2012 May

AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter, May 2012

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. 8
Useful Links p. 9
About the Club p. 10

Club News & Calendar.

Calendar

17 May	Monthly Meeting	“IR Airglow Images,” Lynette Gelinas, Aerospace.  A1/ 1026
20 May	Annular Solar Eclipse	Central line thru Reno & Albuquerque – closest ~ Zion NP, Utah – max eclipse there ~ 6:40pm (elevation ~10 deg), begins ~5:30pm, ends at sunset (~ 8pm) (LA:  begins 5:25pm, max (13 deg elevation) at 6:38pm, ends 7:43pm)
26 May	Field Trip	RTMC Astronomy Expo, Big Bear.  Online registration cutoff May 10 http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/ .
5 June	Venus Transit of the Sun	In L.A. 3:06pm (58 deg. elevation) to sunset (8:07pm) – greatest transit 6:25pm (18 deg elevation).
21 June	Monthly Meeting	Space Radiation Modeling,  Joe Mazur, Aerospace A1/1029A/B
19 July	Monthly Meeting	Astrophotography & Research at an Amateur Observatory, Francis Longstaff, Polaris Observatory Assn. (amateur/pro collaboration) & UCLA Faculty & Saturn Lodge 0.7m amateur telescope.  A1/1029A/B

AEA Astronomy Club meetings are on 3^rd Thursdays at 11:45am.  For 2012, April-May we meet in A1/1026; June-July & Oct.-Dec. in A1/1029A/B; Aug. in A1/2143 and Sept. in A3/1607A/B.

News:  

Jim Johansen has stepped forward as Treasurer (thanks!).  He’s appointed until the next election.  We’re still looking for a secretary. 

Musical Meeting Rooms.  Our Aug. room just changed again.  For 2012, April-May we meet in A1/1026; June-July & Oct.-Dec. in A1/1029A/B; Aug. in A1/2143 and Sept. in A3/1607A/B.  Hopefully next year we’ll get a stable room again.

Upcoming observing opportunities.  3 big events in the next 30 days:  May 20 annular solar eclipse, May 26 RTMC astronomy expo (online registration cutoff is May 10 http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/) & club observing night, and June 5 Venus transit (last in our lifetimes).  Anyone seriously considering joining with fellow club members & equipment for any of these, please let me know to help in planning. 

For the solar events, we’ll need to watch the weather forecast for whether we observe locally or head for the hills (Mt. Wilson?).  The transit could be observed at Aerospace (the AGO mall?) as it’s a Tuesday afternoon/evening, although low elevation could be a problem.  The eclipse is on a Sunday, so off-campus.  We hope to get CCD images of the eclipse & transit thru the H-alpha scope.  I also have a neutral density filter for my 90mm Meade for possible viewing (but tracking drive isn't working).  David Wright (& son) for one is planning on the RTMC, & Jim Edwards the nearby SAS Symposium the preceding weekdays.

Paul Rousseau’s report on the April 28 Griffith star party:

Here are some photos from the Griffith Star Party last night. I just used the Orion 8 inch Dobsonian in manual mode and looked at the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. The public really enjoyed our telescope and were amazed to hear that this type of telescope (without the computer) is relatively affordable. 

We also watched with our eyes the International Space Station fly over, which was very cool. There was even an Iridium satellite spotting. All in all, it was a good time. 

 The May issue of Westways Magazine (AAA) is dedicated to all things space in So. Calif. (& New Mexico), incl. the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey that I was not aware of – “Home of Apollo.”  Or the Frank & Son Collectible Show in Industry – where you can find all things Star Wars, on this 35^th anniversary of the movie.  

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

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

Incredible time-lapse music video from moving cameras for 3-D effect (at Canary Islands) http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120508.html

Matter, Higgs Boson & CERN LHC explained by cartoon video http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120501.html

Rosetta approaches asteroid Lutetia http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120424.html

Geostationary satellites above the Swiss Alps http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120411.html

A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky:  www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.

2012 April 23

Evaporating Blobs of the Carina Nebula
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA

Explanation: No, they are not alive -- but they are dying. The unusual blobs found in the Carina nebula, some of which are seen floating on the upper right, might best be described as evaporating. Energetic light and winds from nearby stars are breaking apart the dark dust grains that make the iconic forms opaque. Ironically the blobs, otherwise known as dark molecular clouds, frequently create in their midst the very stars that later destroy them. The floating space mountains pictured above by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope span a few light months. The Great Nebula in Carina itself spans about 30 light years, lies about 7,500 light years away, and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of Keel (Carina).

