AEA Astronomy Club
Newsletter
February 2023
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 10
General Calendar p. 11
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 11
Observing p. 13
Useful
Links p. 15
About the Club p.
16
Club News &
Calendar.
Club Calendar
Club Meeting Schedule: --
2 Feb AEA Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great Courses video Teams
2 March AEA Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great Courses video Teams
AEA
Astronomy Club meetings are now on 1st Thursdays at 11:30 am. Virtual meetings on Teams until further
notice. When live meetings resume, our
preferred room has been A1/1735, when we can reserve it.
Club
News:
We have a new treasurer – Eric
Belle.
The club’s Meade LX-200 10”
telescope & accessories need a new home – contact Alex Ellis.
Nominations for club V.P. are being taken.
2024 Eclipse -- An update from the 2024 solar eclipse committee (Mark Clayson, Mai Lee, Melissa Jolliff, Nahum Melamed, Judy Kerner, Marilee Wheaton):
Great news from the eclipse committee – we have secured lodging (April 7 & 8) & an observing site for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse! We have contracted for a block of 50 rooms in the Boerne, TX area (30 minutes from San Antonio & our observing site on centerline in Kerrville -- halfway between them, and 90 minutes from Austin). 4 types of rooms, all under $100/night before taxes.
If you would like more information about the hotel & available rooms, the link and phone to reserve a room as well as preliminary travel & car rental research and observing plans, contact Marilee Wheaton.
It is expected that all people making reservations be members of the club in 2024. And, as with Mt. Wilson observing trips, we ask that all family members/friends accompanying them also join the club for 2024, as they will also be receiving benefits of the club (arrangements, equipment, photos, expertise, and possibly eclipse glasses and T-shirt). Violations are subject to cancellation of room reservations, if membership is not finalized by Dec. 31, 2023.
Also, please let Marilee
know of your anticipated travel plan – driving or flying. We need to know who’s driving and may be able
to take some of our club equipment for observing and photographing the
eclipse.
Contact Jason Fields if interested in joining him for an observing night with his 20” Dobs – per recent emails.
We need volunteers to help with:
·
Installing
our new software on our tablet & laptop
·
Populating
our club Sharepoint site with material & links to the club’s Aerowiki
& Aerolink materials – Kaly Rangarajan has volunteered to help with this
·
Arranging
future club programs
·
Managing
club equipment & library (Kelly Gov volunteered to help with the
library, Sam has a fair chunk of the equipment)
Astronomy Video(s)
& Picture(s) of the Month
(generally from
Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)
A Triple View of Comet ZTF
Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Caldera & Miguel Gracia
Explanation: Comet ZTF has a distinctive shape. The now bright comet
visiting the inner Solar
System has been showing not
only a common dust
tail, ion tail, and green
gas coma, but also an
uncommonly distinctive antitail.
The antitail does not actually lead the comet -- it is just that the head of
the comet is seen
superposed on part of the
fanned-out and trailing dust tail. The giant dirty snowball that is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) has now passed its closest to the Sun and tomorrow will pass its closest to the Earth. The
main panel of the featured triple image shows how Comet ZTF looked last week to the unaided
eye under a dark and clear sky over Cáceres, Spain. The top inset image shows how the comet looked
through binoculars, while the lower inset shows how the comet looked
through a
small telescope. The comet is now visible all night long from northern latitudes but will surely
fade from easy observation
during the next few weeks.
Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble
Heritage, A. Fabian (University of
Cambridge, UK)
Explanation: Active galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large
and relatively nearby Perseus Cluster of Galaxies. Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is
also a prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission. NGC 1275 accretes matter as entire galaxies
fall into it, ultimately feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's
core. This color composite image
made from Hubble Space Telescope data
recorded during 2006. It highlights the resulting galactic debris and filaments of glowing gas, some up to 20,000 light-years
long. The
filaments persist in NGC 1275,
even though the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them. What keeps
the filaments together? Observations indicate that the structures, pushed out from the
galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are held together by magnetic
fields. Also known as Perseus A, NGC 1275 spans over 100,000 light years and lies
about 230 million light years away.
MACS0647: Gravitational Lensing of the Early Universe by
Webb
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Dan Coe (STScI),
Rebecca Larson (UT), Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU); Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Text: Michael
Rutkowski (Minn. St. U.
