March Upcoming Events + Links

This is your email issue of TICKET TO THE STARS,
provided to you by the Phoenix Astronomical Society

MARCH 2011 UPCOMING PAS EVENTS

March has a nice spread out line up of events for PAS Members & Guests to enjoy.

Mar 3: PAS Meeting in G-147. Guest Speaker is Dennis Young. Topic is Astro-Scenic-Photography & more. 7pm to 10pm. Special Show & Tell by Pete Morrisey & Night Sky Network Awards Ceremony. Bring a Friend!
Mar 4 & 5: Messier Marathon at 2 Trees site N. of Sedona. For more info & to attend, contact Dennis Young dennis-young@hotmail.com
Mar 5: Cuttin' Edge Observatory Star Party in Mayer. RSVP is with Chris webmaster@pasaz.org. PAS Members only. Please arrive prior to sundown at 6:15pm.
Mar 6: PAS FREE Telescope Workshop at Bookman's, in back room. RSVP is required with Terri Events@pasaz.org. Time is from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Bring scope, learn how to use it. Open to all ages.
Mar 8: Cancer Treatment Center Star Party. PAS Members only. 7:30pm to 9:30pm, RSVP is with Joe jcollins79@cox.net by day before. This is a Paid event. Be sure you are on the PAStimes Star Tours Team so you get paid for this event. PAS Volunteers welcome.
Mar 10: Indoor / Outdoor Astronomy Event & Star Party at PVCC by Telescope Dome & G-147. Come enjoy hands on activities & handouts in G-147, while a star party takes place outside. Weather Permitting. RSVP is requested with Terri Events@pasaz.org.
Mar 11: Astrophoto Meeting in G-147 at PVCC 7pm.
Mar 19: 1st Annual PAS Moon Marathon. Read about this event in the Newsletter (link provided below) on page 4. Everyone Welcome. RSVP is REQUIRED.
Mar 22: Cancer Treatment Center Star Party Back Up Date. PAS Members only. 7:30pm to 9:30pm, RSVP is with Joe jcollins79@cox.net by day before. This is a Paid event. PAS Volunteers welcome.
Mar 24: PVCC Telescope Workshop 7pm - 10pm. Meet in G-147 to learn to use your telescope by daylight, then move outdoors, and learn to use it at night. When you RSVP with Terri Events@pasaz.org, please provide the number in your party, and what scope you will bringing that night so we have a teacher available to assist you with your scope. Handouts & Meteorite Man will most likely be provided as well. This is also a PAS STAR PARTY. PAS Telescope Volunteers needed.
Mar 26: Virtual Star Party at Chris's home in Goodyear. RSVP is required with Chris Webmaster@pasaz.org. Time frame for this night's session will be 7pm to 1am. Bring a snack & Drink to share. PAS Members only.
Mar 26: Desert Botanical Garden PAID Star Party 7pm to 9pm. PAStimes Star Tours members are invited to sign up to assist at this event by day before. Sam is RSVP Insanas@aol.com.
Apr 7: PAS Meeting in PVCC Library. Guest Speaker is Richard Hill. Topic is TBA. 7pm to 10pm. Bring a Friend! ***

The March PAStimes Newsletter is ready for download and can be found at this link:
http://www.pasaz.org/PAStimes/2010-2011/2011-03.pdf

PAS Speaker Line up for rest of Spring 2011

Apr 7: Richard Hill - Topic: TBA
May 5 in G-147: Dolores Hill + Pizza Party + Elections + Moon Marathon Awards Ceremony - Topic: "Meteorites: Keys to Understanding the Solar System"
May 19 in G-147: Robert Piccioni + Party + Messier Marathon Awards Ceremony - Topic: "Einstein for Everyone"

Here are some links of interest for your enjoyment....

New Record! Telescope Finds 19 Asteroids in One Night
Received this link from Matt.
http://www.space.com/10962-asteroids-discovery-record-hawaii-telescope.html

space shuttle launch viewed from airplane
Received this link from Leah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE_USPTmYXM

Have a super day!
See you at tonight's meeting!

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Earth dodges spectacular blast

Space Weather News for Feb. 24, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

SPECTACULAR BLAST: A massive cloud of plasma exploded over the eastern limb of the sun this morning (Feb. 24th around 0730 UT), heralding the approach of a new active region. The spectacular blast, which produced strong radio emissions, a coronal mass ejection, and an M3-class solar flare, was not Earth-directed. Future eruptions could be, however, as the sun's rotation turns the blast site toward our planet in the days ahead. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and movies.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Discovery's final flight scheduled for Thursday

Received this info from Matt:

Discovery's final flight scheduled for Thursday



Weather and conditions permitting, space shuttle Discovery will lift off Thursday on its final flight, NASA announced Friday.

The six-member crew will deliver a storage module, a science rig and spare parts to the international space station during its 11-day mission.

Originally scheduled for November, Discovery's launch was delayed because of repairs to the external tank's support beams.

NASA, which is winding down the shuttle program, announced the February 24 launch a few weeks ago, but confirmed it after a meeting briefing Friday. This will be Discovery's 39th voyage.