2012 April 20

M57: The Ring Nebula
Credit: Composite Image Data - Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Legacy Archive;
Processing and additional imaging - Robert Gendler

Explanation: Except for the rings of Saturn, the Ring Nebula (M57) is probably the most famous celestial band. Its classic appearance is understood to be due to perspective - our view from planet Earth looks down the center of a roughly barrel-shaped cloud of glowing gas. But expansive looping structures are seen to extend far beyond the Ring Nebula's familiar central regions in this intriguing composite of ground based and Hubble Space Telescope images with narrowband image data from Subaru. Of course, in this well-studied example of a planetary nebula, the glowing material does not come from planets. Instead, the gaseous shroud represents outer layers expelled from the dying, once sun-like star at the nebula's center. Intense ultraviolet light from the hot central star ionizes atoms in the gas. Ionized oxygen atoms produce the characteristic greenish glow and ionized hydrogen the prominent red emission. The central ring of the Ring Nebula is about one light-year across and 2,000 light-years away. To accompany tonight's shooting stars it shines in the northern constellation Lyra.

2012 April 22

Flowing Barchan Sand Dunes on Mars
Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA

Explanation: When does Mars act like a liquid? Although liquids freeze and evaporate quickly into the thin atmosphere of Mars, persistent winds may make large sand dunes appear to flow and even drip like a liquid. Visible on the above image right are two flat top mesas in southern Mars when the season was changing from Spring to Summer. A light dome topped hill is also visible on the far left of the image. As winds blow from right to left, flowing sand on and around the hills leaves picturesque streaks. The dark arc-shaped droplets of fine sand are called barchans, and are the interplanetary cousins of similar Earth-based sand forms. Barchans can move intact a downwind and can even appear to pass through each other. When seasons change, winds on Mars can kick up dust and are monitored to see if they escalate into another of Mars' famous planet-scale sand storms.

Astronomy News:

(from e! Science News Astronomy & Space)

Hubble to use moon as mirror to see Venus transit

Published: Friday, May 4, 2012 - 15:04 in Astronomy & Space

Related images
(click to enlarge)

NASA/ESA/D. Ehrenreich

This mottled landscape showing the impact crater Tycho is among the most violent-looking places on our Moon. Astronomers didn't aim NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study Tycho, however. The image was taken in preparation to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun's face on June 5-6. Hubble cannot look at the Sun directly, so astronomers are planning to point the telescope at Earth's moon, using it as a mirror to capture reflected sunlight and isolate the small fraction of the light that passes through Venus's atmosphere. Imprinted on that small amount of light are the fingerprints of the planet's atmospheric makeup.


These observations will mimic a technique that is already being used to sample the atmospheres of giant planets outside our solar system passing in front of their stars. In the case of the Venus transit observations, astronomers already know the chemical makeup of Venus's atmosphere, and that it does not show signs of life on the planet. But the Venus transit will be used to test whether this technique will have a chance of detecting the very faint fingerprints of an Earth-like planet, even one that might be habitable for life, outside our solar system that similarly transits its own star. Venus is an excellent proxy because it is similar in size and mass to our planet.


The astronomers will use an arsenal of Hubble instruments, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, Wide Field Camera 3, and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, to view the transit in a range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet to near-infrared light. During the transit, Hubble will snap images and perform spectroscopy, dividing the sunlight into its constituent colors, which could yield information about the makeup of Venus's atmosphere.
Hubble will observe the Moon for seven hours, before, during, and after the transit so the astronomers can compare the data. Astronomers need the long observation because they are looking for extremely faint spectral signatures. Only 1/100,000th of the sunlight will filter through Venus's atmosphere and be reflected off the Moon.

Cassini sees new objects blazing trails in Saturn ring

Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 13:22 in Astronomy & Space

Queen Mary scientists working with images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have discovered strange half-mile-sized objects punching through parts of Saturn's F ring, leaving glittering trails behind them. These trails in the rings, which scientists are calling 'mini-jets', fill in a missing link in our understanding of the curious behaviour of the F ring. The results were presented April 24 at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria.
Scientists have known that relatively large objects like the moon Prometheus (as long as 92 miles across) can create channels, ripples and snowballs in the F ring. But until recently they didn't know what happened to these snowballs after they were created.


