Hi All,

I was without power for a week after Hurricane Charley, then had to
fly to Vermont for two funerals in my family.  I just got back, and
have taken care of pending members for Southern Nights.  However, I
am beginning my vacation today AND preparing for Hurricane Frances!
So, I'm letting you know that items requiring my attention may be
delayed over the next two weeks.

I'm hoping all Southern Nights members in Florida surive Frances
without any damage or injury.

Laurent
Founder/Moderator,
Southern Nights Astronomical League of Florida

Hi All,

To keep you up to date, the Seminole Community College Planetarium
in Sanford has been closed until January, 2005 by Hurricane Francis
damage to OTHER parts of the building housing our dome.  The
Planetarium itself received NO damage from either hurricane.

However, due to the extensive roof and flooding damage to both
classroom wings of the building that flank (and protected) the SCC
Planetarium, the entire building has been closed as unsafe.

While classes, faculty and administrators have been relocated to
other buildings on campus, the planetarium cannot be moved,
obviously.  My student worker has already been given another job on
campus, and my Assistant and I are still awaiting word about our
work for the next 3 months.

This will give us a good opportunity to get a lot of production done
in reproducing our school shows for each grade level to match the
new FCAT standards, and also work on our new public show, "Where's
the Science?," for its February grand opening.  But there is only so
much that can be done on a computer without access to the dome to
fit the show together.  We are hoping to get the Administration to
allow us to work in the planetarium, with hard-hats if necessary,
but have yet to get a response.

I hope everybody else has weathered the storms better.

Laurent Pellerin
Operations & Production Manager
Seminole Community College Planetarium

Sep 22, 2004

Florida Tech getting own view of stars

BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY

MELBOURNE -- Florida Tech will soon have an eye to aim at the sky.

The university recently got a grant of $347,000 from the National
Science Foundation that, combined with money from the school, will
add up to $496,000 to buy a 24-inch-diameter telescope.

The silvery dome for the telescope is already in place atop the new
F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Building, which weathered Hurricane
Frances well, spokeswoman Karen Rhine said. It is expected to hold
its first classes in January. The telescope should arrive within a
year.

"The main reason for wanting to do this is we have one of the largest
programs in astronomy in the world, and it's time we had one of the
best campus observatories in the world to go with it," said Terry
Oswalt, associate dean for research and professor of physics and
space sciences. "Our students deserve that."

Students will be able to sit in a classroom adjoining the observatory
dome and see on a television screen what the telescope is seeing.
Such high-tech observing is typical these days.

"If you see an astronomer looking through the eyepiece of a
telescope, it means a piece of equipment has failed," Oswalt said.

The telescope will use a camera that costs about $20,000 and is 50
times more sensitive than the human eye, he said. About a hundred
astronomy majors will use it each year, along with high school
students and teachers.

A public lecture series will allow visitors to have a peek, too,
professor and astronomer Matt Wood said, though the telescope won't
have regular visiting hours the way Brevard Community College's does.

In addition, there are 15 pads on the observation deck to hold mostly
8-inch telescopes.

Skies are plenty dark enough for Florida Tech's telescopes, Oswalt
said, thanks to the ocean to the east and little developed land to
the west.

"We're nothing but a little sliver of light pollution on the coast,"
he said.

As the lead member of the Southeastern Association for Research in
Astronomy, the university also uses a telescope at Kitt Peak near
Tucson, Ariz., because it's across the country. It can be programmed
through the Internet.

These "two eyes," Oswalt said, give observers a kind of depth
perception that enhances measurements of asteroids, comets and moons.


Through international cooperation, students can make 24-hour
observations.

"You always want to have someone on the night side of the planet,"
Wood said. Otherwise, watching in one spot is like listening to music
and hearing one of every three seconds.

"If you've got the whole planet, then you get the whole song," he
said.

With the new telescope, students can do time series photometry, Wood
said. They measure the brightness of stars every 10 seconds to
determine the frequencies at which they oscillate. This information
allows them to infer the stars' structure.

"Essentially, we're doing seismology of the stars," Wood said.


The new telescope will sit on a cross-beam atop two massive concrete
piers, which will isolate it from vibrations.

Although it will be state-of-the-art, it still isn't big enough to
help Oswalt study the faint objects in which he's most interested.
Instead, he requests time on much larger telescopes.

"I'm trying to get a reasonably accurate measure of the age of the
galaxy using the fossils called white dwarf stars," he said. "Those
are the leftover remnants of all the previous generations of stars
the galaxy has ever produced."

Wood also studies white dwarfs, though in rare binary systems called
cataclysmic variables. In such systems, a normal star orbits a white
dwarf, which pulls material out of the orbiting star, creating an
accretion disk.

Earth and the rest of the solar system formed out of an accretion
disk around our sun. Studies of cataclysmic variables might be able
to explain how such a process works.

"We find accretion disks at all scales in astrophysics," he said.

Contact Kridler at 242-3633 or ckridler@...


Stellar donations: Florida Tech's astronomy program is seeking
monetary donations for gear for the new F.W. Olin Physical Sciences
Building and other needs. For information, call Elizabeth Taylor,the
director of corporate and foundation relations, at 674-6155.


Cosmic construction: F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Building webcam:
www.it.fit.edu/broadcast/webcams/pscam/index.cfm Florida Tech
astronomy group: www.astro.fit.edu/astro.html

Canon EOS 10D, TeleVue 2x Powermate, TeleVue TV-76 and Losmandy G-11

  Here's an airliner flying by about 30min before the shadow appeared:
  http://www.digitalastro.net/20041027_Moon_Jet.jpg

  And here's a first attempt at a 'phases' collage:
  http://www.digitalastro.net/20041027_Lunar_Eclipse.jpg

Forrest Egan
http://www.digitalastro.com

strashni2002 <strashni@...> wrote:Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 02:55:49
-0000
From: "strashni2002"
To: nightsight1@...
Subject: Winter Haven Astronomy


Hay Laurent,

Our club is currently working with the state to secure a site near
Hwy 60 that as pernament observing site. Would you please review the
following BB posting and give me your thoughts and suggestions.

http://winterhavenastronomy.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?
f=2&sid=543306cab9a5fceb56d3f1d3c8b47c1e

or if that does not work, goto Winterhavenastronomy.com and goto the
upcomming starparties and that should direct you to our BB. The
subject is the future of Kissimee Shores Site.

Thnks and clear skies,
Mike Partain
Winter Haven Astronomy







---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
  Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

WHAT:   Partial eclipse of the Sun. Free telescope
viewing and eclipse glasses for students (while
supplies last).

