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)

Thursday, December 7, 2017

2017 December

AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter  December 2017

Contents

AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 4
Astronomy News p. 9
General Calendar p. 15
    Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 15
    Observing p. 18
Useful Links p. 19
About the Club p. 20

Club News & Calendar.

Club Calendar

Club Meeting Schedule:
7 Dec
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
The Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond, Dr. Bonnie J. Buratti, JPL
(A1/1735)
4 Jan
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
Pizza Party & Online Video(s)?
(A1/1735)

AEA Astronomy Club meetings are now on 1st  Thursdays at 11:45 am.  For all of 2017 (and hopefully 2018), the meeting room is A1/1735. 

Dec. 7:  Title: The Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond
Abstract:
One of the greatest questions confronting scientists is whether life exists outside the Earth. This talk is a survey of our current understanding of life in the universe. Starting in the Solar System, Dr. Buratti addresses the possibility of life on Mars and the “Ocean Worlds” in the outer Solar System. Current research on exoplanets around other stars, including Earth-like worlds, is summarized. Finally, Fermi’s paradox – why we have not found anyone – is discussed.

Bio:
Dr. Bonnie J. Buratti is a Senior Research Scientist and technical manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With expertise on the structure and evolution of planets and moons, she received degrees from MIT and Cornell. She holds leadership roles on the Cassini Mission to Saturn and on the New Horizons Mission to Pluto, and she has served as an adviser for many NASA committees. She is the NASA Project Scientist for the Rosetta mission to a comet.  She is a past Chair of the Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society. She is the author of over 200 scientific papers and book chapters, and she is a frequent public speaker and TV and radio guest. Dr. Buratti was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the International Astronomical Union recognized her work by naming asteroid 90502 Buratti after her. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. Her popular science book “Worlds Fantastic, Worlds Familiar” was published in April 2017 (copies of the book at the author’s cost will be available).
[Dr. Buratti was referred to us by Nahum Melamed, who heard her speak at a recent conference]


Jan. 30 will be an eclipse reunion at the Manhattan Beach Library after work (around 5:30 to 8:00).  It will include a catered dinner (Pachanga or CafĂ© Rio) and a more polished photo, video & Powerpoint presentation for the broader Aerospace & eclipse group audience.  And will include some initial research into the 2024 eclipse crossing from Texas to Maine.

Club News:  

Nov. 28 – the club (including Nahum Melamed presenting) supported another Smith Elementary School’s (Lawndale) astronomy night, together with the South Bay Astronomical Society who brought some telescopes.  The weather only permitted intermittent views of the moon and a few stars, but Nahum’s indoor presentation was a big hit, as usual, holding the students enrapt, and getting them to ask and answer many questions.  He spoke of why we go to space, let them hold meteorite chunks, space junk & a cubesat.  Suzie Petrancosta provided support and photography. 


    




 


From: Katharine Losoncy

Hi Mark,

The image below is from a Novac observer over several nights this summer at Spruce Knob, WV.
When I went 2 weeks ago we had one ideal night, and several hours early Sunday morning. It was a warm October weekend with low wind, and 14 miles of optional hiking.
We were a small group: 2 Obsessions, imaging and a few visitors stopped by midway through our observing list.



Subject: [NOVAC] Cave Nebula in narrowband.
Reply-To: Northern Virginia Astronomy Club <novac@novac.com>

Wow!  Pretty amazing.  Sounds like quite a facility, and group.  Sounds like you had better conditions than that night at Frazier Park, although we saw a fair amount.

