AEA Astronomy Club
Newsletter
May 2024
Contents
AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 6
Astronomy News p. 27
General Calendar p. 29
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 29
Observing p. 31
Useful
Links p. 32
About the Club p.
33
Club News &
Calendar
Club Calendar
Club Meeting Schedule: NOTE
NEW STARTING TIME – 12:00
6 June AEA
Astronomy Club Meeting *Possible* Guest
speaker & quarterly pizza (TBD)
in-person & Teams
4 July HOLIDAY No Meeting
AEA
Astronomy Club meetings are now on 1st Thursdays at 12:00 pm. Virtual meetings on Teams unless otherwise
specified.
Club News:
Get involved!
Astronomy club is looking for an equipment manager, as well as local representatives from COS, ABQ, and CHA.
2024 AEA Astronomy Club Dues
Our Treasurer, Eric Belle, reminds us of 2024
Dues, Currently $9 for the remainder of the year. Payment options now include Zelle & Pay
Pal as well as check. Become an official member (and follow instructions for
dues) by scanning QR code below.
To be counted on the club roster for group
membership in the Astronomical League, and to join club activities and borrow
equipment, you need to renew or join.
Upcoming Events:
·
Guest Speaker: Dr. Joshua Smith from GWPAC
(Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy Center) to speak about next-Gen
gravitational-wave detector Cosmic Explorer (Date: TBD)
·
Astronomy Jeopardy in-person game, all knowledge
levels are welcome! (Date: TBD)
·
Mt. Wilson club night on either the 60-inch or
100-inch telescope – tentatively 1st weekend in November.
·
Camping trip with telescopes – reach out if you
are interested in helping the club plan this!
April
8, 2024 Eclipse --
A group photo – a largely sunny morning. 135 signed up, but several cancelled last
minute due to illness. We booked rooms
at the Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn at the Rim north of San Antonio, and
many carpooled to the observing site near center line.
Brian Ladson sent a drone up and got this photo in the morning as
the group was assembling at the Texas Rangers Heritage Center in
Fredericksburg, Texas – in the Hill Country an hour north of San Antonio.
Clouds began to increase after noon, as the partial phase began.
Someone caught a lucky break in the clouds for the diamond ring
just before 2nd contact.
A more typical view.
During totality, a few brief glimpses in cloud breaks, including
sighting Venus (visible here) & Jupiter.
By 3rd contact cloud cover had become continuous, and
we really didn’t see more than the general change in daylight, which was
dramatic and abrupt. So we got to see
the eclipse both without and with clouds – interesting.
Here is the google photos link where photos and videos taken by
the group have been uploaded for all to view.
Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dJ8nH4n4Dt8hoNQS8
Here are photos from the employee expo. It was quite the hit this time! We had ~50 people sign up! We were able to use the banner the club previously had, it is back in our possession. We also had a few pictures up from recent eclipse and I had a few out from the 1991 eclipse as well. Jason brought the solar telescope and people were able to view sunspots and prominences!
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)
VIDEO: How a Total
Solar Eclipse Ended https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240414.html
Video Credit & Copyright: David Duarte
Explanation: How does a total solar eclipse end? Yes, the Moon moves out
from fully blocking the
Sun, but in the first few seconds
of transition, interesting
things appear. The first is called
a diamond ring. Light might stream between mountains or through relative
lowlands around the Moon's edge, as seen from your location, making this sudden first
light, when combined with the corona that surrounds the Moon, look like a diamond
ring. Within seconds other light
streams appear that are called, collectively, Bailey's beads. In the featured
video, it may seem that the pink
triangular prominence on
the Sun is somehow related to where the Sun begins to
reappear, but it is not. Observers from other locations saw Bailey's beads emerge from different places around the Moon, away
from the iconic triangular solar prominence visible to all. The video was captured with
specialized equipment from New Boston, Texas, USA on April 8, 2024.
VIDEO:
Perijove 16: Passing Jupiter https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240421.html
Video Credit & License: NASA, Juno, SwRI, MSSS, Gerald
Eichstadt;
Music: The Planets, IV. Jupiter (Gustav Holst); USAF
Heritage of America Band (via
Wikipedia)
Explanation: Watch Juno zoom past Jupiter. NASA's robotic spacecraft Juno is continuing on its now month-long, highly-elongated orbits around our Solar System's largest planet. The
featured video is from perijove 16, the sixteenth time that Juno passed near Jupiter since it arrived in mid-2016.
