Astronomical Society of East Texas

2012 School Night for Astronomy

2012-02-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

PRESS RELEASE

Forty area students from five local school districts and home schools, along with teachers and other adults, participated in the 2012 School Night for Astronomy held on January 27, 2012 at the Mineola Nature Preserve. Twenty-three of the participants were from Yantis ISD. The students were able to views several celestial objects, including the Sun, sunspots, the Moon, planets, constellations, stars, nebulas, star clusters, the Milky Way and galaxies.

A wide range of telescopes and binoculars used for the event were provided by member of the Astronomical Society of East Texas and co-sponsored by The Center for Earth and Space Science Education at Tyler Junior College. Members participating were Don Jackson of Eustace, Don Kilfoyle of Longview, Bill Fabers and daughter Nancy Geiger of Golden and Paul Shaw of Mineola.

Updated Star Party

2012-01-11T06:42:00.000-06:00

Join us at the Mineola Nature Preserve on January 27th for School Night for Astronomy - come check out the telescopes and make some new friends :)

Here's a map to help you get there

Dr. Phil Plait - Public Astronomy Lecture Series (at CESSE)

2012-01-07T09:13:00.000-06:00

Click to visit CESSE and buy tickets - see you at the show...

Postponed :(

2011-12-16T17:59:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately we have to postpone our star party tonight (and tomorrow night) due to bad weather. We really appreciate everyone who volunteered and will reschedule this one for after the first of the year.

Happy Holidays and Clear Skies to all :)

Last Meteor Shower of 2011, School Night for Astronomy and more...

2011-12-05T21:36:00.000-06:00

Check out our calendar for these upcoming events

Click here to check it out!

Largest pallasite meteorite on display at TJC

2011-11-16T22:59:00.000-06:00

By Jamey Boyum

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - You've probably seen them streaking through the sky at night..or during the day if you're lucky. But, have you ever seen a shooting star after it hits the ground?

For the next several weeks you can. Tyler Junior College has one of the largest meteors of its kind on display, and for a few dollars you can experience something not of this world.

Click here for the whole story on KLTV.com

Astronomy Day at CESSE

2011-10-18T21:20:00.002-05:00

Check out our calendar for Astronomy Day at the Center for Earth and Space Science Education. We'll be there from 1pm to 11pm for events and a Star Party :)

Click here to check it out!

Amazing video: Planets viewed from Earth as if they were at the distance of our moon

2011-10-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

CESSE - Open to the Public

2011-09-25T00:12:00.000-05:00

(picture courtesy of TJC)
Members of ASET attended the opening of the Center for Earth and Space Science Education last Saturday and were visited by around 1200 people. Even though it was daytime we took the opportunity to show off what you can see with a telescope and spent the day talking with people interested in the new planetarium and star stuff in general.

KETK was there and shot a news report you can watch on their site here - KETK

The new center has a huge (and much improved) dome with much more technical brilliance along with lots of exhibits in the space where the old dome was. With many different hands-on exhibits it's sure to be a must see landmark in East Texas.

For ASET, there is a plaza with red lighting specifically set up to make star parties easier to put together. Much of the exterior white lights can be turned off to make our experience that much better. Our group is very fortunate to have this facility to call home and look forward to many years of shared involvement.

Make sure you take a look at their new website at http://www.tjc.edu/CESSE/ where you can learn about the center and buy tickets to the shows online.

NASA Reveals Design for New Space Exploration Age

2011-09-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

NASA is ready to move forward with the development of the Space Launch System—an advanced heavy-lift launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new national capability for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. The Space Launch System will give the nation a safe, affordable and sustainable means of reaching beyond our current limits and opening up new discoveries from the unique vantage point of space.

The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond. Additionally, the SLS will serve as a backup for commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station.

"This launch system will create good-paying American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space, and inspire millions around the world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says. "President Obama challenged us to be bold and dream big, and that's exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, kids today can now dream of one day walking on Mars."

