Recent News:
The current focus of the club is the moon. The moon being the largest object in the sky and the closest to the earth is a natural object for members of the club to study and learn about. In our last meeting the club began to learn more about the moon through the use of the zoom astronomy web site. Here is the link:
"zoom astronomy - the moon"

Go to this web site to learn more about the moon.

Notice: Any memeber wishing to submit an article about a subject in astronomy should check with the officers of the club.
 

From astrophysics.com
"Venus is very low in WNW, its setting time improving to just over
1-1/2 hours after sunset. Two planets appear close to Venus in latter half of month.
Jupiter shines near mag. –2.1 high in S at dusk as June begins, shifting over to SW by month’s end. Jupiter is in Virgo, 15° to 14° NW of Spica.
Mercury emerges at end of 2nd week in bright twilight, then climbs to its highest for this rather favorable apparition. At first, Mercury appears to LR of Venus, by 8° on June 12, by 5° on June 16, by 3° on June 19, and by 2° on June 21. Then Mercury is found within 1° of Venus during June 24-July 1, forming a very close pair on June 27.
Saturn sinks lower in W to WNW as June progresses. Look for the 0.2-mag. planet to upper left of Venus, by 25° on June 2, by 15° on June 11, by 10° on June 16, and by less than 5° on June 21. A very compact trio of Venus-Mercury-Saturn, all fitting within a 1.5° field on June 25. ... Mars brightens to mag. 0 this month as it climbs noticeably higher in SE. Mars goes 20° E, against Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus."

For more information also see:

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/article_110_1.asp

http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyWatchersDiary/Diary.html
 

1. What does May bring us? Well for starters we have our end of the year scheduled night out on Saturday, May 17. Students are expected to have the permision forms filled out an turned in by the May 16, after school club meeting.
2. After the pelting of Park Forest, Illinois, by meteorites earlier this year, meteorites are again in the news. see the Sky and Telescope article on line.
3. Check Sky and Telescope's Sky at a Glance.
 

Old News
What does April bring us?
April brought us meteorites. Meterites rained down over the mid-west. The village of Park forest Illinois in particular was greeted to a pelting of various size meteorites. See Sky and Telescope article "meteorites"

What does March bring us?
After all of these years we say Goodbye, Galileo. The space craft Galileo has completed its mission and NASA controllers have turned off its recorders. See article "Galileo"

What does February bring us? 
This was a difficult month for our club membership as one of our own lost his father. His family is in our thoughts and in our prayers.

1. What does January bring us? Well Saturn is a good target this winter. Clear skies and cold weather make for good seeing.
go to the sky and telescope link about Saturn. http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_304_1.asp
2. Check out Sky and Telescope's "This Week's Sky at a Glance". The week of this month's meeting check out the info about Jupiter and its moons. http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/article_110_1.asp
3. For this month's night out, look for the moon, Jupiter and Saturn.
4. This month we will again have a guest speaker. On January 15, Kim, a former student and president of the club, who is now pursuing a degree in astronomy will speak about her research experience at the University of Wyoming where she is studying.
5. We will also have a winter night out on January 17. Dress warm, it will be very cold.
6. The night out was successful. We observed the moon, Jupiter (we saw two of its moons), Saturn (we saw the rings), we saw Orion, the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades.

Old News, Christmas time is here and of course that means the search for the Christmas star.
1. Decmber is here and the Holiday Season is here.
2. Here are two links to information associated with the Christmas star. http://www.griffithobs.org/StarofBethlehem.html and http://www.griffithobs.org/IPSChristmasErrors.html
3. A very Merry Christmas to everyone.

Old News, Thanksgiving is upon us and the Holiday Season is beginning.
1. November is here and mid-fall is upon us. Thanksgiving can't be far off, with promises of all that the holiday season brings.
2. So what's up for "us" in November? Well for starters check out: Sky and Telescope ; 
3. And don't forget that this month brings us the Leonid meteor shower. Click on the link under "Old News What did October bring us?"
4. We'll have a special guest speaker at this month's (November) club meeting to speak to us about meteors. Everyone, member or nonmember is invited.
5. Also, under October's "Old News", check out the web sites that have been added about the moon.

Old News, including links to the moon.
1. What did October bring us? Officers have been elected. Felecia (our president) ran the elections for officers. The officers names will be formally announced at the October MTG.
2. The up-to-date schedule for the club meetings and outings is posted below and should be checked periodically in case of necessary changes.. 
3. Due to the interference caused by spirit week the topics scheduled for the September mtg. will be covered at the October mtg. along with the presentation about the moon being done by Zach.
4. We are into October now and we want to direct your attention to things to see in the sky. A useful link to use is Sky and Telescope's Sky at a Glance. Use the following link to go to that site. Sky at a Glance
5. Though we are in October, November is just around the corner and that means the Leonid meteor shower. Check out this link to Sky and Telescope's information page on this event. Leonid Meteor Shower
6. The Space Shuttle Atlantis was successfully launched October 7. To see more go to this site. Space Shuttle Atlantis
7. Want to see more about Astronomy? Then go to Sky and Telescopes main page. Sky and Telescope
8. Zach treated us to information about the moon at his October presentation. To find out the phase of the moon on any day goto the following website link: Phases of the Moon ; Also see: Moon Phases ; Also see: U. S. Naval Observatory ; And for facts about the moon see: About the Moon ; Also see: Moon Fact Sheet ; Also see: A NASA site about the Moon .

"OLD" News:
1. What did September bring us? Besides meteorological fall* and the Autumnal Equinox, It brings the beginning of the year for the 2002-2003 Astronomy Club. The Introduction meeting was September 6 at 2:30 in room 417. At this meeting a handout was made available explaining this year's club with a schedule of fall activities. If you you are not able to come to this meeting, but are interested in joining drop by room 417 and ask for a registration form.
September also brought us the atumnal equinox. To find out more about the equinox go to this link. Equinox
2. What did August bring us? It brought us meteor showers. This month we have the Perseid meteor shower. Check out the link to the site about the Perseid Meteror shower.Perseid Meteor Shower

*Meteorological Fall is the weather man"s means of dividing the year into 4 seasons. Unlike the rest of us who use astronomical events with regards to the position of the earth and sun to measure the seasonal change (didn't know that?), weather men use the beginning of the months associated with the seasonal change. See the following link to see a comparision of the meteorological seasonal dates to the astronomical dates associated with seasons. Meteorological Seasons

Sept.----6              Start up meeting / Hand out info and registration forms / Elections of Officers (On September 25)

Sept.----18            Motions of the Earth / The Seasons / Sky Calendar

Sept.----25            Elections / Seasons, Solstices, and the Equinoxes

Oct.----8               Special Meeting Officers only to discuss open house duties 

Oct.----16             (presentation by Zack) Moon, harvest, hunters, etc. / Characteristics and Motion

Nov.----20            Guest Speaker: Meteors / meteorites / shooting stars / meteoroids

Nov.----22            Fall Night Out - moon / constellations / celestial motion

Dec.----11            In search of the Christmas Star - presentation and discusion

Jan.-----15            Guest Speaker: On going research at an Astronomical Observatory

Jan.-----17            Night out star gazing from 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Jan.-----28            Planning for the club fund raiser

Feb.----7              Time Travel [meeting moved from Feb. 5]

Mar.----12            Meeting Cancelled

Apr.----                Discussion of Fund Raiser and the Spring Night Out

May----16            Telescopes, how they work including how lenses and mirrors are used to focus light
                           Bright Line Spectrum and how it is used to identify what stars are made of.

May----17            Spring Night Out moon / constellations / celestial motion Spring & Summer