Mark

Sh2-155, also known as the Cave Nebula, is a diffuse nebula in the constellation Cepheus. Sh2-155 is an ionized H II region with ongoing star formation activity at an estimated distance of 2400 light-years. I imaged this from our observatory in West Virginia over several nights this past summer.

http://www.casastellare.com/images-pier2/#sh2-155.jpg

Jeff


We need volunteers to help with: 

·         Preparing a more polished eclipse photo & video show for a broader audience possibly late Nov. or early Dec.
·         Populating our club Sharepoint site with material & links to the club’s Aerowiki & Aerolink materials
·         Arranging future club programs
·         Managing club equipment

Astronomy Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month
(from Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

VIDEO: Our Story in One Minute https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171126.html
Video Credit & Copyright: MelodySheep, Symphony of Science, John Boswell; Music Credit: Our Story
Explanation: Do you have a minute -- to see the entire backstory of human existence? This thrilling video culls together multiple teasing video snippets in an attempt to succinctly summarize our history. And sets it to music. Briefly depicted, from start to finish, is an artistic animation of the Big Bang, a trip across the early universe, the formation of the Earth and Moon, the emergence of multi-celled life and plants, the rise of reptilesand dinosaurs, a devastating meteor strike, the rise of mammals and humans, and finally the rise of modern civilization. The minute movie ends with a flyover of the modern skyscraper and a human standing atop a snow covered mountain.
VIDEO: Hurricane Season Animated https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171127.html Video Credit: M. R. Radcliff (USRA) et al., NASA's GSFC, SVS; Music: Elapsing Time by C. Telford & R. A. Navarro (ASCAP)
Explanation: Where do hurricanes go? To better understand dangerous storms, NASA compiled data from several satellites into a supercomputer simulation of this past year's hurricane season. Specifically, the featured video shows how smoke (white), sea salt (blue), and dust (brown) tracked from 2017 August through October across the northern half of Earth's Western Hemisphere. These aerosols usefully trace sometimes invisiblewinds. In the midst of the many mesmerizing flows, hurricanes can be seen swirling across the Atlantic Ocean on the right. Some of these hurricanes lashed islands and coastal regions in North America before dissipating in the northern Atlantic. Studying this year's weather patterns may bolster more accurate storm forecasts as soon as next year.
Juno Spots a Complex Storm on Jupiter 
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SwRI, MSSS; Processing: Gerald Eichstädt & Seán Doran
Explanation: Some storms on Jupiter are quite complex. The swirling storm was captured late last month by the NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft currently orbiting the Solar System's largest planet. The featured imagespans about 30,000 kilometers, making this storm system just about as wide as planet Earth. The disturbance rotates counter-clockwise and shows a cloud pattern that includes light-colored updrafts thought to be composed predominantly of ammonia ice. These light clouds are the highest up and even cast discernable shadows toward the right. Juno will continue to orbit and probe Jupiter over the next few years as it tries to return data that help us to better understand Jupiter's atmospheric water abundance and if the planet has a solid surface underneath these fascinating clouds.
Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater 
Image Credit: Apollo 17 Crew, NASA
Explanation: In December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. This sharp image was taken by Cernan as he and Schmitt roamed the valley floor. The image shows Schmitt on the left with the lunar rover at the edge of Shorty Crater, near the spot where geologist Schmitt discovered orange lunar soil. The Apollo 17 crew returned with 110 kilograms of rock and soil samples, more than was returned from any of the other lunar landing sites. Forty five years later, Cernan and Schmitt are still the last to walk on the Moon.

Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe 
Illustration Credit & Copyright Tom Abel & Ralf Kaehler (KIPAC, SLAC), AMNH
Explanation: Is our universe haunted? It might look that way on this dark matter map. The gravity of unseen dark matter is the leading explanation for why galaxies rotate so fast, why galaxies orbit clusters so fast, why gravitational lenses so strongly deflect light, and why visible matter is distributed as it is both in the local universe and on the cosmic microwave background. The featured image from the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium Space Show Dark Universe highlights one example of how pervasive dark matter might haunt our universe. In this frame from a detailed computer simulation, complex filaments of dark matter, shown in black, are strewn about the universe like spider webs, while the relatively rare clumps of familiar baryonic matter are colored orange. These simulations are good statistical matches to astronomical observations. In what is perhaps a scarier turn of events, dark matter -- although quite strange and in an unknown form -- is no longer thought to be the strangest source of gravity in the universe. That honor now falls todark energy, a more uniform source of repulsive gravity that seems to now dominate the expansion of the entire universe.