WHEN:   Friday evening, April 8, 2005 5:15 p.m. - 7:15
p.m. (weather permitting)

SCHEDULE FOR SOLAR ECLIPSE IN BOYNTON BEACH, FL
April 8, 2005
E.D.T.           Eclipse stage
5:23 p.m.       Partial eclipse begins
6:21 p.m.       Maximum Eclipse 43.7% of the solar
disc occulted.
7:14 a.m.       Partial eclipse ends
7:41 a.m.       Sunset

WHERE:  The Boynton Beach City Library located at 208
S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach FL 33435. Take I-95
to Boynton Beach Blvd. Drive east to Seacrest and turn
south. Library is 4 blocks on the left (east) side of
Seacrest. The parking lot and main entrance are on the
southeast corner of the building. Phone# 742-6390.

WHY:    A partial eclipse of the Sun will grace the
skies of much of North America during the late
afternoon and evening hours of Friday, April 8, 2005.
The eclipse will be particularly dramatic in south
Florida, where half of the Sun's disk will be blocked
by the Moon. From the southern tip of Florida, about
50 percent of the Sun's diameter will be covered,
after 6 p.m. EDT.

For viewers in the southern and mid-Atlantic states,
the Sun will be setting while the eclipse is still in
progress, which offers photographers a splendid
opportunity to take spectacular pictures. Because the
eclipse will occur late in the day, make sure you have
an unobstructed view to the west, where the Sun will
be located. Maximum eclipse (when the highest
percentage of the Sun's diameter is blocked by the
Moon) occurs about one hour after the eclipse starts,
and the eclipse ends roughly an hour after maximum.

"During the period of maximum eclipse, the sky will
appear a little darker than it would normally be, and
shadows will be sharper," says Erich Landstrom, a NASA
Educator Ambassador and science teacher at Boynton
Beach Community High School. "People looking at the
Sun near maximum eclipse will definitely notice a
dramatic change. It will appear as if an invisible
monster has taken a huge bite out of our Sun."

Dr. Marc Flesher, optometrist with Eye-Site Optical
Studio in Boynton Beach, cautions that it is extremely
dangerous to look directly at the blinding light of
the Sun, especially during a partial eclipse. "A
partially-eclipsed Sun is just as dangerous to look at
as a non-eclipsed Sun," he warns. "The Sun's visible
and invisible rays can cause serious damage to
sensitive eye tissue, often without the person being
immediately aware of it. When an eclipse happens,
enthusiasm can overwhelm common sense, and people,
especially children, sometimes stare at the Sun for
too long."

Two methods for safe viewing of the solar eclipse will
be available at the Boynton Beach City Library
(weather permitting). The Science Department at
Boynton Beach Community High School will be providing
a 10” Dobsonian reflecting telescope, specially fitted
with a full-aperture glass solar filter designed to
block 99.999% of incoming sunlight. Astronomers from
the Astronomical Society of the Palm Beaches will be
on-hand, guiding the telescope viewing.

Dr. Flesher has donated 200 pairs of eclipse glasses
made from special aluminized polyester filters. The
glasses will be given away to students at the Boynton
Beach City Library during the eclipse, while supplies
last. He points out that pinhole cameras and indirect
projection from telescopes all provide safe ways to
watch the eclipse, but "viewing the eclipsed Sun
directly provides the most dramatic views. To do that,
you need a filter that blocks not just visible light
but also ultraviolet and infrared light. I'm happy to
help share with students the safe Sun."

He adds, "Partial eclipses are fun to watch, but only
if you know how to do so safely. Never look directly
at the Sun. Even a tiny bit of the Sun peeking out
from behind the Moon is enough to cause serious eye
damage. Even at sunset. Peering at the Sun through
sunglasses, compact discs, exposed film, and smoked
glass is NOT okay and is just NOT safe!"

One can view an eclipse safely by projecting an image
of the Sun. One easy way is to make a pinhole
projector. Take two pieces of cardboard or thick
paper. Prick a pinhole in one. Then stand with your
back to the Sun, and let sunlight pass through the
hole and onto the other sheet. You'll get a small but
distinct inverted image of the eclipsed Sun. Try using
different sized holes. A large hole gives a bright but
fuzzy image of the Sun, while a small hole yields a
dim but sharp image.

Here are times of deepest solar eclipse for selected
cities arranged by time zone, and the magnitude, or
fraction of the solar diameter covered by the Moon.

MST: Phoenix AZ 2:57 p.m. (0.04).
CDT: Houston TX 5:11 p.m. (0.30); Oklahoma City OK
5:11 p.m. (0.11); New Orleans LA 5:15 p.m. (0.31);
Memphis TN 5:15 p.m. (0.15); St. Louis MO 5:15 p.m.
(0.04);

EDT: Louisville KY 6:17 p.m. (0.07); Atlanta GA 6:18
p.m. (0.21); Tallahassee FL 6:19 p.m. (0.32);
Washington DC 6:19 p.m. (0.05); Philadelphia PA 6:19
p.m. (0.02); West Palm Beach, FL 6:21 p.m. (0.43);

The next North American total solar eclipse will
happen on August 21, 2017. Totality will last 2
minutes and 40 seconds.

Erich Landstrom, NASA SEU Educator Ambassador
http://universe.sonoma.edu
Seeing and Exploring the Structure and Evolution of the Universe

Science fiction & science fact stranger than fiction.
Listen Monday mornings on http://www.SCIFIOVERDRIVE.com



__________________________________________________
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Seminole Community College Planetarium

Press Release 032805

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE PARTY FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005 AT 5:15 PM

DATE:  FRIDAY: APRIL 8, 2005
TIME:  5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
LOCATION: Seminole Community College Planetarium
                        100 Weldon Blvd, Sanford, Florida
COST: FREE
PUBLIC INFORMATION: 407 328 2409

Press Contact:   Laurent Pellerin
                            SCC Planetarium Operations & Production
                            100 Weldon Blvd
                            Sanford, FL 32773
                            PelleriL@...
                            Office:  407 328 2409
                            Cell:     407 754 4078

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE PARTY FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005 AT 5:15 PM

The next Solar Eclipse for Central Florida will occur just before
sunset on Friday, April 8th.  This will not be a total eclipse, but only
a Partial Eclipse, which means that the Moon will block only 38% of the
Sun.  But, since the next Total Eclipse for North America won't occur
until the year 2017, even 38% is something special to see.

The Eclipse will begin at 5:25 PM for Orlando;

Maximum coverage will occur at 6:21 PM;

And the Eclipse will end at 7:11 PM.

We urge all media to inform the public of the dangers of trying to
observe this eclipse without proper Solar Filters.  Even with the Sun
nearing sunset during this eclipse, it is very dangerous to look
directly at the Sun without proper filters.  Mylar balloons, exposed
film, smoked or welder's glass (unless at least #14,) CDs, and other
"homemade filters" are NOT SAFE!  They may block enough visible
light to observe the Sun, but they DO NOT block ultra-violet and/or
infra-red.  It is these wavelengths of light that cause permanent eye
damage.  Because this damage may be delayed in showing up, just as skin
cancer can take years to show up, people could cause irreparable harm to
their eyes without even knowing it.