Each perijove passes near a slightly
different part of Jupiter's
cloud tops. This color-enhanced video has been digitally composed from 21 JunoCam still
images, resulting in a 125-fold time-lapse. The
video begins with Jupiter
rising as Juno approaches from the north. As Juno reaches its closest view -- from about 3,500 kilometers over Jupiter's cloud
tops -- the spacecraft captures the great planet in tremendous detail. Juno passes light zones and dark belts of clouds that
circle the planet, as well as numerous swirling circular storms, many of which
are larger than hurricanes on Earth. As Juno moves away, the remarkable dolphin-shaped cloud is visible. After the perijove, Jupiter recedes into the distance, now displaying the unusual
clouds that appear over Jupiter's south. To get desired science data, Juno swoops so close to Jupiter that its instruments are exposed to very high levels
of radiation.
Total Totality
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona
Explanation: Baily's
beads often appear at the
boundaries of the total phase of an eclipse of the Sun. Pearls of sunlight
still beaming through gaps in the rugged terrain along the lunar limb silhouette, their appearance is
recorded in this dramatic timelapse composite. The series of images follows the
Moon's edge from beginning through the end of totality during April 8's solar
eclipse from
Durango, Mexico. They also capture
pinkish prominences of plasma arcing high above the edge of the active Sun. One
of the first places in North America visited by the Moon's
shadow on April 8, totality in
Durango lasted about 3 minutes and 46 seconds.
Eclipse in Seven
Image Credit & Copyright: Xiaofeng Tan
Explanation: Start at the upper left above and you can follow the
progress of April
8's total eclipse of the Sun
in seven sharp, separate exposures. The image sequence was recorded with a
telescope and camera located within the narrow path of totality as the Moon's shadow swept across Newport, Vermont, USA. At center is a
spectacular view of the solar corona. The tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun is only easily
visible to the eye in clear dark skies during the total eclipse phase. Seen
from Newport, the total phase for
this solar eclipse lasted about 3 minutes and 26 seconds.
GK Per: Nova and Planetary Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Deep Sky Collective
Explanation: The star system GK Per is known to be associated with only
two of the three nebulas pictured. At 1500 light years distant, Nova Persei 1901 (GK Persei) was the second closest nova yet recorded. At the very center is a white dwarf
star, the surviving core of a
former Sun-like star. It is surrounded by the circular Firework nebula, gas that was ejected by a thermonuclear
explosion on the white dwarf's
surface -- a nova -- as recorded in 1901. The red glowing gas surrounding the Firework nebula is
the atmosphere that used to surround the central star. This gas was expelled
before the nova and appears as a diffuse planetary nebula. The faint gray gas running across is interstellar
cirrus that seems to be just
passing through coincidently.
In 1901, GK Per's nova became
brighter than Betelgeuse. Similarly, star system T
CrB is expected to erupt in a
nova later this year, but we don't know exactly when nor how bright it will become.
Rings Around the Ring Nebula
Image Credit: Hubble, Large
Binocular Telescope, Subaru
Telescope; Composition
& Copyright: Robert Gendler
Explanation: The Ring Nebula (M57) is more complicated than it appears through a small telescope.
The easily visible central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep
exposure - a collaborative effort combining data from three different large telescopes
- explores the looping filaments of glowing gas extending much
farther from the nebula's central star. This composite image includes red light emitted by hydrogen as well as
visible and infrared light. The Ring Nebula is an elongated planetary
nebula, a type of nebula created
when a Sun-like star evolves to throw off its outer
atmosphere and become a white dwarf
star. The Ring Nebula is about 2,500 light-years away toward the
musical constellation Lyra.