Curiosity Rover Takes Selfie on Mars 
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS
Explanation: Yes, but have you ever taken a selfie on Mars? The Curiosity rover on Mars has. This selfie was compiled from many smaller images -- which is why the mechanical arm holding the camera is not visible. (Although its shadow is!) Taken in mid-2015, the featured image shows not only the adventurous rover, but dark layered rocks, the light colored peak of Mount Sharp, and the rusting red sand that pervades Mars. If you look closely, you can even see that a small rock is stuck into one of Curiosity's aging wheels. Now nearing the end of 2017, Curiosity continues to explore the layers of sedimentary rocks it has discovered on Vera Rubin Ridge in order to better understand, generally, the ancient geologic history of Mars and, specifically, why these types of rocks exist there.


Astronomy News:
(from https://www.sciencedaily.com )

Possible Plate Tectonics on Europa

·         Press Release - Source: Brown University
·         Posted December 4, 2017 12:18 PM
©NASA
Europa plume
A Brown University study provides new evidence that the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa may have plate tectonics similar to those on Earth.
The presence of plate tectonic activity could have important implications for the possibility of life in the ocean thought to exist beneath the moon's surface.
The study, published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, uses computer modeling to show that subduction -- when a tectonic plate slides underneath another and sinks deep into a planet's interior -- is physically possible in Europa's ice shell. The findings bolster earlier studies of Europa's surface geology that found regions where the moon's ice shell looks to be expanding in a way that's similar to the mid-ocean spreading ridges on Earth. The possibility of subduction adds another piece to the tectonic puzzle.
"We have this evidence of extension and spreading, so the question becomes where does that material go?" said Brandon Johnson, an assistant professor in Brown's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and a lead author of the study. "On Earth, the answer is subduction zones. What we show is that under reasonable assumptions for conditions on Europa, subduction could be happening there as well, which is really exciting."
Part of the excitement, Johnson says, is that surface crust is enriched with oxidants and other chemical food for life. Subduction provides a means for that food to come into contact with the subsurface ocean scientists think probably exists under Europa's ice.
"If indeed there's life in that ocean, subduction offers a way to supply the nutrients it would need," Johnson said.
Subduction on ice
On Earth, subduction is driven largely by differences in temperature between a descending slab and the surrounding mantle. Crustal material is much cooler than mantle material, and therefore denser. That increased density provides the negative buoyancy needed to sink a slab deep into the mantle.
Though previous geological studies had hinted that something like subduction could be happening on Europa, it wasn't clear exactly how that process would work on an icy world. There's evidence, Johnson says, that Europa's ice shell has a two layers: a thin outer lid of very cold ice that sits atop a layer of slightly warmer, convecting ice. If a plate from the outer ice lid was pushed down into the warmer ice below, its temperature would quickly warm to that of the surrounding ice. At the point, the slab would have the same density of the surrounding ice and would therefore stop descending.
But the model developed by Johnson and his colleagues showed a way that subduction could happen on Europa, regardless of temperature differences. The model showed that if there were varying amounts of salt in the surface ice shell, it could provide the necessary density differences for a slab to subduct.
"Adding salt to an ice slab would be like adding little weights to it because salt is denser than ice," Johnson said. "So rather than temperature, we show that differences in the salt content of the ice could enable subduction to happen on Europa."
And there's good reason to suspect that variations in salt content do exist on Europa. There's geological evidence for occasional water upwelling from Europa's subsurface ocean -- a process similar to the upwelling of magma from Earth's mantle. That upwelling would leave high salt content in the crust under which it rises. There's also a possibility of cryovolcanism, where salty ocean contents actually spray out onto the surface.
In addition to bolstering the case for a habitable ocean on Europa, Johnson says, the research also suggests a new place in the solar system to study a process that's played a crucial role in the evolution of our own planet.
"It's fascinating to think that we might have plate tectonics somewhere other than Earth," he said. "Thinking from the standpoint of comparative planetology, if we can now study plate tectonics in this very different place, it might be able to help us understand how plate tectonics got started on the Earth."
Johnson's co-authors on the paper -- Rachel Sheppard, Alyssa Pascuzzo, Elizabeth Fisher and Sean Wiggins -- are all graduate students at Brown. They took a class Johnson offered called Ocean Worlds, which focused on bodies like Europa that are thought to have oceans beneath icy shells.
"This paper emerged as a class project we did together," Johnson said, "and it's exciting that we came up with some interesting results."