Use ONLY professionally made solar filters, such as the ones made for
telescopes or the free solar glasses available in many astronomy and
science magazines whenever an eclipse occurs.  Or make a pinhole
projector by poking a small pin hole in a piece of cardboard and then
projecting the Sun's image onto another sheet or the sidewalk, wall,
etc.

But by far the best way to enjoy a Solar Eclipse in Central Florida is
to attend the Solar Eclipse Party at the Seminole Community College
Planetarium in Sanford.  We will have telescopes available for the
public to look through for FREE!  And you may be assured of a safe
viewing with our professional solar filters.  Experts will also be on
hand to answer any questions.

As always, News Media are welcome at our events.



Laurent A. Pellerin, Jr.
Operations & Production Manager
Seminole Community College Planetarium
100 Weldon Blvd
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407 328 2409 (Office)
407 754 4078 (Cell)
407 328 2360 (Show Info)
PelleriL@...
http://www.scc-fl.edu/planet/

--------------------------------------------------------------
Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to
or from College employees regarding College business are public records,
available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail
communication may be subject to public disclosure.

Milky Way's Central Structure Seen with Fresh Clarity
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 16 August, 2005
10:00 am ET

Story found at:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050816_milky_way.html

A new infrared survey that claims to be the most comprehensive
structural analysis of our galaxy confirms previous evidence for a
central bar of stars.

The bar is embedded in the center of the galaxy's spiral arms and
cuts across the heart of it all where a supermassive black hole
resides. The survey found that the bar is longer than thought and
sits at a sharp angle to the galaxy's main plane.

"This is the best evidence ever for this long central bar in our
galaxy," said Ed Churchwell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison
professor of astronomy.

The challenge

If you've ever been fortunate enough to see the Milky Way in the
night sky, then you can appreciate the frustration astronomers face
trying to probe the galaxy's center.

The milky swath of stars visible under a dark, rural, summertime sky
represents a fraction of the millions upon millions of stars that
crowd the center of the galaxy. We sit on the outskirts, looking in.
Seeing through the glow to determine the galaxy's structure is hard.

Even more challenging is peering through all the dust between here
there.

The survey was done with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which
records infrared light. All objects that emit any heat can be seen in
infrared, and this wavelength penetrates dust, so the new survey
revealed light from tens of millions of stars hidden to optical
telescopes.

Bigger than expected

The bar is made of relatively old and red stars, the survey shows. It
is about 27,000 light-years long, or roughly 7,000 light-years longer
than previously thought. Churchwell's team also found that the bar is
oriented at about a 45-degree angle relative to the main plane of the
galaxy, in which the Sun and the other spiral-arm stars orbit.

A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, about 6
trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

Other stars exist outside the galaxy's main plane. The Milky Way,
like many galaxies, is surrounded by a sparsely populated spherical
halo of stars. The main galactic disk is about 100,000 light-years
wide, and the Sun sits about 26,000 light-years from the center.

Bars are fairly common in large spiral galaxies, but some do not have
them. Astronomers had glimpsed ours and were not sure if it was in
fact a bar or perhaps an ellipse.

The results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Pine Ridge High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Press Release 112905

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Persons: Catherine Pellerin or Polo Garcia, 407-328-6941

PINE RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" RUMMAGE SALE

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Chapter of Pine Ridge High School in
Deltona, Florida will be hosting a Rummage  Sale on Saturday, December 10th, to
raise money to buy holiday supplies for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
through the My Soldier Program.  In addition to the items for sale, they will
also be accepting donations of food, money and other supplies.

Please support our troops this season and encourage our youth in this worthy
endeavor.

December 10, 2005
8 AM - 2 PM
Deltona Lakes Baptist Church
2886 Elkcam Blvd
Deltona, Florida 32738

  Additional Contact:

Laurent A. Pellerin, Jr.
Operations & Production Manager
Seminole Community College Planetarium
100 Weldon Blvd
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407 328 2409 (Office)
407 754 4078 (Cell)
407 328 2360 (Show Info)
PelleriL@...
http://www.scc-fl.edu/planet/

--------------------------------------------------------------
Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to
or from College employees regarding College business are public records,
available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail
communication may be subject to public disclosure.

I do not know if I posted this or not, but I did (I am sorry).  I live
near the Venice area, and I was wondering if there is any group that
helps bring other non astronomy to less informed.  I belonged a group
where I used live that had at least three times a year public outings
and wonder if any near me here.  Their address is www.casonline.org .

Prairie,

   Goto the "Links" section on the left of the Southern Nights home page...then
to the Astronomical Societies and Clubs  subsection.  There you will find links
for all of the astronomical societis in Florida that I know of.

   There are extensive links to all kinds of astronomy related information in the
Links section.

   ~~Night~~

Southern_Nights@yahoogroups.com wrote:
   There is 1 message in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

1. Hello
From: "Prairie_Hoosier"


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 14:17:41 -0000
From: "Prairie_Hoosier"
Subject: Hello

I do not know if I posted this or not, but I did (I am sorry). I live
near the Venice area, and I was wondering if there is any group that
helps bring other non astronomy to less informed. I belonged a group
where I used live that had at least three times a year public outings
and wonder if any near me here. Their address is www.casonline.org .





________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________



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Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+
countries) for 2¢/min or less.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

One internet radio station that is keen to check out is live365.  One
special one is called the space show.  They discus things that are
going on on the behind the scenes of the space activities.  They
repete the shows for the week there, but at his home page you can
download some of the old shows.  They air live on some nights like
Tuesday at 10 pm eastern time, but regardless many of the shows are
very interesting to listen to.

Seminole Community College Planetarium
Press Release 100306
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Person:
Laurent Pellerin
Planetarium Operations & Production Manager
100 Weldon Blvd
Sanford, FL 32773
(407) 708-2409
pelleril@...
The Seminole Community College Planetarium in conjunction with the Career
Professional Employees Council, Florida Association of Community Colleges, and
the Central Florida Astronomical Society bring to you Halloween Extravaganza
2006.  Enjoy a stroll in the Haunted Cemetery where you will meet with mad
scientist Dr. D and take home your very own bag of slime.  Kids ages 12 and
under, don’t forget to wear your favorite costume because there will be a
costume contest where you will have a chance to win prizes.
If haunted graveyards or slime don’t have you interested, learn about the
astronomical and cultural history of Halloween in the Planetarium.  Telescopes
provided by the Central Florida Astronomical Society for peering into the
wonders of the night sky.  The SCC Fire and Police department will be out
demonstrating Halloween safety.
The sneak preview of the Planetarium’s new feature, “NightSpirits: Native
American Star Lore” where you will learn some of the history, astronomical
culture and star lore of the many nations of Native America.

