Newsletter of the Big Bend Astronomical Society, Inc. September, 1998 Jim Walker, Editor

PLEASE NOTE that we have resumed meeting in our old quarters.

Jim Walker gave a program entitled Meteorites and Some Other Stuff that Falls out of the Sky.  The prime time for observing meteor showers, as opposed to meteorites, is between midnight and dawn.  On the other hand, meteorites falling to the earth are most frequently observed about 3:00 PM.  Meteorites come from the asteroid belt, so they are moving in the same direction as the earth;  thus, they tend to overtake the earth and land on its trailing hemisphere.  As Bill Baker told us last month, the meteors we see in a meteor shower are bits of orbiting debris cast off by comets.  When the orbit of a comet crosses that of the earth, the leading hemisphere of the earth tends to collide with the tiny meteors.  Jim also explained the tidal forces that sometimes tear a comet apart, as in Shoemaker-Levy 9 when it passed close to Jupiter, and related these forces to the tides in the earth’s oceans.

In order to make our astronomy library more accessible, Jim Walker reported that the BBAS Board recommended donating our books to the Alpine Public Library.  Jim moved that we do this, and the motion passed unanimously.  Last month’s Newsletter listed all of our books and videotapes so that anyone who wished could reclaim any donated items.  No one did, so our materials have now been donated to the Alpine Public Library.

We do not know if this next item was ever a part of the BBAS Library.  In any case, it’s a real treasure, autographed by the author and Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto.

Levy, D. H. (1991).  Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of Planet Pluto. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

If this is your book, please call Jim Walker, 364-2467.

The Election Committee (Hal Flanders, Chair, Yvonne Newman, and Barbara Walker) presented the following slate of nominees:

President   Bill Baker
Vice President   Bernie Zelazny
Secretary   Jim Walker
Treasurer   Betty Grimm
Board Member at Large Terry Eakens
Board Member at Large W. Parks Goodwin

Ballots will be mailed as soon as possible after the October meeting and must be returned by the time of the November meeting.  Ballots will be opened and tabulated at the November meeting.
 

Treasurer Betty Grimm gave the following report:  Bank balance 07/31/98      $2,039.12 August receipts  Dues                                        20.00 Balance 08/31/98               2,059.12 Less Newman Fund                    110.00 Less Lighting Fund                    100.00 Working balance 08/31/98    1,849.12

Interest Paid on Newman Fund   34.57 Murray Newman Fund CD      2,904.57

A motion was made and seconded instructing the treasurer to deposit in an interest bearing account the funds not needed in the near future.  The motion passed unanimously.

Following are the recommendations of the Newman Committee (Fran Sage, Chair, Hal Flanders, and Yvonne Newman):

The BBAS use earnings on the fund to provide enrichment programs at McDonald Observatory under the direction of Mark Adams.

The Committee also talked to development people in the Astronomy Department at the University of Texas at Austin.  The department could grant scholarships to  gladuate students for use at McDonald Observatory.  The Newman scholarship could be combined with other scholarship or financial aid money.  T student could write a report for the BBAS indicating what the money was used toward.  The BBAS could select a student from a list submitted by the UT-Austin Astronomy Department.  The Committee does not recommend working directly through the Astronomy Department although the Committee thinks it would meet the criteria for furthering astronomical education.  The Committee found the possibilities offered by McDonald Observatory more attractive than the Astronomy Department possibility.

The Committee talked to Dr. Mark Adams at McDonald Observatory about what might be done directly with the observatory.  Dr. Adams suggested several possibilities:

1.  Contributing to the pilot program that Dr. Adams has arranged with the Ft. Davis School District in which students (in the pilot program, two) spent time in independent study with Dr. Adams, using the scientific method in an actual scientific setting, namely astronomy, using the computerized telescopes.

2.  Providing overnight stays for the students in the pilot program.  The state charges for such visits, which Dr. Adams believes would enhance the students’ experience at the observatory.

3.  Contributing toward a first place prize for astronomy at a high school science fair in the area.  (Such a science fair does not currently exist but Dr. Adams is interested in starting such a fair in the future.)

Regardless of which of the above is chosen by the BBAS, the name of Murray A. Newman would be attached to the gift.
 

The BBAS undertake a fund-raising program planned by a Fundraising Committee.

The BBAS form a financial management program with the following charge:
Consider how best to invest the fund to earn a good return while insuring its safety.

Consider whether to put a floor under the amount transferred each year to the recipient of the fund.  (See above on choices.)

Consider whether the fund should be managed to protect it from inflation.

None of the possible recipients could undertake the management of the fund, either because a large minimum would be needed ($5,000 to be reached in two years at Sul Ross or a $25,000 threshold required by the UT System in the case of the UT Astronomy Department) or because the recipient does not have the structure for such management (McDonald Observatory).

The Newman Fund Committee suggests that the financial management committee be small, chaired by someone with financial experience, either personal or professional, and that the BBAS treasurer serve ex-officio (with or without a vote).

Fran then moved that we place a floor under the amount to be contributed each year, some minimum amount to facilitate planning by the Observatory.  The motion passed 7 to 2.

Fran then moved that we undertake a fund-raising program for the Newman Fund to be carried out by a separate committee.  The motion was defeated by a vote of 6 against and 3 for.

I have learned from Roland Peña, manager of West Texas Utilities, that he has ordered two of the acorn globe lights that are slated for installation as a part of the Main Street Program.  Roland will install the lights at the WTU office, one on one side of the building and one on the other.  They will be mounted on 12-foot poles like the Main Street lights are to be mounted.  The lights will have 70 watt high pressure sodium bulbs, like the lights on the County Jail.

Please watch for these lights and let us know what you think.  There are to be 45 such lights installed around town as a part of the Main Street rejuvenation and beautification program.

Bernie Zelazny, BBAS Vice President and Webmaster, continues maintaining and improving our Society web site. Bill Brooks of Brooks Data has donated the site.
Besides the current Newsletter, there are numerous links to other web sites with astronomical content.

The Newsletter, and 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.  You can also follow any of the many links to other web sites of astronomical interest.

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!

NOTA BENE! (Look at this real good!)  For the remainder of the Sul Ross Fall Semester, that is, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER, we will hold our regular meetings in our old location:

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.

NEXT MEETING:  7:30 PM, Wednesday, October 14, 204 ACR Building.
Grant Hill, a Resident Astronomer with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, will give a program
entitled Determining the Chemical Abundance of the Stars.

NEXT STAR PARTY:  8:00 PM, Saturday, October 24,  Double Diamond Pavilion. The sun sets at 7:10 PM, moon sets at 10:22 PM.  New moon is October 20.

ALTERNATE DATE: There will be no alternative date this month.