Stockton Astronomical Society

Valley Skies Newsletter

The Valley Skies newsletter is the monthly publication of the Stockton Astronomical Society and the San Joaquin Delta College Clever Planetarium.
Editor: Trevor Atkinson

Prior to the February 2007 issue, only selected articles are available on the Internet. Other articles are available only in the print version of Valley Skies which is sent to SAS members each month.

Beginning with the February 2007 issue, a PDF version with minor changes is available.

See About SAS for additional information.

May 2008 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.45 MB PDF file)]

April 2008 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.62 MB PDF file)]

March 2008 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.77 MB PDF file)]

February 2008 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.56 MB PDF file)]

January 2008 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.78 MB PDF file)]

December 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.69 MB PDF file)]

November 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.50 MB PDF file)]

October 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.77 MB PDF file)]

September 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (2.46 MB PDF file)]

August 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.68 MB PDF file)]

July 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.65 MB PDF file)]

June 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.57 MB PDF file)]

May 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.59 MB PDF file)]

April 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.37 MB PDF file)]

March 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.40 MB PDF file)]

February 2007 Issue - [view Valley Skies Newsletter  (1.43 MB PDF file)]

January 2007 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA Space Place -- What IS Inside a Comet's Nucleus?
• Future of the Planetarium
• Don Pettit Goes to Antarctica

December 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Sci-fi Life Support
• NASA Space Place -- Martian Devils
• 2005 Darwin Award Winners

November 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Novarupta
• NASA Space Place -- The Planet in the Machine
• The Baldwin Connection

October 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Surprises from the Edge of the Solar System
• NASA Space Place -- Staggering Distance
• Constellations: Triangulum, the Triangle   [Reprint from October 1999]

September 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Mariner Meteor Mystery, Solved?
• NASA Space Place -- Deadly Planets
• What's in a Name?
• Turning on to School Star Parties -- "Whooa.....Coooolll !!!"

August 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA Space Place -- Podcasts: Space Place to Go!
• Wide Awake on the Sea of Tranquillity
• NASA Space Place -- Celebrating 40 Years of Intent Listening
• Sagittarius, The Archer [Reprint]

July 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Midsummer Family Potluck Picnic and Star Party - Saturday, July 29th
• Droids on the ISS
• NASA Space Place -- From Thunderstorms to Solar Storms...
• Astronomy Hideaway for Sale INCLUDING a 30" Dob!!
• Jupiter's Great Red Spot has Competition
• Rich Combs at the June 8 Meeting

June 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• 2006 Shingletown Star Party
• Breathing Moonrocks
• NASA Space Place -- Not a Moment Wasted
• Dr. Claire Max to Receive Chabot Science Award
• Astronomical League's Constellation Pronunciation Guide

May 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Be a Visiting Astronomer in Your Local School
• Was Einstein Wrong about Space Travel?
• NASA Space Place -- Who Wants to be a Daredevil?
• Good Month to Watch the ISS
• In Search of Water, NASA Spacecraft to Hit the Moon
• Sometimes It DOES Take a Rocket Scientist

April 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Apollo Chronicles
• NASA Space Place -- Planets in Strange Places
• NASA Space Place -- SciJinks
• The Telescope Nut: Micrometers, Sagittas and Errors

March 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Desert Sunset Star Party
• Radiation Resistant Computers
• NASA Space Place -- Micro-sats with Macro-potential
• Astro Word

February 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Desert Sunset Star Party
• Madeira Monument Event in Volcano
• NASA Space Place -- Snowstorm on Pluto
• Astro Speak
• Seeing Geostationary Satellites

January 2006 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Moon Storms
• The Inca: Children of the Sun
• NASA Space Place -- Space Place for Kids
• Madeira Monument to be Dedicated in Volcano

December 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Space-time Vortex
• New Madeira Monument Dedication - January 21, 2006
• NASA Space Place -- Voices from the Cacophony
• Holiday Fruit Cake
• Dr. Custer's Telescope: Opportunity Lost

November 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Possible New Hi-Alt Star Party Site
• Building a Better Rocket Engine
• NASA Space Place -- A Wrinkle in Space-Time
• Opportunity Lost?

