AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter January 2014
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 5
General Calendar p.7
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 7
Observing p. 9
Useful Links p. 10
About the Club p. 11
Club News & Calendar
Calendar
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 5
General Calendar p.7
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 7
Observing p. 9
Useful Links p. 10
About the Club p. 11
Club News & Calendar
Calendar
Club Meeting Schedule:
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16 Jan 2014
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Club Pizza Party &
Presentation
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Observing with the
16-inch Dobsonian
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Jason
Fields
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A1/1735
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20 Feb 2013
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Club Meeting
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A Tour of the new
Aerospace E POD (A6) Telescope & Facility
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Richard
Rudy
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Gather in A6 Lobby then to E Pod
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AEA Astronomy Club meetings are on 3rd Thursdays at 11:45am. For all of 2013 except September, the meeting room is A1/1735.
News:
For the Jan.
16 club mtg., in addition to the pizza
party, Jason Fields will give a presentation on
observing with the 16-inch Dobs, including a demo.
Pizza & drink are free for members, $5 for
others -- must RSVP to Mark Clayson (mark.clayson@aero.org, x60708) by Jan. 13
w. preferences – see menu below).
Menu options for Jan. 16 lunch (give 1st & 2nd
choices when you RSVP by Jan. 13 – we’ll have to share pizzas & pitchers of
drink so you may not get your first choice – hopefully at least your 2nd):
Pizzas (order drink separate (see below):
The Works Pizza
Three Cheese Pizza
Barbecued Chicken Pizza
Margherita Pizza with Fresh
Basil, Tomato and Mozzarella
Grilled Vegetable Pizza
Drinks:
Bottled or canned juice, water
or soda (specify)
Pitcher of water
Wraps (includes a green salad or
chips, choice of assorted cookies & sodas – please specify):
Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap
Garden Vegetarian Wrap
A reminder
that for most of us, our club membership expired Dec. 31 (except those
who joined in the last few months and likely paid also for 2014). If you
haven’t yet, we invite you to renew for 2014 at your earliest convenience &
in time for the pizza lunch Jan. 16 (the first of 2 (or 4?) for the year) -- we
must have your $12 dues payment (& pizza order -- see the menu above) by
Monday Jan. 13 to get member credit. See
the club website for the many other benefits of membership. Please submit the renewal form (available on
Aerolink at https://aerolink.aero.org/cs/llisapi.dll?func=ll&objId=13659520&objAction=browse&viewType=1, or attached) with your payment ($12
check made out to AEA Astronomy Club) to Alan Olson at M1-107.
The 5-inch refractor &
GoTo mount have arrived, and are looking for someone to check them out.
We
will shortly subscribe to a group
membership in the Astronomical League.
For that, we need each member to provide (if you haven’t yet) your home
mailing address for quarterly League newsletter mailings.
For our Feb. 20 mtg., Rick Rudy of the Remote
Sensing Dept. will give us a tour of the
new in-house-built telescope in the A6 E Pod. See the Orbiter story on the new telescope
here: http://pages.aero.org/orbiter/2013/08/12/in-house-telescope-provides-new-capabilities/
Astronomy
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month
(from Astronomy Picture of
the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
Video: Time-Lapse Auroras Over Norway
Credit & Copyright: Terje Sørgjerd; Music: Gladiator Soundtrack: Now we are Free
Credit & Copyright: Terje Sørgjerd; Music: Gladiator Soundtrack: Now we are Free
Explanation: Sometimes, after your
eyes adapt to the dark, a spectacular sky appears. Such was the
case in 2011 March when one of the largest auroral displays in recent years appeared over northern locations like the
border between Norway and Russia
Video: Phobos 360 http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131225.html
Video Credit: Mars Express, ESA
Explanation: What does the Martian
moon Phobos look like? To better visualize this unusual object, images from ESA's Mars Express orbiter have been combined into a virtual rotation movie. The rotation is
actually a digital illusion -- tidally-locked Phobos always keeps the
same face toward its home planet, as does Earth's moon. The above video highlights Phobos'
chunky shape and an unusually dark surface covered with craters and grooves.
What lies beneath the surface is a topic of research since the moon is not dense enough to be filled with solid
rock. Phobos is losing about of centimeter of altitude a year and is
expected to break up and crash onto Mars within the next 50
million years. To better understand this unusual world, Mars Express is on course to make the closest flyby ever on Sunday.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131225.html
Explanation: Saturn's large moon Titan would be unique in our solar system, the only world with stable liquid lakes and seas on its surface ... except for planet Earth of course. Centered on the north pole, this colorized map shows Titan's bodies of methane and ethane in blue and black, still liquid at frigid surface temperatures of -180 degrees C (-292 degrees F). The map is based on data from the Cassini spacecraft's radar, taken during flybys between 2004 and 2013. Roughly heart-shaped, the lake above and right of the pole is Ligeia Mare, the second largest known body of liquid on Titan and larger than Lake Superior on Earth. Just below the north pole is Punga Mare. The sprawling sea below and right of Punga is the (hopefully sleeping) Kraken Mare, Titan's largest known sea. Above and left of the pole, the moon's surface is dotted with smaller lakes that range up to 50 kilometers across.
