Boise  Astronomical   Society

Solar Eclipse May 20

Boise will be in the path of a partial solar eclipse on Sunday May 20, 2012. Please use caution when viewing this event. Do not look at the Sun, you will damage your eyes. Sunglasses are not dark enough to protect your eyes. More information about safely viewing the Sun can be found at this page provided by NASA. Other ideas about safe viewing can be found here. In Boise the Eclipse will begin at about 5:12 pm and end around 7:31 pm. The maximum coverage will be at 6:31 pm. Because this is a partial eclipse in our location it is not safe to look at the Sun before, during or after the event.

Club Events

The club calendar can be found here.

The Board Meeting will be Tuesday May 1st in Classroom #2 at the Discovery Center at 7:00pm. Just before the meeting will be the ISP planing meeting, starting at 6:30pm.

On Friday May 11th will be the second session of the Beginner Astronomy Class. It will be in Classroom #2 at the Discovery Center of Idaho at 6:00pm and is open to all members. The club meeting will be on Friday May 11th in Classroom #2 at the Discovery Center of Idaho at 7:00pm.



Star Parties
There will be club star parties May 12th and May 19th at the Dedication Point Dark Sky Site.

Watch the BAS1 group for last minute star party information.

Watch BAS1 for Go/NoGo updates.

Observing Program

BAS is sponsoring an observing program, the Deep Sky 101. For more information, or to get started check out the program page here.

President's Letter

The BAS board will meet on Tuesday, 01 May at 7 p.m. in Classroom #2 at DCI. We will continue to discuss the various activities we have planned for the year. Prior to this meeting we will hold an organizing meeting for the 2012 Idaho Star Party# starting at 6:30 p.m. All BAS members are welcome to join us.

At our next membership meeting on Friday, 11 May, we will be hearing from Chris Anderson, the Observatory Coordinator at Centennial Observatory in Twin Falls. He will be talking about the travels of Capt. James Cook to the South Pacific to witness the transit of Venus in 1769. We will meet at DCI in Classroom #2 at 7 p.m. We will also update the club regarding the many activities that BAS is scheduling for the coming year.

Prior to the meeting we will hold the next class in our series of "Beginning with the Basics" for our members. This month we offer a telescope workshop to our new members. If you want to learn how to set up your scope and locate objects in the sky with it, this is your chance to get assistance from BAS members, so bring that telescope down with you next Friday. The class runs from 6:00 - 6:45 p.m. in Classroom #2.

Later this month, the Treasure Valley will be witness to a partial solar eclipse. The eclipse will occur during the evening of Sunday, 20 May. BAS is planning a potluck dinner and viewing session down at our Dedication Point location. For more details, come to this month's membership meeting.

We will also be participating in Zoo Daze earlier on the same day where we will provide opportunities to observe the Sun to attendees of that event. If interested in helping out, contact our Educational Liaison Leif Edmondson for more details.

We have scheduled the 2012 ISP for the weekend of 14 - 16 September at Bruneau Dunes State Park. We have secured our guest speaker for the event, famed comet hunter Don Machholz. As you know, this is a great event and well worth the time and modest expense to attend. We have reserved all of the campsites in Eagle Cove Loop A for ISP attendees and are taking names for a waiting list for these sites. Payment for these sites is due at this month's membership meeting. There are also campsites available in Loop B at Eagle Cove, but you need to contact the Idaho Parks Department to reserve those sites. We are accepting registration, star-b-q, and t-shirt/hat orders at this time. In order to take advantage of early registration discounts, we need your form and money no later than the August membership meeting (10 August).

Besides ISP, we are planning a full event schedule highlighted by the "once in a lifetime" opportunity to observe a transit of Venus next month on June 5th. We have numerous other events planned throughout the year which will be discussed as they approach.

We are once again taking nominations for the BAS Mary Schneider Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award. This annual award goes to the BAS member who has gone above and beyond to promote the goals of our society to the general public. The recipient receives a mounted certificate as well as a complimentary membership to BAS for the following year. The award will be voted on by the membership at our July Pizza & Ice Cream social (13 July).

News

SOHO EIT 304 Latest Image (click image for larger view)


Courtesy of SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
The SOHO project home page can be found here.

NASA News
Feburary 23, 2012 -- NASA PRESENTS SAFETY AWARD TO THREE KENNEDY EMPLOYEES
Feburary 2, 2012 -- NASA'S COMMERCIAL CREW PARTNER SIERRA NEVADA DELIVERS FLIGHT TEST VEHICLE STRUCTURE
Feburary 1, 2012 -- KENNEDY SPACE CENTER'S "INDUSTRIAL AREA" DELAYED OPENING FEB. 2