What!? A star party is a party at which the stars are the star attraction.

Who? The CACC Physics club is hosting a Star party at the CACC Observatory on the Harris's Farm near Goodwater, Al. (Click here to see map to the CACC Observatory)

When? Friday night, August 14, 1998 from 6:00 til ?

What's happening? Perseids Meteor Shower will be the star attraction. We will have at least 2 telescopes with which you may view the stars, one of which is our new 12 inch LX200, (but feel free to bring your own if you have one), another will be our 7" Dynascope, John Towns will give discussions on mapping the stars, Rutledge Landers will have a program of objects to view in the telescope, we will have other experts on hand, updated details will appear here when available.

We may have a meteorite ! A local lady has found a rock that may be a meteorite. She will bring it to the star party for evaluation by the astronomers. Come see the specimen and find out what the experts say!

Food? Hot dogs, chips, sweets, coffee and soft drinks will be available, but picnic suppers are welcome. Bring a chair or a blanket if you plan to stay late.

T-Shirts : The Physics Club has designed a T-Shirt for this occasion. These are good quality 100% cotton shirts. They will be on sale at the Star Party for $12.00. For a look at the design on these shirts, Click here.

The public is invited. Admission is free, donations are welcome (The Physics Club always needs money). Come out and enjoy the stars!

Aug 7, 1998 Update: We have some astronomers coming from Birmingham, and they're bring telescopes!

Mark Lancaster, 9" Takahashi SCT, 4" Takahashi refractor

Clark Mason, 6" AP refractor, 4" Televue refractor

Greg Robinson, 10" Meade SCT

Alan Lichtenstein, 5.5" Ceravolo Mak-Newt

Brooks Lide, 8" Celestron SCT

For more information:

In Alexander City, call 234-6346, ext 6200 or 6201 during the day, or ext 6221 in the evening.

In Childersburg, call 378-5576

Elsewhere in Alabama, call 1-800-643-2657

1998 PERSEIDS - This is the most popular meteor shower of the year due to the combination of high rates and fair weather in much of the northern hemisphere. Any meteor seen in the month of August stands a good chance belonging to the Perseid shower. A majority of activity is produced on August 11,12,13. Since 1991 a second peak began with ZHR rates over 100. This new peak occurs 12 hours prior to the traditional peak. For 1998, the first peak is expected around 14hr UT on Aug 11/12

and the traditional peak around 22hr UT also on Aug 11/12. Rates at max may average 50-75/hour. However 1998's activity will occur near a full moon. The best direction to face during these conditions is North westerly in the evening and gradually North and then Northeast as the night progresses. The brighter members of this shower produce long lasting trains. The Perseids are easy to photograph near the date of

maximum activity. I prefer using a wide angle lens, but with high activity you're bound to capture several with a 50mm as well. Unfortunately this shower is nearly invisible from the southern hemisphere due to the northerly declination of it's

radiant. The Perseids are associated with comet P/Swift- Tuttle which visited the inner solar system in late 1992. Observers that are situated on the night-side of earth when we reach the core of the comet's orbit will witness enhanced activity for the next several years. Max: Aug 11/12; ZHR: 90; Vel. 59 km/s(Very Fast); Duration: Jul 17-Aug 24; Population Index: 2.6; Radiant Diameter: 5 degrees; Train Production:

41%; Radiant: RA 3h04m, Dec +58; Three Letter Shower Code: PER

GeoZay

August 12-13, 1998. The Perseid shower is often the best performer of

the year, and it's certainly the best-known. But again, a bright waning

gibbous Moon will hide many Perseids on the peak morning of August 13th.

October 20-23, 1998. This year, at last, the Orionids are free of

moonlight. See last year's description above.

November 17-18, 1998. The sky is dark and moonless on both of these

mornings, when there's a chance of a great Leonid meteor storm.

December 13-14, 1998. The Geminids should be at their best from about 10

p.m. local time on the evening of December 13th until the thick waning

crescent Moon rises around 3 a.m.-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MERCURY is hidden in the glow of sunset.

VENUS shines brightly (magnitude -3.9) low in the east-northeast during dawn.

MARS appears near Venus in the dawn. Mars is faint (magnitude +1.6, only about 1/160 as bright as Venus), so use binoculars. Look for it to Venus's lower left. Watch the two planets pull closer together all week. They'll appear just 0.9 degree from each other on the mornings of August 4th and 5th.

JUPITER rises shortly after the end of evening twilight. It's the brilliant "star" (magnitude -2.7) shining low in the east by about 11:30 p.m. daylight saving time. It's high in the south before dawn. Jupiter is at the Pisces-Aquarius border.

SATURN, in eastern Pisces, rises around midnight. It's the dimmer "star" (magnitude +0.2) far to Jupiter's lower left during early morning hours. It's almost directly left of Jupiter by the start of morning twilight. The two planets appear about 35 degrees apart, 3 or 4 fist-widths at arm's length.

URANUS and NEPTUNE, magnitudes 5.7 and 7.8 respectively, are in Capricornus, well up in the south-southeast by 11 p.m. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page 96.

PLUTO, magnitude 13.7, is near the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border in the south right after dark. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page 97. The charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are also at http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/urnepl98.html.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith are written for the world's midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time minus 4 hours.)

More details, sky maps, and news of other celestial events appear each month in Sky & Telescope, the essential magazine of astronomy. See our Web site at http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!

Sky & Telescope, P.O. Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02478 * 617-864-7360 (voice)

Copyright 1998 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical community by the editors of Sky & Telescope magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360). Illustrated versions, including active links to related Internet resources, are available via SKY Online on the World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In response to numerous requests, and in cooperation with the Astronomical League http://www.mcs.net/~bstevens/al/ and the American Association of Amateur Astronomers http://www.corvus.com/, S&T's Weekly New Bulletin and Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list too. For a free subscription, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first line of the body of the message.