Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm CDT
TAS General Meeting in Person at UTD
UTD room number SLC 1.210
UTD Campus Map
(Virtual Meeting on Zoom Available only to members of Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas)

Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping
Citizen Scientists and TAS Members

Citizen Science and the Citizen DEB Experiment

Description: Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping will discuss their contributions to astronomical citizen science, emphasizing their current work with the Citizen DEB experiment.

Bio: Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping met at the University of Oklahoma while studying physics. Their first project together was building a Schmidt Camera along with Dr. Michael Pierce, who gave the talk at the March meeting of TAS. In 1979, the three of them were part of the OU expedition to the Total Solar Eclipse in Montana. Kevin received a Bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics and a Masters in Engineering Physics from OU. Bill received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Masters in Physics and is ABD in (experimental atomic) Physics, all from OU.

Bill and Kevin worked together at E-Systems (ultimately L-3 Communications) in Greenville, Texas, from their graduation until retirement. Bill, Kevin and Dr. Pierce were reunited in 2017 when they worked on the Citizen Cate experiment, a Citizen Science project to give solar telescopes to high schools and colleges along the 2017 total solar eclipse path. After the eclipse Kevin investigated using the Cate equipment to do asteroid occultations. Although it did not catch on with the Cate group, it did get Kevin involved with the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) and he began doing occultation work.

In 2018, Bill and Kevin were part of a Southwest Research (SwRI) group to measure the occultation of Pluto in Alice, Texas. That led to other occultation work with SwRI for both of them including efforts for the NASA Lucy mission.

The two are currently part of the Citizen DEB experiment, a similar experiment to Citizen Cate, that plans to equip high schools and colleges along the 2024 solar eclipse path with solar telescopes. In addition, Kevin is an adult leader for the Junior Texas Astronomical Society.

Kevin has been a TAS member since 2012 and Bill since 2017.

Lint LaCour
Vice President
Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas

Meeting details will be sent via TAS Constant Contact email and will be posted to the member portal the week of the meeting.

How to Attend the TAS Virtual General Meeting on Zoom
Friday, May 27, 2022 @ 7:30 pm CDT

The General Meeting of the Texas Astronomical Society is held on the fourth Friday of each month, except November.

No general meeting is held in December.

In lieu of the general meeting in December, an Awards Banquet will be held on a designated date.

Members in good standing of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas will receive an email notification containing information about how to join the virtual meeting.

General Meeting Agenda

7:00pm	Zoom open for Q&A
7:30pm	Meeting called to order Opening remarks from the President Speaker Introduction by Vice President Speaker Presentation
8:45pm	Break
9:00pm	TAS Business Meeting
9:30pm	Constellation of the Month
10:00pm	Adjourn to BAMSIG

TAS MEMBERS: TAS sends out ZOOM meeting notifications and links via Constant Contact. If you are not receiving our e-mail:

Please login to the Membership Portal and verify that your e-mail is correct and up to date.
Check your SPAM or JUNK folder in your e-mail client to make sure our e-mail was not misdirected.
If you are NOT a TAS member and wish to attend a TAS General Meeting via ZOOM, please go to the Membership Portal and join TAS.
The General Meeting notice can be found in the Membership Portal, including the link to the ZOOM General Meeting.

UTD Campus Map

TAS Short Sleeve Logo T-shirts

Navy Short Sleeve T-Shirts with Printed White Logo

$15 Each
Plus $4.00 Shipping & Handling

Supplies are limited!
Sizes: XL, XXL

Click Here to Order - Online Sales ONLY!

Three column web layout courtesy of Matthew James Taylor

Sun, Moon, and Tonight's Sky

Richardson, TX (times in CDT): Sunrise today: 6:26am Sunset today: 8:22pm Moonrise today: 12:43am Moonset today: 10:45am 79% of moon illuminated
Current Phase	Phase Calendar
Courtesy USNO
	May		June
		9th		7th
		16th		14th
		22nd		21st
		30th		29th

Tonight's Sky:

Click the above image for a chart. Popup blockers must be disabled. Chart courtesy of Fourmilab Switzerland.

Major Planets and Moon Charts

Bright Minor Planet Charts

Observable Comet Charts
Magnitudes observed within the last 5 days:

***** :	brighter than 5.0
**** :	5.0 to 8.9
*** :	9.0 to 13.9
** :	14.0 to 17.9
* :	18.0+
(no stars) :	no recent observations

Minor planet and comet lists, and corresponding orbital elements, are courtesy of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Charts courtesy of Fourmilab Switzerland

Special Interest Groups

APSIG (Astrophotography Special Interest Group) is sponsored by the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, Texas.

APSIG meets once a month to share information and learn more about the art and science of Astrophotography -- taking photographs of objects in the night sky such as planets, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. Imaging these celestial objects requires special techniques and equipment, but are attainable by anyone willing to point their camera skyward. Come learn how! For more information on APSIG just follow this link...

