Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 4
General Calendar p. 5
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 5
Observing p. 6
Useful Links p. 7
About the Club p. 7
Club News & Calendar.
News:
Volunteers are welcome for the Club booth at the Oct. 12 AEA October Festival (11am-1pm). We plan to showcase our 10-inch GoTo telescope doing its alignment dance, and H-alpha telescope to look at the sun.
Calendar
15 Sept
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
TBD – We’re hoping to get one of the Caltech exoplanet researchers, and are following some leads.
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays) at 11:45am in A1/1026) & activities:
[TBD – possibly a joint star party w. a local club – either LAAS or SBAS]
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month
(from Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
2011 August 17
Perseid Below Credit: Ron Garan, ISS Expedition 28 Crew, NASA
Explanation: Denizens of planet Earth watched this year's Perseid meteor shower by looking up into the moonlit night sky. But this remarkable view captured by astronaut Ron Garan looks down on a Perseid meteor. From Garan's perspective onboard the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust left from comet Swift-Tuttle heated to incandescence. The glowing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is right of frame center, below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish airglow. Out of the frame, the Sun is on the horizon beyond one of the station's solar panel arrays at the upper right. Seen above the meteor near the horizon is bright star Arcturus and a star field that includes the constellations Bootes and Corona Borealis. The image was recorded on August 13 while the space station orbited above an area of China approximately 400 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing.
2011 August 8
Seasonal Dark Streaks on Mars Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA
Explanation: What is causing these dark streaks on Mars? A leading hypothesis is flowing -- but quickly evaporating -- water. The streaks, visible in dark brown near the image center, appear in the Martian spring and summer but fade in the winter months, only to reappear again the next summer. These are not the first markings on Mars that have been interpreted as showing the effects of running water, but they are the first to add the clue of a seasonal dependence. The above picture, taken in May, digitally combines several images from the the HiRISE instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The image is color-enhanced and depicts a slope inside Newton crater in a mid-southern region of Mars. The streaks bolster evidence that water exists just below the Martian surface in several locations, and therefore fuels speculation that Mars might harbor some sort of water-dependent life. Future observations with robotic spacecraft orbiting Mars, such as MRO, Mars Express, and Mars Odyssey will continue to monitor the situation and possibly confirm -- or refute -- the exciting flowing water hypothesis.
Astronomy News:
Video of Juno launch to Jupiter http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110809.html on its way for a 2016 rendezvous.
Higher planet estimates. 2 gravitational microlensing teams (MOA & OGLE) have been monitoring 50 million stars in the Milky Way’s central bulge hourly. They found 474 stars temporarily surged in brightness in a way unique to grav. microlensing – due to stars, as opposed to the macrolensing due to galaxies & quasars. 10 of the events lasted less than 2 days – too short for stars, but right for Jupiter-mass objects. These statistics indicate big planets must be far more common than believed, outnumbering normal stars 2-to-1.
During those 10 events, the lack of broader lensing due to a nearby star indicates they’re either >10 AU from the star, or drifting free of any star. Previous searches indicate giant planets rarely exist in very wide orbits, so they’re likely drifting free. Lone brown dwarfs of Jupiter mass could form alone as stars do, or could be formed from a protoplanetary disk and flung out free of their star.
80-90% of newborn planetary systems “seem to go through an early period of chaotic interactions….causing some planets to flip each other’s orbits into high inclinations, ….and also fling planets of every description out of the system completely. The large number of MOA-OGLE discoveries implies that the flung-from-chaos origin is the more important of the two.”
“This in turn implies that planetary systems are so numerous that most stars have them. This too matches what astronomers have come to think. Marcy estimates that perhaps 80% of all stars are born with planets – ‘and it’s not 100% only because of binary stars’ that flung away their planets (or the raw material to make them) completely.”
[This news bite is from the Aug 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope Magazine. Below is a recap of email news releases forwarded to club members by Vic Christensen, not including the Scientific American articles.]
Date
Description
URL
[Work in progress – will be posted on the club website]
General Calendar:
Colloquia, Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:
Note: The South Bay Astronomical Society website (www.sbastro.org.) is temporarily not functional (due to recent death of the webmaster). Nor have I received the usual hardcopy mailing recently. So I have no dates for their Sept. events.