October 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Earth Science Week 2005 - Contrail Count-a-Thon
• Crackling Planets
• NASA Space Place -- Where No Spacecraft Has Gone Before
• The Year's Best [actual] Headlines of 2004

September 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• "Take a Nebula, Condense and Stir"
• Plastic Spaceships
• NASA Space Place -- Improbable Bulls-Eye
• U.C. Merced Star Party September 9
• August 6 SAS Picnic
• Building a Large Dobsonian Telescope

August 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Good Turnout for Dave's Big Dob
• The 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower
• NASA Space Place -- Newest Weather Sentry Takes Up Watch
• It's Picnic Time!
• Congratulations Don!
• Timing is Everything
• Actual Writings on Hospital Charts by Doctors
• New Element Discovered: Administratium

July 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Why Deep Impact?
• A Force Field for Astronauts?
• NASA Space Place -- Moving a Mountain of a Dish
• It's Picnic Time Again!
• Night of the Deep Impact
• Deep Impact Star Party

June 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Are You Ready for Deep Impact?
• A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon
• NASA Space Place -- Seeing in the Dark with Spitzer
• The One Percent Club
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory Letter

May 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• How Far is the Horizon?
• Don't Breathe the Moondust
• NASA Space Place -- Asian Tsunami Seen from Space

April 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Scale Model of the Solar System
• Was Einstein a Space Alien?
• NASA Space Place -- Utterly Alien
• 2005 Desert Sunset Star Party

March 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Observing: Messier Marathon
• Ultrasound for Astronauts
• NASA Space Place -- A Different Angle on Climate Change

February 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Special Presentation to Richard Roach and Paul Neidhamer
• Sickening Solar Flares
• NASA Space Place -- Stardust Up Close
• Clarence Custer Award Presented to Jerry Hyatt

January 2005 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• The Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire
• NASA's Space Place -- Galactic Surprise
• Planetary Nebulae: Why do they look like they look?

December 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• The Discovery of Comet Machholz (Comet 2004 Q2)

November 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• Solar Cycle Update
• NASA's Space Place -- A Summer Vacation Tracking Down UFOs
• Help Needed with Senior Project
• Upcoming Events
  • Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series
  • SJAA Fall Astro Swap Meet

October 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch & Lunar Eclipse
• Secrets of a Salty Survivor
• NASA's Space Place -- Hunting Gravitational Waves: Space Technology 7
• New Comet Machholz on its Way
• Dr. Fred Lawrence Whipple: 1906-2004
• Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China

September 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• Spinning Brains
• NASA's Space Place -- Resisting Retirement: Earth Observing 1
• Free Family Astronomy Leader Training
• Genesis - Reaping the Solar Wind
• Were You Born Before 1985?

August 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon
• "...the coolest-looking robot..."
• NASA's Space Place -- Waiting for Cassini's "Safe Arrival" Call
• George Madeira Monument
• Western Amateur Astronomers' 2004 G. Bruce Blair Award
• Upcoming Events
  • Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China
  • The Mountain Theatre on Mt Tamalpais

July 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Planet Watch
• Whatever happened to ... Virtual Reality?
• NASA's Space Place -- Space Weather
• First Observatory in California
• Upcoming Events
  • AstroCon 2004 - July 20 - July 24, 2004

June 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Comet Season Continues
• Why So Dry?
• NASA's Space Place -- Far-out Ideas
• Dome Sweet Dome
• Upcoming Events
  • Shingletown Star Party 2004 - June 16 through June 20, 2004
  • AstroCon 2004 - July 20 - July 24, 2004

May 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Comet Season
• A Pocket of Near-Perfection
• NASA's Space Place -- Voyage to a Double Planet
• "Come in Rover..."
• Astronomy Day Star Party
• Upcoming Events
  • Desert Sunset Star Party - May 13-16, 2004
  • Shingletown Star Party 2004 - June 16 through June 20, 2004
  • AstroCon 2004 - July 20 - July 24, 2004