The SLS rocket will incorporate technological investments from the Space Shuttle program and the Constellation program in order to take advantage of proven hardware and cutting-edge tooling and manufacturing technology that will significantly reduce development and operations costs. It will use a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propulsion system, which will include the RS-25D/E from the Space Shuttle program for the core stage and the J-2X engine for the upper stage. SLS will also use solid rocket boosters for the initial development flights, while follow-on boosters will be competed based on performance requirements and affordability considerations. The SLS will have an initial lift capacity of 70 metric tons. That's more than 154,000 pounds, or 77 tons, roughly the weight of 40 sport utility vehicles. The lift capacity will be evolvable to 130 metric tons—more than 286,000 pounds, or 143 tons—enough to lift 75 SUVs. The first developmental flight, or mission, is targeted for the end of 2017.

This specific architecture was selected, largely because it utilizes an evolvable development approach, which allows NASA to address high-cost development activities early on in the program and take advantage of higher buying power before inflation erodes the available funding of a fixed budget. This architecture also enables NASA to leverage existing capabilities and lower development costs by using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for both the core and upper stages. Additionally, this architecture provides a modular launch vehicle that can be configured for specific mission needs using a variation of common elements. NASA may not need to lift 130 metric tons for each mission and the flexibility of this modular architecture allows the agency to use different core stage, upper stage, and first-stage booster combinations to achieve the most efficient launch vehicle for the desired mission.

"NASA has been making steady progress toward realizing the president's goal of deep space exploration, while doing so in a more affordable way," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver says. "We have been driving down the costs on the Space Launch System and Orion contracts by adopting new ways of doing business and project hundreds of millions of dollars of savings each year."

The Space Launch System will be NASA's first exploration-class vehicle since the Saturn V took American astronauts to the moon over 40 years ago. With its superior lift capability, the SLS will expand our reach in the solar system and allow us to explore cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, Mars and its moons and beyond. We will learn more about how the solar system formed, where Earth' water and organics originated and how life might be sustained in places far from our Earth's atmosphere and expand the boundaries of human exploration. These discoveries will change the way we understand ourselves, our planet, and its place in the universe.

Source: NASA

Grand Opening of CESSE September 17th (Saturday)

2011-08-31T18:51:00.001-05:00

9am - 5pm Public Tours of CESSE. We'll also have an ASET booth in the courtyard and be speaking with the public about being part of the club.

From 7-until ASET Star Party (open to the public) There will be AC power and red lighting to help preserve our night vision.

Please come out and visit us to celebrate the opening of the new Center for Earth & Space Science Education.

The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Podcasts - from astrosociety.org

2011-08-18T07:19:00.000-05:00

Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley.Speakers over the years have included Nobel-prize winners, members of the National Academy of Sciences, the first woman in history to discover a planet, an astrophysicist who is an award-winning science fiction writer, and many other well-known scientists explaining astronomical developments in everyday language.

## These look to be really good, so I would suggest all moonwatchers to give them a listen.

Click here for the full story and podcasts :)

Paul Shaw featured in the Tyler Newspaper

2011-07-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

(Staff photo by Jacque Hilburn-Simmons)

Children Get To Know Solar System In Portable Planetarium

By JACQUE HILBURN-SIMMONS
Staff Writer

Little Olivia Scott, 7, knows a little bit about the solar system and its mysteries.

She gained part of her knowledge from school and parents, the rest from a movie about mythical creatures in the sky.

The wide-eyed youngster from Tyler was among a lucky few children who spent part of Thursday experiencing a galaxy far, far away at Tyler's Glass Recreation Center — in a portable, blow-up planetarium on loan to Tyler Junior College from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

“I saw everything,” the girl said. “I know all about the constellations; it's awesome.”

Tall words for one so small, but helping children connect the dots between knowledge and reality is what makes learning fun and meaningful, TJC instructor Paul Shaw said.

“There seems to be a disconnect on what kids think is nature,” Shaw said. “Many of them don't realize a feature of nature is above their heads. Getting rid of the disconnect is important.”

Click here to read the whole story on TylerPaper.com

Having seen the presentation first hand, Paul is an excellent presenter and really knows how to share his love of the skies with folks - Robert Brown

Shuttle Atlantis Soars to Space One Last time (Universe Today)

2011-07-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

Atlantis launches one last time. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.

Click here to check out their photo album of the last Shuttle launch.