The Coldest Place on
Earth
Image Credit: Ted Scambos (National Snow and Ice Data Center) et al., Landsat 8, USGS, NASA
Explanation: How cold can it get on
Earth? In the interior of the Antarctica, a record low temperature of -93.2 °C (-135.8
°F) has been recorded. This is about 25 °C (45 °F) colder than the coldest lows noted for any place humans live permanently. The record temperature occurred in 2010 August -- winter in Antarctica -- and was
found by scientists sifting through decades of climate data taken by Earth-orbiting satellites.
The coldest spots were found near peaks because higher air is generally
colder, although specifically in depressions near these peaks because
relatively dense cold air settled there and was further cooled by the frozen ground. Summer is a much better time to visit Antarctica, as some regions will warm up as high as 15 °C (59 °F).Image Credit: Ted Scambos (National Snow and Ice Data Center) et al., Landsat 8, USGS, NASA
Astronomy News:
Starless cloud cores reveal why some
stars are bigger than others
Published:
Friday, December 20, 2013 - 17:06 in Astronomy & Space
This image shows the ALMA data overlaid on an artist's
impression background. The ALMA data show two main cores as imaged by emission
from the molecular ion N2D+ (two nitrogen and one deuterium atom). The core on
the right is particularly bright and rounded, suggesting it is self-gravitating
and poised to form a massive, single star – a very rare occurrence in star
formation. The other core appears more distorted and fragmented, potentially
leading to the formation of multiple lower-mass stars. This fragmentation is a
normal process in star-forming clouds.
Credit: Bill Saxton & Alexandra
Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
Massive stars -- those at least 8 times the
mass of our Sun -- present an intriguing mystery: how do they grow so large
when the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are considerably smaller? To
find the answer, astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter
Array (ALMA) telescope to survey the cores of some of the darkest, coldest, and
densest clouds in our Galaxy to search for the telltale signs of star
formation.
These objects, known as Infrared Dark Clouds,
were observed approximately 10,000 light-years away in the direction of the
constellations of Aquila and Scutum.
Since these cloud cores are so massive and
dense, gravity should have already overwhelmed their supporting gas pressure,
allowing them to collapse to form new, Sun-mass stars. If a star had not yet
begun to shine, that would be a hint that something extra was supporting the
cloud.
"A
starless core would indicate that some force was balancing out the pull of
gravity, regulating star formation, and allowing vast amounts of material to
accumulate in a scaled-up version of the way our own Sun formed," remarked
Jonathan Tan, an astrophysicist at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and
lead author of a paper published today in theAstrophysical Journal. "This
suggests that massive stars and Sun-like stars follow a universal mechanism for
star formation. The only difference is the size of their parent clouds."
Average stars like our Sun begin life as
dense, but relatively low-mass concentrations of hydrogen, helium, and other
trace elements inside large molecular clouds. After the initial kernel emerges
from the surrounding gas, material collapses under gravity into the central
region in a relatively ordered fashion via a swirling accretion disk, where
eventually planets can form. After enough mass accumulates, nuclear fusion
begins at the core and a star is born.
While this model of star formation can account
for the vast majority of stars in our Milky Way, something extra is needed to
explain the formation of more massive stars. "Some additional force is
needed to balance out the normal process of collapse, otherwise our Galaxy
would have a fairly uniform stellar population," said Tan.
"Alternatively, there has been speculation that two separate models of
star formation are needed: one for Sun-like stars and one for these massive
stars."
The key to teasing out the answer is to find
examples of massive starless cores -- to witness the very beginnings of massive
star birth.
The team of astronomers from the United
States, the United Kingdom, and Italy used ALMA to look inside these cores for
a unique chemical signature involving the isotope deuterium to essentially take
the temperatures of these clouds to see if stars had formed. Deuterium is
important because it tends to bond with certain molecules in cold conditions.
Once stars turn on and heat the surrounding gas, the deuterium is quickly lost
and replaced with the more common isotope of hydrogen.
The ALMA observations detected copious amounts
of deuterium, suggesting that the cloud is cold and starless. This would
indicate that some counter force is forestalling core collapse and buying
enough time to form a massive star. The researchers speculate that strong
magnetic fields may be propping up the cloud, preventing it from collapsing quickly.
"These new ALMA observations reveal
objects that are quite similar to the nurseries of Sun-like stars, but simply
scaled-up by tens or a hundred times. This may mean that nature is more
important than nurture when it comes to determining a star's size,"
concludes Tan.
These observations were conducted during
ALMA's early science campaign. Future studies with ALMA's full array of 66
antennas will uncover even more details about these star-forming regions.
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is
a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the
Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe
by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership
and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a
facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative
agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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/
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Carnegie astronomy lectures – only 4 per year in the Spring www.obs.carnegiescience.edu.
Visit www.huntington.org for directions. For more information about the Carnegie
Observatories or this lecture series, please contact Reed Haynie.
