President Bernie Zelazny called the meeting to order in our usual quarters, 204 ACR Building, on the Sul Ross Campus, at 7:30 PM.  Shannon Rudine, BBAS member and Public Information Specialist at McDonald Observatory, gave a program on spectroscopy.  John Bell, BBAS Vice President, gave us one of his famous quizzes, this one on the use of lighting metaphors in various cultural contexts.  Jim Walker summarizes these presentations below.

        Only a few of the brightest and most strongly colored stars appear anything other than white to the naked eye.  The color of a star depends mainly on its temperature.  Cooler stars, like Antares and Betelgeuse, are red.  Hotter stars, like the sun, are yellow.  White stars are hotter still, and the hottest of all are blue.
        Spectroscopy provides a finer-grained analysis of the color of starlight, and other kinds of light as well.  A glass prism, for example, separates white light into its component colors, blue at the short-wavelength end of the spectrum, and red at the long-wavelength end.  Modern spectrographs use diffraction gratings consisting of several thousand parallel lines per inch on plastic, glass, or reflective metal.
        Shannon demonstrated the spectra from several kinds of light using plastic diffraction gratings.  Each element produces its own pattern of continuous colors, in the case of metals, or discrete bright lines, in the case of gases.  A tungsten light produced a smooth spectrum that was brighter in the red and yellow region; lowering the voltage with a rheostat lowered the temperature of the filament and made the light redder.
        A neon gas-discharge tube produced several bright lines that were especially prominent in the red region of the spectrum.  Mercury vapor produced a prominent blue line, weaker green and yellow lines, and a very dim red line.  The strong blue line is one of the reasons that unshielded mercury vapor lights create problems for astronomy, since many deep-sky objects shine in that region of the spectrum.  Hydrogen produces a strong alpha line (red) and a strong beta line (blue-green).
        Helium has a strong yellow line and weaker lines of other colors.  The helium spectrum was first observed in light from the sun in 1866 by the British astronomer Norman Lockyer.  Lockyer recognized the spectrum as the signature of a new element never before seen on the earth.  He called the new element helium, from helios, the Greek word for the sun.  Helium was not discovered on the earth until 1895.  A radioactive decay product, helium is found in natural gas in the southwestern US, where it sometimes reaches concentrations as high as 7.5%.
        Spectroscopy is the means of measuring the red shift, leading to the discovery of the expanding universe.  Spectral lines of distant objects are shifted toward the red end of the spectrum.  So far, observations of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system are based entirely on small periodic shifts in spectral lines as the planets pull their stars in different directions.  Spectroscopy is indeed the workhorse of astronomy!

        John Bell gave us a Sunny Side Quiz on the use of lighting metaphors in various cultural contexts.  For example, an angry conversation often produces - more heat than light.
        Matthew Arnold said the pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of - sweetness and light.
        And how many of us knew the official name of the Statue of Liberty - Liberty Enlightening the World.
        Finally, some of us who read music recognized the opening bars of Lead Kindly Light.
        John then supervised a drawing for a Lighting Prize.  The big winner received 4 60-Watt long-life light bulbs.  We expect a full report on how long they last, power consumption, and spectral composition of their light.
        Many thanks, John, for an entertaining, imaginative, and enlightening presentation!

        The business meeting took place immediately after the program.  Secretary Jim Walker moved the acceptance of the minutes as printed in the March Newsletter.  The minutes were so accepted, with no corrections or additions.

Treasurer Betty Lou Grimm presented the following report:

        The public hearing scheduled for May 9 was postponed until 6:00 PM on May 23 in the Council Chamber at Alpine City Hall.  City Manager Doug Lively, after consulting with City Attorney Steve Houston, developed some concerns about enforcing the light-trespass provisions of the ordinance.  Both the city manager and the city attorney felt that the city would be reluctant to intervene in disputes between neighbors.  However, I pointed out that the city would surely intervene if one neighbor was shooting at another across the back fence.  My argument may have been persuasive.  [As I write this Newsletter, the hearing has been held and the ordinance PASSED (see below).]

        Here endeth the writing of the minutes.

                    Respectfully submitted, Jim Walker, Secretary

        On May 23, the City Council finally held the public hearing on our ordinance. The hearing lasted no more than 15 minutes. I spoke twice, briefly, and there were a few comments from other members of the audience.
        City Manager Doug Lively mentioned possible problems regarding the light trespass provisions, noting that the city would have to evaluate and adjudicate complaints between neighbors. I pointed out that the city is already doing that in complaints involving boom boxes, loud stereos, and barking dogs.  A complaint of light trespass, like other such complaints, would have to bear the test of reasonableness.
        After a number of other hearings on unrelated issues, the council moved into the action phase of the meeting.  When the lighting ordinance came up for a vote, it passed unanimously with no further discussion.  We should commend the City Council for such progressive action (dare I say enlightened action?).
        Several people contributed to the final version of the lighting ordinance: Doug Lively, City Manager; Dave Busey, Director of Development; Roland Peña, Alpine Business Manager for WTU; Mark Baker, District Engineer, WTU; Dr. Mark Adams, Superintendent, McDonald Observatory; and Bill Wren, Public Information Specialist, McDonald Observatory.  After our many discussions and meetings, I believe we have a lighting ordinance that compares favorably with any other such ordinance anywhere in the country.
        Many thanks to the many BBASers who attended the hearing, more than a dozen. When I asked for a show of hands by members, the audience seemed surprised that there were so many of us.  Now all we have to do is see that the ordinance is properly enforced.  To see the full text click here.

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