Mankato)
Explanation: Gravitational
lensing by the galaxy cluster
MACS0647 -- in which the massive foreground cluster distorts and lenses the
light emitted by distant background galaxies along the line of sight — is on vivid
display here in this recent multi-color
infrared image from the James
Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In
particular, the background source MACS0647-JD is seen to be lensed three times by the cluster. When
first discovered with
the Hubble Space Telescope, MACS0647-JD was observed as an amorphous blob. With Webb though, this single source is revealed to be a pair
or small group of galaxies. The
colors of the MACS0647-JD objects are different as well -- indicating
differences potentially in the age or dust content of these galaxies. These new images provide
rare examples of galaxies in
an era only a few 100 million years after
the Big Bang.
Unexpected Clouds Toward the Andromeda Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: Yann Sainty & Marcel Drechsler
Explanation: Why are there oxygen-emitting arcs near the direction of
the Andromeda galaxy? No one is sure. The gas arcs, shown in blue, were discovered and first confirmed by amateur astronomers just last year. The two main origin hypotheses for
the arcs are that they really are close to Andromeda (M31), or that they are just coincidentally placed gas filaments in our Milky
Way galaxy. Adding to the
mystery is that arcs were not
seen in previous deep images of M31 taken primarily in light emitted by hydrogen, and that other, more distant galaxies have not been generally noted as showing
similar oxygen-emitting structures. Dedicated amateurs using commercial
telescopes made this discovery because, in part, professional telescopes
usually investigate angularly small patches of the night sky, whereas
these arcs span several times the angular
size of the full moon. Future observations -- both in light emitted by oxygen
and by other elements -- are sure to follow.
Young Star Cluster NGC 346
Image Credit: Science - NASA, ESA, CSA, Olivia C. Jones (UK ATC), Guido De Marchi (ESTEC),
Margaret Meixner (USRA)
Processing - Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Nolan Habel (USRA), Laura Lenkić
(USRA), Laurie E. U. Chu (NASA Ames)
Explanation: The most massive young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud is NGC 346, embedded in our small satellite galaxy's
largest star forming region some 210,000 light-years distant. Of course the massive stars of NGC 346 are short lived, but
very energetic. Their winds and radiation sculpt
the edges of the region's
dusty molecular cloud triggering star-formation within. The star forming region
also appears to contain a large population of infant stars. A mere 3 to 5 million years old and not yet burning
hydrogen in their cores,
the infant
stars are strewn about the
embedded star cluster. This
spectacular infrared view of
NGC 346 is from the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRcam.
Emission from atomic hydrogen ionized by the massive stars' energetic radiation
as well as molecular hydrogen and dust in the star-forming molecular cloud is
detailed in pink and orange hues. Webb's
sharp image of the young
star-forming region spans 240 light-years at the distance of the Small
Magellanic Cloud.
Where Your Elements Came From
Image Credit & License: Wikipedia: Cmglee; Data: Jennifer Johnson (OSU)
Explanation: The hydrogen in your body, present in every molecule of
water, came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars
during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray
bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present
in our bodies in only small
amounts but are essential
to the functioning of all
known life. The featured
periodic table is color
coded to indicate humanity's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements, such as copper, are not really well known and are continuing topics of
observational and computational research.
Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research
position open for APOD
The Largest Rock in our Solar System
Image Credit: NASA, Voyager 1 spacecraft
Explanation: There, that dot on the right, that's the largest rock known
in our
Solar System. It is larger than
every known asteroid, moon, and comet nucleus. It is larger than any other local rocky planet. This rock is so large its gravity makes it into a
large ball that holds heavy
gases near its surface. (It used to be the largest known rock of any type until the recent discoveries of large dense planets
orbiting other stars.) The Voyager 1 spacecraft took the featured picture -- famously called Pale Blue Dot -- of this giant space rock in 1990 from the outer Solar System. Today, this rock starts another orbit around its parent star, for roughly the 5 billionth time, spinning over 350 times
during each trip. Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year to all inhabitants of this rock we call Earth.
Astronomy
News:
From Science Daily
Astronomers find the most distant stars in our galaxy halfway to Andromeda
A search for
variable stars called RR Lyrae has found some of the most distant stars in the
Milky Way's halo a million light years away
Date: January 9,
2023
Source: University of California - Santa
Cruz
Summary:
Astronomers have discovered more than 200
distant variable stars known as RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way's stellar halo.