The best part is that all of it is FREE! For further information regarding
Halloween Extravaganza 2006, please call (407) 708-2409.  Children 12 years or
younger can participate in the costume contest.  For directions to the
planetarium, please check us out on the web at www.scc-fl.edu/planet.
Date: October 28th, 2006
Time: 6:00 PM-11:00 PM
Location: SCC Planetarium 100 Weldon Blvd.
Sanford, FL 32773
Admission: Free
Food: Candy will be handed out
Contact Information: Laurent Pellerin (407) 708-2409 pelleril@... Venue :
Family


Laurent A. Pellerin, Jr.
Operations & Production Manager
Seminole Community College Planetarium
100 Weldon Blvd
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407 328 2409 (Office)
407 328 2360 (Show Info)
PelleriL@...
http://www.scc-fl.edu/planet/



Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to
or from College employees regarding College business are public records,
available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail
communication may be subject to public disclosure.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Seminole Community College Planetarium

Press Release 012207

For Immediate Release

Contact Person: Laurent Pellerin,
Operations & Production Manager
SCC Planetarium
100 Weldon Blvd
Sanford, FL 32773
407 708 2409 (office)
386 473 9622 (cell)
PelleriL@...

World Premiere of “Port of Call: MARS!”
Date: Saturday, February 3, 2007
Location: Seminole Community College Planetarium, Sanford/Lake Mary Campus, 
Bldg B, 100 Weldon Blvd, Sanford, FL 32773
Time: 8:30 PM
Cost: $4.00 Adults; $3.00 School-Aged Children (K-12th Grade,) $3.00 Seniors
(55+,) Free to SCC Students and Staff with SCC Photo ID.


World Premiere of “Port of Call: MARS!”

The SCC Planetarium will be premiering its latest original production, “Port of
Call: MARS!” at 8:30 PM on Saturday, February 3, 2007.  We would like to welcome
the Central Florida public aboard the U.S.S. "Star Dancer" of Virgo Galactic
Interplanetary Cruise Lines for our inaugural voyage.  The first Port of Call
for this new series will be the Red Planet...Mars.
Once in orbit about Mars, we hope that you’ll join us for excursions to Olympus
Mons, the highest mountain in the Solar System* three times higher than any
mountain on Earth, Valles Marineris, a 2000 mile long and 6 mile deep canyon
that would stretch across the United States, and the Cydonia Region of
superstitious lore.
With our new presentation system we will also keep you up-to-date with the
latest findings about the most Earth-like planet in the Solar System by updating
the show every week as needed.  “Port of Call: MARS!” will be shown every
Saturday evening through the month of April.  Future “Port of Call” shows will
include voyages to other Solar System Destinations such as Saturn, Jupiter,
Mercury and more.




Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to
or from College employees regarding College business are public records,
available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail
communication may be subject to public disclosure.

Seminole Community College Planetarium

Press Release 022007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RED MOON RISING!  Total Lunar Eclipse Viewing

DATE:  SATURDAY: MARCH 03, 2007
TIME:  SUNSET
LOCATION: Seminole Community College Planetarium
                        100 Weldon Blvd, Sanford, Florida
COST: FREE
PUBLIC INFORMATION: 407 708 2409
   Press Contact:   Laurent Pellerin
                            SCC Planetarium Operations & Production
                            100 Weldon Blvd
                            Sanford, FL 32773
                            PelleriL@...                           
Office:  407 708 2409
                            Cell:     386 473 9622

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE PARTY SATURDAY, MARCH 03, 2007 at SUNSET

The Seminole Community College Planetarium, in conjunction with the Central
Florida Astronomical Society would like to invite you to witness the first Total
Lunar Eclipse seen from Central Florida in over two years!  Please join us at
Sunset on Saturday, March 3rd to observe the Red Moon Rising in the sky.  The
moon will be rising in Central Florida in the middle of totality, therefore the
eclipsed moon will be seen rising in the east right after sunset with a reddish
crimson hue.  Telescopes will be set up for viewing.  Our view of the eclipse
starts right after sunset and will last about 1 hour and fifteen minutes.
The Eclipse will begin at 6:25 PM for Orlando;
And the Eclipse will end at 7:44 PM.

By far the best way to enjoy the Lunar Eclipse in Central Florida is to attend
RED MOON RISING at the Seminole Community College Planetarium in Sanford.  We
will have telescopes available for the public to look through for FREE!  Experts
will also be on hand to answer any questions.

As always, News Media are welcome at our events.







Please Note:
Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to
or from College employees regarding College business are public records,
available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail
communication may be subject to public disclosure.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Good evening,

As many of us are probably aware, the Perseid shower is upon us the
evening and morning of Aug. 12-13, as well as part of a total lunar
eclipse the early morning of Aug. 28. Also, I just read at Space.com
that the Aurigids will be unusually spectacular in the early morning
of Sept. 1.

Now, I have been using my girlfriend's house for viewing sky objects
because it is in the earstern outskirts of Orlando and relatively the
darkest place I have access to, over by the Avalon area. I was
wondering if anyone could share some great public places open at
night that offer very dark skies and a safe environment in which to
enjoy skywatching around Orlando. I am certain that many others who
view these boards would also be appreciative of this helpful
information.

Thank you, and happy viewing!

-jeremy

links:

Perseid shower -
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070712_perseid_meteors.html

Total lunar eclipse -
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070720_ns_eclipse.html

Aurigid shower -
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/070809_seti_aurigids.html

Jeremy,

I lived on the NE side of Orlando, and I'm not sure what areas on the
E side are left with all the growth.  But a couple that used to be
pretty good were Ft Christmas and a little park/boat ramp on SR 50 out
past Bithlo.  Ft Christmas closes at sunset, but they used to allow
people to park in the field along the drive into it for events like
this.  I recommend that you give them a call and ask.  Another
possibility is Harmony near St Cloud.  You can also check with the
Central Florida Astronomical Society and the Brevard Astronomical
Society, both are listed in the "Links" section of Southern Nights.

