Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar
Picture(s) of the Month
Astronomy News
General Calendar
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs.
Observing
Useful Links
About the Club
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar.
News:
A new club website link describes our newly acquired (first) club telescope: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club/Equipment
We expect the AEA to meet and decide on club budget request allocations Sept. 14. Our request was large (>$10,000) to cover a large GoTo refractor, GoTo SCT or RCT, CCD camera, binoculars, etc. – items club members indicated they would like to use.
Calendar
Sept 16 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. – Dr. Edward L. (Ned) Wright, of the UCLA Physics & Astronomy Dept. His subject will be the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space astronomy mission, for which Dr. Wright is Principal Investigator.
A9/2906 is the Thor Conference Room (left off the 2nd floor elevator to the end of the hall, and another left -- overlooks El Segundo Blvd.).
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays beginning in July) at 11:45am in A9/2906) & activities:
18 Sept. – Club field trip to Griffith Observatory – view the new exhibits (open 10am to 10pm, free) & take in the new planetarium’s show(s) before dark. Also a free 24-minute show about the observatory in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater -- it runs every hour on the hour, with no apparent age restriction on kids (unlike the planetarium). There’s also a café, gift shop & outdoor display (the Gottlieb Transit Corridor).
Then if skies are clear, join the star party outside the observatory hosted by LA Astronomical Society until 10pm, and the 12-inch refractor in the dome may be open (& solar telescope/coelostat during the day). Astronomical twilight ends at 8:30pm. We’ll also take our club’s new 8-inch Dobsonian for a spin, and feel free to bring your own telescope.
So that we might be able to coordinate as a group, please indicate to David Wright if you plan to go, when, which planetarium show (preferred or flexible) & how many people, and if interested in carpooling. And if you’re a member of FOTO.
Planetarium shows: Water is Life 4:15pm, Light of the Valkyries (aurorae) 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., Centered in the Universe 3:15 p.m., 6:45 p.m., & 8:45 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 1:30, 3:30 & 6:00 for shows after that time and before the next sale time (see www.griffithobs.org/psoplanet.html), and one person can buy up to 8 tickets at once (the club budget is depleted so everyone’s on their own). Or if anyone’s a FOTO member, they can reserve 8 tickets in advance. No one under 5 yrs. in the planetarium shows, except the 10:45 am show that day.
Oct 21 - Club mtg. -- "Dark Matter Searches," Jeff Zweerink, UCLA.
Nov 18 - Club mtg. -- "Advanced Propulsion Concepts for Interstellar Travel," Greg Meholic, Aerospace.
Dec 16 - Club mtg. -- "The Christmas Star," Ray Russell, Aerospace.
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month –
Amateurs do good work!
The Bubble Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Dave Jurasevich (Mount Wilson Observatory)
Explanation: Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar apparition has a surprisingly familiar shape. Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply as The Bubble Nebula. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Above and right of the Bubble's center is a hot, O-type star, several hundred thousand times more luminous and approximately 45 times more massive than the Sun. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from that star has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. The intriguing Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia. A false-color Hubble palette was used to create this sharp image and shows emission from sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in red, green, and blue hues. The image data was recorded using a small telescope under clear, steady skies, from Mount Wilson Observatory.
Giant Ultraviolet Rings Found in Resurrected Galaxies
Astronomers have found unexpected rings and arcs of ultraviolet light around a selection of galaxies, four of which are shown here as viewed by NASA's and the European Space Agency's Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA/ESA /JPL-Caltech/STScI/UCLA
› Full image and caption
Astronomers have found mysterious, giant loops of ultraviolet light in aged, massive galaxies, which seem to have a second lease on life. Somehow these "over-the-hill galaxies" have been infused with fresh gas to form new stars that power these truly gargantuan rings, some of which could encircle several Milky Way galaxies.
The discovery of these rings implies that bloated galaxies presumed "dead" and devoid of star-making can be reignited with star birth, and that galaxy evolution does not proceed straight from the cradle to the grave.
"In a galaxy's lifetime, it must make the transition from an active, star-forming galaxy to a quiescent galaxy that does not form stars," said Samir Salim, lead author of a recent study and a research scientist in the department of astronomy at Indiana University, Bloomington. "But it is possible this process goes the other way, too, and that old galaxies can be rejuvenated."
Astronomy News:
More good work by amateurs!