Neutron Stars on the Brink of Collapse

·         Press Release - Source: HEIDELBERG INSTITUTE FOR THEORETICAL STUDIES (HITS)
·         Posted December 4, 2017 12:08 PM


The upper and lower series of pictures each show a simulation of a neutron star merger. In the scenario shown in the upper panels the star collapses after the merger and forms a black hole, whereas the scenario displayed in the lower row leads to an at least temporarily stable star.
When a very massive star dies, its core contracts. In a supernova explosion, the star's outer layers are expelled, leaving behind an ultra-compact neutron star.
For the first time, the LIGO and Virgo Observatories have recently been able to observe the merger of two neutron stars and measure the mass of the merging stars. Together, the neutron stars had a mass of 2.74 solar masses. Based on these observational data, an international team of scientists from Germany, Greece, and Japan including HITS astrophysicist Dr. Andreas Bauswein has man-aged to narrow down the size of neutron stars with the aid of computer simulations. The cal-culations suggest that the neutron star radius must be at least 10.7 km. The international research team's results have been published in "Astrophysical Journal Letters."
The Collapse as Evidence
In neutron star collisions, two neutron stars orbit around each other, eventually merging to form a star with approximately twice the mass of the individual stars. In this cosmic event, gravitational waves - oscillations of spacetime - whose signal characteristics are related to the mass of the stars, are emitted. This event resembles what happens when a stone is thrown into water and waves form on the water's surface. The heavier the stone, the higher the waves.
The scientists simulated different merger scenarios for the recently measured masses to de-termine the radius of the neutron stars. In so doing, they relied on different models and equa-tions of state describing the exact structure of neutron stars. Then, the team of scientists checked whether the calculated merger scenarios are consistent with the observations. The conclusion: All models that lead to the direct collapse of the merger remnant can be ruled out because a collapse leads to the formation of a black hole, which in turn means that relatively little light is emitted during the collision. However, different telescopes have observed a bright light source at the location of the stars' collision, which provides clear evidence against the hypothesis of collapse.
The results thereby rule out a number of models of neutron star matter, namely all models that predict a neutron star radius smaller than 10.7 kilometers. However, the internal structure of neutron stars is still not entirely understood. The radii and structure of neutron stars are of particular interest not only to astrophysicists, but also to nuclear and particle physicists because the inner structure of these stars reflects the properties of high-density nuclear mat-ter found in every atomic nucleus.
Neutron Stars Reveal Fundamental Properties of Matter
While neutron stars have a slightly larger mass than our Sun, their diameter is only a few 10 km. These stars thus contain a large mass in a very small space, which leads to extreme conditions in their interior. Researchers have been exploring these internal conditions for already some decades and are particularly interested in better narrowing down the radius of these stars as their size depends on the unknown properties of density matter.
The new measurements and new calculations are helping theoreticians better understand the properties of high-density matter in our Universe. The recently published study already represents a scientific progress as it has ruled out some theoretical models, but there are still a number of other models with neutron star radii greater than 10.7 km. However, the scien-tists have been able to demonstrate that further observations of neutron star mergers will continue to improve these measurements. The LIGO and Virgo Observatories have just be-gun taking measurements, and the sensitivity of the instruments will continue to increase over the next few years and provide even better observational data. "We expect that more neutron star mergers will soon be observed and that the observational data from these events will reveal more about the internal structure of matter," HITS scientist Andreas Bauswein concludes.
Publication: Andreas Bauswein, Oliver Just, Hans-Thomas Janka, Nikolaos Ster-gioulas. Neutron-star radius constraints from GW170817 and future detections. https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.06843 (2017). Astrophysical Journal Letters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa9994

Dark matter and dark energy: Do they really exist?
[the debate continues….]
Science Daily – November 22, 2017 –

For close on a century, researchers have hypothesized that the universe contains more matter than can be directly observed, known as "dark matter." They have also posited the existence of a "dark energy" that is more powerful than gravitational attraction. These two hypotheses, it has been argued, account for the movement of stars in galaxies and for the accelerating expansion of the universe respectively. But -- according to a researcher at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland -- these concepts may be no longer valid: the phenomena they are supposed to describe can be demonstrated without them. This research, which is published in The Astrophysical Journal, exploits a new theoretical model based on the scale invariance of the empty space, potentially solving two of astronomy's greatest mysteries.