The most distant of these stars is more than a million light years from Earth,
almost half the distance to our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, which is about
2.5 million light years away.
FULL STORY
Astronomers have discovered more than 200
distant variable stars known as RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way's stellar halo.
The most distant of these stars is more than a million light years from Earth,
almost half the distance to our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, which is about
2.5 million light years away.
The characteristic pulsations and brightness of RR Lyrae stars
make them excellent "standard candles" for measuring galactic
distances. These new observations allowed the researchers to trace the outer
limits of the Milky Way's halo.
"This study is redefining what constitutes the outer limits
of our galaxy," said Raja GuhaThakurta, professor and chair of astronomy
and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. "Our galaxy and Andromeda are both so
big, there's hardly any space between the two galaxies."
GuhaThakurta explained that the stellar halo component of our
galaxy is much bigger than the disk, which is about 100,000 light years across.
Our solar system resides in one of the spiral arms of the disk. In the middle
of the disk is a central bulge, and surrounding it is the halo, which contains
the oldest stars in the galaxy and extends for hundreds of thousands of light
years in every direction.
"The halo is the hardest part to study because the outer
limits are so far away," GuhaThakurta said. "The stars are very
sparse compared to the high stellar densities of the disk and the bulge, but
the halo is dominated by dark matter and actually contains most of the mass of
the galaxy."
Yuting Feng, a doctoral student working with GuhaThakurta at
UCSC, led the new study and is presenting their findings in two talks at the
American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle on January 9 and 11.
According to Feng, previous modeling studies had calculated that
the stellar halo should extend out to around 300 kiloparsecs or 1 million light
years from the galactic center. (Astronomers measure galactic distances in
kiloparsecs; one kiloparsec is equal to 3,260 light years.) The 208 RR Lyrae
stars detected by Feng and his colleagues ranged in distance from about 20 to
320 kiloparsecs.
"We were able to use these variable stars as reliable tracers
to pin down the distances," Feng said. "Our observations confirm the
theoretical estimates of the size of the halo, so that's an important
result."
The findings are based on data from the Next Generation Virgo
Cluster Survey (NGVS), a program using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
(CFHT) to study a cluster of galaxies well beyond the Milky Way. The survey was
not designed to detect RR Lyrae stars, so the researchers had to dig them out
of the dataset. The Virgo Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies that includes
the giant elliptical galaxy M87.
"To get a deep exposure of M87 and the galaxies around it,
the telescope also captured the foreground stars in the same field, so the data
we used are sort of a by-product of that survey," Feng explained.
According to GuhaThakurta, the excellent quality of the NGVS
data enabled the team to obtain the most reliable and precise characterization
of RR Lyrae at these distances. RR Lyrae are old stars with very specific
physical properties that cause them to expand and contract in a regularly
repeating cycle.
"The way their brightness varies looks like an EKG --
they're like the heartbeats of the galaxy -- so the brightness goes up quickly
and comes down slowly, and the cycle repeats perfectly with this very characteristic
shape," GuhaThakurta said. "In addition, if you measure their average
brightness, it is the same from star to star. This combination is fantastic for
studying the structure of the galaxy."
The sky is full of stars, some brighter than others, but a star
may look bright because it is very luminous or because it is very close, and it
can be hard to tell the difference. Astronomers can identify an RR Lyrae star
from its characteristic pulsations, then use its observed brightness to
calculate how far away it is. The procedures are not simple, however. More
distant objects, such as quasars, can masquerade as RR Lyrae stars.
"Only astronomers know how painful it is to get reliable
tracers of these distances," Feng said. "This robust sample of
distant RR Lyrae stars gives us a very powerful tool for studying the halo and
testing our current models of the size and mass of our galaxy."
This study is based on observations obtained with
MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/IRFU, at the Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of
Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University
of California - Santa Cruz. Original
written by Tim Stephens. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
Related Multimedia:
General Calendar:
Colloquia,
Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:
Colloquia: Carnegie (Tues.