From the Far Reaches of the Solar System – the Kuiper Belt
“ Only 20 years ago, the Kuiper Belt was just a theorists’ concept of icy objects beyond Pluto. Now more than 1,100 are known – and Pluto is considered one of them. But they’re awfully far and faint, and…size and surface reflectivity is often guesswork.
A precise way to measure the size of a small solar-system body is to time its occultation of a star. Amateurs now do this for main-belt asteroids every few days. But not one Kuiper Belt object (KBO) yielded up its size this way until last October 9th.
….with help from 10 amateurs, James Elliott (MIT) set up 18 stations from the west coasts of the U.S. and Mexico to Australia and New Zealand to try to record the occultation of a 13th magnitude star by a 20th-magnitude KBO known only as 55636 . . . discovered in 2002. Guessing it had a dark surface like many outer-solar-system bodies, astronomers assumed it was quite big: roughly 600 miles across, the size of the largest main-belt asteroid, 1 Ceres.
On the big night, most observers were, as expected, either clouded out or saw that no occultation happened from their vantage points. But … two stations in Hawaii got lucky. Their timings of the star’s disappearance, for 8 and 11 seconds, sets the diameter of KBO 55636 at a mere 177 miles (286 km) it it’s assumed to be roughly round. That means its surface is not dark gray-black but must be brilliant white, at least 80% reflective, to shine as bright as magnitude 20.
…There’s no good explanation for what would make it so bright. Astronomers may need to revise their thinking about “space weathering,” the Kuiper Belt’s evolution, or both.”
A Very Wide Eye
“Astronomers are celebrating the long-delayed debut of the most powerful survey telescope yet. Pan-STARRS 1, the first of four 1.8-meter telescopes planned, is now fully operational on Haleakala in Hawaii.
The Pan-STARRS telescope feeds a huge, 3 degree field to the largest digital camera ever built, with 1,400 megapixels. Exposures of 30 to 60 seconds record everything to 24th magnitude. The wide field and short exposures mean that Pan-STARRS can record about 20% of the sky visible from Hawaii each night.
The survey is producing a torrent of moving and changing objects to check out, and astronomers plan a dozen key projects in particular – from cataloging 5 billion stars and 500 million galaxies, to discovering an anticipated 20,000 Kuiper Belt objects, some likely bigger than Pluto and Eris. Pan-STARR’s prime goal is to catalog potentially hazardous near-Earth objects as small as 100 meters.”
[The above 2 news bites are from the October 2010 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
9 Aug 10 Send in the Clouds http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-262&cid=release_2010-262
11 Aug 10 Giant Ultraviolet Rings Found in Resurrected Galaxies http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-264&cid=release_2010-264
12 Aug 10 Raisin' Mountains on Saturn's Moon Titan http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-266&cid=release_2010-266
19 Aug 10 Cosmic Lens Used to Probe Dark Energy for First Time http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-272&cid=release_2010-272
20 Aug 10 NASA Images Show Anatomy of Pakistan Flood Disaster http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-274&cid=release_2010-274
23 Aug 10 Pulverized Planet Dust May Lie Around Double Stars http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-275&cid=release_2010-275
25 Aug 10 NASA/NOAA Study Finds El Niños are Growing Stronger http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-277&cid=release_2010-277
26 Aug 10 NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers two Planets Transiting Same Star http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-279&cid=release_2010-279
26 Aug 10 Tracing the Big Picture of Mars' Atmosphere http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-280&cid=release_2010-280
1 Sep 10 NASA Images Dissect Hurricane Earl http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-282&cid=release_2010-282
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.
3 Sept SBAS monthly general mtg. at El Camino College. Guest speaker: Scott G. Lever, JPL. Topic: Roving Mars – A Personal Perspective. 7:30pm, El Camino College Planetarium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
13 Sept (Mon) LAAS General Meeting Dave Nakamoto presenting highlights of his eclipse viewing trip to Easter Island Griffith Observatory
Event Horizon Theater
7:45 PM to 9:45 PM
Sept 16 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. – Dr. Edward L. (Ned) Wright, of the UCLA Physics & Astronomy Dept. His subject will be the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space astronomy mission, for which Dr. Wright is Principal Investigator.