Now Professor Carl Murray, Nick Attree, Nick Cooper and Gareth Williams from Queen Mary's Astronomy Unit have found evidence that some of the smaller snowballs survive, and their differing orbits mean they go on to strike through the F ring on their own.


Professor Murray's group happened to see a tiny trail in an image from 30 January 2009 and tracked it over eight hours. The long footage confirmed the small object originated in the F ring, so they went back through the Cassini image catalogue to see if the phenomenon was frequent.


"The F ring has a circumference of 550,000miles (881,000kilometers) and these mini-jets are so tiny they took quite a bit of time and serendipity to find," said Nick Attree, a Cassini imaging associate at Queen Mary. "We combed through 20,000 images and were delighted to find 500 examples of these rogues during just the seven years Cassini has been at Saturn."


The small objects appear to collide with the F ring at gentle speeds -- something on the order of about 4 mph (2 meters per second). The collisions drag glittering ice particles out of the F ring with them, leaving a trail 20 to 110 miles (40 to 180 kilometers) long.


Professor Murray commented: "I think the F ring is Saturn's weirdest ring, and these latest Cassini results go to show how the F ring is even more dynamic than we ever thought. These findings show us that the F ring region is like a bustling zoo of objects from a half mile to moons like Prometheus a hundred miles in size, creating a spectacular show," he added.


In some cases, the objects travelled in packs, creating mini-jets that looked quite exotic, like the barb of a harpoon. Other new images show grand views of the entire F ring, showing the swirls and eddies that ripple around the ring from all the different kinds of objects moving through and around it.


Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, commented: "Beyond just showing us the strange beauty of the F ring, Cassini's studies of this ring help us understand the activity that occurs when solar systems evolve out of dusty disks that are similar to, but obviously much grander than, the disk we see around Saturn. We can't wait to see what else Cassini will show us in Saturn's rings."
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is the UK sponsor of astronomy.

Source: Queen Mary, University of London

General Calendar:

Colloquia, Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:

Note:  The South Bay Astronomical Society website (www.sbastro.org.) is temporarily not functional (due to recent death of the webmaster). Nor have I received the usual hardcopy mailing recently.  So I have no dates for their current observing events.

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.

4 May

SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM Topic: TBD Guest Speaker:.  www.sbastro.org.

7 May

LAAS LAAS General Mtg..

Griffith Observatory Event Horizon Theater 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

May 10 & 11 The von Kármán Lecture Series: The Quest for Other Worlds Like Earth

The centuries-old quest for other worlds like our Earth has been rejuvenated by the intense excitement surrounding the discovery of hundreds of planets orbiting other stars. The challenge now is to find terrestrial planets, especially those in the habitable zone of their stars where liquid water might exist on the surface of the planet. The Kepler mission, which launched in March 2009, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine the fraction of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy that might have such planets. To date, 26 Kepler planets have been confirmed and nearly 2,000 planet candidates have been found. This talk will cover many of Kepler's discoveries, including several planets orbiting two stars, and will try to explain how Kepler's discoveries help define humanity's place in the universe.

Speaker:

Dr. Thomas Gautier, JPL

Locations:	Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7pm The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA › Directions Friday, May 11, 2012, 7pm The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA › Directions
Webcast:	For the webcast on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, click here If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.

17 May

AEA Astronomy Club Monthly Meeting

“IR Airglow Images,” Lynette Gelinas, Aerospace.  A1/ 1026

Observing:

The following data are from the 2012 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s 2012 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 April:

                                   

Planets:  Jupiter & Mercury are hidden by the sun all month.  Mars transits ~ 8pm.  Saturn transits 12pm May 1, 9pm May 31.   Venus sets 11:30pm May 1, 9:00pm May 31.  Neptune & Uranus are visible low just before dawn.

Other Events:

5 May – The largest full moon of 2012 occurs at 9:35pm PDT.

19 May	LAAS Dark Sky Night: Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)
?	SBAS Star Party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.

20 May

Annular Solar Eclipse

Center line thru Reno & Albuquerque – closest ~ Zion NP, Utah – max eclipse ~ 6:40pm (elevation ~10 deg), begins ~5:30pm, ends at sunset (~ 8pm)  (LA:  begins 5:25pm, max (13 deg elevation) at 6:38pm, ends 7:43pm)

26 May	LAAS Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm
?	SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.