Colloquia: Carnegie (Tues. 4pm), UCLA, Caltech (Wed. 4pm), IPAC (Wed. 12:15pm) & other Pasadena (daily 12-4pm): http://obs.carnegiescience.edu/seminars/
Carnegie astronomy lectures – only 4 per year in the Spring www.obs.carnegiescience.edu. Visit www.huntington.org for directions.
?
SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM
Topic: TBD
Guest Speaker:. www.sbastro.org.
12 Sept
LAAS LAAS General Mtg..
Griffith ObservatoryEvent Horizon Theater8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
15 Sept
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
TBD – We’re hoping to get one of the Caltech exoplanet researchers, and are following some leads.
Sept. 15 & 16 -- The von Kármán Lecture Series
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.cfm
From A to Z: Getting Curiosity to the Launch Pad
The Mars Science Laboratory, "Curiosity", is the latest project in NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term program of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. Scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in late 2011, and arrive at Mars in August 2012, this rolling laboratory will assess whether Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life and conditions favorable for preserving clues about life, if it existed. The sky-crane landing system is remarkable, and the massive science suite is the most advanced ever used on a planetary surface, and will help us better understand whether life could have existed on the Red Planet and, if so, where we might look for it in the future. But such capability does not come without challenge. Tonight's talk will cover some of the trials and tribulations the project members encountered while creating one of the most ambitious missions in history.
Speaker:
Richard Cook, Deputy Project Manager, Mars Science Laboratory, JPL
Locations:
Thursday, Sept 15, 2011, 7pmTBD at JPL4800 Oak Grove DrivePasadena, CA› Directions Friday, Sept 16, 2011, 7pmThe Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College1570 East Colorado Blvd.Pasadena, CA› Directions
Webcast:
For the webcast on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, click here If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.
Note: As of Feb. 28, 2011, the Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn. (MWOA) no longer exists. All public outreach activities of Mt. Wilson will be through the Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/ -- links for virtual tour & Quick Time video) No lectures noted yet to replace the previous MWOA 4th Saturday lecture series. The Angeles Crest Highway has recently reopened, and the Observatory is open for public visits daily 10-4 from April thru Nov.
Observing:
The following data are from the 2011 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s Skygazer’s Almanac.
Sun, Moon & Planets for September:
Planets: Jupiter rises (in the east) 1-2 hrs after sunset, Mars rises about 1am. Venus & Saturn set in the West about an hour after sunset, and are 1.3 deg apart Sept. 29. Mercury is at greatest Western elongation Sept. 3 & rises just before sunrise until Sept. 18. Uranus at opposition Sept. 26.
Other Events:
?
SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
3 Sept
LAAS Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm
23 Sept – Autumnal equinox
25 Sept – Zodiacal light visible in E. before morning twilight for the next 2 weeks.
17 & 24 Sept
LAAS Dark Sky Night: Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)
?
SBAS Star Party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
Internet Links:
Link(s) of the Month
http://reference.wolfram.com/legacy/applications/astronomer/Notebooks/GraphicsGallery.html Interesting Product
General
e! Science News Astronomy & Space
NASA Gallery
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (educational, amateur & professional)
Amateur Online Tools, Journals, Vendors, Societies, Databases
The Astronomy White Pages (U.S. & International Amateur Clubs & Societies)
American Astronomical Society (professional)
More...
Regional (esp. Southern California)
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies)
Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/), including status for visits & roads
Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)
South Bay Astronomical Society (SBAS)
Orange County Astronomers
The Local Group Astronomy Club (Santa Clarita)
Ventura County Astronomical Society
About the Club Club Website: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club It is updated to reflect this newsletter, in addition to a listing of past club mtg. presentations, astronomy news, photos & events from prior newsletters, club equipment, membership & constitution. In the future, we may link some presentation materials from past mtgs.
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167), or see the club website where a form is also available. Benefits will include use of club telescope(s) & library/software, discounts on Sky & Telescope magazine and Observer’s Handbook, field trips, great programs, having a say in club activities, acquisitions & elections, etc.
Committee Suggestions & Volunteers. Feel free to contact: Michelle Darrah, Program Committee Chairwoman (& club VP), David Wright, Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or Vic Christensen, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer).
Mark Clayson, AEA Astronomy Club President
=====================================
AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter, August 2011
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 4
General Calendar p. 5
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 5
Observing p. 6
Useful Links p. 7
About the Club p. 8
Club News & Calendar.
News:
Have a great summer!