Laurent


--- In Southern_Nights@yahoogroups.com, "Jeremy" <rydgen@...> wrote:
>
> Good evening,
>
> As many of us are probably aware, the Perseid shower is upon us the
> evening and morning of Aug. 12-13, as well as part of a total lunar
> eclipse the early morning of Aug. 28. Also, I just read at Space.com
> that the Aurigids will be unusually spectacular in the early morning
> of Sept. 1.
>
> Now, I have been using my girlfriend's house for viewing sky objects
> because it is in the earstern outskirts of Orlando and relatively the
> darkest place I have access to, over by the Avalon area. I was
> wondering if anyone could share some great public places open at
> night that offer very dark skies and a safe environment in which to
> enjoy skywatching around Orlando. I am certain that many others who
> view these boards would also be appreciative of this helpful
> information.
>
> Thank you, and happy viewing!
>
> -jeremy
>
> links:
>
> Perseid shower -
> http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070712_perseid_meteors.html
>
> Total lunar eclipse -
> http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070720_ns_eclipse.html
>
> Aurigid shower -
> http://www.space.com/searchforlife/070809_seti_aurigids.html
>

Hello All,

In case you don't recognize the new ID, I am Laurent Pellerin, Founder
of Southern Nights Astronomical League.  I know it has been a long
time since I was really active, but I'm glad to see so many still members.

I went through a divorce and received custody of my daughters, so I
was very busy for a while.  I also moved and changed jobs!  After 14
years managing the Seminole Community College Planetarium in Sanford,
Florida, I finally left it to my able assistant, Derek, and accepted
the position of Coordinator for the new Kika Silva Pla Planetarium in
Gainesville, Florida.  I will still be very busy for the next few
weeks getting it ready for the Grand Opening on Labor Day Weekend, but
I will try to get Southern Nights back up and running after that.

For those of you in the Gainesville/Ocalla area, the Kika Silva Pla
Planetarium is a 64-seat, 35-ft dome planetarium located at Santa Fe
Community College with not one, but TWO star projectors!  We have a
Spitz Digital SciDome full-dome system running Starry Night Dome
software.  And we have the new state of the art, computerized, Goto
Chronos Mechanical-Optical star projector.  This projector is only the
10th one installed in the world, and the only one operating in Florida
until the Saunders Planetarium in Tampa gets their's installed.  With
its individual, computer controlled planets, sun and moon, it can jump
to any time/place on earth in the past 10,000 years or future 10,000
years, as well as demonstrate binary stars and inner system orrey.  It
projects 8,500 pinpoint stars and numerous M-objects as well.  It is
the best star field I've ever seen.

Admission fees of $4 Adults, $3 children 3-12 and seniors 60+, will be
waived until January to give you a chance to check us out for free.
Shows will be every Friday and Saturday night at 8:30 PM starting
August 31st.  In the future, I plan to add full-dome movies (if I can
find corporate sponsors) and Celestial Concerts to the line up as
well.  For now, Friday nights will be the never ending series,
"Southern Nights," utilizing both star projectors to teach
astronomical concepts, as well as teaching the constellations, with a
few stellar myths thrown in.  Every episode will be a little
different.  Saturdays will be our Feature night, starting with
"Planets in the House," utilizing the SciDome projector to travel (and
land) to the planets and update you with the latest information about
  them.  If you've ever used Starry Night on your computer, imagine it
projected across a 35-ft dome!  Future Features will include, "Star of
the Magi," in December; "NightSpirits: Native American Star Lore"
January through April; and "AstroMyth Busters" in May.

Laurent Pellerin
Founder, Southern Nights Astronomical League
Coordinator, Kika Silva Pla Planetarium

Ahhh… The first sign of the end of Summer has arrived! Just as the
robin announces the beginning of Spring, so too does the Great Mars
Hoax announce the end of Summer. If you haven't gotten this e-mail
yet, you soon will. My colleagues and I, from Planetariums all over
the world, are already getting inquires about it. Here it is…



**** Two moons on 27 August *****

* August 27  the whole world is waiting  for.............*

      Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting
   August.

     It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
   This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M
   miles of earth. Be sure to watch  the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am.
   It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars
   may come this close is in 2287.

    Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will
   ever see it again.





This e-mail is a hoax that will not die!  Although it is based on some
truth from 4 years ago... Mars did come within 34.65 million miles of
the Earth on Aug 27, 2003, but even then, it was NOT even remotely as
big as the Moon.  In fact, it appeared 69x SMALLER than the Moon!
The Moon is ¼ million miles away from the Earth and Mars is about
twice the size of the Moon. Therefore, Mars would have to get within ½
million miles to look as big as the Moon, not 34.65 million miles.

But, the e-mail is correct in that the next time Mars will get as
close as 34.65 million miles will be in 2287.  (I'm not waiting around
for it.)  So while there was a LITTLE truth to it 3 years ago, now
it's just another internet hoax that will not die.

HOWEVER!  There IS a TRUE astronomical happening on Aug 28th this
year! (THIS year, i.e., 2007!)

There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse on the 28th starting at about 4:30
AM EDT (3:30 AM CDT, 2:30 AM MDT, and 1:30 AM PDT.)  Moreover, this
should be a good one as the Moon will be passing deeper into the
Earth's shadow that it has done in the Lunar Eclipses of the past few
years.

Ironically, even though the Moon will be in the Earth's shadow,
totally cut off from the Sun's light, it WILL appear as an orange-red
color during totality as it is lit by sunlight refracted, or bent,
through the Earth's air.  In other words, it will be lit by all of the
sunrises and sunsets around the world.  This means, that while Mars
will NOT be as big as a Full Moon on the night of August 27th, the
MOON will have the color of Mars a few hours later in the pre-dawn sky
of August 28th!

But remember, it's not Mars looking as big as the Moon… it is the Moon
looking like Mars!


Laurent Pellerin

Founder, Southern Nights Astronomical League

Coordinator, Kika Silva Pla Planetarium

This may come as a surprise even to members. Years ago a club
historian made up facts rather than research them and this series of
myths has even become part of the club website.

The club in Pensacola was founded by myself, Dan Malinsky, and Craig
Wicke June 18th, 1959. At first we were a very informal, junior club-
mostly a backyard telescope club. But, we soon expanded county wide
and changed the name to the county rather than Warrington. A few
years later-the most active members left for college and the new
generation of leaders (local college students) just did not have the
time needed to keep the club active. For most of the 1970's the club
was inactive.

In 1977 I returned to the area as a sabbatical leave replacement for
Wayne Wooten-who was leaving to work on a PhD. Wayne had been a
leader in the astronomy club at DeFuniak and contacted EAAA in 1966
to have shared activities. After a joint field trip to the Pensacola
Naval Air Station Planetarium and centrifuge, Wayne paid his dues to
join the Pensacola club but left to study at a university. Years
later, I talked him into going for the astronomy opening at Pensacola
Jr. College and he made it! Now, I was taking his place for a year
and he agreed to be faculty host for the club if I reactivated the
club while he was gone.

The old members had a couple of meetings to plan reactivation in
early 1978. We had a very good turnout for our first public meetings
with the planetarium as a draw. Old member, Harold Yesnes donated a
10" reflector with a mount heavy enough to hold a 24". An observatory
was planned. But, then Wayne made it to his first meeting since
joining a dozen years earlier and donated a 10" portable telescope
that resulted in the club offering public star perties at a variety
of places-especially at Fort Pickens.