5 June

Venus Transit of the Sun

In L.A. 3:06pm (58 deg elevation) to sunset (8:07pm) – greatest transit 6:25pm, 18 deg elevation

Internet Links:

Link(s) of the Month

A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky:  www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.

General

e! Science News Astronomy & Space

NASA Gallery

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)

More...

Regional (esp. Southern California)

Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies)

Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/), including status for visits & roads

Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)

South Bay Astronomical Society (SBAS)

Orange County Astronomers

The Local Group Astronomy Club (Santa Clarita)

Ventura County 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 expect to link 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 TBD, or see the club website where a form is also available.  Benefits will include use of club telescope(s) & library/software, discounts on Sky & Telescope magazine and Observer’s Handbook, field trips, great programs, having a say in club activities, acquisitions & elections, etc. 

Committee Suggestions & Volunteers.  Feel free to contact:  Paul Rousseau, Program Committee Chairman (& club VP), TBD, Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or TBD, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer). 

Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President

2012 April

AEA Astronomy Club Newsletter, April 2012

Contents  

AEA Astronomy Club News & Calendar p.1
Video(s) & Picture(s) of the Month p. 2
Astronomy News p. 4
General Calendar p. 6
Colloquia, lectures, mtgs. p. 6
Observing p. 8
Useful Links p. 9
About the Club p. 10

Club News & Calendar.

Calendar

19 April	Monthly Meeting	“Human Exploration of Mars,” Mark Benton, Boeing.  A1/ 1026
17 May	Monthly Meeting	“IR Airglow Images,” Lynette Gelinas, Aerospace.  A1/ 1026
20 May	Annular Solar Eclipse	Central line thru Reno & Albuquerque – closest ~ Zion NP, Utah – max eclipse ~ 6:40pm (elevation ~10 deg), begins ~5:30pm, ends at sunset (~ 8pm)
5 June	Venus Transit of the Sun	In L.A. 3:06pm (58 deg. elevation) to sunset (8:07pm) – greatest transit 6:25pm (18 deg elevation).

AEA Astronomy Club meetings are on 3^rd Thursdays at 11:45am.  For 2012, April-May we meet in A1/1026; June-Aug. & Oct.-Dec. in A1/1029A/B; and Sept. in A3/1607A/B.

News:  

Musical Meeting Rooms.  For 2012, April-May we meet in A1/1026; June-Aug. & Oct.-Dec. in A1/1029A/B; and Sept. in A3/1607A/B.  Hopefully next year we’ll get a stable room again.

“Dark Matters”

The club has suffered some significant losses this month.  One a death – David Glackin, as reported by email earlier (it was a very upbeat memorial service).  And 6 we’ve lost to the RIF last week.  Including our current secretary, David Wright, and treasurer, Jim Edwards.  Also former treasurer, Vic Christensen and an officer from the previous club incarnation, Dan Peplinski.  They will truly be missed, not only for their service that has made this club what it is, but for their expertise with observational equipment, and their fellowship.  We will hopefully still see some at star parties.  And we wish them well.  Vic continues to send me his astronomy news emails, which I’ll try to continue forwarding to members.

Help Wanted

This means that per the constitution the president (myself) needs to appoint a treasurer & secretary to fill those vacancies until our regular election in November-December.  Most urgent is the treasurer position.  Volunteers are most welcome.  Are there any civic-minded volunteers out there who can keep us going at least the rest of the year?  If none, we may approach you.  The former officers kept excellent records (also posted to our Aerolink folder), and are available locally for questions.

Messier Marathon Report by David Wright

March 24th Saturday was Messier Marathon night at the LAAS Lockwood Valley site. The weather was great until midnight. Scott said it was one of the darkest nights he's seen up there. Around midnight the clouds rolled in over the course of about 20 minutes, so we packed up. There were three guys from LAAS observing.

I got a late start with putting Gabriel to bed and fiddling with the imager and stuff. I didn't end up taking any images but did start into the Messier objects by around 10. I got about 20 before the clouds came in.

I didn't have the Messier list since Mark wasn't there with the book we got [Mark & Paul chickened out at the last minute due to weather forecasts], but I used the Messier Marathon tour on the LX200, which seemed to start in the West for whatever was up.

We did bring a surprise that we wanted to show you guys, Gabriel and I made a Bahtinov focusing mask for the LX200 out of black mat board paper, and it works great! It's in the case with the telescope. It has a circular cutout in the center so that it rests on the secondary mirror and around the edge of the corrector plate mounting rim (not on the glass), and the Bob's Knobs stick out through the hole. Anyway, you'll just have to wait until next time to see how it works..