Sept 16 & 17 The von Kármán Lecture Series – “Mars Science Laboratory: The Search for Habitable Environments
Due to launch in 2011, Mars Science Laboratory will investigate a landing site that shows clear evidence for ancient aqueous processes based on orbital data and undertake the search for past and present habitable environments. MSL will have the capability to detect complex organic molecules in rocks and soils, and also be able to evaluate the concentration and isotopic composition of potentially biogenic atmospheric gases such as methane. MSL will also be able to measure the isotopic composition of inorganic and organic carbon in rocks and soils, the elemental and mineralogical concentrations and abundances, and the attributes of unusual rock textures.
The MSL payload includes a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and gas analyzer that will search for organic carbon in rocks, soils and in the atmosphere; an x-ray diffractometer that will determine mineralogical diversity in rocks and soils; color cameras that can image landscapes and rock/soil textures in unprecedented resolution; an alpha-particle x-ray spectrometer for in situ determination of rock and soil chemistry; a laser-induced breakdown spectrometer to remotely sense the chemical composition of rocks and minerals; an active neutron spectrometer designed to search for water in rocks and soils; a weather station to measure modern-day environmental variables; and a sensor designed for continuous monitoring of background solar and cosmic radiation.
Four very promising landing sites have been identified that will give MSL a good head start on the search for past habitable environments that could preserve paleoenvironmental indicators.
Speaker: Dr. John Grotzinger
Project Scientist
Mars Science Laboratory, CalTech
Location: Thursday, Sept 16, 2010, 7pm
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Friday, Sept 17, 2010, 7pm
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
18 Sept. – Club field trip to Griffith Observatory – (see full description above, including exhibits & shows)
Saturday, September 25, MWOA Free Public Lecture -- in the Community Room of the Altadena Public Library. The speaker will be Dr. Kasper von Braun of Caltech. He will speak on Extrasolar Planet Searches, especially by the transiting method. In the Community Room of the Altadena Public Library. Refreshments are at 2:00pm, the program begins at 2:30pm. See the Lectures page for more details. See the Directions page for how to get to the Altadena Public Library. Note: from now on we will be meeting on the 4th SATURDAY, not Sunday (budget cuts have forced the Library to be closed on Sundays).
Observing:
4 Sept SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
4 Sept (Sat) LAAS Dark Sky Night
Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical site)
10 Sept The moon is close to Venus, Spica (Virgo the Maiden’s bright star) and Mars, low in the west-southwest after sunset.
11 Sept SBAS star party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
18 Sept. – Club field trip to Griffith Observatory – (see full description above, including star party on the observatory grounds)
18 Sept (Sat) LAAS Public Star Party Griffith Observatory
2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
19 Sept Mercury at greatest elongation, 18 deg w. of the sun
21 Sept Jupiter and Uranus reach opposition. Uranus (visible in binoculars) is less than a degree north of Jupiter
22 Sept Autumn begins at 8:09 p.m., P.D.T. (Autumnal Equinox)
Internet Links:
NASA Gallery: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/
AEA Astronomy Club Intranet site: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club
So. Calif. astronomy organizations, observatories & planetaria: http://www.mwoa.org/local.html
MWOA (Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn.), including status for visits & roads: www.mwoa.org
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies): www.waa.av.org/Club_members.html
LAAS list of links (incl. Tools, Journals, Vendors, Other Societies, Databases, Members) http://www.laas.org/Links.htm
LAAS (L.A. Astronomical Society -- www.laas.org)
SBAS (South Bay Astronomical Soc. . -- www.sbastro.org)
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., as well as past astronomy news & photos from the newsletters. AEA clubs may be compelled before long to migrate from AeroWiki to a non-intranet site.
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167). 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: Leslie Wickman, 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
===============================================================================
2010 August Newsletter
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club Items
Picture(s) of the Month
Astronomy News
General Calendar
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs.
Observing
Useful Links
AEA Astronomy Club Items.
Calendar
Aug 19 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. -- an “Overview of JPL Projects” of astronomical interest by Matt Hart, Systems Director, Flight Projects Engineering, NASA Advanced Programs Directorate.
We meet in A9/2906 -- the Thor Conference Room (left off the 2nd floor elevator to the end of the hall, and another left -- overlooks El Segundo Blvd.).
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays beginning in July) at 11:45am in A9/2906) & activities:
Sept 16 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. – Dr. Edward L. (Ned) Wright, of the UCLA Physics & Astronomy Dept. His subject will be the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
(WISE) space astronomy mission, for which Dr. Wright is Principal Investigator.
Sept 18 – Tentative club field trip to Griffith Observatory & combined star party with LAAS there.