11am), UCLA, Caltech (Wed. 4pm), IPAC (Wed. 12:15pm) & other Pasadena
(daily
12-4pm):
https://obs.carnegiescience.edu/observatories-events (in-person, online & hybrid events
typically Tuesdays & Fridays)
Carnegie Zoom Digital Series
Zoom Webinar Platform
Night Sky Network Clubs
& Events
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/clubs-and-events.cfm
2 Feb AEA Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great Courses video Teams
3 Feb Friday Night 7:30 PM SBAS Monthly General Meeting
Topic: “Astronomy Update: The January 2023 Meeting of the American Astronomical
Society” Dr. Steven Morris in the Planetarium at El Camino
College (16007 Crenshaw Bl. In Torrance)
The von Kármán Lecture
Series:
February 16 2023 -
Perseverance: Two Years on Mars
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover
looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or
sol, of the mission.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Perseverance: Two Years on Mars
Feb.
16
Time: 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST; 0300 UTC)
The
Perseverance Rover has changed the way we look at Mars. Perseverance is
investigating Jezero Crater – a region of Mars where the ancient environment
may have been favorable for microbial life – probing the Martian rocks for
evidence of past life. The rover carries an entirely new subsystem to collect
and prepare Martian rocks and sediment samples that includes a coring drill on
its arm and a rack of titanium sample tubes in its chassis. Throughout its
exploration of the region, Perseverance will collect promising samples, seal
them in tubes and store them in its chassis until depositing them on the
Martian surface for retrieval by a future mission. We’ll talk with members of
the Mars 2020 team about the past two years of operation and discovery.
Speaker(s):
Dr. Sunanda Sharma, Postdoctoral Fellow, Mars 2020, NASA/JPL
Host:
Nikki Wyrick, Office of Communications and Education, NASA/JPL
Co-Host:
Sarah Marcotte, Mars Public Engagement, NASA/JPL
Webcast:
Click here to watch the event live on YouTube
No event currently scheduled.
2 March AEA Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great Courses video Teams
Observing:
The
following data are from the 2023 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s
2023 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 February:
Moon Feb. 5 Full, Feb 13 last quarter, Feb 19 new, Feb 27 1st
quarter
Planets:
Venus
is visible at dusk all month. Mars transits the meridian
in the evening and sets before dawn. Jupiter
visible at dusk and sets in the early evening.
Saturn is lost in the Sun’s
glare all month. Mercury
is visible at dawn to the 13th.
Other
Events:
LAAS Event Calendar (incl.
various other virtual events):
https://www.laas.org/laas-bulletin/#calendar
|
Feb. 1,8,15,22 March 1 |
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. Time: 7:30
PM - 10:00 PM Location: Garvey
Ranch Obs. , 781 Orange Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91755 |
|
11 Feb |
SBAS In-town
observing session – In Town Dark Sky Observing Session at Ridgecrest
Middle School– 28915 North Bay Rd. RPV, Weather Permitting: Please contact
Ken Munson to confirm that the gate will be opened. http://www.sbastro.net/. Only if we get
permission to use the school grounds again and CDC guidelines are reduced |
|
18 Feb |
SBAS
out-of-town Dark Sky observing – contact Ken Munson to coordinate a location.
http://www.sbastro.net/. |
|
? |
LAAS Private dark
sky Star Party |
|
25 Feb. |
LAAS Public
Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm See http://www.griffithobservatory.org/programs/publictelescopes.html#starparties for more information. |
Internet
Links:
Telescope, Binocular & Accessory Buying
Guides
Sky & Telescope Magazine -- Choosing Your Equipment
Orion Telescopes & Binoculars -- Buying
Guides
Telescopes.com -- Telescopes 101
General
Getting Started in Astronomy & Observing
e! Science News Astronomy & Space
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (educational, amateur &
professional)
Amateur Online Tools, Journals, Vendors, Societies, Databases
The Astronomy White Pages (U.S. & International
Amateur Clubs & Societies)
American Astronomical Society
(professional)
Regional
(Southern California, Washington, D.C. & Colorado)
Southern California & Beyond
Amateur Astronomy Organizations, Observatories & Planetaria
Mt. Wilson Observatory description, history, visiting
Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)
South Bay Astronomical Society
(SBAS)
The Local Group Astronomy Club
(Santa Clarita)
Ventura County Astronomical
Society
The
Astronomical Society of Greenbelt
Northern
Virginia Astronomy Club
Colorado
Springs Astronomical Society
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 Kaly Rengarajan, 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: Jason Fields, President & Program Committee Chairman, Sam
Andrews, VP, Kelly Gov club Secretary (& librarian), or Eric Belle,
(Treasurer).
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter Editor