Several attempts were made to build an observatory. One was built in
an Avion travel trailer with a dome mounted on top-but, it was found
that the dome would not clear any of the overpasses in any direction
toward dark skies. The city offered to finance a public observatory
on Scenic Highway-but, a sexual harassment suit by female employees
used up that funding. An observatory was planned at a model airplane
park, but.......  The navy offered the club it's old planetarium---
but, then could not find it where it was supposed to be stored.
But, these folks don't give up.

I am leaving them 25% of my estate to build an observatory with a
minimum 15' dome and a minimum 16" telescope---which they already
have. They get the money in IRA's as my other heirs would have to pay
taxes when taking the money out. EAAA is tax exempt.

It has been a long time coming, almost half a century-but, expect
EAAA to have a nice observatory sometime in the future.

And, since EAAA was founded during Pensacola's quadricentennial (1559-
1959) (ignoring a period of over a century and a quarter when there
was no city there) you can expect EAAA to celebrate a half centennial
during Pensacola's 4.5th centennial in 2009.

   Robert Blake, EAAA founder, 1959, EAAA reactivator, late 1977/early
1978. Planetarium director/asst. prof. Odessa College rtd.

Everyone, don't forget to congratulate Mr. Pellerin on his amazing
success with his Grand Opening of the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium in
Gainesville \this past weekend!  He had an amazing turnout of over 500
people the first nights!!! He is definitely working hard to achieve
only the greatest possible things for our very own Santa Fe Community
College, so make sure to wish him the best!!

Congratulations Mr. Pellerin (a.k.a. "Daddy)!! You deserve it!!

Catherine Pellerin

Normally, one is not allowed to hike the rim trail around Meteor
Crater without paying $15 for the regular visit and $15 for the
guided walk around the crater. But, during the Flagstaff Science
Festival it is free to locals---even this displaced
Warrington/Pensacola amateur astronomer.

   I reserved slots and sent invitations to the Flagstaff Hiking Club,
the Northern Arizona University Hiking Club, and the Northern Arizona
University Astronomy and Astro-biology Club. Only members of FHC and
their friends showed up.

   The photographs mostly speak for themselves. When you see the ruins
of an old schoolhouse on the outside slopes of Meteor Crater-to the
upper left the skyline is Anderson Mesa---the Lowell Observatory Dark
Sky Site and the Naval Proto-type Optical Interferometer are at the
far end of this mesa about 15 miles as the crow flies. I live about 3
miles beyond there--about 18 as the crow flies miles from Meteor
Crater---but, by paved road---about a 70 mile drive.

   Seeing the display reminded me that I am not just a (retired)
Odessa College planetarium director and asst. prof. of astronomy,
physics, and math---I also was curator of the Odessa Meteor Crater
collection-housed (at that time) at the college library. Since my job
only consisted of making sure (from time to time) that the case got
dusted----I tend to forget and have never listed that on my resume.

   Many of the stories told now differ from what used to be told. The
meteoroid has grown from 81 ft. diameter to 154 feet. The guide said
that the stories have changed even in the few years she has been
there.

   The great historiographer, Arnold Toynbee, said that history is an
agreed upon pack of lies.

   Here are the links for photographs.

   Robert Blake, Escambia Amateur Astronomers Association founder
1959, reactivator, late 1977/early 1978, asst. prof., planetarium
director, and Odessa Crater Museum curator, rtd.


http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/flagstaffhikingclub5/?
action=view¤t=732cfb4d.pbw

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/flagstaffhikingclub5/?
action=view¤t=5c18429b.pbw

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/flagstaffhikingclub5/?
action=view¤t=2ad33892.pbw

Robert,

Those are some great Photos.  I'm hoping to make a trip to Chaco
Canyon next summer to complete some research.  With any luck, I'll be
able to see Meteor Crater myself, finally.

One of my colleagues at Santa Fe believes he has found a filled impact
crater in Florida about the same size.  The satellite photos sure look
like it.  He is going to be drilling next month hoping to confirm it.
  It won't be easy as the shock patterns are difficult to identify in
limestone, but maybe he'll hit a chunk of chert which should display
the shock patterns well.

I'll post the results when he clears them.

Laurent A. Pellerin, Jr.
Planetarium Coordinator
Kika Silva Pla Planetarium
Santa Fe Community College
3000 NW 83rd Street, Office: X-132
Gainesville, Florida 32606-6210
laurent.pellerin@...
352.395.5381 (Office)
352.395.5225 (Show Info)
http://www.sfcc.edu/planetarium

Thanks for the kind words.

I am sorry that the links were not to Meteor Crater slideshows---
parts
1, 2, & 3. At least they gave access to the photographs.

Here is a link to photographs that include one of the U.S. Naval
Observatory from 40 miles SSW on Apache Maid near the lookout tower.
For a map that shows the site in reference to Flagstaff-google
with "Apache Maid" as your search terms.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r168/flagstaffhikingclub/PC010041.j
pg

On the left horizon is a hill in front of Kendrick Mountain. The
white
dot on the right of the hill is the dome of the 61" about half a
dozen
miles west of Flagstaff.

The photographs I took with the lady friend from our walk across
frozen
Upper Lake Mary show the road going up the mesa to the Lowell
Observatory Dark Sky Site and the U.S. Navy Proto-type Optical
Interferometer. Look at the photograph that shows the peaks rising
above the dam. To the right of the dam you can see the road.

Since I live in a valley that cuts off the sunsets-when there seems
to
be a nice one developing, I scooter most of the way up the road for a
great sunset view. For 360 skies I go to the parking lot for the
Arizona Trail just outside the observatory grounds. A few weeks ago,
I
met the Northern Arizona University Astronomy and Astrobiology Club
setting up telescopes at the parking lot.

At one time there was an open house night for the public to look
through the 42" and 72" telescopes and they let me take pictures of
the
moon and Saturn through the eyepiece.

These remain some of the largest telescopes I have enjoyed-though, I
took my Odessa College astronomy classes to the observatory at Ft.
Davis, Texas to look through a 102".

Instead of going up the steep pavement to the observatory-continue
left
on the forest road about two miles to the Marshall Lake turnoff. This
is a designated (but undeveloped) camping area with great skies close
to the Dark Sky Site.

Hello Laurent,thought I'd stop by and share a sight I found,but the
story on how I ended up at this site.
It started the other day when I cane across a bit of news from the
past,and remembering a story I heard a long time ago,but,never looked
it up,"Mysterious signal 1927 Epsilon Bootes".Well,this story I read
on Thursday was,Australian radio telescope August 24 2001,Head line
read;
"Powerful Radio Burst Indicates New Astronomical Phenomenon",I was
wondering where the signal came from,no it didn't come E-Bootes but
near the Magellanic Clouds.While looking for more on either story I
came across this web site;
http://sciencespeculation.blogspot.com/

This site had storys like;

Mysterious signal.

Radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
This story spoke about 4 signals they have had in the past few years.

ALIEN ARTIFACTS.
1991 VG, is about something in orbit around us.

I spent a while reading all sorts of storys,spent a few hours
there,all I can say is hope you and the other member enjoy the site...

Blackstar.

The Today show just reported rising sea levels might amount to as
much as 4 feet in the next century.

This is frightening.

Flagstaff, with its hills and valleys averages 7,000 feet above sea
level.

This would reduce that average to only 6,996 feet!!!!!!!

That sounds safe.

But, what if there is an extra high high tide????????

Some people could take refuge on Mars Hill-it towers hundreds of
feet higher than downtown Flagstaff-which is situated in a floodplain-
--and, it is only one mile from City Hall.

The extra cautious might go ten miles north of Mars Hill to the
Horchderfer Hills----which top out at 9,200 feet. Go north on Hwy. 89
as if driving to the Grand Canyon----park at the Flagstaff Nordic Ski
Center and run (don't walk) up the ski trails into the Horchderfer
Hills.

Those truly paranoid might go up into the San Francisco/Kachina Peaks
which have two peaks at over 12,000 feet and one at 11,969 feet.

But, don't forget, Agassiz Peak is off limits because it has
Arizona's only Arctic Tundra and can not be traversed even when the
snow cover is very deep. In winter. Sometimes in summer.

Past posts of links have not worked well at this site. To find more
information on the Arctic tundra in Arizona-use:
http://www.google.com and the search terms: "Agassiz Peak"
amd "Arctic tundra"

One can hike around the base of Agassiz Peak. The Humphrey's Trail
goes to the saddle between Agassiz Peak and Humphrey's Peak-where one
finds the remains of an old dirt road that once allowed cars up to
about 12,000 feet but which is now in a Wilderness area---you can't
drive it. At the S.E. end of Agassiz Peak is a saddle with a cut off
tree that matches the angle to mount a telescope's equatorial mount.
Lowell Observatory once mounted a high altitude telescope here and
planned on an observatory at the site---but, the wash below the
saddle is in the direction from whence come the predominant winds.
This channeled even the slightest breeze at the telescope and made
for unsteady seeing.

Something to contemplate while the high tide waves lap at your feet
and you try to decide if you want to risk the fines for trampling the
Arctic tundra of Agassiz Peak.

Well, from in here Florida, at 60 feet above sea level, we can really
feel for you guys in Arizona.  Just don't expect us to help you with
the moving... we'll already be fish food!

--- In Southern_Nights@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Blake"
<xcoconino9@...> wrote:
>
> The Today show just reported rising sea levels might amount to as
> much as 4 feet in the next century.
>
> This is frightening.
>
> Flagstaff, with its hills and valleys averages 7,000 feet above sea
> level.
>
> This would reduce that average to only 6,996 feet!!!!!!!
>
> That sounds safe.
>
> But, what if there is an extra high high tide????????
>
> Some people could take refuge on Mars Hill-it towers hundreds of
> feet higher than downtown Flagstaff-which is situated in a floodplain-
> --and, it is only one mile from City Hall.
>
> The extra cautious might go ten miles north of Mars Hill to the
> Horchderfer Hills----which top out at 9,200 feet. Go north on Hwy. 89
> as if driving to the Grand Canyon----park at the Flagstaff Nordic Ski
> Center and run (don't walk) up the ski trails into the Horchderfer
> Hills.
>
> Those truly paranoid might go up into the San Francisco/Kachina Peaks
> which have two peaks at over 12,000 feet and one at 11,969 feet.
>
> But, don't forget, Agassiz Peak is off limits because it has
> Arizona's only Arctic Tundra and can not be traversed even when the
> snow cover is very deep. In winter. Sometimes in summer.
>
> Past posts of links have not worked well at this site. To find more
> information on the Arctic tundra in Arizona-use:
> http://www.google.com and the search terms: "Agassiz Peak"
> amd "Arctic tundra"
>
> One can hike around the base of Agassiz Peak. The Humphrey's Trail
> goes to the saddle between Agassiz Peak and Humphrey's Peak-where one
> finds the remains of an old dirt road that once allowed cars up to
> about 12,000 feet but which is now in a Wilderness area---you can't
> drive it. At the S.E. end of Agassiz Peak is a saddle with a cut off
> tree that matches the angle to mount a telescope's equatorial mount.
> Lowell Observatory once mounted a high altitude telescope here and
> planned on an observatory at the site---but, the wash below the
> saddle is in the direction from whence come the predominant winds.
> This channeled even the slightest breeze at the telescope and made
> for unsteady seeing.
>
> Something to contemplate while the high tide waves lap at your feet
> and you try to decide if you want to risk the fines for trampling the
> Arctic tundra of Agassiz Peak.
>

Drive out on Lake Mary Road about 8 miles and turn left at the
sign "Marshall Lake/N.P.O.I." N.P.O.I. stands for Naval Prototype
Optical Interferometer which is at the Dark Sky Site. On the way in-you
will see Lower Lake Mary. About a mile past the turnoff-you will see
picnic pavilions and parking for Upper Lake Mary.

Here are photographs

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r168/flagstaffhikingclub/?
action=view¤t=66f3305a.pbw

from: Arizona Daily Sun

Dark skies at 50: All win



Tuesday, April 15, 2008


Fifty years ago, Flagstaff adopted a pioneering outdoor lighting
ordinance aimed at preserving the dark skies essential to the
continued viability of area observatories. Our town was the first in
Arizona to take such action.

As the population grew over the years, Flagstaff strengthened its
lighting ordinance and Coconino County enacted a very similar and
closely coordinated measure. Flagstaff astronomers are deeply
grateful for the support of the City, the County and our fellow
citizens. We should not forget, however, that the benefits of the
lighting ordinances extend beyond the observatories. For example, as
the Dark Sky Coalition has often noted, it is not just astronomers
who appreciate the beauty of the night sky. Unlike their urban
cousins, our kids grow up experiencing this spectacular component of
our natural environment.

In addition to esthetic benefits, the Flagstaff area derives an
ongoing financial return on its dark skies investment. Since 1958,
Lowell has grown from approximately 15 employees to more than 70. Our
annual operating budget of about $5 million is fueled by funds that
primarily originate outside and are spent inside the community. The
same can be said about the budget of the U.S. Naval Observatory
Flagstaff Station (USNOFS).