Calendar
18 Aug
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
“Exploring the Final Frontier: Human Factors in Spaceflight,” (including Lunar & Mars), Leslie Wickman, Aerospace & APU
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays) at 11:45am in A9/1026) & activities:
[TBD]
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month
(from Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
2011 July 21
Atlantis Farewell from Parkes Image Credit & Copyright: John Sarkissian (CSIRO Parkes Observatory)
Explanation: The Parkes 64 meter radio telescope is known for its contribution to human spaceflight, famously supplying television images from the Moon to denizens of planet Earth during Apollo 11. The enormous, steerable, single dish looms in the foreground of this early evening skyscape. Above it, the starry skies of New South Wales, Australia include familiar southerly constellations Vela, Puppis, and Hydra along with a sight that will never be seen again. Still glinting in sunlight and streaking right to left just below the radio telescope's focus cabin, the space shuttle orbiter Atlantis has just undocked with the International Space Station for the final time. The space station itself follows arcing from the lower right corner of the frame, about two minutes behind Atlantis in low Earth orbit. Atlantis made its final landing early this morning (July 21, 5:57am EDT) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
2011 August 2
Asteroid Vesta Full Frame Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA, MPS, DLR, IDA
Explanation: Why is the northern half of asteroid Vesta more heavily cratered than the south? No one is yet sure. This unexpected mystery has come to light only in the past few weeks since the robotic Dawn mission became the first spacecraft to orbit the second largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The northern half of Vesta, seen on the upper left of the above image, appears to show some of the densest cratering in the Solar System, while the southern half is unexpectedly smooth. Also unknown is the origin of grooves that circle the asteroid nears its equator, particularly visible on this Vesta rotation movie, and the nature of dark streaks that delineate some of Vesta's craters, for example the crater just above the the image center. As Dawn spirals in toward Vesta over the coming months, some answers may emerge, as well as higher resolution and color images. Studying 500-km diameter Vesta is yielding clues about its history and the early years of our Solar System.
2011 July 22
Pluto's P4 Credit: NASA, ESA, Mark Showalter (SETI Institute)
Explanation: Nix and Hydra were first introduced to human eyes in Hubble Space Telescope images from May 2005, as Pluto's second and third known moons. Now Hubble images have revealed a fourth satellite for the icy, dwarf planet. Provisionally designated P4, it completes an orbit of Pluto in about 31 days. Presently Pluto's smallest and dimmest known moon, P4 is estimated to be 13 to 34 kilometers across. The newly discovered satellite was first spotted in Hubble observations from June 28, and later confirmed in a follow-up on July 3 and July 18. These two panels are composites of both the short and long exposures that include brighter Pluto itself along with Pluto's largest moon Charon. Camera noise and image artifacts also show up in the long exposure segments. The Hubble observations were made while searching for faint rings around the distant world in support of NASA's New Horizons mission, set to fly by the Pluto system in 2015.
Astronomy News:
Is the Sunspot Cycle About to Stop (& space weather & climate about to go mild)?
The big buzz among the 320 sun specialists at the June AAS Solar Physics Division conference was about a claim that the 11-year solar activity cycle may be on the verge of a drastic change. 4 scientists at the National Solar Observatory reported 3 signs, and predicted the current cycle 24 (began 2008, should peak 2013) will have half the spots as cycle 23, and cycle 25 “may not actually happen.”
The next jet stream is missing. Helioseismology indicates east-west jet streams at 7,000 km depth at symmetric latitudes about the equator. Surface activity such as sunspots appear above them, and both begin each solar cycle at high latitude and move equatorward to the end of the cycle. We’re not seeing the usual high latitude streams that should be forming already for the next cycle. And the rate of latitudinal motion is slower than for previous cycles.
The solar corona (outer atmosphere) is shaped by magnetic field loops originating in the Sun’s interior. In previous cycles, the high latitude corona made a “rush to the poles with each new jet stream. But the rush didn’t materialize this time.
Average magnetic fields in sunspot umbras has declined since 2000, from 2,500-3,000 gauss to 2,000 gauss now. Instead of expected renewed strength in cycle 24, the strength has continued to decline. Below 1,500 gauss, sunspots don’t appear at all, which with the current trend would occur in 2022.