April 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Astrophotography
• Mysterious Sedna
• NASA's Space Place -- Sciencecraft
• Astronomy Day Star Party
• Upcoming Events
  • SJAA Auction XXIV - Sunday, April 4, 2004
  • Desert Sunset Star Party - May 13-16, 2004
  • Shingletown Star Party 2004 - June 16 through June 20, 2004
  • AstroCon 2004 - July 20 - July 24, 2004
  • Astronomy Day Star Party - April 24, 2004

March 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Messier Marathon
• Astrophotography
• Deep Space Network 2-for-1 Sale!
• Upcoming Events
  • Desert Sunset Star Party - May 13-16, 2004
  • Shingletown Star Party 2004 - June 16 through June 20, 2004
  • SJAA Auction XXIV - Sunday, April 4, 2004
  • Chabot Space & Science Center - Distinguished Lecturer Series

February 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Astrophotography
• Mars Mice
• Two for Two
• Telescope Donations

January 2004 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• January Dinner Speaker: Dr. Kent Cullers
• NASA's Space Place -- So Little Time, So Many Galaxies
• Saturn Rings in the New Year
• Journey to Mars
• Gemini, the Twins   [Reprint from February 1999 issue]

December 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• January Dinner Speaker: Dr. Kent Cullers
• NASA's Space Place -- Stardust
• The Sun Goes Haywire
• Morrison Planetarium Marks End of an Era

November 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Leonid Meteor Showers
• Lunar Eclipse Nov. 8
• NASA's Space Place -- Hurricane Team Work
• The Real Lord of the Rings
• Constellations: Cassiopeia   [Reprint from November 1999 issue]
• Grandma Stories

October 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Get Ready for Saturn
• NASA's Space Place -- (un)Fasten your Seatbelts
• Solar Flares on Steroids
• Constellations: Pisces, the Fishes  [Reprint from November 1998 issue]
• Time to Renew for Magazine Subscribers

September 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Mars Madness at Hwy 4
• NASA's Space Place -- Careful Planning and Quick Improvisation Succeed in Space Biz
• Harvesting Mars
• Constellations: Aquarius, the Water Bearer [Reprint from October 1998 issue]
• The Art of the Put-down

August 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- From the Belly of an Airplane: Galaxies
• Mars in the Limelight
• Telescope Donations
• Starry Starry Nights in the Foothills
• 2002 Starry Starry Nights in the Foothills
• Matrix: Reloaded

July 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- Monster Trucks on Mars
• Roller Coaster Ride to Mars
• July 10^th Program -- Archeoastronomy in Mesoamerica
• NASA Space Research -- Frozen Light May Make Computer Tick Later This Century

June 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- Eggs in the Air
• Shingletown Star Party 2003
• Minor Planet 22338 Janemojo = 1992 LE
• SAS Members
• Calling all Amateur Astronomers!
• They Can't All be Right!
  • New Climate Model Predicts Greater 21st Century Warming
  • Satellite & Balloon Climate Data Corroborates Slower Warming
• AANC Annual Awards

May 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- In Search of Alien Oceans
• Shingletown Star Party 2003
• NASA Space Research -- Rocks in your Tank
• Total Lunar Eclipse May 15
• Digital Moonscapes
• New Element Discovered: "Administratium"

April 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- Musical Satellites
• Shingletown Star Party 2003
• NASA Space Research
• Desert Sunset Star Party -- May 1-4, 2003
• Yes, You.   NASA's Educator Astronaut Program

March 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Messier Marathon
• NASA's Space Place -- Seven Strangers?
• NASA and Its Researchers Are Working to Determine Exactly How Much Data Was Lost With the Columbia Crew
• Desert Sunset Star Party -- May 1-4, 2003
• Food for Thought...or Maybe a Substitute for Thought?

