Nasa Notes
... Jim Timmons

One of the most important youth awards given by the Astronomical League is the NYAA (National Young Astronomer Award). For the youth in your club and community, this is a splendid way to recognize the outstanding achievements of high school age astronomers.

Top winners are given telescopes, a trip to Alcon2003, special plaques recognizing their achievements and other prizes. We need your help in spreading the word and encouraging the youth to apply. Your club president has a copy of the application for your convenience. Please help us make this a record year for applications this year.

The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2003. Encourage that young astronomer to apply today!! Please feel free to get back with me if you have questions or need additional information.

Thanks for your help!
Carroll Iorg (Carroll-Iorg@kc.rr.com)
Awards Coordinator, Astronomical League

ROCK ON! (ANSMET).  NASA has given a three year, $1.6 million grant in support of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET). This support will permit a second reconnaissance team from Case Western Reserve University to explore  hard-to-reach (as if any of it is easy) sites for six weeks, about 200 kilometers from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station. Over the past twenty five years, ANSMET has recovered over 11,800 meteorites with about one of 1,000 from the moon or Mars.

REACH OUT! (TOUCH the UNIVERSE).  "Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy" has been published by the Joseph Henry Press. The sixty four page book presents images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Braille, large-print descriptions and raised patterns are utilized to make the book accessible to readers of most visual abilities. The raised patterns are used to translate colors and shapes.

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Today, quoting Tom Moore's sister Linda Moore "They were bursting … six at a time in different colors."

On top of that, 2 other FWASers were out of town that night and managed to take advantage of our reciprocal observing agreements with sister clubs in El Paso, TX and Orlando, FL..   Mitch Wilson is consulting in El Paso, TX weekdays lately.  He observed with the 6 other El Paso Club Astronomers Monday Night. Their Dark Sky site is about an hour east of El Paso in the Desert, no light pollution to speak of, no obstructions. Full Moon and clear skies, but still decent seeing for Leonids (what a show it would have been with no moon and clear skies). I did not get a count, but the peak was around 3:30am MST. Mostly from the radiant, but many from all over, with some long lasting trails.   Steve Gray was in Orlando on business travel and went out to the local clubs dark sky site northeast of town.  They use the local law enforcement's practice firing range, which has long concrete runners, a PA system for mood-music, coke machines, and a rec-room they are allowed to use.  The three local TV stations showed up at about 5:30am EST and started interviewing and filming--it was quite a media production! Fortunately the peak had passed, and we were starting to break up, so nobody was too annoyed!