Implications: The space weather forecast may be very mild, which is favorable for the health of satellites and power grids. There are also correlations between solar activity and climate, such as the coincidence of the “Little Ice Age” with the “Maunder [sunspot] Minimum” (1645-1715). I.e., it could offset global warming, for a similarly mild climate forecast. Also, let’s use the club’s H-alpha scope well for the next few years before we shelve it or sell it.
[This news bite is from the Sept 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope Magazine. Below is a recap of email news releases forwarded to club members by Vic Christensen, not including the Scientific American articles.]
Date
Description
URL
[Work in progress – will be posted on the club website]
General Calendar:
Colloquia, Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:
Colloquia: Carnegie (Tues. 4pm), UCLA, Caltech (Wed. 4pm), IPAC (Wed. 12:15pm) & other Pasadena (daily 12-4pm): http://obs.carnegiescience.edu/seminars/
Carnegie astronomy lectures – only 4 per year in the Spring www.obs.carnegiescience.edu. Visit www.huntington.org for directions.
5 Aug?
SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM
Topic: TBD
Guest Speaker:. www.sbastro.org.
8 Aug
LAAS LAAS General Mtg..
Griffith ObservatoryEvent Horizon Theater8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
18 Aug
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
“Exploring the Final Frontier: Human Factors in Spaceflight,” (including Lunar & Mars), Leslie Wickman, Aerospace & APU
Aug. 18 & 19 -- The von Kármán Lecture Series http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.cfm
NASA's Deep Space Network: Our Link to Spacecraft around the Solar System
The NASA Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe, as well as selected Earth-orbiting missions. First utilized in January of 1958 to track the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, the DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed approximately 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia. This strategic placement permits constant observation of spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and helps to make the DSN the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world.
Speaker:
Speaker TBD
Locations:
Thursday, Aug 18, 2011, 7pmThe von Kármán Auditorium at JPL4800 Oak Grove DrivePasadena, CA› Directions Friday, Aug 19, 2011, 7pmThe Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College1570 East Colorado Blvd.Pasadena, CA› Directions
Webcast:
For the webcast on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, click here If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.
Note: As of Feb. 28, 2011, the Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn. (MWOA) no longer exists. All public outreach activities of Mt. Wilson will be through the Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/ -- links for virtual tour & Quick Time video) No lectures noted yet to replace the previous MWOA 4th Saturday lecture series. The Angeles Crest Highway has recently reopened, and the Observatory is open for public visits daily 10-4 from April thru Nov.
Observing:
The following data are from the 2011 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s Skygazer’s Almanac.
Sun, Moon & Planets for August:
Planets: Mars & Jupiter rise mid-morning & mid-evening, respectively. Saturn sets a couple hours after sunset. Venus is hidden in sun’s glow all month. Mercury rises just before dawn at the end of the month.
Other Events:
? Aug
SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
6 Aug
LAAS Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm
12-13 Aug. Perseid Meteor Shower peaks late tonight. Unfortunately, the full Moon will hide all but the brightest meteors.
20 & 27 Aug
LAAS Dark Sky Night: Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)
? Aug
SBAS Star Party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
Internet Links:
Link(s) of the Month
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110711.html (Music video of lunar eclipse over Tajikistan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaUaoy33gHE (Asteroid Vesta rotation video)
www.SkyandTelescope.com/videos (New Sky & Telescope video site)
General
e! Science News Astronomy & Space
NASA Gallery
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (educational, amateur & professional)
Amateur Online Tools, Journals, Vendors, Societies, Databases
The Astronomy White Pages (U.S. & International Amateur Clubs & Societies)
American Astronomical Society (professional)
Regional (esp. Southern California)
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies)
Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/), including status for visits & roads
Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)
South Bay Astronomical Society (SBAS)
Orange County Astronomers
The Local Group Astronomy Club (Santa Clarita)
Ventura County Astronomical Society
About the Club
Club Website: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club It is updated to reflect this newsletter, in addition to a listing of past club mtg. presentations, astronomy news, photos & events from prior newsletters, club equipment, membership & constitution. In the future, we may link some presentation materials from past mtgs. Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167), or see the club website where a form is also available. Benefits will include use of club telescope(s) & library/software, discounts on Sky & Telescope magazine and Observer’s Handbook, field trips, great programs, having a say in club activities, acquisitions & elections, etc. Committee Suggestions & Volunteers. Feel free to contact: Michelle Darrah, Program Committee Chairwoman (& club VP), David Wright, Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or Vic Christensen, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer). Mark Clayson, AEA Astronomy Club President
=
==================================
AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter, July 2011
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Picture(s) of the Month p. 3
Astronomy News p. 5
General Calendar p. 5
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 5
Observing p. 6
Useful Links p. 7
About the Club p. 7
Club News & Calendar.