Detailed View of a Solar Eclipse Corona
Image Credit & Copyright: Phil Hart
Explanation: Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is
the light of the solar corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the
bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the sun's outer atmosphere, is an alluring sight. But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona's brightness, although discernible to
the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured here, however, using multiple images and digital processing, is
a detailed image of the Sun's corona taken during the April 20, 2023
total solar eclipse from Exmouth, Australia. Clearly visible are intricate
layers and glowing caustics of
an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic
fields. Bright looping prominences appear pink just around the Sun's limb. A similar solar corona might be visible through clear skies in a narrow
swath across the North America during
the total solar eclipse that occurs just
six days from today
The Solar Corona Unwrapped
Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward (Barden Ridge
Observatory)
Explanation: Changes in the alluring solar corona are detailed in this creative composite image mapping the dynamic outer atmosphere of the Sun
during two separate total solar eclipses. Unwrapped from the complete circle of
the eclipsed Sun's edge to a rectangle and mirrored, the entire solar corona is
shown during the 2017 eclipse (bottom) seen from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and
the 2023 eclipse from Exmouth, Western Australia. While the 2017
eclipse was near a minimum in the Sun's 11 year activity cycle, the 2023 eclipse was closer to solar maximum. The 2023
solar corona hints at the dramatically different character of the active Sun,
with many streamers and pinkish prominences arising along the solar limb. Of
course, the solar corona is only easily visible to the eye while standing in
the shadow of the Moon.
Planets Around a Total Eclipse
Image Credit: Stéphane Vetter (Nuits
sacrées)
Explanation: What wonders appear when the Moon blocks the Sun? For many
eager observers of Monday’s
total eclipse of the Sun, the
suddenly dark sky included the expected corona and two (perhaps surprise)
planets: Venus and Jupiter. Normally, in recent days, Venus is visible only in the
morning when the Sun and Jupiter are below the horizon, while Jupiter appears
bright only in the evening. On Monday, though, for well-placed observers, both
planets became easily visible during the day right in line with the totally eclipsed Sun. This line was captured Monday afternoon in the featured
image from Mount
Nebo, Arkansas, USA, along with a line of curious
observers — and a picturesque tree.
All Sky Moon Shadow
Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel (TWAN)
Explanation: If
the Sun is up but the sky is
dark and the horizon is bright all around, you might be standing in the Moon's
shadow during a total eclipse of the Sun. In fact, the all-sky Moon shadow
shown in this composited panoramic view was captured from a farm near Shirley,
Arkansas, planet Earth. The exposures were made under clear skies during
the April
8 total solar eclipse. For that
location near the center line of the Moon's shadow track, totality lasted over
4 minutes. Along with the solar corona surrounding the silhouette
of the Moon planets and stars
were visible during the total eclipse phase. Easiest to see
here are bright planets Venus
and Jupiter, to the lower right and upper left of the eclipsed Sun.
Regulus and the Dwarf Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: Markus Horn
Explanation: In
northern hemisphere spring, bright
star Regulus is easy to spot above the eastern horizon. The alpha star of the
constellation Leo, Regulus is the spiky star centered in this telescopic field of view. A mere 79 light-years distant, Regulus is a hot,
rapidly spinning star that is
known to be part of a multiple star system. Not quite lost in the glare, the
fuzzy patch just below Regulus is diffuse starlight from small galaxy Leo I.
Leo I is a dwarf spheroidal
galaxy, a member of the Local Group of galaxies dominated by our Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). About 800 thousand light-years away, Leo I is thought to
be the most distant of the known small satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky
Way. But dwarf galaxy Leo I has shown evidence of a supermassive black hole at its center,
comparable in mass to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Dragon's Egg Bipolar Emission Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Rowan Prangley
Explanation: How did a star form this beautiful nebula? In the middle
of emission nebula NGC 6164 is an unusually massive star. The central star has been compared to an oyster's
pearl and an egg protected by the mythical sky dragons of Ara. The star, visible in the center of the featured
image and catalogued as HD 148937, is so hot that the ultraviolet light it emits heats up gas that surrounds it. That gas was
likely thrown off from the star previously, possibly the result of a gravitational interaction with a looping stellar companion. Expelled material
might have been channeled by the magnetic field of the massive star, in all creating the
symmetric shape of
the bipolar nebula. NGC 6164 spans
about four light years and is located about 3,600 light years away toward
the southern constellation Norma.
New Mirror: APOD now
available via WhatsApp
Diamonds in the Sky
Image Credit & Copyright: Wright Dobbs
Explanation: When
the dark shadow of the Moon raced
across North America on April 8, sky watchers along the shadow's narrow central path were treated
to a total solar eclipse. During the New Moon's shadow play diamonds glistened
twice in the eclipse-darkened
skies. The
transient celestial jewels appeared
immediately before and after the total eclipse phase. That's when the rays of a
vanishing and then emerging sliver of solar disk are just visible behind the
silhouetted Moon's edge, creating the appearance of a shiny diamond set in a
dark ring. This dramatic
timelapse composite from
north-central Arkansas captures both diamond ring moments of this
total solar eclipse. The diamond
rings are separated by the ethereal beauty of the solar corona visible during totality.
