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!

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

Crippled Mars Rover is Chilled, But Still Alive (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - NASA's crippled Spirit Mars rover is still awake as it prepares for the oncoming Martian winter, which has already left it colder than ever before.

First-time cosmonauts set to blast off with toy duck (AFP)

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov displays a toy duck, during a press conference outside Moscow in Star City. The tiny toy was picked out by his daughter as an impromptu AFP - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov brandished a small toy duck Friday as he and his crewmates prepared to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) in April.




New date set for European climate satellite launch (AFP)

A massive iceberg stretches across McMurdo Sound in Antartica. The European Space Agency (ESA) said it had set the date of April 8 for the delayed launch of CryoSat-2, a satellite designed to see how Earth's ice sheets react to climate change.(AFP/HO/File/Josh Landis)AFP - The European Space Agency (ESA) on Friday said it had set the date of April 8 for the delayed launch of CryoSat-2, a satellite designed to see how Earth's ice sheets react to climate change.




NASA Lunar Orbiter Spots Old Soviet Moon Landers (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - NASA's sharp-eyed Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been used to locate vintage space hardware lobbed to the moon in the 1970s by the former Soviet Union.

U.S.-Russian duo returns to Earth from space station (Reuters)

The Russian Soyuz TMA-16 space capsule, carrying a Expedition 22 U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut from the International Space Station, lands near the town of Arkalyk, in northern Kazakhstan March 18, 2010. REUTERS/NASA/Bill IngallsReuters - A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying a U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut from the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan on Thursday.




Cassini Sees Saturn's Rough and Tumble Rings (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - The rings of Saturn are the most intricate planetary decorations in our solar system, but are also cosmic gems festooned with unknown red material and some tricky dynamic forces that shape them.

New 3D Film Makes Hubble Space Telescope a Star (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - The Hubble Space Telescope has long been an icon of astronomy with $10 billion spent over two decades to keep it peering deep into the cosmos. Now a new IMAX film is taking that space icon and turning it into a 3D star.

Soyuz spacecraft lands safely on Kazakh steppe (AP)

The Russian Soyuz TMA-16 space capsule carrying NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian Maxim Surayev touches down not far from the Kazakh town of Arkalyk, Thursday, March 18, 2010. Astronauts from the United States and Russia landed safely in northern Kazakhstan's chilly steppes on Thursday after spending almost six months on the International Space Station.(AP Photo/Alexander Nemenov, Pool)AP - Astronauts from the United States and Russia landed safely in northern Kazakhstan's chilly steppes on Thursday after spending almost six months on the International Space Station.




Space Station Astronauts Make Frigid Landing in Soyuz Spacecraft (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - Two astronauts, one American and the other Russian, returned to Earth Thursday from the International Space Station and were greeted with freezing temperatures and snow at their Central Asian landing site.

(AP)
AP - NASA says Soyuz spacecraft with US, Russian astronauts has landed safely in Kazakhstan.

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.