In 1933, the Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky made a discovery that left the world speechless: there was, claimed Zwicky, substantially more matter in the universe than we can actually see. Astronomers called this unknown matter "dark matter," a concept that was to take on yet more importance in the 1970s, when the US astronomer Vera Rubin called on this enigmatic matter to explain the movements and speed of the stars. Scientists have subsequently devoted considerable resources to identifying dark matter -- in space, on the ground and even at CERN -- but without success. In 1998 there was a second thunderclap: a team of Australian and US astrophysicists discovered the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, earning them the Nobel Prize for physics in 2011. However, in spite of the enormous resources that have been implemented, no theory or observation has been able to define this black energy that is allegedly stronger than Newton's gravitational attraction. In short, black matter and dark energy are two mysteries that have had astronomers stumped for over 80 years and 20 years respectively.

A new model based on the scale invariance of the empty space
The way we represent the universe and its history are described by Einstein's equations of general relativity, Newton's universal gravitation and quantum mechanics. The model-consensus at present is that of a big bang followed by an expansion. "In this model, there is a starting hypothesis that hasn't been taken into account, in my opinion," says André Maeder, honorary professor in the Department of Astronomy in UNIGE's Faculty of Science. "By that I mean the scale invariance of the empty space; in other words, the empty space and its properties do not change following a dilatation or contraction." The empty space plays a primordial role in Einstein's equations as it operates in a quantity known as a "cosmological constant," and the resulting universe model depends on it. Based on this hypothesis, Maeder is now re-examining the model of the universe, pointing out that the scale invariance of the empty space is also present in the fundamental theory of electromagnetism.

Do we finally have an explanation for the expansion of the universe and the speed of the galaxies? When Maeder carried out cosmological tests on his new model, he found that it matched the observations. He also found that the model predicts the accelerated expansion of the universe without having to factor in any particle or dark energy. In short, it appears that dark energy may not actually exist since the acceleration of the expansion is contained in the equations of the physics.

In a second stage, Maeder focused on Newton's law, a specific instance of the equations of general relativity. The law is also slightly modified when the model incorporates Maeder's new hypothesis. Indeed, it contains a very small outward acceleration term, which is particularly significant at low densities. This amended law, when applied to 8 clusters of galaxies, leads to masses of clusters in line with that of visible matter (contrary to what Zwicky argued in 1933): this means that no dark matter is needed to explain the high speeds of the galaxies in the clusters. A second test demonstrated that this law also predicts the high speeds reached by the stars in the outer regions of the galaxies (as Rubin had observed), without having to turn to dark matter to describe them. Finally, a third test looked at the dispersion of the speeds of the stars oscillating around the plane of the Milky Way. This dispersion, which increases with the age of the relevant stars, can be explained very well using the invariant empty space hypothesis, while there was before no agreement on the origin of this effect.

Maeder's discovery paves the way for a new conception of astronomy, one that will raise questions and generate controversy. "The announcement of this model, which at last solves two of astronomy's greatest mysteries, remains true to the spirit of science: nothing can ever be taken for granted, not in terms of experience, observation or the reasoning of human beings," concluded André Maeder.