Total Eclipse and Comets
Image Credit & Copyright: Lin Zixuan (Tsinghua U.)
Explanation: Not one, but two comets appeared near the Sun during last
week's total solar eclipse. The
expected comet was Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, but it was disappointingly dimmer than many had hoped.
However, relatively unknown Comet
SOHO-5008 also appeared in
long duration camera exposures. This
comet was the 5008th comet
identified on images taken by ESA & NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft. Likely much smaller, Comet SOHO-5008 was a sungrazer
which disintegrated
within hours as it passed
too near the Sun. The featured image is not only unusual for
capturing two comets during an eclipse, but one of the rare
times that a sungrazing comet has been photographed from the Earth's surface. Also
visible in the image is the sprawling corona of our Sun and the planets Mercury (left) and Venus (right). Of these planets and comets, only Venus was easily visible to millions
of people in the dark shadow of the Moon that crossed
North America on April 8.
Filaments of the Vela Supernova Remnant
Image Credit: CTIO, NOIRLab, DOE, NSF, AURA; Processing: T. A. Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (’s NOIRLab)
Explanation: The explosion is over, but the consequences continue. About
eleven thousand years ago, a star in the constellation of Vela could be seen to explode, creating a strange point of light briefly visible to
humans living near the beginning of recorded history. The outer layers of the star crashed into the interstellar medium, driving a shock wave that is still visible today. The featured image captures some of that filamentary and gigantic shock
in visible light. As gas flies away from the detonated star, it decays and reacts with the interstellar medium, producing
light in many different colors and energy bands. Remaining at the center of
the Vela Supernova
Remnant is a pulsar, a star as dense as nuclear matter that spins
around more than ten times in
a single second.
The Cigar Galaxy from Hubble and Webb
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Alberto Bolatto (UMD)
Explanation: Something strange happened to this galaxy, but what? Known
as the Cigar Galaxy and cataloged as M82, red glowing gas and dust are being cast out from the
center. Although this starburst
galaxy was surely stirred up
by a recent pass near its neighbor, large spiral galaxy M81, this doesn't fully explain the source of the red-glowing
outwardly expanding gas and dust. Evidence indicates that this material is being driven out
by the combined emerging particle winds of many stars, together creating a galactic superwind. In the featured
images, a Hubble
Space Telescope image in visible light is shown on the left, while a James Webb Space
Telescope image of the central
region in infrared light is shown on the right. Detailed
inspection of the new
Webb image shows,
unexpectedly, that this red-glowing dust is associated with hot
plasma. Research into the nature of this strange nearby galaxy will surely continue.
Swirling Magnetic Field around Our Galaxy's Central Black
Hole
Image Credit: EHT Collaboration
Explanation: What's happening to the big black hole in the center of our
galaxy? It is sucking in matter from a swirling disk -- a disk that is magnetized, it has now been confirmed. Specifically, the black hole's accretion disk has recently been seen to emit polarized
light, radiation frequently
associated with a magnetized source. Pictured
here is a close-up of Sgr A*,
our Galaxy's central black hole, taken by radio telescopes around the world participating in the Event Horizon Telescope
(EHT) Collaboration. Superposed are
illustrative curved lines indicating polarized
light likely emitted from
swirling magnetized gas that will soon fall into the 4+ million solar
mass central black hole. The central part of this image is likely dark because
little light-emitting gas is visible between us and the dark event horizon of the black hole. Continued EHT monitoring of this and M87's central black hole may yield
new clues about the gravity of
black holes and how infalling matter creates disks and jets.
NASA Predicts: Moon
to Get in Way of Sun
Unusual Nebula Pa 30
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, USAF, NSF;
Processing: G. Ferrand (U. Manitoba), J. English (U.
