August 3, 2014 ALP Monthly Meeting Report
by James Kevin Ty , Edge Lat & Christopher Louie Lu

Last August 3 , members of the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP) held their monthly  meeting at Manila Planetarium.  Members who attended were ALP President James Kevin Ty ,VP Jett Aguilar, Secretary Christopher Louie Lu and daughter Frances ; Auditor Edgar Ang, directors Mike Enage & Gary Andreassen ; Edge Lat, Justine Garcia , Jason Comia , Val Villanueva, Dodi Maralit, Miguel Cajita, Ronald Sison, Manu Goseco, Mark Ian Singson, Shubhashish Banerjee, Saju Pillai ; Bel Pabunan, Liza Quitlong and Princess Tucio of Manila Planetarium and guests Kristine Jane Atienza and Danielle Gascon of UP AstroSoc.

Meeting started at around 3:15pm with ALP Secretary Christopher Louie Lu presenting the astro highlights for the month of August. This August we will be treated by the following celestial events:

August 03, 2014, Sunday – Moon and Mars are in conjunction at 6:45 pm.

August 04, 2014, Monday – Moon and Saturn are in conjunction at 6:54 pm.

August 06, 2014, Wednesday – Moon and Antares are in conjunction at 12:30 am.

August 07, 2014, Thursday – Saturn is at its best evening visibility with a vMag: 0.6.

August 11, 2014, Monday – Full Moon occurs at 2:07 with its smallest distance of 357,099 km.

August 12, 2014, Tuesday – Moon and Neptune in conjunction at 4:28 am.

August 13, 2014, Wednesday –The Perseids Meteor Shower reach their maximum activity. You can expect to see 100 meteors an hour under ideal circumstances.

            Tips on observing the Perseids:

-          Know where & when to find the Perseids.

-          Find a place away from bright lights & air pollution.

-          Wear warmly & comfortably. Bring coffee or chocolate to keep warm.

-          To observe in comfort, use a reclining chair or lay on the ground. DO NOT USE A MONOBLOC CHAIR.

August 14, 2014, Thursday – Moon and Uranus in conjunction at 11:38 pm.

August 17, 2014, Sunday – Last Quarter Moon.

August 18, 2014, Monday – Moon and Pleiades in conjunction at 1:57 am.

August 18, 2014 – Venus and Jupiter in conjunction at 5:13 am.

August 19, 2014, Tuesday – Moon and Aldebaran in conjunction at 12:54 am.

August 22, 2014, Friday – Best visibility for east Earthshine just before sunrise.

August 27, 2014, Wednesday – Mars and Saturn in conjunction at 9:22 pm.

August 29, 2014, Friday – Best visibility for west Earthshine just after sunset.

August 30, 2014, Saturday – Moon and Spica in conjunction at 8:12 pm.

Afterwards, ALPer Edge Lat made his first time lecture on " An Introduction to Archaeoastronomy ."

The study of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythologies, religions and world-views of all ancient cultures we define these as Archaeoastronomy. We like to describe Archaeoastronomy, in essence, as the "anthropology of astronomy", to distinguish it from the "history of astronomy".

Or simply Archaeoastronomy considers other cultures' symbolically rich cultural interpretations of phenomena in the sky it uses a variety of methods to uncover evidence of past practices including archaeology, anthropology, astronomy, statistics and probability, and history.

From ancient people of the Sumerian, Babylonian, Mayan, Egyptian and many more all over the globe have consistently practicing and studying astronomy as their way of life as believed to be the meanings of the sky which varies from culture to culture; nevertheless there are scientific methods which can be applied across cultures when examining ancient beliefs. This phenomenon correlates the celestial alignment or events from their cultures, which they had recorded it in various ways such as stone tablet, caves, rock formations, brass plates and sometimes with gold plated materials.

All this data strongly and consistently shows all balance both social and scientific aspects of Archaeoastronomy. Even on the doorstep of our future time these symbolic data can be still found all over the world in gothic architectural cathedral, buildings, sacred & symbolic places.

Some of the archeological sites in Chichen Itza Mexico, the Great Pyramid of Giza Egypt,
Serpent Mound in Ohio USA, Astronomical cock of Prague, Stonehenge of UK, The Great Kiva at Chaco Canyon, The Palace of the Governor at Uxmal are just the few of the many sites of Archaeoastronomy.

Lastly, ALP President James Kevin Ty made an announcement that this will be the last monthly meeting of ALP at Manila Planetarium for the year 2014 as they will be undergoing renovation.  James also added that  our ALP anniversary party will be held at VP Jett Aguilar's residence on September 7 (Sunday) 12:00pm.  Potluck lunch so ALPers are encouraged to bring some foods to share with fellow ALPers.

Meeting ended at around 5:30pm.

ALP President James Kevin Ty welcome ALPers to the monthly meeting.	ALP Secretary Christopher Louie Lu tackle on the astro highlights for the month of August 2014.
ALPers listen to Edge Lat's  interesting topic on Archaeoastronomy.	ALPers had a good time listening to the lectures of our lecturers as well as astro chat with fellow ALPers.
ALPer's Selfie :)	ALPers had a dinner chat at Aristocrat Restaurant.