The launch is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Astronaut Steve Bowen was assigned to take the place of Tim Kopra, who was injured in a bicycle accident, NASA said.

The last scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour is currently on for April 19 and shuttle Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to launch during the summer.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

3 links of interest

Received these three cool links from Matt. Enjoy!

Scientists Building Largest Antimatter Trap Ever
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110219/sc_livescience/scientistsbuildinglargestantimattertrapever

Thunderstorms on Earth Hurl Antimatter Into Space
http://www.space.com/10602-antimatter-beams-thunderstorms-nasa.html

How Much Dark Matter Do Some Galaxies Need? 300 Billion Suns
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20110220/sc_space/howmuchdarkmatterdosomegalaxiesneed300billionsuns

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

2 links plus March upcoming events

Happy & Wonderful Tuesday to our fellow Star Gazers!

I have 2 interesting links to share with you.

This link is very interesting. 3D images of outer space.
http://www.pbase.com/geokolb/stereo_images

Did someone say we have a 9th Planet again? Check out this link for more info. Matt sent it my way.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/02/15/a-nine-planet-solar-system-once-more-nasa-telescope-may-reveal-new-planet-tyche/?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

Upcoming Events of interest in March 2011

Mar 3: PAS Meeting at PVCC inG-147 with Dennis Young. Topic: Astro-Scenic-Photography. Plus NSN Awards & a mini Show n Tell by Pete. 7pm to 10pm - Everyone welcome. More info: http://www.pasaz.org/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=200&day=2011-3-3&c=1


Mar 6: Bookman's Backroom - FREE Telescope Workshop 3:30pm to 5:30pm, RSVP required with Terri Events@pasaz.org by day before, please. Bring your scope & accessories & learn how to use it. More info: http://www.pasaz.org/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=549&day=2011-3-6&c=1

Mar 10: Indoor / Outdoor Astronomy Event at PVCC in G-147 7:30 to 9:30 with Star Party. Everyone welcome, bring a friend. RSVP is requested with Terri Events@pasaz.org by day before, please. More info:
http://www.pasaz.org/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=577&day=2011-3-10

Mar 19: PAS 1st Annual Moon Marathon at Mike's Home in Carefree. Directions & map to Mike's home will be provided after RSVP is received. Everyone is welcome to compete. Prizes awarded for first completion. If enough prizes have been received from donating companies, everyone may win a prize if they complete the marathon. RSVP is required by Mar 15th to participate. RSVP with Terri Events@pasaz.org. Event starts at 4pm for potluck. Marathon begins at 7pm and ends 11pm. Judges will be available to confirm you identified Feature on Moon. To enter marathon, you must have your own scope to use for marathon, no sharing will be allowed. Open to the public for marathon participants only (and their immediate family), no additional viewers. More Details: http://www.pasaz.org/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=568&day=2011-3-19&c=1

Mar 24: Open to the public - FREE Telescope Workshop & Star Party at PVCC by G-147 and Telescope Dome 7pm to 10pm. RSVP is required with Terri Events@pasaz.org. More details: http://www.pasaz.org/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=576&day=2011-3-24

We hope to see you at our events. Please RSVP when requested. Some events are canceled if no Public RSVP's are received.

Have a super Tuesday!

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

EXPLORING MARS

Got this link from my friend Matt,

http://mesaartscenter.com/index.php/performances/natlgeographic/ExploringMars

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Monday morning thoughts

This was posted on line. Thought is was humorous enough to share today.
Enjoy!

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8238401/

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Meteor Shower & Solar Eclipse on Jan 4

Space Weather News for Jan. 3, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

QUADRANTID METEOR SHOWER: Sky watchers in the northern hemisphere should be alert for meteors before sunrise on Tuesday, Jan. 4th. Earth is about to pass through a narrow stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1, the parent of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. Forecasters say the encounter could produce a fast flurry of 100 meteors per hour during the early hours of Jan. 4th. Details and observing tips may be found at http://spaceweather.com .

GOT CLOUDS? No problem. You can stay inside and listen to the Quadrantids. Tune into SpaceWeather Radio for live meteor echoes from the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas: http://spaceweatherradio.com .

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: After the meteor shower, observers in Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia can witness a partial eclipse of the sun. In western Europe, as much as 86% of the solar disk will be covered by the Moon at dawn, producing a fantastic crescent sunrise on Jan. 4th. Check http://spaceweather.com for details, animated maps and live webcasts.

Please note, this eclipse is NOT visible in Phoenix AZ.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Storms on Saturn

Space Weather News for Dec. 28, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

BIG STORM ON SATURN: Got a telescope for Christmas? Point it at Saturn. A giant storm even brighter than Saturn's rings is raging through the planet's cloudtops. Amateur images and sky maps are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS: At the time this alert is being written (mid-day UT on Dec. 28), a polar geomagnetic storm is in progress (Kindex=5). Observers report electric currents in the ground and intensifying Northern Lights over Scandinavia. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras: http://spaceweathertext.com .

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Voyager has out distanced the Solar Wind

http://www.universetoday.com/81662/voyager-1-has-outdistanced-the-solar-wind/

Received this link from a friend, Matt.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society