Manitoba), R. A. Fesen (Dartmouth), C. Treyturik (U. Manitoba);
Text: G. Ferrand & J. English
Explanation: What created this unusual celestial firework? The nebula,
dubbed Pa 30, appears in the same sky direction now as a bright "guest star" did in the year 1181. Although Pa 30's filaments look similar to that created
by a nova (for example GK Per), and a planetary nebula (for example NGC 6751), some astronomers now
propose that it was created by
a rare type of supernova: a thermonuclear Type Iax, and so is (also) named SN 1181. In this
model, the supernova was not the
result of the detonation of a single star, but rather a blast that occurred
when two white dwarf stars spiraled together and merged. The blue dot in the center is
hypothesized to be a zombie star, the remnant white dwarf that somehow
survived this supernova-level explosion. The featured
image combines images and data
obtained with infrared (WISE), visible (MDM, Pan-STARRS), and X-ray (Chandra, XMM) telescopes. Future observations and analyses may tell us more.
Total Solar Eclipse Below the Bottom of the World
Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek (ESO Photo
Ambassador, Inst.
of Physics in Opava) ; Acknowledgement: Xavier Jubier
Explanation: In late 2021 there was a total solar eclipse visible only
at the end of the Earth. To capture the unusual phenomenon, airplanes took flight below the clouded seascape of Southern Ocean. The featured image shows one relatively spectacular capture where the
bright spot is the outer corona of the Sun and the eclipsing Moon is seen as the dark spot in the center. A wing and
engine of the airplane are visible across the left and bottom of the image,
while another airplane observing the
eclipse is visible on the far
left. The dark area of the sky surrounding the eclipsed Sun is called a shadow cone. It is dark because you are looking down a long corridor of air shadowed by the Moon. A careful
inspection of the eclipsed Sun
will reveal the planet Mercury just to the right. You won't have to travel to the
end of the Earth to see the next total solar
eclipse. The total eclipse path
will cross North America on 2024 April 8, just over one week from today.
Moon's Shadow over Lake Magog
Image Credit & Copyright: Stan
Honda
Explanation: Captured in this snapshot, the shadow of
the Moon came to Lake Magog, Quebec, North America, planet Earth on April 8.
For the lakeside eclipse chasers, the much anticipated total solar eclipse was a
spectacle to behold in briefly dark, but clear skies. Of course Lake Magog was
one of the last places to be visited by the Moon's shadow. The narrow path of
totality for the 2024
total solar eclipse swept
from Mexico's Pacific Coast north and eastward through the US and Canada. But a
partial eclipse was visible across most of the North American continent.
Unwinding M51
Image Credit & Copyright: Data - Hubble
Heritage Project, Unwinding - Paul Howell
Explanation: The arms of a grand design spiral galaxy
60,000 light-years across are unwound in this digital transformation of the
magnificent 2005 Hubble
Space Telescope portrait of M51. In fact, M51 is one of the original spiral nebulae, its winding
arms described by a mathematical curve known as a logarithmic spiral, a spiral whose separation grows in
a geometric way with increasing distance from
the center. Applying logarithms to shift the pixel coordinates in the Hubble
image relative to the center of M51 maps the galaxy's spiral arms into diagonal
straight lines. The transformed image dramatically shows the arms themselves
are traced by star formation, lined with pinkish starforming regions and young
blue star clusters. Companion galaxy NGC 5195 (top) seems to alter the track of
the arm in front of it though, and itself remains relatively unaffected by this
unwinding of M51. Also known as the spira mirabilis, logarthimic spirals can be found in
nature on all scales. For example, logarithmic spirals can also describe hurricanes, the tracks of subatomic particles in
a bubble
chamber and,
of course, cauliflower.
Astronomy
News:
(generally from ScienceDaily.com or ScienceNews.org)
“Scientists Prepare For
Hazardous Asteroid Heading Towards Earth”
https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/asteroid-heading-towards-earth.html
“Asteroid that exploded over Berlin was fastest-spinning space rock ever recorded”https://www.livescience.com/space/asteroids/asteroid-that-exploded-over-berlin-was-fastest-spinning-space-rock-ever-recorded
3
NASA Planning To Build Houses On The Moon By 2040
unbranded - Newsworthy / VideoElephant
Most of us were fed a string of myths as children, including that the moon is made of
cheese. Well, sorry to break it to you, it's not.
Now, scientists have officially confirmed what lies at the heart of
our celestial neighbour – and it's certainly not dairy.
Instead, it's a solid ball with a
density similar to that of iron.
A team led by astronomer Arthur Briaud wrote: "Our results question the evolution of
the moon magnetic field thanks to its demonstration of the existence of the
inner core and support a global mantle overturn scenario that brings
substantial insights on the timeline of the lunar bombardment in the first
billion years of the solar system."