We’re still deciding on an astronomical video camera – inputs are invited.  They’d basically triple or quadruple our effective aperture for real-time imaging (e.g., group viewing), image capture & live video internet streaming (for armchair observers).  Finalists include the downscale (~$500-700) Orion StarShoot, Mallincam Jr. & GSTAR-EX2; the more upscale (~$900-1200) StellaCam 3 basic & Mallincam Hyper; or the top scale ($1500+) StellaCam 3 Peltier cooled & Mallincam VSS or Extreme.  For anyone interested, I can send my few pages of research & links. 

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

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

NASA video of the evolution of the moon (3 minutes):  http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120320.html

The Scale of the Universe (interactive flash video, like the Powers of 10 movie, from 10^-35m to 10^24m – yoctometers to yottameters)  http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120312.html

A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky:  www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.

2012 March 25

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300
Image Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, ESA, NASA

Explanation: Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 lies some 70 million light-years away on the banks of the constellation Eridanus. This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the gorgeous island universe is one of the largest Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy. NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. In fact, on close inspection the nucleus of this classic barred spiral itself shows a remarkable region of spiral structure about 3,000 light-years across. Unlike other spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, NGC 1300 is not presently known to have a massive central black hole.

2012 March 15

Solar Flare in the Gamma-ray Sky
Credit: NASA, DOE, International Fermi LAT Collaboration

Explanation: What shines in the gamma-ray sky? The answer is usually the most exotic and energetic of astrophysical environments, like active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, or incredibly dense pulsars, the spinning remnants of exploded stars. But on March 7, a powerful solar flare, one of a series of recent solar eruptions, dominated the gamma-ray sky at energies up to 1 billion times the energy of visible light photons. These two panels illustrate the intensity of that solar flare in all-sky images recorded by the orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. On March 6, as on most days, the Sun was almost invisible to Fermi's imaging detectors. But during the energetic X-class flare, it became nearly 100 times brighter than even the Vela Pulsar at gamma-ray energies. Now faded in Fermi's view, the Sun will likely shine again in the gamma-ray sky as the solar activity cycle approaches its maximum.

Astronomy News:

In keeping with the theme of a dark month, the following are excerpts on recent developments on dark energy & cosmology.  Read more at the links.

South Pole Telescope provides new insights into dark energy and neutrinos

Published: Monday, April 2, 2012 - 15:02 in Astronomy & Space

Daniel Luong-Van

“Analysis of data from the 10-meter South Pole Telescope is providing new support for the most widely accepted explanation of dark energy -- the source of the mysterious force that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. The results also are beginning to hone in on the masses of neutrinos, the most abundant particles in the universe, which until recently were thought to be without mass.


“The data strongly support the leading model for dark energy, Albert Einstein's cosmological constant -- a slight modification to his theory of general relativity -- even though the analysis was based on only a fraction of the SPT data collected and only 100 of the more than 500 galaxy clusters detected so far.


"With the full SPT data set, we will be able to place extremely tight constraints on dark energy and possibly determine the mass of the neutrinos," said Bradford Benson, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Chicago's Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. Benson presented the SPT collaboration's latest findings on April 1 at the American Physical Society meeting in Atlanta.


“A series of papers led by Christian Reichardt detailing the SPT findings have been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal.


“The results are based on a new method that combines measurements taken by the SPT and X-ray satellites, and extends these measurements to larger distances than previously achieved using galaxy clusters.
“The most widely accepted property of dark energy is that it leads to a pervasive force acting everywhere and at all times in the universe. This force could be the manifestation of Einstein's cosmological constant, which effectively assigns energy to empty space, even when it is free of matter and radiation. Einstein introduced the cosmological constant into his theory of general relativity to accommodate a stationary universe, the dominant idea of his day. He later considered it to be his greatest blunder after the discovery of an expanding universe.
“In the late 1990s, astronomers discovered that the expansion of the universe appeared to be accelerating, according to cosmic distance measurements based on the brightness of exploding stars. Gravity should have been slowing the expansion, but instead it was speeding up.