Oct 21 - Club mtg. -- "Dark Matter Searches," Jeff Zweerink, UCLA.
Dec 16 - Club mtg. -- "The Christmas Star," Ray Russell, Aerospace.
New Club Website: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club It is updated to reflect the current monthly newsletter, in addition to a listing of past club mtg. presentations, astronomy news, events & photos from prior newsletters, club membership & constitution. In the future, we may link some presentation materials from past mtgs. AEA clubs may be compelled before long to migrate from AeroWiki to a non-intranet site.
The Astronomy Club is an AEA Club, (re-)founded in December 2009 after several years of hiatus. We meet the third Thursday of each month at 11:45 in the Thor Conference Room (A9-2906).
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167). 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: Leslie Wickman, 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).
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month –
Summer Vacation Postcard & Video from Titan: See Beautiful Ontario Lacus: Cassini's Guided Tour
NASA's Cassini spacecraft takes us on a guided tour of this mysterious lake on Titan.
Ontario Lacus, the largest lake in the southern hemisphere of Saturn's moon Titan, turns out to be a perfect exotic vacation spot, provided you can handle the frosty, subzero temperatures and enjoy soaking in liquid hydrocarbon.
Several recent papers by scientists working with NASA's Cassini spacecraft describe evidence of beaches for sunbathing in Titan's low light, sheltered bays for mooring boats, and pretty deltas for wading out in the shallows. They also describe seasonal changes in the lake's size and depth, giving vacationers an opportunity to visit over and over without seeing the same lake twice. (Travel agents, of course, will have to help you figure out how to breathe in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen.)
Using data that give us the most detailed picture yet of a lake on another world, scientists and animators have collaborated on a new video tour of Ontario Lacus [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=912] based on radar data from Cassini's Titan flybys on June 22, 2009, July 8, 2009, and Jan. 12, 2010. A Web video explaining how scientists look to Earth's Death Valley to understand places like Titan's Ontario Lacus is available at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=913. [see the full text at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-237&cid=release_2010-237]
The AEA Astronomy Club tour of Mt. Wilson, July 31.
Braving a meandering mountain detour route and a clanging cacophony of Korean percussion instruments, a hardy group of members & guests were well-rewarded with a 3-hour private tour of this astronomical gem. Our guide, Don Nicholson (center, standing), was the founding president of the club, and is a docent of the Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn. His father was a colleague of Hubble at Mt. Wilson, discovering as many moons of Jupiter as Galileo (4), and Don related interesting stories from their lives. Don was observing thru the big scopes at age 13 -- before any person living today. Our deepest appreciation to Don for his fascinating tour!
The tour began as we passed the horizontal Snow and 60-foot (tower) solar telescopes (1904, 1908), and had an overview of the layout at the Museum. We then entered the instrument room of the 150-foot solar tower (1910), and observed the mechanism that digitally scans the solar image every 20 minutes. The sunspots have returned after a curiously long delay. We proceeded to the interior of the 60-inch telescope (1908) dome for a close-up of this instrument that is now retired from research, and available for private observing (the club may buy a group membership). The CHARA interferometer array exhibit was our next destination, where we saw images of the surfaces of other stars taken by this, the world’s largest visible interferometer. Finally, we were ushered into the dome of the Hooker 100-inch telescope (1917, largest in the world until 1948), where an impressed 9-yr-old exclaimed “whoa!” No doubt just echoing the sentiments of Hubble & Humason, who peered thru it, and in the 1920’s were the first to begin to grasp the scale and expansion of the universe. This was topped off by lunch at the Cosmic Café.
We also acquired a DVD tour of Mt. Wilson for the club library, to accompany the DVD with Don’s historical Powerpoint presentation given at our March meeting.
Astronomy News:
Kepler: A Tidal Wave of Exoplanet Candidates. “NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has seen signs of planets crossing the faces of more than 700 stars.” Most await confirmation by ground radial velocity measurements showing variations in sync w. the light curves. As many as half may be false alarms due to starspots, etc. Kepler is watching 156,097 selected stars in Cygnus and Lyra. Many seem to be 1 ½ Earth diameters or smaller. Results are expected in Feb. 2011.