The team are able to learn more about
the interior materials through acoustic waves created by quakes.
Researchers hope the newfound
discovery can help expand their knowledge of the moon's history and the solar
system.
File:The Moon from Earth.jpg - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
In other space-related news, Italian
fashion designer Prada is set to design NASA's new space suit for an
upcoming lunar mission.
The space agency's Artemis III
mission will be the first moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972 and engineers at
Prada and Axiom Space’s systems teams are joining forces to create the new
suits.
Mike Suffredini, president and CEO of
Axiom Space, said in a statement at the time: “We're carrying on NASA's legacy
by designing an advanced spacesuit that will allow astronauts to operate safely
and effectively on the moon.
“Axiom Space's Artemis III spacesuit
will be ready to meet the complex challenges of the lunar south pole and help
grow our understanding of the moon in order to enable a long-term presence
there."
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
3 May Friday Night 7:30 PM SBAS Monthly General
Meeting Topic: TBD, in
the Planetarium at El Camino College (16007 Crenshaw Bl. In Torrance)
2 May AEA
Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great
Courses video Teams
? LAAS General Mtg. 8:00pm Griffith Observatory (private)
The von Kármán Lecture
Series:
May 2024 - Shake &
Bake: How Spacecraft Are Tested to Handle the Harsh Environment of Space
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Shake & Bake: How
Spacecraft Are Tested to Handle the Harsh Environment of Space
May 16
Time: 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m.
EDT; 0100 UTC)
Have you ever
wondered how spacecraft are designed to handle the punishing conditions of
launch and the extreme variations of space?
From rocket
vibrations, to the temperatures and pressures of space and other planets, the
Environmental Test Lab (ETL) at JPL is responsible for simulating these
conditions and verifying, through a series of rigorous tests, that spacecraft
will be able to fulfill their missions.
Join us for a
live chat with two ETL experts who will teach us more about the equipment, the
people behind environmental testing, and how they literally “shake and bake”
spacecraft.
Speaker(s):
Brad Kinter, Group Supervisor, Environmental Thermal Testing, NASA JPL
Michel William, Group Supervisor, Environmental Dynamics Testing, NASA JPL
Host:
Marc Razze, Office of Communications and Education, NASA JPL
Co-Host:
Laurance Fauconnet, Solar System Public Engagement Specialist, NASA JPL
Webcast:
Click here to watch the event live on YouTube
MAY UCLA Meteorite Gallery
Lectures
No event currently scheduled.
6 June AEA
Astronomy Club Meeting TBD – Great
Courses video Teams
Observing:
The
following data are from the 2024 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s
2024 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 May:
Moon May 1 last quarter, May 8 new, May 15 1st
quarter, May 23 full
Planets:
Venus
& Mercury are lost in the sun’s glare all month. Mars is
visible at dawn all month. Jupiter is
visible low in the west at dusk until the 6th.
Saturn is visible at dawn and
climbs to an altitude of 28 deg by sunrise at mid-month.
From NASA:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/home/
Other
Events:
LAAS Event Calendar (incl.
various other virtual events):
https://www.laas.org/laas-bulletin/#calendar
|
May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 |
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 |
|
4 May |
SBAS In-town
observing session –at Christmas Tree Cove Located at the west end
of Palos Verdes Peninsula at the intersection of Via Neve and Paseo Del Mar.
Reached from PV West, turn on Via Anacapa then turn left on Via Sola and left
again on Via Neve., Weather Permitting. http://www.sbastro.net/. |
6-7 May Eta Aquarids
Meteor Shower The Eta Aquarids originates from dust left in the path of
Halley’s Comet. It is an above average shower with rates as high as 30 meteors
per hour although most of its activity is in the southern hemisphere where
rates can be up to 60 per hour.
|
11 May |
SBAS
out-of-town Dark Sky observing – contact Ken Munson to coordinate a location.
http://www.sbastro.net/. |
|
18 May |
LAAS Public
Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm See http://www.griffithobservatory.org/programs/publictelescopes.html#starparties for more information. |
|
? |
LAAS Private dark
sky Star Party |
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://aerosource2.aero.org/confluence/display/AstroClub/AEA+Astronomy+Club+Home 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, Alex
Gruson, VP, Kelly Gov club Secretary (& librarian), or Eric Belle,
(Treasurer).
Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter Editor
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