“Einstein's cosmological constant is one explanation of the observed acceleration of the expanding universe, now supported by countless astronomical observations. Others hypothesize that gravity could operate differently on the largest scales of the universe. In either case, the astronomical measurements are pointing to new physics that have yet to be understood......[more at the above link]

Clocking an accelerating universe: First results from BOSS

Published: Friday, March 30, 2012 - 10:07 in Astronomy & Space

“Some six billion light years ago, almost halfway from now back to the big bang, the universe was undergoing an elemental change. Held back until then by the mutual gravitational attraction of all the matter it contained, the universe had been expanding ever more slowly. Then, as matter spread out and its density decreased, dark energy took over and expansion began to accelerate. Today BOSS, the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, the largest component of the third Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III), announced the most accurate measurement yet of the distance scale of the universe during the era when dark energy turned on.


......“What if dark energy isn't an unknown force or substance, but instead a shortcoming of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, our best-yet theory of gravity? General Relativity predicts how fast galaxies should be moving toward one another in galaxy clusters, and, in the aggregate, how fast the structure of the universe should be growing. Any departure from its predictions would mean the theory is flawed......
“Baryon acoustic oscillation measures the angle across the sky of structures of known size, the peaks where galaxies cluster most densely in the network of filaments and voids that fill the universe. Since these density peaks recur regularly, the angle between appropriate pairs of galaxies as precisely measured from Earth reveals their distance -- the narrower the apparent angle, the farther away they are.


“Knowing the distance to an object tells its age as well, since its light travels from there to here at known speed. And the redshift of the light reveals how the universe has expanded since that time, as expansion stretches space itself; the wavelength of light traveling through space toward Earth stretches proportionally, becoming redder and revealing the expansion of the universe since the light left its source.......
"We depend on redshift to know expansion rates and how structure was growing at different times in the past," says Beth Reid, a Hubble Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who directed the BOSS study of redshift space distortions. "But redshifts aren't uniform. Galaxies are carried along in the Hubble flow as the universe expands, but they also have their own velocities. They tend to fall toward denser regions, for example. Because the ones on the far side of a dense region are coming toward us, their redshift makes them look closer than they really are; the opposite is true for the galaxies on the near side, which are falling away from us -- they look farther away."


“Statistical analysis of the redshifts of the hundreds of thousands of galaxies in the BOSS dataset can take into account the peculiarities of local variation and still produce a dependable measure of distance, the Hubble expansion rate, and the growth rate of structure in the universe. With these techniques, Reid and her colleagues have measured gravity on a scale of 100 million light years, far larger than the most accurate gravity measure yet, which is based on the distance from Earth to the moon. Their conclusion: Einstein was right.

General Calendar:

Colloquia, Lectures, Seminars, Meetings, Open Houses & Tours:

Note:  The South Bay Astronomical Society website (www.sbastro.org.) is temporarily not functional (due to recent death of the webmaster). Nor have I received the usual hardcopy mailing recently.  So I have no dates for their current observing events.

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. March 12, March 26, April 16, and April 30, 2012 Friend's Hall, Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens All lectures are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please arrive early. Lectures start at 7:30pm, with light refreshments in advance. Parking is free. To access the parking lot, please enter The Huntington via the Allen Avenue gate. For more information about the Carnegie Observatories or this lecture series, please contact Reed Haynie.

6 April

SBAS Monthly General Meeting at El Camino College planetarium. 7:30 PM Topic: TBD Guest Speaker:.  www.sbastro.org.

9 April

LAAS LAAS General Mtg..

Griffith Observatory Event Horizon Theater 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

April 12 & 13 -- The von Kármán Lecture Series: 2012 -- Gale Crater: Exploring the Mars Science Laboratory Landing Site

The selection of Gale crater as the Mars Science Laboratory landing site took over 5 years, involved broad participation of the science community via five open workshops, and narrowed an initial >50 sites (25 by 20 km) to four finalists (Eberswalde, Gale, Holden and Mawrth) based on science and safety. Science criteria important for the selection include the ability to assess past habitable environments, which include diversity, context, and biosignature (including organics) preservation. All of the final four sites have layered sedimentary rocks with spectral evidence for phyllosilicates that clearly address the science objectives of the mission. Engineering constraints important to the selection included: latitude (±30°), elevation (<-1 km), relief at baselines of 1 km, slopes at baselines of 2-5 m, rock abundance, and a radar-reflective, load-bearing, and trafficable surface that is safe for landing and roving. Sites were evaluated in detail using targeted data from instruments on all active orbiters, and especially Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Sophisticated entry, descent and landing simulations that include detailed information on all of the engineering constraints indicate all of the final four sites are safe for landing. Evaluation of the traversability of the landing sites and target “go to” areas outside of the ellipse using slope and material properties information indicates that all are trafficable and “go to” sites can be accessed within the lifetime of the mission. In the final selection, Gale crater was favored over Eberswalde based on its greater diversity and potential habitability.

