Iowa City Astronomy Club

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1. Charlie Miller - February 24, 2010

Dear Iowa City Astronomy Club members,

I am pursuing the possibility of developing a “space science” center for the Iowa City / Coralville area and have been laying some groundwork by contacting civic entities. The most large-scale proposal would call for a large new building that offered exhibit, lecture, and classroom space, in addition to a planetarium. The most scaled down version would simply be a planetarium.

If members are interested, I’d be happy to meet up with your group and, if desired, present a powerpoint show about the proposal.

While the economy is in terrible shape, it is an excellent time to plan. I have much to do (IRS filings for a non-profit, business-plan documents, etc.) before “going public”, so outreach to parties that might have special interest is important right now.

I should mention that I own a Spitz A4 planetarium projector and a home-built projector and have experience with making a segmented projection dome.

I hope to help forming a larger group of “grass roots” supporters (people who either enjoy astronomy and related topics and/or see a need for improving informal science education via this angle.)

Thank you,

Charlie Miller
Coordinator,
Iowa Space Science Center project

2. John Hiett - January 6, 2010

Hi.
I’m updating the list of local organizations kept by the Iowa City Public Library. Would you look over the following information and let me know what information has changed?

[club info redacted
-Webguy]

Thank you,
John Hiett

John,
I forwarded your request for info to the club officers. You should be hearing from them soon.
-Ken Welsch
ICAC webguy

3. Setu - September 19, 2009

Is the October 3rd star party open to the public/people interested in joining the club?

I asked the host, and he says sure! I’ll contact you via email.
-Ken
ICAC web guy

4. Rick - July 21, 2009

I am building a Dobsonian 8″ reflector telescope and cannot figure out from the plans how the primary mirror is secured at the bottom? I have the furring nails in place with the four pieces of wood attached to the tube. Can anybody help me figure this out?

5. Libby - May 17, 2009

Hi. I was wondering if any legislature has passed in Iowa regarding light pollution or “full-cutoff” lighting. I found a proposed bill from 1999 but I cannot find any info since then.

My family is from a small town in northwest Iowa and the town is replacing all of the old streetlights with horrible globe-like lights. Now downtown at night looks almost as bright as downtown during the day. I used to be able to see the Milky Way from my backyard!

Libby ———————— To my knowledge, the state legislature has not passed a bill requiring dark-sky lighting. Many municipalities such as Iowa City have formally or informally gone to downward-only fixtures because of the electricity savings. Your town apparently likes to pay for wasted electricity. The International Dark-Sky Association (www.darksky.org) is trying to organize an Iowa chapter. It sounds like you are ready to help in that effort. Please contact the association about opportunities to bring dark skies back to Iowa. The top priority would be a dark-sky bill for the entire state. Thanks; I wish I had better news for you.

Jim
Iowa City Astronomy Treasurer

6. Chris G - October 29, 2008

Are there any telescope dealers in Iowa? or do most people buy over the web? (Orion Mas-Cassegrain is current top pick)

7. Tyson Wirth - September 5, 2008

Hello,
My name is Tyson Wirth, I’m a recent UI grad working in a home with individuals with disabilities.
One of the guys I work with, Kevin, enjoys weather and I am wondering if he might enjoy your club. Could you tell me when your club meets (what time on the second Monday of each month), what specifically happens at these meetings, and what any membership costs and/or fees might be? Is there a relatively new indoor observatory nearby that you folks use? Any other info would be appreciated.
Don’t hesitate to contact me at 319-530-XXXX or XXXX@gmail.com if need be. Thank you very much for your time!
Tyson

Tyson,
The ICAC has club meetings and star parties.
The meetings are held the second Monday of each month, 7PM, usually at the IC Library in a conference room. Usually, Dan or one of the members gives an A/V presentation or lecture on something astronomy-related.
The observing sessions (star parties) are held the fourth Saturday of each month, with time and place announced on this site. We haven’t used indoor observatories in the past (we try to get away from the city), though I’m told there is one at the Cedar Astronomers observatory.
Anyone is welcome to come to either ICAC get-together for free. If you find them worthwhile, the dues are $15 annually.
Regardless of where or with whom, I hope you and Kevin find a way to go to an astronomy observing session with a knowledgeable guide.
Good Luck!
-ICAC web guy

8. Leslie White - August 6, 2008

Where is a good place to view the Perseid meteor shower this year? I am getting a group of friends together to view it, but we are unsure of where to go. We are willing to drive a short distance outside of Iowa City, but don’t know where the least light pollution is, or where we could observe without trespassing after hours. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Leslie

Leslie,

I’ll pass your question on to our club president, Dan Bastemeyer, and write back ASAP. But for now I’ll just mention a few things:

Last year, the Sierra Club planned their Perseid viewing southwest of Riverside. Any dark place will do, though.

For general observing, Iowa City Astronomy Club usually goes either to the Bob White shelter at Kent Park (just west of Tiffin), or far south of Iowa City (see some of the previous posts for directions). But I’ve personally watched the Perseids from my back yard in North Liberty.

http://geology.com/articles/meteor-shower.shtml discusses a bit of how to view a meteor shower, as well as the the physics and best time to view (after midnight). And our post for last year’s viewing (http://icastronomy.org/2007/07/12/perseid-meteor-shower) gives some good advice on how to prepare, like warm clothing, bug repellant, water, and especially a folding chair – preferably one you can lie back on.

The Iowa City Astronomy Club is meeting at the IC public library Monday night (the 11th) at 7PM. The meteor shower is supposed to peak that very night, all night, and so the meeting would be a perfect time to ask more questions.

9. Nancy Keith - April 17, 2008

What are you doing to allow us to see the meteor showers , or aren’t they visible in this part of the world?

Information from club President, Dan Bastemeyer:

Nancy,
The next meteor shower will be the Eta Aquarids, which will peak just before dawn on May 5th. Since the radiant for this shower lies low in the east, most of the meteors will be visible in the eastern part of the sky. Since this will be on a monday morning, there will not be any club observing session, but anyone can see this shower if they are willing to rise in the wee hours of the morning and go somewhere that is away from city lights.
A better meteor shower - the perseids - will peak on August 11th. If enough people are interested we could plan a club observing session . We can discuss this at the next meetings.

10. Elizabeth - November 30, 2007

Hi. Last night, my husband and I (who live in the older part of east IC) noticed man-made lights in the sky–like one associates with Hollywood (three synchronized, moving spotlights). We wondered who would be so obnoxious to use such a thing–so we investigated.

We live on Bradley Street, which is a short side street of Muscatine, between 7th and Creekside Park (a few blocks from the east side Hy-Vee). We could see these lights all the way from their source–El Dorado Mexican restaurant in Coralville, off the strip!

The lights they used came from a machine called “Sky Searchers”–a slight insult to astronomers, no?

Anyway, I wondered if you knew if a permit must be obtained to use such a thing–and how long it could be used. Perhaps your club could write an informative but succinct piece to the owners of that restaurant, explaining how use of such lights cause light pollution?

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

11. Rick Kaster - October 4, 2007

Sorry, I meant October 13th, not the 8th.

As I mentioned in private email, the sessions are pretty laid back, and we look at tons of objects. Our club president brings the largest scope, and enjoys showing off any number of sky objects.
But this weekend, Mars doesn’t rise until late (around 11PM), and won’t be high enough above the horizon to see easily until after midnight. Sorry.

12. Rick Kaster - October 4, 2007

Hi. I was wondering if your club will be following Mars’ closest approach to Earth? I would love to see Mars as close up as possible through a telescope? Would you be looking at Mars on your October 8th observing run at Kent Park?