own Milky Way Galaxy, Population I stars are young stars located in the disk of the galaxy, which includes the spiral arms and the central bulge.  These stars are rich in metals, from 0.2 to 2 times their abundance in the sun (in this context, all of the elements heavier than helium are considered metals).  Population II stars are very old, located in globular clusters forming a spherical shell or halo around the disk of the galaxy.  These stars contain few metals, from 0.001 to 0.1 as much as the sun.

(1) Current abundances may represent the material from which the stars formed, in which case their age and location tells us about the formation and evolution of the Milky Way.

(2) Abundances may have been altered across time, in which case stars become laboratories for physical processes.

In addition, abundances affect many measurements, such as temperature, mass loss rates, stellar evolution, and pulsation.  Spectroscopic measurements are the means of studying abundances, but these measurements are complicated by several factors.  For example, higher gravity produces wider absorption lines in the spectrum of a star, and so does the rotation of a star through the Doppler effect.  Comparing artificial spectra to the real spectra observed in stars provides a way of estimating chemical abundances.  The Hobby-Eberly Telescope, designed exclusively for spectroscopy, is expected to contribute greatly to this work when it becomes fully operational.

Dr. Hill left us with the thought that until we understand "simple" stellar atmospheres, we can't be sure we understand stars at all.

(Reuters) The discovery of two new ESPs was reported by Debra Fischer on January 9 at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin.  Fischer found the two new planets among a group of 88 sun-like stars using the three-meter telescope at Lick Observatory near San Jose, California.  Both newly identified planets are giants: 1.3 and 3.5 times the mass of Jupiter.  The new discoveries bring the total of known extrasolar planets to at least 17.

In his presentation at our December meeting, Matt Shetrone told us there had been 16 ESPs discovered up to that time, so here we have another couple of such planets.  This work is a very active area at the cutting edge of astronomy.  If we're lucky, we may one day actually see ESPs orbiting their parent planets.  So far, their presence has been inferred from subtle motions in their parent stars.

The Board of Directors, which consists of our four officers and two members at large, met on January 6 and proposed the following budget for 1999 (amounts are rounded to the nearest $5):

           Estimated disbursements

            Estimated surplus at end of 1999             $470

NOTE.  Budget, above, does not include the following:

Dave LeVine moved and Bernie Zelazny seconded that we adopt the proposed budget.  The motion carried unanimously.

1.  As our bylaws require, the Board requested the authority to spend $150.00 for unbudgeted and unforeseen expenses or purchases.

Dave LeVine moved and Bill Maulsby seconded that we approve the above proposal. The motion passed unanimously.

2.  We propose to establish an Observatory Fund.

With the recent donation of Murray's 12" LX200, the Board believes this is an appropriate time to set ourselves the long-term goal of building a Society observatory to make this fine instrument more readily accessible to members.

3.  We propose to earmark $500.00 from our savings account (present balance $1,200.00) for the Observatory Fund.

4. We propose to earmark 10% of our yearly income from dues for the Observatory Fund.

Proposals 2, 3, and 4 received a mixed reception.  It was pointed out that an observatory would require fund raising, for which the Society has shown little enthusiasm in the past.  After discussing the issues, the consensus was to put these proposals aside for the present.

5. We propose to earmark $500.00 from our savings account (present balance $1,200.00) for the Newman Fund.

Jim Walker moved and Bernie Zelazny seconded the adoption of Proposal 5.  The motion carried unanimously, except for one abstention.

6. We propose to earmark 10% of our income from our 1999 dues for the Newman Fund.

Jim Walker moved and Bernie Zelazny seconded the adoption of this proposal. The motion carried, 17 for, 3 against, and 1 abstention.

Fran Sage moved, and Bernie Zelazny seconded that we solicit ideas from members on possible ways of fund raising.  The motion passed unanimously.  In keeping with this motion, please let us have the benefit of any of your ideas.  We expect to have further discussions on the possibility of building an observatory, and on fundraising - how or whether, pro or con.

The meeting adjourned about 9:45 PM.

Bernie Zelazny, BBAS Webmaster, has installed a counter on our website.  Since November 15, our site recorded 92 visitors.

If you have Internet access, it would be good to check our website before a star party for a late notice on the weather.  We'll try to post a message in time for you to know whether we're still on or not.  If you're not on the Internet, we'll try to phone you if there's a change in plans.

Bernie adds new links from time to time, so check our web page ever once in a while:

The Newsletter, among many other things, is now available online.  If you have Internet access, Bernie will let you know when the Newsletter is available.  You can then read it online and print anything you wish, including our monthly star chart.  Bernie is now archiving back issues of the Newsletter, which you can also read online.

Since the Newsletter has been on line, several members have indicated they no longer wish to receive a paper copy, thereby saving postage, printing costs, and paper - all of which represent substantial expenses. PLEASE LET BERNIE ZELAZNY OR JIM WALKER KNOW if you no longer wish to receive a paper copy of the Newsletter.  Several members have already done so, saving our society postage, printing costs, and paper - none of which are trivial expenses.   However, if you want to continue receiving a paper copy, that's OK too.  None of us members of the cyber elite will consider you a second-class citizen!

The room in the ACR Building has a center aisle, which we think makes it a little more comfortable than the room in Lawrence Hall where we have been meeting most recently.

If you're new to the area and don't know where the ACR building is located on the Sul Ross State University campus, you can click here to go to an SRSU campus map or here to see a photo of the ACR building.

Please call or e-mail Jim Walker at 364-2467, or Bernie Zelazny at 837-1717 if you need further information.

Please check your answering machine and/or e-mail Saturday afternoon if the weather looks threatening. We'll have Murray's scope up and running, as we did last month.