The statistics so far indicate that “…transiting planets become more numerous at smaller sizes. ‘Most candidate planets [seen by Kepler] have radii less than half that of Jupiter,’ says Borucki. Mathematically, the rule seems to be half the diameter means four times as many. This hints that the galaxy will turn out to be especially rich in even smaller, Earth-size worlds. Also among the released candidates are four stars that appear to have two planets crossing their faces, …. Another star has three. These would be the first known multi-transit systems.” All of this new data is from 33.5 days of observation near the start of the mission, in May & June 2009. “All the world’s exoplanet hunts from 1992 through late June [2010] had found and confirmed 463.”
ESO announced the site of the 42-meter E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) as Cerro Armazones, a peak on the high Atacama plateau of northern Chile, at 10,020 ft. elevation. With nearly 30-story-high dome, 984 hexagonal segments & adaptive optics, it will dwarf the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) planned for Mauna Kea, and 24-m Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) set for Las Campanas in Chile. None are fully funded yet…[but could] see first light around 2018.”
Lost & Found: “Last ‘Missing’ Normal Matter Found. The things in the universe that we can easily see – stars, nebulae – amount to less than 1% of all the matter and energy out there. We know that dark matter and dark energy account for 95.4% of everything, judging by many lines of evidence (June issue, page 14), but that still leaves 4.6% as “ordinary” matter: everything made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Until recent years, astronomers could only tally up about half as much normal matter as cosmologists said there ought to be.“
“Now the mystery seems solved. Astronomers already had signs that the missing half indeed exists, as a thin, elusive gas between galaxies known as the “warm-hot intergalactic medium,” or WHIM. The evidence for WHIM just became firmer. Its spectral signature showed up in X-rays from a distant source; absorption lines were imprinted on the X-rays where they passed through the Fornax Wall, an enormous structure of thousands of galaxies in the vast web of galaxy strings, sheets, and clusters pervading the cosmos. The spectral signature matches the predicted amount and temperature (about 1 million K) of the elusive WHIM.”
[The above news bites are from the Aug. & Sept. 2010 issues 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 Title URL
8 Jul 10 Saturn Propellers Reflect Solar System Origins http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-227&cid=release_2010-227
9 Jul 10 Heavy Metal Rock Set to Take the Stage http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-228&cid=release_2010-228
12 Jul 10 NASA and Microsoft Provide Mars 3-D Close Encounter http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-229&cid=release_2010-229
12 Jul 10 Juno Armored Up to Go to Jupiter http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-230&cid=release_2010-230
13 Jul 10 Study Finds Amazon Storm Killed Half a Billion Trees http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-232&cid=release_2010-232
14 Jul 10 Meet the Titans: Dust Disk Found Around Massive Star http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-235&cid=release_2010-235
15 Jul 10 See Beautiful Ontario Lacus: Cassini's Guided Tour http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-237&cid=release_2010-237
16 Jul 10 NASA's WISE Mission to Complete Extensive Sky Survey http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-238&cid=release_2010-238
19 Jul 10 Video Camera Will Show Mars Rover's Touchdown http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-239&cid=release_2010-239
20 Jul 10 Cassini Sees Moon Building Giant Snowballs in Saturn Ring http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-240&cid=release_2010-240
22 Jul 10 NASA Telescope Finds Elusive Buckyballs in Space for First Time http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-243&cid=release_2010-243
23 Jul 10 NASA Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-244&cid=release_2010-244
29 Jul 10 Blowing in the Wind: Cassini Helps with Dune Whodunit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-251&cid=release_2010-251
30 Jul 10 NASA's Hibernating Mars Rover May Not Call Home http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-252&cid=release_2010-252
2 Aug 10 NASA and ESA's First Joint Mission to Mars Selects Instruments http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-254&cid=release_2010-254
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.
6 Aug SBAS monthly general mtg. at El Camino College. Guest speaker: Scott G. Lever, JPL. Topic: Roving Mars – A Personal Perspective. 7:30pm, El Camino College Planetarium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
9 Aug (Mon) LAAS General Meeting
Griffith Observatory
Event Horizon Theater
7:45 PM to 9:45 PM
Aug 19 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. -- an “Overview of JPL Projects” of astronomical interest by Matt Hart, Systems Director, Flight Projects Engineering, NASA Advanced Programs Directorate.
