[AZ-Observing] SAC Meeting This Friday, November 19
- From: Tom Polakis <tpolakis@xxxxxxx>
- To: sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, AZ-Observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:44:00 -0500
Join the Saguaro Astronomy Club for its meeting on Friday, November 19, 7:30 at
Grand Canyon University. Our speaker will be Gene Lucas, whose talk is
entitled, "The History and Mystery of the Two Blue-Green Planets". Gene will
talk about the history of observations of the planets Uranus and Neptune
ranging from the time of their discovery to the present. More information may
be found below.
The meeting location is described at SAC's Web site.
http://saguaroastro.org/content/Meetings.htm
Tom
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At this Friday's meeting, Gene Lucas will present a talk on "The History
and Mystery of the Two Blue-Green Planets". His talk is based on a good
deal of research conducted over the past few months, into the origins of
what is known about the outermost planets (Uranus and Neptune). The
subject was prompted by the realization that Uranus has, in the past,
shown faint bands or belts to visual Earth-bound observers... The last
time was during the 1960s. This is evidently a cyclic phenomenon. So
where are the bands this time? He will also discuss the development of
visual astronomy from the time of the Herschels and other Victorian
observers, as well as some more recent observations from space-based
telescopes.
Gene is possibly the longest-term member of SAC, as he was in at the
beginning (1977). He has been a visual observer since the early 1960s,
when he was growing up in South Florida. He constructed his first
telescope, an 8 inch f:9 Newtonian, and machined and assembled a
complete equatorial mounting with unique clock drive, while in high
school. Over the years he has presented talks on such subjects as
telescope making, Halley's comet, occultations, variable stars,
photometry, and binoculars. Lately he has focused on video astronomy
and asteroid occultations. He is a member of several pro-am astronomy
organizations, including IOTA, SAS, BHS, ATS, and IMO. He is also an
active member of EVAC in the east valley, and is a frequent volunteer at
the GRCO observatory in Gilbert. His asteroid number is 17250.
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