News:
FY12 AEA Budget Request
We will be submitting our FY12 AEA club budget request in August (it was due Aug. 22 last yr), and welcome your input. Based on inputs so far, here is our draft prioritized wish list, as presented in our June club mtg. I’ve indicated what I believe to be a likely AEA cutoff, about half of our very generous first-year allotment last year.
If you have any comments, “speak now, or forever hold your silence.” Also, if you have any specific recommendations for models of DSLR, filter, laptop, etc., that is also welcome. Unless someone steps forward to volunteer to build a case for the 10-inch telescope (I found some plans online), I suggest getting the COTS case at $585. The DSLR & computer would allow us to do astrophotography, photometry, spectrometry, etc. with our observatory-quality, coma-free telescope. And the light pollution filter would allow us to do more of all this from the comforts of home, rather than a long trip to the mountains or desert.
Suggested speakers and activities are also welcome.
Calendar
21 July AEA Astronomy Club Meeting We’ll have another DVD presentation, selected by vote (or executive decision) at the mtg. A good opportunity to get a flavor & see if you’d be interested in one of these full DVD sets (or if we should buy one for the club).
One option is a 30 minute lecture from one of 3 of the Teaching Company’s Great Courses (best professors in the US): Dark Matter & Dark Energy; Cosmology; & Understanding the Universe (Intro to Astronomy). The first lecture might be best, but see the full lecture lists & course descriptions at http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/courses.aspx?s=820&ps=910
Another option is one of the programs in one of 2 NASA series: “NASA 50 Years of Space Exploration,” and “History of the Space Shuttle.” See descriptions at http://www.brightsurf.com/buy/dvd/B000CCZR7M/nasa-50-years-of-space-exploration.html
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays) at 11:45am in A9/1026) & activities:
[TBD]
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month
(from Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
2011 July 1
VAR!
Credit: E. Hubble, NASA, ESA, R. Gendler, Z. Levay and the Hubble Heritage Team
Explanation: In the 1920s, examining photographic plates from the Mt. Wilson Observatory's 100 inch telescope, Edwin Hubble determined the distance to the Andromeda Nebula, decisively demonstrating the existence of other galaxies far beyond the Milky Way. His notations are evident on the historic plate image inset at the lower right, shown in context with ground based and Hubble Space Telescope images of the region made nearly 90 years later. By intercomparing different plates, Hubble searched for novae, stars which underwent a sudden increase in brightness. He found several on this plate, indicating their position with lines and an "N". Later, discovering that the one near the upper right corner was actually a type of variable star known as a cepheid, he crossed out the "N" and wrote "VAR!". Thanks to the work of Harvard astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, cepheids, regularly varying pulsating stars, could be used as standard candle distance indicators. Identifying such a star allowed Hubble to show that Andromeda was not a small cluster of stars and gas within our own galaxy, but a large galaxy in its own right at a substantial distance from the Milky Way. Hubble's discovery is responsible for establishing our modern concept of a Universe filled with galaxies.
2011 June 8
Space Shuttle and Space Station Photographed Together
Credit: NASA
Explanation: How was this picture taken? Usually, pictures of the shuttle, taken from space, are snapped from the space station. Commonly, pictures of the space station are snapped from the shuttle. How, then, can there be a picture of both the shuttle and the station together, taken from space? The answer is that during the Space Shuttle Endeavour's last trip to the International Space Station two weeks ago, a supply ship departed the station with astronauts that captured a series of rare views. The supply ship was the Russian Soyuz TMA-20 which landed in Kazakhstan later that day. The above spectacular image well captures the relative sizes of the station and docked shuttle. Far below, clouds of Earth are seen above a blue sea. The next and last launch of a US space shuttle is scheduled for early July.
Other recommended APOD’s: June 23, 20, 18, 14, 12.