February 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Early Morning Spectacle, Feb. 1 ...are you up for it?
• January Dinner
• NASA's Space Place -- Frisbees in Space
• Does the statement "We've always done it that way" ring any bells...?

January 2003 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• NASA's Space Place -- Black Holes: Feeling the Ripples
• Counting Meteors from the Air, Our Adventure on the 2002 Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign
• ASP Fundraising Auction

December 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• A Retrospective on the Leonids
• NASA's Space Place -- Enlightened by the Darkness
• A Month of Sun Days - Observing and Sketching the Sun
• Greetings from Edward Hillyer
• Desert Sunset Star Party
• Holiday Fruit Cake

November 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• The Leonids
• NASA's Space Place -- From Brobdingnag to Lilliput - My Travels Through 30 Years of the Space Program
• How Best to View the November 2002 Leonid Meteor Storm
• NASA Researchers Seek Astrobiology Insights on the Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign
• AANC Amateurs and Leonid MAC
• More Leonid Viewing Tips
• ASP Fundraising Auction
• Upcoming Events
  • Eyes to the Skies: A Telescope Buyers Workshop
  • Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series
  • Chabot Space & Science Center - The Distinguished Lecturer Series
  • Astronomical Swap Meets

October 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• European Space Agency to Look for Missing Link in Gravity
• NASA's Space Place -- Seeking the Edge of the Solar System
• A Letter from the President of the ASP - Alex Filippenko
• Leonid Sneak Preview
• More Pics from the Midsumer Potluck & Star Party
• The Fundamental Forces of Nature

September 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• Mid-Summer Star Party
• NASA's Space Place -- E-Nose is E-Nose is E-Nose
• Star Struck - Astronomers Party and Peek at Space's Wonders
• Asteroid NY40
• AANC Update
• The Cosmic Thread: From Stars to Life
• What Those Telescope Advertising Terms Really Mean

July/August 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Perseid Meteors - August 10-15
• Latitude vs. Dark Skies
• Davis Star Show
• Starry Starry Nights in the Foothills
• The Cosmic Thread: From Stars to Life

June 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Comet Ikeya-Zhang
• Solar Eclipse June 10
• The Discovery of Extrasolar Planets by Backyard Astronomers - Part II
• Observing Through 60 Inches

May 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Comet Ikeya-Zhang
• The Discovery of Extrasolar Planets by Backyard Astronomers - Part I
• Shingletown Star Party - July 10-14

April 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Comet Ikeya-Zhang
• Constellations: Leo, the Lion
• The Telescope Nut: Aperture Stops   [Reprint from October 1999 issue]
• Dark is Good
• The Lighter Side...
• Shingletown Star Party - July 10-14
• AANC Conference - May 18
• Mount Diablo Astronomical Society (MDAS)
• Evidence for a Big Bang Origin for the Universe - April 10
• San Jose Auction XXII - April 28

March 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Constellations: Gemini, The Twins
• The Telescope Nut: Massive Polishing Party
• PC Put Downs
• Total Solar Eclipse - Dec 4, 2002

February 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Glen's Opus
• Cluster Quartel Probes the Secrets of the Black Aurora

January 2002 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Constellations: Aries, the Ram   [Reprint from December 1998 issue]
• The Telescope Nut: Stress Figuring
• Explosions on the Moon

December 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Polar Alignment
• Nov. 18 Leonids Spectacle...Wow!
• Disco Ball in Earth Orbit

November 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Planets
• The Telescope Nut: Reflection, Refraction, and Diffraction
• Swap Meet in San Jose
• The Leonids are coming, The Leonids are coming!

