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

At our meeting on April 14, we voted not to hold a general meeting or star party in May because of conflicts with the Texas Star Party at the Prude Ranch.  (Indeed, at least 7 members were at the TSP all or much of the week of May 9.)  Thus, there are no minutes of the nonoccuring general meeting in May.  However, there was a Board meeting;  see the minutes below.

Donation from Newman Fund.  The Board approved the following donations from the Newman Fund to McDonald Observatory's Summer Education Program.  In accordance with earlier decisions of the full membership on procedures for protecting the fund from inflation, we adopted the following donation:
 

NOTE: Yvonne Newman has pledged a $200.00 contribution each year to the Newman Fund. She has asked that we add that contribution each year to the interest earned from the fund for our annual contribution to McDonald Observatory.  The Board agreed to follow her wishes.

Purchase of Light Meter.  In view of ongoing discussions with the Alpine city manager (see Outdoor Lighting, below), Jim Walker recommended that we purchase a SPER Scientific light meter at a cost of $143.10 plus $6.00 shipping.  This purchase would use the $100.00 in our Outdoor Lighting Fund plus $43.10 from our general funds.  (This purchase falls below the $150.00 we are authorized to spend without a vote of the general membership.)  Having a light meter will be helpful in discussions with the Alpine Planning and Zoning board in connection with a possible lighting ordinance for Alpine.  Bernie Zelazny moved and Terry Eakens seconded that we purchase the meter.  The motion carried unanimously.  At this writing, the meter is now on hand and has been in use (see below).

Respectfully submitted,
Jim Walker, Secretary

        Jack Mollard came up with an idea for a possible addition to the slogan that the Alpine Avalanche always runs under their masthead at the top of page 1.  The slogan now says, Serving Big Bend and Davis Mountains Country since 1891.
        Jack suggests asking the editor to consider an addition to the slogan, such as "We cherish our dark sky."
        Other possibilities are:  "We cherish our clean air and starry skies." or "Home of Texas' brightest stars."
        A good addition to their existing slogan might emphasize some of the things we all hold near and dear.  Of course, we have not yet made any contact with the Avalanche on this issue pending the creation of something suitable for their masthead.  Give it some thought.

This web site,   <http://www2.gsoc.dlr.de/satvis>  which I learned about from Shannon Rudine, has information on Iridium flares as well as Mir, the new International Space Station still under construction, and other satellites visible to the naked eye.  The following times and positions of Iridium flares are from the above site.  Notice that the magnitudes are enormously brighter on the center of the flare paths.  Driving a few miles will get you there.
 

        Texas Bill HB916.  The trajectory of our lighting bill through the legislature has been a roller coaster ride.  The State Affairs Committee of the House passed the bill unanimously.  And then the fun began.
        On April 6, I learned that a "tag" had been placed on the bill the day before.  Under this strange procedure, a member of the Calendars Committee can delay the submission of a bill to the full House for one week.  In our case, that would have killed the bill because it could not have been submitted to the full House by April 11, the deadline for this year.
        A person who tags a bill remains anonymous, shirking any accountability to his or her constituents, or colleagues, or any other interested parties.  I believe this process, under a cloak of anonymity, has no proper place in a representative democracy.  I complained strongly far and wide, and so did many other people.  The tag was removed in the nick of time.  The bill passed the House and went to the Senate, where it is on the calendar for a vote on May 26.
        At the request of TxDOT, Pete Gallego amended the bill, changing the "full cutoff" provision to "cutoff" (over for the complete text).  The new provision will allow 2 1/2% uplight.  This is disappointing, but the bill is still worth supporting. If you live in or near Alpine, please contact

        If you live elsewhere in Texas, your local library or newspaper can tell you how to reach your state Senator.  All legislative e-mail addresses follow the above format.

        Local Lighting.  For some time, I have discussed some of the badly aimed floodlights around Alpine with City Manager Doug Lively.  One of the worst was on 2nd Street, on a pole on the east side of the High School, shining nearly straight up the street, blinding anyone driving south.After looking at this light, Doug set things in motion that resulted in reaiming the floodlight. The light is now turned about 90 deg away from its former alignment, and the change is enormous.  The flood still lights up the sky, but it's no longer a safety hazard.
        Now that we have a light meter, I have made some measurements around town.  The foot-candle is the unit of measurement, which is the light falling on a point 1 foot from a 1 candela source.  The candela is the modern unit essentially equal to 1 candlepower, the light emitted by a standard candle.  Some examples:

A well-lit classroom, 300 Lawrence Hall, at front table  49 fc
3 offices        38 to   57 fc
2 parking lots (maximum, directly under lights)   10 to   22 fc
8 service stations (maximum under canopy)    11 to 130 fc