Aug 19 & 20 The von Kármán Lecture Series – “Aquarius: Studying Sea Surface Salinity from Space”
Our home planet is dominated by water, and in its many forms, the cycling of water and energy through the atmosphere and oceans is crucial to life on Earth. Yet, the ties among the water cycle, ocean circulation, and climate are poorly understood. One of the keys to understanding this cycle is Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), which has never been measured from space. This Joint mission between NASA & the Space Agency of Argentina will track SSS to help resolve these relationships by directly monitoring variations in the water cycle, from land runoff, sea ice freezing & melting, to evaporation and precipitation over the oceans. Global SSS data will allow us to create unprecedented computer models that bridge ocean-atmosphere-land-ice systems, with the goal of predicting future climate conditions.
Speaker: Dr. Bonnie Buratti
JPL Senior Research Scientist
Location: Thursday, Aug 19, 2010, 7pm
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Friday, Aug 20, 2010, 7pm
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Saturday, Aug 28, MWOA Free Public Lecture -- Speaker & topic TBD. In the Community Room of the Altadena Public Library. Refreshments are at 2:00pm, the program begins at 2:30pm. See the Lectures page for more details. See the Directions page for how to get to the Altadena Public Library. Note: from now on we will be meeting on the 4th SATURDAY, not Sunday (budget cuts have forced the Library to be closed on Sundays).
Observing:
6 Aug – Mercury at greatest eastern elongation (27 deg.) from the sun
6-8 Aug. – Dusk: Mars & Saturn are just above Venus, all within 5 deg. of one another in the West. (Venus sets about 2 hrs after sunset) Mars upper left, Saturn upper right.
7 Aug – Dusk: Saturn 2.7 deg above Venus (Venus sets about 2 hrs after sunset)
7 Aug SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
7 Aug (Sat) LAAS Dark Sky Night
Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical site)
9 Aug – New moon
11-12 Aug -- Perseid meteor shower peak (up to 50/hr)
12-13 Aug – Dusk: Waxing crescent Moon within 10 deg. of the Venus-Saturn-Mars triplet
14 Aug SBAS star party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
14 Aug (Sat) LAAS Public Star Party
Griffith Observatory
2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
More details are provided in the bulletin.
18 Aug – Dusk: Mars is 1.9 deg above Venus (Venus sets about 2 hrs after sunset)
Dec. 21 total lunar eclipse for Western Hemisphere, and winter solstice.
Internet Links:
NASA Gallery: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/
AEA Astronomy Club Intranet site: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club
So. Calif. astronomy organizations, observatories & planetaria: http://www.mwoa.org/local.html
MWOA (Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn.), including status for visits & roads: www.mwoa.org
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies): www.waa.av.org/Club_members.html
LAAS list of links (incl. Tools, Journals, Vendors, Other Societies, Databases, Members) http://www.laas.org/Links.htm
LAAS (L.A. Astronomical Society -- www.laas.org)
SBAS (South Bay Astronomical Soc. . -- www.sbastro.org)
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President
=============================================================================
2010 July Newsletter
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club Items
Picture(s) of the Month
Astronomy News
General Calendar
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs.
Observing
Useful Links
AEA Astronomy Club Items
Calendar
July 15 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. -- "Our Baby Universe," by David Naiditch. View the latest satellite images of the early universe, and learn what they tell us about the birth, composition, age, structure, and evolution of the universe. David also hosts the Aerospace Brown Bag series, and recently gave an excellent presentation on new telescope technologies.
A9/2906 is the Thor Conference Room (left off the 2nd floor elevator to the end of the hall, and another left -- overlooks El Segundo Blvd.).
Other upcoming AEA Astronomy Club meeting programs (3rd Thursdays beginning in July) at 11:45am in A9/2906) & activities:
July 31 (Sat. – rescheduled from the 24th) – Tour of Mt. Wilson (AEA Astronomy Club private, docent-guided), 11am-1pm, possibly followed by a picnic (can buy lunch at the café there). Anyone interested please RSVP to David Wright (david.wright@aero.org), and indicate any special interest in specific parts of Mt. Wilson (see http://www.mwoa.org/, esp. http://www.mwoa.org/selfguide.pdf for more info). The club will cover the cost of the tour for all members. If you would like to bring additional guests, please indicate the number. As dues are pro-rated depending on when you join, non-members may want to consider paying the additional cost to simply join the club at this point (additional amounts are $1 Aerospace, $3 SMC personnel and family members). If interested in some background in preparation, contact David Wright to check out the CD w. Don Nicholson’s historical Mt. Wilson presentation.