 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.  . Click here for more information.
7 Dec
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
The Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond, Dr. Bonnie J. Buratti, JPL
(A1/1735)


1 Dec
Friday Night 7:30PM SBAS  Monthly General Meeting
in the Planetarium at El Camino College (16007 Crenshaw Bl. In Torrance)
Topic: TBD





No Dec Event



UCLA Meteorite Gallery --
Location: UCLA Campus



11 Dec
LAAS General Mtg. 7:30pm Griffith Observatory
December 14 & 15  The von Kármán Lecture Series: 2017

Weight Watching from Space: Tracking Earth’s water cycle with GRACE Follow-On


The original Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, which began orbiting Earth on March 17, 2002, has provided Earth scientists with an unprecedented view of changes in our global water cycle, and allowed precise determination of sea-level rise, polar ice-cap mass loss in Greenland and Antarctica, or large-scale water storage changes over land. These discoveries provide a unique view of Earth's climate and have far-reaching benefits to society and the world's population. The twin satellites of the GRACE Follow-On mission, scheduled for launch in early 2018, will continue this extremely successful work of tracking Earth's water movement, while testing a new laser technology designed to improve the already remarkable precision of its microwave measurement system.
NASA's GRACE Follow-On mission will measure variations in gravity over Earth's entire surface, producing a new map of the gravity field every 30 days. The twin satellites show how the planet's gravity differs not only from one location to another, but also from one period of time to another. From these maps, scientists and data users can monitor changes in underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, soil moisture, ice sheets and glaciers, and sea level caused by the addition of water to the ocean. It even allows oceanographers to map currents at the sea floor - without ever getting their feet wet!
In this talk, I will present the fascinating technology behind gravity measurements from space, review some of the most exciting and surprising findings from GRACE, and provide a peak into what might lie ahead with GRACE Follow-On.
Speaker:
Felix Landerer is a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He earned a degree in Geophysics from the University of Kiel, a doctorate in Physical Oceanography from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg (Germany), and was a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at JPL from 2008 to 2010. Felix studies Earth’s constantly changing hydrosphere by using data from geodetic satellites like GRACE and the ocean altimeters to understand global and regional sea level variations, and provide relevant data for water availability (e.g., aquifer storage, drought monitoring, etc.) in a changing climate. He has published numerous high-impact scientific papers on these topics, and is currently the Deputy Project Scientist for the joint NASA/GFZ GRACE Follow-On satellite project, which will launch in early 2018.

Location:
Thursday, Dec 14, 2017, 7pm
  Click here to add the date to your online calendar
The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA
› Directions 

Friday, Dec 15, 2017, 7pm
  Click here to add the date to your online calendar
The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
› Directions


4 Jan
AEA Astronomy Club Meeting
Pizza Party & Online Video(s)?
(A1/2906)



Observing:

The following data are from the 2017 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s 2017 Skygazer’s Almanac & monthly Sky at a Glance.

Current sun & moon rise/set/phase data for L.A.:  http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/usa/los-angeles

Sun, Moon & Planets for December:

 
 

Moon: Dec 3 full, Dec 10 last quarter, Dec 18 new, Dec 26 1st quarter                 
Planets: Venus visible at dawn until the 12th, low in SE.  Mars visible before dawn all month in the SE.  Mercury visible at dawn after the 20th, low in SE.  Saturn not visible this month. Jupiter visible low in SE before dawn all month.
Other Events:

3 December Super Moon Full moon arrives at Lunar perigee.

6,13,20,27 Dec
LAAS The Garvey Ranch Observatory is open to the public every Wednesday evening from 7:30 PM to 10 PM. Go into the dome to use the 8 Inch Refractor or observe through one of our telescopes on the lawn. Visit our workshop to learn how you can build your own telescope, grind your own mirror, or sign up for our free seasonal astronomy classes.

Call 213-673-7355 for further information.
Time: 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Garvey Ranch Obs. , 781 Orange Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91755


 
9 Dec
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/

13 December Geminids Meteor Shower Peak The Geminids are a meteor shower caused by object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a “rock comet” orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor shower not originating from a comet. This shower has been intensifying every year and 120-160 meteors/hour have been seen under optimal conditions.

16 Dec
LAAS Public  Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm

16 Dec
LAAS Private dark sky  Star Party

16 Dec
SBAS out-of-town Dark Sky observing – contact Greg Benecke to coordinate a location. http://www.sbastro.net/.  

22 December Ursids Meteor Shower Peak A relatively minor meteor shower with a ZHR of 10


Internet Links:

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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