The Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image (see description on the right, below)

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image
(10,000 galaxies in an area 1% of the apparent size of the moon -- see description on the right, below)

Friday, February 7, 2014

2014 February

AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter                       February 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

Club Meeting Schedule:

20 Feb 2014
Club Meeting
Club Show & Tell & Fun & Games
All
A1/1735
20 Mar 2014
Club Meeting
TBD
TBD
A1/1735
17 Apr 2014
Club Meeting
A Tour of the new Aerospace E POD (A6) Telescope & Facility
Richard Rudy
Gather in A6 Lobby then to          E Pod

AEA Astronomy Club meetings are on 3rd Thursdays at 11:45am.  For all of 2014 except April, the meeting room is A1/1735.

News:  

Feb. 20 Club Mtg. – Club Show & Tell & Fun & Games.  Many of us have collected quirky astronomical paraphernalia – celestial spheres, observing gear & aids, games, clothing (caps, shirts), patches, pins & jewelry, art & photos (your own or others’), software, books, ornaments, etc.  Bring one or more interesting things to share.  And we may have a little time to play a trivia game, the Night Sky Edition of Monopoly, etc.

The A6 E Pod telescope completion has continued to suffer schedule delays, and so once again our tour is being put off.  For our April 17 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/

Astronomical League Observing Clubs
A bonus of our club membership is membership in the Astronomical League, making you eligible to participate in the League’s Observing Clubs. The Astronomical League provides many different observing programs (clubs). These programs are designed to provide a direction for your observations and to provide a goal. The programs have certificates and pins to recognize the observers’ accomplishments and for demonstrating their observing skills with a variety of instruments and objects. For more information go to:
http://www.astroleague.org/observing.html.  




Astronomy Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month

(from Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
The Scale of the Universe – Interactive:   http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140112.html
Flash Animation Credit & Copyright: Cary & Michael Huang
Explanation: What does the universe look like on small scales? On large scales? Humanity is discovering that the universe is a very different place on every proportion that has been explored. For example, so far as we know, every tiny proton is exactly the same, but every huge galaxy is different. On more familiar scales, a small glass table top to a human is a vast plane of strange smoothness to adust mite -- possibly speckled with cell boulders. Not all scale lengths are well explored -- what happens to the smallest mist droplets you sneeze, for example, is a topic of active research -- and possibly useful to know to help stop the spread of disease. The above interactive flash animation, a modern version of the classic video Powers of Ten, is a new window to many of the known scales of our universe. By moving the scroll bar across the bottom, you can explore a diversity of sizes, while clicking on different items will bring up descriptive information.

2014 January 27 


From the Northern to the Southern Cross 
Image Credit & Copyright: Nicholas Buer
Explanation: There is a road that connects the Northern to the Southern Cross but you have to be at the right place and time to see it. The road, as pictured above, is actually the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy; the right place, in this case, is dark Laguna Cejar in Salar de Atacama of Northern Chile; and the right time was in early October, just after sunset. Many sky wonders were captured then, including the bright Moon, inside the Milky Way arch; Venus, just above the Moon; Saturn and Mercury, just below the Moon; the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds satellite galaxies, on the far left; red airglow near the horizon on the image left; and the lights of small towns at several locations across the horizon. One might guess that composing this 30-image panorama would have been a serene experience, but for that one would have required earplugs to ignore the continued brays of wild donkeys.
Opportunity's Decade on Mars 
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State U.
Explanation: On January 25 (UT) 2004, the Opportunity rover fell to Mars, making today the 10th anniversary of its landing. After more than 3,500 sols (Mars solar days) the golf cart-sized robot from Earth is still actively exploring the Red Planet, though its original mission plan was for three months. This self-portrait was made with Opportunity's panoramic camera earlier this month. The camera's supporting mast has been edited out of the image mosaic but its shadow is visible on the dusty solar panels arrayed across the rover's deck. For comparison, a similar self-portrait from late 2004 is shown in the inset. Having driven some 39 kilometers (24 miles) from its landing site, Opportunity now rests at Solander Point at the rim of Endeavour Crater.

Mars and Orion over Monument Valley 
Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (Astropics, TWAN)
Explanation: Welcome to The World At Night. Sharing the night sky seen around the world, this view from Monument Valley, USA includes a picturesque foreground of famous buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the image left are known as the Mittens, while Merrick Butte is on the right. Recorded in 2007 December, planet Mars is at the left of the skyscape, a glowing beacon of orange that is the brightest object in the frame. To the right of Mars lies the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is the reddish star near the center and the Belt of Orion and the Orion Nebula are farther right. Finally, the bright blue star Rigel appears above Merrick Butte in this stunning view of The World At Night.
Three CubeSats Released 
Image Credit: Expedition 38 Crew, NASA
Explanation: Cubes are orbiting the Earth. Measuring ten-centimeters on a side, CubeSats -- each roughly the size of a large coffee mug -- are designed to be inexpensive both to build and to launch.Pictured above, three CubeSats were released from the International Space Station (ISS) last November by the arm of the Japanese Kibo Laboratory module. CubeSats are frequently created by students as part of university science or engineering projects and include missions such as collecting wide angle imagery of the Earth, testing orbital radio communications, monitoring the Earth's magnetic field, and exploring the Earth's surrounding radiations. Depending on the exact height of their release, CubeSats will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on the time scale of months to years.

Astronomy News:

River of hydrogen flowing through space observed

ScienceDaily 27 January 2014 - Using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), astronomer D.J. Pisano from West Virginia University has discovered what could be a never-before-seen river of hydrogen flowing through space. This very faint, very tenuous filament of gas is streaming into the nearby galaxy NGC 6946 and may help explain how certain spiral galaxies keep up their steady pace of star formation.