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10 Jan.
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SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino
College planetarium. 7:30 PM
Topic: “A Night on Mauna Kea,” Tom Bash http://www.sbastro.net/.
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The Mars Exploration Rovers: A Decade of Exploration
It was
inconceivable that a rover mission designed for 90 days of operation would
still be operating after a decade in the harsh environment of the Red Planet's
frigid surface. In spite of our limited human imagination, the Mars Exploration
Rover Opportunity is still functioning and exploring ten years after landing on
Mars. For a decade now, the rover has been dutifully conducting field geology
on the Martian surface day after day. Opportunity and her twin Spirit have
traversed great plains, climbed mountains, descended into deep craters and
survived rover-killing dust storms and frigid winters. As the rovers move, each
day becomes a brand new mission with new sights, new geology and new
opportunities to explore. The rovers have made significant scientific discoveries
in understanding the Red Planet, finding evidence of past habitable
environments that could possibly have supported life. Although Spirit's mission
concluded after an unimaginable six years, exciting adventures of exploration
still lie ahead for the still very capable Opportunity rover even after ten
years. Please join us for a special celebratory 10th anniversary event on
Thursday evening in Beckman Auditorium on the Caltech campus. Then, on Friday
evening, please join us again for a lecture at the PCC Forum. This lecture will
provide a glimpse of Opportunity's current investigations and upcoming
challenges, as well as highlights of the first decade. Both events are free and
open to the public. All events start at 7:00 PM and seating is on a first come,
first served basis.
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Speaker:
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John
Callas
Project Manager, Mars Exploration Rover Project |
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Locations:
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Thursday, Jan.
16, 2013, 7pm The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA › Directions Friday, Jan. 17, 2013, 7pm The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA › Directions |
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Webcast:
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We offer two options to
view the live streaming of our webcast on Thursday: › 1) Ustream with real-time web chat to take public questions. › 2) Flash Player with open captioning If you don't have Flash Player, you can download for free here. |
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12 Jan
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LAAS LAAS General Meeting.
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Griffith
Observatory
Event Horizon Theater 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM |
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19 Dec 2013
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Club Meeting & Officer Election
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Mars Exploration
Concept
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Matthew
Eby
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A1/1735
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Observing:
The following
data are from the 2014 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s 2014 Skygazer’s
Almanac & monthly Sky at a Glance.
A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky: www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.
Sun,
Moon & Planets for January:
Moon: Jan 1 new, Jan 7 1st
quarter, Jan 15 full, Jan 24 last quarter, Jan 30 new
Planets: Mercury & Venus are visible after sunset in the SouthWest. Jupiter is up all night (transits at midnight). Mars & Saturn are in the pre-dawn sky in the East.
Other
Events:
3/4
January Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak
The
Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers of the year,
but observers
can be
disappointed if conditions are not just right. The point from where the
Quadrantid meteors
appear to
radiate is located within the extinct constellation Quadrans Muralis. On modern
star
charts,
this radiant is located where the constellations Hercules, Boötes, and Draco
meet in the
sky.
The
Quadrantids generally begin on December 28 and end on January 7, with maximum
generally
occurring
during the morning hours of January 3/4. The Quadrantids are barely detectable
on the
beginning
and ending dates, but observers in the Northern Hemisphere can see from 10 to
around
60 meteors
per hour at maximum. The maximum only lasts for a few hours.
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4 Jan
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SBAS
out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke http://www.sbastro.net/.
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4 Jan
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LAAS Dark Sky Night : Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests
only)
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5 Jan Jupiter at opposition
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11 Jan
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Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds
2-10pm
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11 Jan Venus at inferior conjunction
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25 Jan
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SBAS Saturday Night In Town Dark Sky Observing Session at Ridgecrest
Middle School– 28915 NortbBay Rd. RPV, Weather Permitting: Please contact
Greg Benecke to confirm that the gate will be opened! http://www.sbastro.net/
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31 January Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
If the sky is clear, look to the west after sunset and you might see a very
thin crescent moon,
Mercury is about 4o higher up. And if you’re really lucky and
have a telescope set up, you might
even see distant Neptune which is about 4o up from Mercury.
Internet Links:
Link(s) of the Month
Link(s) of the Month
A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky: www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.
Telescope, Binocular & Accessory Buying Guides
General
About the Club
Club Websites: Internal (Aerospace): 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. We have linked some presentation materials from past mtgs. Our club newsletters are also being posted to an external blog, “An Astronomical View” http://astronomicalview.blogspot.com/.
Club Websites: Internal (Aerospace): 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. We have linked some presentation materials from past mtgs. Our club newsletters are also being posted to an external blog, “An Astronomical View” http://astronomicalview.blogspot.com/.
Membership. For information, current dues & application, contact Alan Olson, or see the club website (or Aerolink folder) where a form is also available (go to the membership link/folder & look at the bottom). 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: Mark Clayson, President & Program Committee Chairman (& acting club VP), TBD Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or Alan Olson, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer).
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President
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