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November 2019 OBSERVER(No.3-150Ppi) THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS Volume 44, Number 11 November 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 1«Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month – 24” First Light! 2«President’s Note 3«Calendar of Celestial Events – November 2019 3«New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues/E-Mail List 4«This Month’s Phases of the Moon 4«This Month’s Solar Phenomena 4«TCAA Calendar of Events for 2019 4«Mercury to Transit Sun November 11, 2019 7«November 2019 with Jeffrey Hunt 14«AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 16«Favorite Wintertime Reads 17«E/PO for October 2019 18«New TCAA Members via IAA 19«Public Viewing Sessions for 2020 19«Did You Know? 20«TCAA Image Gallery 21«TCAA Active on Facebook 22«TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of October 29, 2019 22«Renewing Your TCAA Membership The TCAA is an affiliate of the IMAGE OF THE MONTH: EDITOR’S CHOICE – 24” FIRST LIGHT! Astronomical League as well as its North Central Region. For more The November Image of the information about the TCAA, be Month was taken by TCAA certain to visit the TCAA website at President and Property Manager tcaa.us/ Tim Stone. It was taken with the club’s new 24” telescope (shown Visit Astroleague.org for additional right with the moon in the information about the League and its background) at Waynesville numerous membership benefits Observatory. th including observing programs. On October 7 , Tim, Bob Finnigan and Scott Wade went out to WO where Tim got the 24” Also visit the NCRAL website at taking pictures; the first one was ncral.wordpress.com for information of the Moon. They also took five about our North Central Region. Find images for plate solving in an area out about our next Regional in the Milky Way. The polar convention during May 2020. alignment is so far off that even a The TCAA's 24" telescope. 10-sec. picture left tracking errors. Copyright © 2019 TCAA 1 All rights reserved. Vol. 44, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2019 Tim later remarked, “This is certainly a milestone. There's a LOT of work left to The OBSERVER do before we can begin serious imaging, though. First up is polar alignment. As the scope and mount together weigh somewhere around 500 lbs, just making the is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a needed adjustments in altitude and azimuth is going to take a great deal of effort.” registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational Congratulations to Tim, Bob, and Scott on this amazing accomplishment. Now organization of amateur astronomers inter- that the “winter doldrums” have set in (nearly always cold and overcast skies), it ested in studying astronomy and sharing might be more than a few months before this new telescope becomes fully their hobby with the public. operational. TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS PRESIDENT’S NOTE President, Director, & Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 It seems like Autumn came and went [email protected] faster than Summer this year. As I sit writing Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. this, there is two to four inches of snow in Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 the forecast. I’m tempted to be [email protected] disheartened in numerous ways, but I Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent always remember that, while it seems like Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 [email protected] this time of year is stingy to us astronomers, when it does give us a night, it’s a generous Secretary & Director/Historian/Editor gift. We’re drifting toward the December Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 [email protected] solstice, where nights seem as endless as Winter itself. 5th Director/Assistant Property Manager Scott Wade 309-310-2464 Who can resist standing out in the cold President Tim Stone [email protected] on a crystal-clear winter night and marveling at the winter Milky Way arching overhead? Astronomical League Correspondent Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 There are so many wonderful objects to observe with everything from the naked [email protected] eye, to binoculars, Dobsonian reflectors, and beyond, it’s hard to even know where Technology Coordinator to start. Justin Meyer 630-649-0611 Of course, it’s not impossible to observe the Winter skies. We all know how to [email protected] dress warmly, use layers, and when to come in. I think, at least in my case, I just Webmaster don’t like the Winter, and so I’m not so keen to accept its