Speaker:

Dr. Matthew Golombek Senior Research Scientist Mars Exploration Program Landing Site Scientist Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Locations:	Thursday, April 12, 2012, 7pm The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA › Directions Friday, April 13, 2012, 7pm The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA › Directions
Webcast:	For the webcast on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, click here If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.

16 Feb 2012

AEA Astronomy Club Monthly Meeting

"Doing Real Astronomical Imaging Science Using Modest Equipment (e.g., our new ATIK imager & LX-200 telescope),” Jim Edwards, Aerospace. A1/1029

April 16 Carnegie Lecture (see general info above)

Cognitive Astrophysics: A View from Nowhere

Dr. Barry Madore Staff Astronomer, Carnegie Observatories

How do astronomers come to any understanding of the Universe given its sublime complexity? We will explore the various paths; probe the limits of what we can know, and illustrate what makes this ultimately and essentially a very human pursuit.

19 April

AEA Astronomy Club Monthly Meeting

“Human Exploration of Mars,” Mark Benton, Boeing.  A1/ 1026

April 30 Carnegie Lecture (see general info above)

Bright Galaxies, Dark Universe Part II: Adulthood to Retirement

Dr. Rik Williams Postdoctoral Research Associate, Carnegie Observatories

Even though galaxies rapidly form most of their stars early in their lives, they are not finished growing. In Part 2 of our story, we explore the processes that transform galaxies from the amorphous blobs in the early universe to the diverse array of spirals and ellipticals we
see today.

Observing:

The following data are from the 2012 Observer’s Handbook, and Sky & Telescope’s 2012 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 April:

                                   

Planets:  Jupiter sets between 10 & 8:30pm.  Mars sets a couple hours before dawn, so is up most of the night.  Saturn rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, overhead at midnight.   Mercury rises an hour before dawn. Venus sets 4 hrs after sunset.  Neptune & Uranus are visible low just before dawn.

Other Events:

3 April – Venus 0.5 deg S of Pleiades (M45)

15 April – Saturn at opposition (overhead at midnight)

18 April – Mercury at greatest elongation W (27 deg)

21 April	LAAS Dark Sky Night: Lockwood Valley (Steve Kufeld Astronomical Site; LAAS members and their guests only)
?	SBAS Star Party (weather permitting): RPV at Ridgecrest Middle School 28915 North Bay Rd.

22 April – Lyrid meteors peak, Jupiter 2 deg S of Moon

28 April	LAAS Public Star Party: Griffith Observatory Grounds 2-10pm
?	SBAS out-of-town observing – contact Greg Benecke www.sbastro.org.

20 May	Annular Solar Eclipse	Center line thru Reno & Albuquerque – closest ~ Zion NP, Utah – max eclipse ~ 6:40pm (elevation ~10 deg), begins ~5:30pm, ends at sunset (~ 8pm)
5 June	Venus Transit of the Sun	In L.A. 3:06pm (58 deg elevation) to sunset (8:07pm) – greatest transit 6:25pm, 18 deg elevation

Internet Links:

Link(s) of the Month

A weekly 5 minute video about what’s up in the night sky:  www.skyandtelescope.com/skyweek.

General

e! Science News Astronomy & Space

NASA Gallery

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)

More...

Regional (esp. Southern California)

Western Amateur Astronomers (consortium of various regional societies)

Mt. Wilson Institute (www.mtwilson.edu/), including status for visits & roads

Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS)

South Bay Astronomical Society (SBAS)

Orange County Astronomers

The Local Group Astronomy Club (Santa Clarita)

Ventura County 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 expect to link 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 TBD, or see the club website where a form is also available.  Benefits will include use of club telescope(s) & library/software, discounts on Sky & Telescope magazine and Observer’s Handbook, field trips, great programs, having a say in club activities, acquisitions & elections, etc.

Committee Suggestions & Volunteers.  Feel free to contact:  Paul Rousseau, Program Committee Chairman (& club VP), TBD, Activities Committee Chairman (& club Secretary), or TBD, Resource Committee Chairman (over equipment & library, and club Treasurer).

Mark Clayson,
AEA Astronomy Club President