October 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• WTC
• The Telescope Nut: Fred Flintstone
• Lodi Star Party
• Trick or Treat

September 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Star Party Light Etiquette
• Four Dobs and a Dobson or... the 2001 Grand Canyon Star Party
• The Telescope Nut: Photo Framing and Exposing
• Lodi Star Party

August 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Fringes II
• San Joaquin Fair Exhibit
• The Davis Star Show Needs Your Help
• The Davis Star Show

July 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Ladders
• CalStar 2001
• The Davis Star Show
• Constellation Pronunciation Guide

June 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Solar Viewing
• Never been to a club star party?
• Mars Puts on a Show in June
• CalStar 2001
• Constellation Pronunciation Guide
• The Davis Star Show

April/May 2001 Issue

• SAS Observing Program
• National Astronomy Day
• The Telescope Nut: Making Glass Shine
• Another One for the History Books
• Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series
• AANC Annual Conference April 7
• San Jose 21^st Annual Auction & Swap Meet

March 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• News and Views Off the Internet
• The Telescope Nut: 40" f/3.6 Telescope Progress
• New Treasurer Appointed
• Double Stars, Anyone?
• AANC Annual Conference April 7

February 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Driving Dobsonians
• The Clarence P. Custer Award
• AANC Annual Conference April 7

January 2001 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: High School ATM
• Making a Sundial

December 2000 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: A Baffling Subject
• From the Prez:
• Election Results
• Holiday Fruit Cake

November 2000 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Constellations: Triangulum, the Triangle
• The Telescope Nut: Eyepieces!
• Light Pollution, Another Threat to the Environment
• Astronomy Projects You Can Do

October 2000 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• The Telescope Nut: Computing the Balance of Your Telescope
• Grand Opening -- New Location for Lumicon
• Mt Diablo Swap Meet and Auction Sale

September 2000 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• Notes from Neil
• The Telescope Nut: The Caustic Test
• Davis Sky Show - A Retrospective

August 2000 Issue

• Editor's Corner
• SAS Observing Program
• From the Prez:
• Did We Really See Aurora?
• The Telescope Nut: Shaping the Mirror for Grinding Preparations
• Davis Sky Show - August 4^th & 5^th
• Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies - Not Near a City!

Featured Articles
Astrophotography by Chris Patel	Constellations by Eric Reichenbach	The Telescope Nut by Jeff Baldwin
Astrophotography and Digital Imaging   (258 KB PDF file)	Star Hopping: The Basics First Attempt at a Marathon Aquarius, The Water Bearer Aries, The Ram Boötes, The Herdsman Cassiopeia, The Queen Cancer, The Crab Cetus, The Whale Corvus, The Crow Gemini, The Twins Hercules, The Strongman Hydra, The Water Snake Leo, The Lion Libra, The Scales Lyra, The Lyre Monoceros, The Unicorn Orion, The Hunter Pisces, The Fishes Sagittarius, The Archer Scorpius, The Scorpion Taurus, The Bull Triangulum, The Triangle Ursa Major, The Great Bear Virgo, The Virgin	The Telescope Nut The 40 Inch f/3.6 Project: Part 1 Big Dude Update/Sagittal Volume 40" f/3.6 Telescope Progress A Baffling Subject Aperture Stops Aperture vs. Magnitude Autocollimating The Caustic Test Computing the Balance of Your Telescope Conic Sections and the Foucault Test Course-to-Fine Grinding Curve Generating Driving Dobsonians Eyepieces! Figuring the Paraboloid Fred Flintstone The Foucault Test Fringe Analysis Fringes II Glen's Opus High School ATM Ladders Making Glass Shine Massive Polishing Party Mirror Making Mirror Testing Optical Flats for Secondary Mirrors Parabolizing, Part 1 Parabolizing, Part 2 Photo Framing and Exposing Pitch Laps and Polishing Polar Alignment Polishing Your Mirror Pupils Reflection, Refraction, and Diffraction Resolution Secondary Mirror Size and Offset Shaping the Mirror for Grinding Preparatiions Solar Viewing Star Testing, Part 1 Star Testing, Part 2 Stress Figuring The Tornado Graph Turned Down Edge What's Next in ATM Madness?

Copyright © 2001 - 2008 by Stockton Astronomical Society
Last Updated: 4/28/2008
http://astro.sci.uop.edu/~sas/ValleySkies.html