By this date hopefully the normal (shorter) route will be open (check the MWOA website for updates & maps). Due to the early start time (to avoid the 1pm public tour), the tentative star party will be moved to Aug. 7, 13 or 14 – we’ll have our new club 8” computer-guided Dobsonian telescope to try out.
Aug 7,13 or 14 – Tentative club star party, possibly combined w. another club’s (LAAS or SBAS). The Perseid meteor shower is Aug. 11-13.
Aug 19 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. -- an “Overview of JPL Projects” of astronomical interest by Matt Hart, Systems Director, Flight Projects Engineering, NASA Advanced Programs Directorate.
Sept 16 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – Club mtg. – Dr. Edward L. (Ned) Wright, of the UCLA Physics & Astronomy Dept. His subject will be the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space astronomy mission, for which Dr. Wright is Principal Investigator.
New 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. In the future, we may link some presentation materials from past mtgs., as well as past astronomy news & photos from the newsletters. AEA clubs may be compelled before long to migrate from AeroWiki to a non-intranet site.
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Vic Christensen (x63021, M1-167). 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: Leslie Wickman, 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).
Astronomy Picture(s) of the Month
Puff, the Magic Dragon?
A dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly out from a bright explosion in this infrared light image (bottom) from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, a creature that is entirely cloaked in shadow when viewed in visible part of the spectrum (top). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Penn State/DSS
› Full image and caption : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia13239.html
Chromoscope - View the Universe in different wavelengths. http://www.chromoscope.net/ Ever wanted X-ray specs or super-human vision? Chromoscope lets you explore our Galaxy (the Milky Way) and the distant Universe in a range of wavelengths from X-rays to the longest radio waves.
Change the wavelength using the slider in the top right of the screen and explore space using your mouse [zoom, scroll]. For more information we have a quick video tour or you can read more on our blog. If you get stuck, click "Help" in the bottom left.
Astronomy News:
[Below is a recap of email news releases forwarded to club members by Vic Christensen, not including the Scientific American articles.]
Date Title URL
3 Jun 10 NASA Rover Finds Clue to Mars' Past and Environment for Life http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-189&cid=release_2010-189
3 Jun 10 What is Consuming Hydrogen and Acetylene on Titan? http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-190&cid=release_2010-190
7 Jun 10 NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Fires Past Record for Speed Change http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-192&cid=release_2010-192
9 Jun 10 Detailed Martian Scenes in New Images from Mars Orbiter http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-193&cid=release_2010-193
9 Jun 10 NASA Helps in Upcoming Asteroid Mission Homecoming http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-194&cid=release_2010-194
10 Jun 10 NASA and DLR Sign Agreement to Continue Grace Mission Through 2015 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-195&cid=release_2010-195
10 Jun 10 NASA Kicks Off New Summer of Innovation Initiative http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-196&cid=release_2010-196
14 Jun 10 NASA Demonstrates Tsunami Prediction System http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-198&cid=release_2010-198
17 Jun 10 Astronomers Discover Star-Studded Galaxy Tail http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-202&cid=release_2010-202
17 Jun 10 Cassini Getting the Lowdown on Titan This Weekend http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-204&cid=release_2010-204
22 Jun 10 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract For OCO-2 Mission http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-206&cid=release_2010-206
23 Jun 10 Earth-like Planets May Be Ready for Their Close-Up http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-207&cid=release_2010-207
23 Jun 10 NASA Radar Images Show How Mexico Quake Deformed Earth http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-208&cid=release_2010-208
24 Jun 10 New Clues Suggest Wet Era on Early Mars Was Global http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-209&cid=release_2010-209
24 Jun 10 The Coolest Stars Come Out of the Dark http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-210&cid=release_2010-210
25 Jun 10 Earth to Lend Helping Hand to Comet Craft http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-211&cid=release_2010-211
28 Jun 10 NASA Satellite Adds Carbon Dioxide to Its Repertoire http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-212&cid=release_2010-212
28 Jun 10 NASA Instrument Will Identify Clues to Martian Past http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-213&cid=release_2010-213
1 Jul 10 Man in the Moon has 'Graphite Whiskers' http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-220&cid=release_2010-220
7 Jul 10 Puff, the Magic Dragon? http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-225&cid=ecard20100707
7 Jul 10 NASA to Fly Into Hurricane Research This Summer http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-226&cid=release_2010-226
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.