"We knew that the fuel for star formation had to come from somewhere. So far, however, we've detected only about 10 percent of what would be necessary to explain what we observe in many galaxies," said Pisano. "A leading theory is that rivers of hydrogen -- known as cold flows -- may be ferrying hydrogen through intergalactic space, clandestinely fueling star formation. But this tenuous hydrogen has been simply too diffuse to detect, until now."

Spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way, typically maintain a rather tranquil but steady pace of star formation. Others, like NGC 6946, which is located approximately 22 million light-years from Earth on the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus, are much more active, though less-so than more extreme starburst galaxies. This raises the question of what is fueling the sustained star formation in this and similar spiral galaxies.

Earlier studies of the galactic neighborhood around NGC 6946 with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the Netherlands have revealed an extended halo of hydrogen (a feature commonly seen in spiral galaxies, which may be formed by hydrogen ejected from the disk of the galaxy by intense star formation and supernova explosions). A cold flow, however, would be hydrogen from a completely different source: gas from intergalactic space that has never been heated to extreme temperatures by a galaxy's star birth or supernova processes.

Using the GBT, Pisano was able to detect the glow emitted by neutral hydrogen gas connecting NGC 6946 with its cosmic neighbors. This signal was simply below the detection threshold of other telescopes. The GBT's unique capabilities, including its immense single dish, unblocked aperture, and location in the National Radio Quiet Zone, enabled it to detect this tenuous radio light.

Astronomers have long theorized that larger galaxies could receive a constant influx of cold hydrogen by siphoning it off other less-massive companions.

In looking at NGC 6946, the GBT detected just the sort of filamentary structure that would be present in a cold flow, though there is another probable explanation for what has been observed. It's also possible that sometime in the past this galaxy had a close encounter and passed by its neighbors, leaving a ribbon of neutral atomic hydrogen in its wake.

If that were the case, however, there should be a small but observable population of stars in the
filaments. Further studies will help to confirm the nature of this observation and could shine light on the
possible role that cold flows play in the evolution of galaxies.

These results are published in the Astronomical Journal.

The 100-meter GBT is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and located in the
National Radio Quiet Zone and the West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zone, which protect the incredibly
sensitive telescope from unwanted radio interference.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated
under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.



This composite image contains three distinct features: the bright star-filled central region of galaxy NGC 6946 in optical light (blue), the dense hydrogen tracing out the galaxy’s sweeping spiral arms and galactic halo (orange), and the extremely diffuse and extended field of hydrogen engulfing NGC 6946 and its companions (red). The new GBT data show the faintly glowing hydrogen bridging the gulf between the larger galaxy and its smaller companions. This faint structure is precisely what astronomers expect to appear as hydrogen flows from the intergalactic medium into galaxies or from a past encounter between galaxies. Credit: D.J. Pisano (WVU); B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); Palomar Observatory – Space Telescope Science Institute 2nd Digital Sky Survey (Caltech); Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope

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.  For more information about the Carnegie Observatories or this lecture series, please contact Reed Haynie.

7 Feb.
SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM
Topic: “Astronomy Update: Report from the American Astronomical Society meeting of January 2014 Speaker: Dr. Steven Morris, LAHC
http://www.sbastro.net/.  

10 Feb
LAAS LAAS General Meeting.
Griffith Observatory
Event Horizon Theater
8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Feb. 13 & 14   The von Kármán Lecture Series: 2014

The History and Future of Space Communications – Celebrating 50 Years of the NASA Deep Space Network

On December 24, 1963, a memo from Dr. William Pickering, JPL Director at that time, announced that the Deep Space Network was established. Prior to this date, antennas had been built at the Goldstone site in California's Mojave Desert, and overseas sites were being developed in Woomera, Australia, and in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, Dr. Pickering's action combined these disparate elements to create the first integrated global communications capability to deep space.

During the ensuing 50 years the DSN has evolved. The original antennas were 26-meters but were soon joined by much larger 64-meter antennas. As the sophistication of spacecraft instrumentation grew, the DSN also grew to meet the new demands. Both 26-meter and 64-meter antennas were upgraded and enlarged to 34-meter and 70-meters respectively. New 34-meter high efficiency antennas were designed; and most recently a unique communication system was developed in the widely used 34-meter beam waveguide antennas. This talk will discuss the networks evolution and the critical role it has played in space exploration.
Speaker:
Dr. Joseph Lazio, Chief Scientist of the Interplanetary Network Directorate, JPL

Locations:
 Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, 7pm
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions

Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, 7pm
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions

Webcast:
 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.




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 February:


Moon: Feb 6 1st quarter, Feb 14 full, Feb 22 last quarter, Mar 1 new                      
Planets:  Mercury is visible briefly after sunset in the SouthWest until Feb 7.  Jupiter is up all night until just before dawn.  Mars & Saturn rise just before and just after midnight, respectively, and Venus before dawn.
Other Events:

1 Feb
SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke http://www.sbastro.net/.  

1 Feb
LAAS Dark Sky Night : Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)

6 Feb Double shadow transit

8 Feb
Public  Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm

21 Feb  Saturn 0.3 deg N of Moon

 
22 Feb
SBAS Saturday Night In Town Dark Sky Observing Session at Ridgecrest Middle School– 28915 North Bay Rd. RPV, Weather Permitting: Please contact Greg Benecke to confirm that the gate will be opened! http://www.sbastro.net/

26 Feb Venus 0.4 deg S of Moon

1 Mar
SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke http://www.sbastro.net/.  

Internet Links:
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


Regional (Southern California, Washington, D.C. & Colorado)
Southern California & Beyond Amateur Astronomy Organizations, Observatories & Planetaria
Mt. Wilson Observatory description, history, visiting


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/. 

 
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, membership in The Astronomical League, 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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