The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society is an association of amateur and professional astronomers who have joined to share our knowledge and our love of the sky. The BSAS is open to anyone; the only criteria for membership are an interest in astronomy and a desire to share that interest. Welcome to our website, and please visit again soon!

PRIVATE BSAS MESSIER MARATHON
SATURDAY, MARCH 13th AT SPOT OBSERVATORY

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society will be having its annual Messier Marathon on Saturday, March 13th at Spot Observatory. We will spend the night looking for all of the objects in the the Messier catalog that we can find in one night (including the faint ones). Food and drink is not being provided, bring your own. We will have access to bathrooms and heat at Spot observatory. Please try to arrive well before dusk if you can to get set up and to avoid disturbing others with your car head lights.

MARCH BSAS MEETING
THURSDAY, MARCH 18th AT THE ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society will hold its March Membership Meeting on Thursday, March 18th at 7:30pm at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville.
Sudekum Planetarium Director Kris McCall will present an extended version of Mars Update. Mars Update begins with an overview of how our views on Mars have changed over the years - from H.G. Wells and Percival Lowell to the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. We will take a quick look at where to find Mars in the current night sky and then move on to the current status of various spacecraft working at Mars, what they've discovered, and what other spacecraft have been or will be doing on Mars.

This event will be free and open to the public. The program should end about 9:15 pm.

PUBLIC STAR PARTY
SATURDAY, MARCH 20th AT EDWIN WARNER PARK

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society, Sudekum Planetarium, and Warner Parks will be hosting a public star party at the Warner Parks Special Events Field on Saturday, March 20 from 8:00 PM until 10:00 PM. This event will be free and open to the public.

We hope to see you there!

PUBLIC STAR PARTY
FRIDAY, MARCH 26th AT BELLS BEND OUTDOOR CENTER

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society, Sudekum Planetarium, and Bells Bend Park will be hosting a public star party at the Bells Bend Park Outdoor Center on Friday, March 26 from 8:00 PM until 10:00 PM. This event will be free and open to the public.

We hope to see you there!

PUBLIC STAR PARTY
SATURDAY, MARCH 27th AT THE ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society and Sudekum Planetarium will be hosting a public star party at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville on Saturday, March 27 from 8:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Come join us to celebrate Earth Hour and to see the city dim its lights, however briefly. This event will be free and open to the public.

We hope to see you there!

BSAS News
September 2009 Eclipse  1/4 - The January Eclipse is ready! This issue includes reports from the December board and membership meetings, the BSAS event calendar, a message from our president, upcoming events such as this month's membership meeting and more!

Email subscribers will receive the latest issue today and members subscribing to the print version should receive their copies in the mail shortly. While the the latest issues are available only to members, over seven years of back issues are available online in the Eclipse Archive.

News in Astronomy and Space Science

Space station could operate until 2028, says consortium (AFP)

In the grasp of the Canadarm2, the cupola was relocated from the forward port to the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station's newly installed Tranquility node in this NASA image obtained in February 2010. The consortium of agencies building the ISS wants to see if the orbital outpost can operate until 2028, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Thursday.(AFP/NASA/File)AFP - The consortium of agencies building the International Space Station (ISS) wants to see if the orbital outpost can operate until 2028, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Thursday.




First American woman in space promotes careers in science (Reuters)

Former shuttle astronaut Sally Ride (R) is congratulated by former Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell (L) after being inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida on June 21, 2003 file photo. REUTERS/Charles W. LuzierReuters - American physicist Sally Ride achieved lasting fame in June 1983 when she became the first American woman to travel in space as a crew member of the Space Shuttle Challenger.




SpaceX Aborts Test Firing of New Rocket's Engines (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - WASHINGTON Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) aborted the Falcon 9 medium-class rocket's first static fire test March 9 just as the vehicle's nine main-stage engines were about to ignite for a planned 3.5-second burn.

SpaceX aborts rocket engine test (Reuters)

The Falcon 9 vehicle undergoes final integration in the hangar at the SpaceX launch site in Cape Canaveral, in an undated photo. The vehicle's nine Merlin 1C engines are at far left, and second stage is at far right. REUTERS/SpaceX/HandoutReuters - Space Exploration Technologies aborted a test firing of its Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday, in what was to be a key milestone in its quest to fly cargo -- and eventually astronauts -- to the International Space Station.




Space shuttle can fly beyond 2010, if money is there: NASA (AFP)

The US space shuttle fleet can continue flying beyond NASA's September 30 deadline if the money is made available to keep it going, according to Space Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon (pictured in 2006).(AFP/Getty Images/File/Dave Einsel)AFP - The US space shuttle fleet can continue flying beyond NASA's September 30 deadline if the money is made available to keep it going, a US space agency official told reporters Tuesday.




Fastest Orbiting Stars Circle Each Other in Mere Minutes (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - After a decade of mystery, astronomers have now shown that a pair of white dwarf stars spin around each other in just 5.4 minutes, making them the fastest-orbiting and tightest binary star system ever found, the researchers claim.

NASA: Money key to more space shuttle flights (AP)

The crew of space shuttle Discovery, from left, pilot James Dutton, mission specialist Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, commander Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson and mission specialist Clayton Anderson, leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to board the shuttle at pad 39a during their prelaunch training, called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 5, 2010.(AP Photo/John Raoux)AP - With space shuttle retirement just months away, a senior NASA manager said Tuesday it wouldn't be hard to add more flights, provided the nation is willing to keep paying $200 million a month.




NASA: Space Shuttles Could Fly Longer With Extra Funds (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - WASHINGTON The chief of NASA's space shuttle program said Tuesday that the agency could technically continue to fly its three aging orbiters beyond their planned 2010 retirement if ordered to do so by President Barack Obama and lawmakers. All it would take would be the extra funding needed to pay for it.

Congress tries to alter Obama's plans for NASA (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Pushback on President Obama's plans for NASA's human spaceflight program is moving out of testy congressional hearings and into Capitol Hill's legislative inbox.

Space Station Wins Prestigious Collier Trophy (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - The International Space Station program has won a prestigious aviation award — the 2009 Collier Trophy — in recognition of its strides in advancing aeronautics.

BSAS Affiliations

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society is a member of the Astronomical League, an organization of over 240 local amateur astronomy organizations from across the United States with the common goal of promoting and encouraging interest in astronomy.
The BSAS is also a member of the International Dark-Sky Association, an organization dedicated to reducing the adverse environmental impact of light pollution on dark skies by building awareness of the problem and its solutions.
The BSAS has been selected by NASA to be a member of the Night Sky Network, a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy societies committed to sharing their time, their telescopes, and their enthusiasm for astronomy with their local communities.
The BSAS works with Adventure Science Center of Nashville to promote interest in astronomy and the sciences in Middle Tennessee. The ASC and its Sudekum Planetarium also host our monthly membership meetings, and promote BSAS events on their websites as well.
Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society
P.O. Box 150713
Nashville, TN 37215-0713
Contact: Spencer Buckner at (931) 221-6241
info@bsasnashville.com
Please report any problems with this site to webmaster@bsasnashville.com.