Astronomy News:
Kepler & STEREO “Moonlight” with Starlight
In addition to discovering hundreds of exoplanets, the Kepler spacecraft “…is turning asteroseismology into a booming field.” With its ability to rapidly (every minute) measure brightnesses of 150,000 stars to a ten-thousandth of a magnitude or better in an unbroken series for months on end, the characteristic frequencies and amplitudes of acoustic oscillations help determine a star’s diameter, mass, etc. better than any other method, and has already determined these for 500 stars (out of 2,000 solar-type stars). This should open a “golden age for stellar physics.” It has found the diameters so far closely match theory, but masses are generally a little less than expected. This could “refine models of how stars form, burn and age.”
NASA’s two STEREO solar satellites with Heliospheric Imagers (HI) typically look for “faint wisps of solar wind in wide fields off to the Sun’s side.” But it was realized they could also monitor variations in the brightness of stars. 893,000 stars have passed throught the HI-1 FOV, which are being data-mined. So far, they’ve found 122 new eclipsing binary stars, and they could be used to “reveal asteroseismology pulsations and transits by exoplanets.”
[These news bites are from the July 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope Magazine. Below is a recap of email news releases forwarded to club members by Vic Christensen, not including the Scientific American articles.]
Date Description URL
[Work in progress – will be posted on the club website]
General Calendar:
Colloquia, Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:
Colloquia: Carnegie (Tues. 4pm), UCLA, Caltech (Wed. 4pm), IPAC (Wed. 12:15pm) & other Pasadena (daily 12-4pm): http://obs.carnegiescience.edu/seminars/
Carnegie astronomy lectures – only 4 per year in the Spring www.obs.carnegiescience.edu. Visit www.huntington.org for directions.
? July SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM
Topic: “”
Guest Speaker:. www.sbastro.org.
July 21 & 22 -- The von Kármán Lecture Series http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.cfm
Hot Water: The Oceans and Global Warming
Water covers nearly 70 percent of its surface, so it's no wonder that the world's oceans play such an important role in global climate changes. As the planet heats up, the oceans wind up being by far the biggest reservoir for taking up the extra heat. This talk will cover the ins and outs of global warming as they pertain to the world ocean.
Speaker: Dr. Josh Willis, Oceanographer and Climate Scientist, JPL
Locations: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 7pm
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Friday, July 22, 2011, 7pm
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Webcast: For the webcast on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, click here
If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.
11 July LAAS General Meeting.
Griffith Observatory
Event Horizon Theater
7:45 PM to 9:45 PM
21 July AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
Note: As of Feb. 28, 2011, the Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn. (MWOA) no longer exists. All public outreach activities of Mt. Wilson will be through the Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/ -- links for virtual tour & Quick Time video) No lectures noted yet to replace the previous MWOA 4th Saturday lecture series. The Angeles Crest Highway has recently reopened, and the Observatory is open for public visits daily 10-4 from April thru Nov.
Observing:
The following data are from the 2011 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s Skygazer’s Almanac.
Sun, Moon & Planets for July:
Planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Uranus rise between midnight & 1 hr before dawn, respectively. Saturn sets between midnight and 10pm. Mercury sets about an hour after sunset.
Other Events:
? July SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
9 July LAAS Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm
23 & 30 July LAAS Dark Sky Night: Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)
? July SBAS Star Party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
Internet Links:
Link(s) of the Month
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110613.html (Music video of Cassini’s exploits around Saturn)
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110704.html (Time lapse sky over Australian beaches)
General
e! Science News Astronomy & Space
NASA Gallery
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (educational, amateur & professional)
Amateur Online Tools, Journals, Vendors, Societies, Databases
The Astronomy White Pages (U.S. & International Amateur Clubs & Societies)
American Astronomical Society (professional)
Regional (esp. Southern California)
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies)
Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/), including status for visits & roads
Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)
South Bay Astronomical Society (SBAS)
Orange County Astronomers
The Local Group Astronomy Club (Santa Clarita)
Ventura County Astronomical Society
About the Club
Club Website: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club It is updated to reflect this newsletter, in addition to a listing of past club mtg. presentations, astronomy news, photos & events from prior newsletters, club equipment, membership & constitution. In the future, we may link some presentation materials from past mtgs.
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167), or see the club website where a form is also available. Benefits will include use of club telescope(s) & library/software, discounts on Sky & Telescope magazine and Observer’s Handbook, field trips, great programs, having a say in club activities, acquisitions & elections, etc.
Committee Suggestions & Volunteers. Feel free to contact: Michelle Darrah, Program Committee Chairwoman (& club VP), David Wright, the Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or Vic Christensen, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer).
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President