JTAS (Junior Texas Astronomical Society) is sponsored by the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, Texas (TAS) to meet the needs of students interested in learning about astronomy and space.

Each section has two meetings a month. The first meeting of the month is a joint meeting for both groups, where we have an invited speaker to give presentations on astronomy and space science. The second meeting of the month is separate for each group and a presentation is given by a student.

For more information on JTAS, follow this link.

If you would like to learn more about JTAS, send an e-Mail to:

Kevin Cobble
Junior Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas
JTAS@texasastro.com

ObSIG (Observing Special Interest Group) is sponsored by the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, Texas. ObSIG meets once a month to promote astronomical observing with telescopes, binoculars, and naked eye. We are also here to help new comers to the hobby of amateur astronomy to get started, learn the sky, and get help picking out the right equipment.

For more information on ObSIG, follow this link.

If you would like to learn more about ObSIG, send an e-Mail to:

Lloyd Lashbrook
Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas
lblashbrook@gmail.com

ATMSIG (Amateur Telescope Makers Special Interest Group) is sponsored by the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, Texas.

The ATMSIG meets every other month to explore the design, construction and adjustment of both do it yourself and professionally built telescopes. Anyone interested in building their first scope will find this group a big help in finding the best place to start. You don’t need to have a well equipped workshop, just a few simple tools and an interest in building or modifying it yourself. The ATMSIG is a wonderful place to see projects built locally by TAS members and to share new ideas for the future! For more information, just follow this link...

Please Note: ATMSIG is currently inactive.

Clear Sky Clocks

Dallas, TX:

Atoka, OK:

Comanche Springs, TX (Home of 3RF):

Click an image for a complete sky condition forecast.

Clocks courtesy of ClearDarkSky.com

Facebook

Please visit our Facebook Club Page.

TAS In Action

Donate to TAS

Atoka Weather Station

Click Here

TAS Recurring Star Parties

Please call the Public Observing Hot Line for the latest star party information and any notices of cancellations.

214-800-6000

Due to the pandemic, we are currently not holding any public star parties.

Our full schedule of activities is on our calendar. Please come out and join us or volunteer at one of our events.

Member Resources

Visit the members' discussion forum to discuss astro-type stuff with fellow TAS members.

Visit the Members Only section for access to:

Revised TAS bylaws
Order a custom TAS member badge online
The Current Month's Spectrum
A new area for presentations by speakers
TAS Member Telescope User's Guide

Constellation of the Month: May: Virgo

Check out our Telescope Buying Guide ,Telescope Mount Buying Guide, and Star Charts for beginners. These can also be found under the "Features" section of the Main Menu.

Visit our Deep Sky and Solar System Galleries and see the work of our world-class astro-imagers!

We invite you to further explore our website for more information and hope you consider becoming a member of our Society. TAS is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, donations to which would be tax deductable for U.S. taxpayers under IRS rules. Donations may be given by using our secure PayPal site and indicating "donation" on the form.

Thank you for your gracious support of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas.

Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm CDT
TAS General Meeting in Person at UTD
UTD room number SLC 1.210
UTD Campus Map
(Virtual Meeting on Zoom Available only to members of Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas)

Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping
Citizen Scientists and TAS Members

Citizen Science and the Citizen DEB Experiment

General Meeting Agenda

Navy Short Sleeve T-Shirts with Printed White Logo

$15 Each
Plus $4.00 Shipping & Handling

Supplies are limited!
Sizes: XL, XXL

Click Here to Order - Online Sales ONLY!

214-800-6000

Contact Us

TAS is a member of
The Astronomical League,
The World's Largest Federation of Amateur Astronomers

TAS is a member of
The International Dark Sky Association

Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm CDT TAS General Meeting in Person at UTDUTD room number SLC 1.210 UTD Campus Map (Virtual Meeting on Zoom Available only to members of Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas)

Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping Citizen Scientists and TAS Members

Citizen Science and the Citizen DEB Experiment

General Meeting Agenda

Navy Short Sleeve T-Shirts with Printed White Logo

$15 Each Plus $4.00 Shipping & Handling

Supplies are limited!Sizes: XL, XXL

Click Here to Order - Online Sales ONLY!

214-800-6000

Contact Us

TAS is a member of The Astronomical League,The World's Largest Federation of Amateur Astronomers

TAS is a member of The International Dark Sky Association

Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm CDT
TAS General Meeting in Person at UTD
UTD room number SLC 1.210
UTD Campus Map
(Virtual Meeting on Zoom Available only to members of Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas)

Kevin Cobble and Bill Kloepping
Citizen Scientists and TAS Members

$15 Each
Plus $4.00 Shipping & Handling

Supplies are limited!
Sizes: XL, XXL

TAS is a member of
The Astronomical League,
The World's Largest Federation of Amateur Astronomers

TAS is a member of
The International Dark Sky Association