9 July SBAS monthly general mtg. at El Camino College. “Cosmological Distances,” by Dr. Steven Morris of Harbor College. 7:30pm, El Camino College Planetarium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
7/12/2010 (Mon) LAAS General Meeting
Griffith Observatory
Event Horizon Theater
7:45 PM to 9:45 PM
July 15 (Thurs. 11:45am – note new day & time) – AEA Astronomy Club mtg. -- "Our Baby Universe," by David Naiditch. View the latest satellite images of the early universe, and learn what they tell us about the birth, composition, age, structure, and evolution of the universe. David also hosts the Aerospace Brown Bag series, and recently gave an excellent presentation on new telescope technologies.
July 22 & 23 The von Kármán Lecture Series – “Moons: The Weirdest Planets In Our Solar System” Our solar system has at least 170 moons orbiting the main planets. Before these moons were visited by spacecraft, astronomers expected them to be boring, dead objects devoid of any geologic features. We now know they are fantastic worlds - with features unlike anything seen on Earth: giant sulfur-spewing volcanoes, globally cracked ice-covered surfaces, liquid lakes of hydrocarbons, and colossal watery plumes. Yet many of these worlds are also earthlike and familiar. Titan, the giant moon of Saturn, has often been called an Earth in deep freeze, with cloud systems, lakes, shorelines, drainage fields and even perhaps rain. Scientists believe that the most likely places for life to evolve outside the Earth may be in the water-interiors of the moons Europa, Enceladus, and possibly Titan.
Speaker: Dr. Bonnie Buratti
JPL Senior Research Scientist
Location: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 7pm
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Friday, July 23, 2010, 7pm
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions
Saturday, July 24, MWOA Free Public Lecture -- Dr. Edward L. (Ned) Wright, of the UCLA Physics & Astronomy Dept. His subject will be the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space astronomy mission, for which Dr. Wright is Principal Investigator. [Note: he will speak on the same topic at the AEA Astronomy Club mtg. Sept. 16). In the Community Room of the Altadena Public Library. Refreshments are at 2:00pm, the program begins at 2:30pm. See the Lectures page for more details. See the Directions page for how to get to the Altadena Public Library. Note: from now on we will be meeting on the 4th SATURDAY, not Sunday (budget cuts have forced the Library to be closed on Sundays).
July 31 (Sat. – rescheduled from the 24th) – Tour of Mt. Wilson (AEA Astronomy Club private, docent-guided), 11am-1pm, possibly followed by a picnic (can buy lunch at the café there). Anyone interested please RSVP to David Wright (david.wright@aero.org), and indicate any special interest in specific parts of Mt. Wilson (see http://www.mwoa.org/, esp. http://www.mwoa.org/selfguide.pdf for more info). The club will cover the cost of the tour for all members. If you would like to bring additional guests, please indicate the number. As dues are pro-rated depending on when you join, non-members may want to consider paying the additional cost to simply join the club at this point (additional amounts are $1 Aerospace, $3 SMC personnel and family members). If interested in some background in preparation, contact David Wright to check out the CD w. Don Nicholson’s historical Mt. Wilson presentation.
By this date hopefully the normal (shorter) route will be open (check the MWOA website for updates & maps). Due to the early start time (to avoid the 1pm public tour), the tentative star party will be moved to Aug. 7, 13 or 14 – we’ll have our new club 8” computer-guided Dobsonian telescope to try out.
Observing:
3 July SBAS star party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.
10 July SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.
7/10/2010 (Sat) LAAS Dark Sky Night
Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical site)
July 11 new moon & total solar eclipse crosses Easter Island, Chile.
7/17/2010 (Sat) LAAS Public Star Party
Griffith Observatory
2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
More details are provided in the bulletin.
29/30 July – Delta Aquarid meteor shower peak (up to 15-20/hour).
Dec. 21 total lunar eclipse for Western Hemisphere
Internet Links:
AEA Astronomy Club Intranet site: https://aeropedia.aero.org/aeropedia/index.php/Astronomy_Club
So. Calif. astronomy organizations, observatories & planetaria: http://www.mwoa.org/local.html
MWOA (Mt. Wilson Observatory Assn.), including status for visits & roads: www.mwoa.org
Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies): www.waa.av.org/Club_members.html
LAAS list of links (incl. Tools, Journals, Vendors, Other Societies, Databases, Members) http://www.laas.org/Links.htm
LAAS (L.A. Astronomical Society -- www.laas.org)
SBAS (South Bay Astronomical Soc. . -- www.sbastro.org)
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President
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