Encouraged by the community commitment to dark skies, both Lowell and
USNOFS have continued to make major capital investments in Northern
Arizona. According to a study by NAU's Center for Business Outreach,
Lowell's Discovery Channel Telescope, now under construction near
Happy Jack, will deliver an economic benefit to Coconino County, over
the useful lifetime of the telescope, of nearly a half-billion
dollars. The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer at Anderson Mesa
is a project of similar scale.

Flagstaff is widely known as a community of dark skies and
observatories. This is a rare combination that sets our town apart
and helps draw a growing number of visitors. Last year, just under
76,000 people visited Lowell. Most were from out of town and about
half took part in our evening and nighttime programs. These people
eat in Flagstaff restaurants, buy gas at our filling stations, and
shop in our stores. Many spend the night here.

Flagstaff has demonstrated that astronomer-friendly outdoor lighting
is safe, attractive, and effective. It also is cost-effective. A
recent study by Chris Luginbuhl and Wes Lockwood estimates that, if
Flagstaff's current lighting standards were achieved throughout
Arizona, energy consumption would be reduced by 360 million kilowatt-
hours per year at a cost savings of $30 million annually. Nearly
200,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide would go into the atmosphere.

Indeed, it is essential that better outdoor lighting controls be
enacted statewide. The burgeoning population growth in the Valley and
in Pinal County is already adversely affecting Kitt Peak National
Observatory west of Tucson. Even from Anderson Mesa, on any clear
dark night, one can easily see the ominous glow from the Phoenix area
climbing above the southern horizon. At stake is the state's widely
acknowledged premier position in optical astronomy and the
corresponding large contribution in dollars and jobs to Arizona's
economy. (Visit the website of the Arizona Arts, Sciences, and
Technology Academy for details.) This story will have a happy ending
only if Arizona's political and business leaders engage this issue
seriously and soon.

Let's all take pride in Flagstaff's designation as the First
International Dark Sky City and give thanks for the wisdom of City
and County leaders who, over the past half-century, took important
steps to preserve the glory of the nighttime heavens for us all.

Bob Millis is the director of Lowell Observatory.

PS: I used to know Bob Millis as a nodding acquaintance---years after
I had given the tours for a year during my masters work at Northern
Arizona University. I don't shop at much at the uphill Basha's
grocery anymore. R Blake

Plutoid names in different orbit
With Greek and Roman gods running short, the newest dwarf planet is
named after a Polynesian fertility god.

By ANNE MINARD
Special to the Daily Sun
Saturday, July 26, 2008

Pluto might have been cast out of the lineup of solar system planets,
but the Flagstaff discovery is anything but lonely.

Pluto has so many companions in the outer solar system, in fact, that
astronomers have run out of Greek and Roman names to call them. So
they're getting multicultural.

The International Astronomical Union has announced the official name
of the fifth dwarf planet, discovered in 2005 by Mike Brown's team at
the California Institute of Technology: Makemake.

Pronounced MAH-kay-MAH-kay, the name refers to a Polynesian creation
god.

Ted Bowell is a Lowell Observatory astronomer who presides over the
IAU's Division III, which oversees research in planetary systems. As
part of his role, Bowell is also involved with the IAU's two naming
committees that must approve new dwarf planet monikers.

"It looks as though we are starting to establish the idea that large
distant objects in the solar system be named after creation gods," he
said.

All except for the ones that orbit two times for Neptune's every
three, that is. Those planets, locked into the same rhythm as Pluto,
are to be named after underworld mythological deities in honor of the
former planet.

CELESTIAL PUZZLER

Brown said he was stumped for a time about what to call his latest
discovery. For the two years it was known in scientific circles as
2005 FY9, Brown was calling it Easterbunny -- because he found it a
few days after Easter.

"Suddenly, it dawned on me: the island of Rapa Nui," Brown said,
referring to the aboriginal name for Easter Island. "Why hadn't I
thought of this before?"

The name Makemake clicked for Brown and it clicked for the IAU, which
adopted the name just a month after deciding to use "Plutoid" to
label Pluto and other dwarf planets beyond Neptune.

The IAU coined the term "dwarf planet" in 2006, to accommodate Pluto
and other objects in its neighborhood -- called the Kuiper Belt --
that were then being discovered. But the new distinction also
included Ceres, the giant asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

Now Ceres is the lonely one, as the only dwarf planet that's not a
Plutoid.

Makemake's recognition couldn't have come too soon for Brown, who
submitted his idea six months ago.

"While a rose by any other name would surely smell as sweet, the
Kuiper belt object/dwarf planet/Plutoid formerly known mostly as 2005
FY9 now smells a good bit sweeter to me," he wrote on his blog.

ONLY AN ASTRONOMER COULD LOVE

Makemake was the chief god of the Tangata manu bird-man cult,
incarnated as sea-birds and symbolized as a man with a bird's head.

Makemake the dwarf planet is one of the largest objects discovered so
far in the outer solar system. It's about two-thirds the size of
Pluto and only slightly dimmer. The dwarf planet is reddish in color,
and astronomers believe the surface is covered with frozen methane.

"A lot of these objects have had sort of an obvious thing to hang the
name on," Brown said. Eris, for example, needed a name just after the
IAU's demotion of Pluto and the public outcry that followed.

Scientists had fairly exhausted the cadre of Roman and Greek god
names, but Eris remained: the goddess of discord and strife.

"Clearly I believe in astrology," Brown joked, "because that had been
waiting for us for a long, long time."

A WELCOME SHIFT

Brian Marsden has recorded the names of more than 12,000 asteroids
and other planetary bodies during his 30-plus years at Harvard
University's Minor Planet Center. He also sits on both IAU committees
that must approve new dwarf planet names: the Committee on Small Body
Nomenclature and the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.

Three other Flagstaff astronomers occupy positions on the committees:
the U.S. Geological Survey's Jennifer Blue, Lisa Gaddis and Ken
Tanaka, though the latter two members only approve names for Mars or
the moon.

The Lowell Observatory's Bowell said Makemake was nearly unanimous
among the committees, and the only discussion came over whether to
hyphenate, combine or separate the two "make" parts.

"By having Makemake not be a Greek or Roman name," Marsden
added, "we've got away from that idea for these dwarf planets, and I
think that's good."

For his part, Brown has written quite a few names in the stars.

Among them are Quaoar, a creation force of the Los Angeles Tongva
tribe; Orcus, the earlier Etruscan counterpart to Pluto; Sedna, the
Inuit sea goddess, and Eris.

Brown may have at least one more name in the pipeline -- but first
the IAU will have to decide whether he got swindled or just scooped
by a competing Spanish team claiming to discover 2003 EL61 first.

ON THE WEB IAU Web site: www.iau.org Information about Pluto and the
other dwarf planets: www.iau.org/ public_press/themes/pluto Lowell
Obervatory: www.lowell.edu