ASET Program Meeting

2011-07-07T18:32:00.000-05:00

Check out our next Program Meeting on the Event Calendar - August 5th 7pm

A view of Tycho you've never seen before.

2011-06-30T07:42:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable pictures and video from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the peaks inside Tycho.

If you are asking yourself, "What's Tycho?" here's a map to show you :)

Click here to see the whole story at Universe Today.

The Center for Earth & Space Science Education at Tyler Junior College.

2011-06-28T07:45:00.000-05:00

Tom Hooten (director of the Hudnall Planetarium) shared these images to show the progress of the new construction. Can't wait till it's open :)

Before (Hudnall Planetarium)

After ... and still in progress (CESSE)

Tagish Lake Meteorite Delivers Different Composition

2011-06-13T07:19:00.000-05:00

We’re all familiar with the hypothesis of panspermia – that life can be “seeded” from the contents of asteroids, comets and planetoids vis-a-vis meteorite impacts – but so far no direct evidence has been found. So why should we even consider meteorites to be potential parents? The truth is out there – they contain the essentials – right down to amino acids. Up until now, what we’ve recovered has been considered structured. Then along came Tagish Lake…

Read the rest at Universe Today

Pictures on Facebook

2011-05-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already "like"ed us on Facebook - take a look and see what you're missing. We'll have our content reposted there, so you never have to be out of the loop. Also, when we get pictures to share we'll have them available online (see the Mineola Naturefest).

Hope to see you at future events :) and on Facebook.

See you tonight :)

2011-05-27T08:57:00.001-05:00

We’ll be doing the star party in Mineola tonight – please try to make it out there, but if you can’t we’ll probably have some pictures to post afterwards.

Wish us clear skies

City of Mineola Naturefest Stargazing Program

2011-05-23T07:52:00.001-05:00

If you've been looking at our public calendar you'll see Friday is the Naturefest at Mineola Nature Preserve. We'll have a few scopes out there, so please feel free to come out and join us -

Click Here for the Schedule of Events

Cross your fingers for clear skies :)

Launch of STS-134 (Final Launch of Endeavour)

2011-05-16T19:22:00.000-05:00

New Contact Form

2011-05-13T17:14:00.001-05:00

For anyone interested in participating, requesting a star party or just asking questions about the group - please use our new contact page. You'll have to prove you aren't a robot using the image verification at the bottom (I don't like those either, but the spam-bots are always looking for easy meat).

Contact ASET

Sky and telescope Great Red Spot transit table

2011-05-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

Sky and Telescope has a table to help spot transits of the Great Red Spot for June through December. Make sure you correct the time for UTC (currently central time is UTC minus 5 hours and will change back to minus 6 hours at the time change).

As someone who has never seen it, I'll definitely be on the lookout.

Transit table

Beautiful Stop Motion with Milky Way in Spain

2011-04-16T22:44:00.001-05:00

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

This was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011. I had the pleasure of visiting El Teide.
Spain´s highest mountain @(3715m) is one of the best places in the world to photograph the stars and is also the location of Teide Observatories, considered to be one of the world´s best observatories.

The goal was to capture the beautiful Milky Way galaxy along with one of the most amazing mountains I know El Teide. I have to say this was one of the most exhausting trips I have done. There was a lot of hiking at high altitudes and probably less than 10 hours of sleep in total for the whole week. Having been here 10-11 times before I had a long list of must-see locations I wanted to capture for this movie, but I am still not 100% used to carrying around so much gear required for time-lapse movies.

A large sandstorm hit the Sahara Desert on the 9th April (http://bit.ly/g3tsDW) and at approx 3am in the night the sandstorm hit me, making it nearly impossible to see the sky with my own eyes.

Interestingly enough my camera was set for a 5 hour sequence of the milky way during this time and I was sure my whole scene was ruined. To my surprise, my camera had managed to capture the sandstorm which was backlit by Grand Canary Island making it look like golden clouds. The Milky Way was shining through the clouds, making the stars sparkle in an interesting way. So if you ever wondered how the Milky Way would look through a Sahara sandstorm, look at 00:32.

Available in Digital Cinema 4k.

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