gifts! This year, though, I Lee Green 309-454-7349 have spectrography goals to achieve, which will require I do some cold night work. I [email protected] will brace myself and head outside under those velvet black Winter nights. Lighting Educ. & AL Observing Club Coordinator Speaking of weather, we participated in the Sugar Grove Nature Center Lisa Wentzel unlisted number Autumn Festival on October 26th. The temperature was about 45 degrees, with [email protected] wind chills in the upper 30s. It rained non-stop for the entire time. We engaged perhaps 40 people. As disappointing as it was for us, I’m sure it is profoundly The OBSERVER disappointing for the Nature Center. This is their primary fund-raising activity for Carl J. Wenning, Editor the year. My heart goes out to the organization that hosts two of our Submission deadline two days before observatories. the end of each month. Tim Stone, President MEMBERSHIP DUES Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25 (Senior status equals ages 60+) To join, send your name, contact info and dues payment to Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL 61761-1471. Copyright © 2019 TCAA 2 All rights reserved. Vol. 44, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2019 CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL EVENTS – NOVEMBER 2019 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS MORNING PLANETS (11/15): Mercury ( ☿ ) and Mars (♂) The following individuals have paid dues for new or renewed memberships as of October 29, 2019. (Others EVENING PLANETS (11/15): Venus (♀), Jupiter ( ♃ ), who paid after that date will appear in the December Saturn (♄), Uranus ( ♅ ), and Neptune ( ♆ ) 2019 issue of The OBSERVER.) The following table gives the date and time (24-hour clock) of Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! important astronomical events for this month. Most events are given in Central Daylight Time. (CDT ends November 3, 2019.) New: See extensive list associated with IAA article Renewing: Chris Franklin, Geoff Hughes, Tom & Day Time Event Carolyn Weiland 01 16:40 Moon at Descending Node Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! 02 02:31 Saturn 0.6°N of Moon: Occn. 03 02:00 Daylight Saving Time Ends DUES BLUES 04 04:23 FIRST QUARTER MOON 05 18 S Taurid Meteor Shower If you have received a “your dues are due” 07 02:37 Moon at Apogee: 405060 km statement along with the email that brought you this 09 13:18 Venus 3.8°N of Antares issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. 09 17:07 Mars 2.6°N of Spica Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., 11 09 Transit of Mercury, Inf. Conj. Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for 12 07:34 FULL MOON seniors (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular. 12 17 N Taurid Meteor Shower 13 21:52 Aldebaran 3.0°S of Moon SUBSCRIBING TO THE TCAA EMAIL LIST 16 00 Mercury at Perihelion 16 02:48 Moon at Ascending Node By subscribing to a group’s mailing list, you will 17 05:41 Pollux 5.4°N of Moon receive email messages from the group though you 17 23 Leonid Meteor Shower won’t have access to the group’s web features (like 18 04:11 Beehive 0.9°S of Moon photos, files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members 19 15:11 LAST QUARTER MOON activate it later. The club has an open email listserv. It is 19 17:24 Regulus 3.7°S of Moon known as the TCAA YahooGroups listserv. It will be used 23 01:54 Moon at Perigee: 366721 km to share announcements and reminders about 24 03:02 Mars 4.3°S of Moon astronomical and club events. To join this main listserv, 24 20:50 Mercury 1.9°S of Moon you must do the following: 26 09:06 NEW MOON 1. To subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- 28 04 Mercury at Great. Elong: 20.1°W [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a 28 04:49 Jupiter 0.7°S of Moon: Occn. confirmation email from the group. Reply to the 28 12:50 Venus 1.9°S of Moon confirmation email to activate your subscription. 28 22:13 Moon at Descending Node 2. To post a message: [email protected] 29 15:12 Saturn 0.9°N of Moon: Occn. 3. To unsubscribe: [email protected] http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/astrocal/astrocal2019cst.html EVENING SKY MAP Click on the icon found here to access a current evening sky map along with a more detailed celestial events calendar. Copyright © 2019 TCAA 3 All rights reserved. Vol. 44, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2019 THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter New Moon Monday, November 4 Tuesday, November 12 Tuesday, November 19 Tuesday, November 26 All moon phase dates are Central Standard Time. Additional moon phases for the 2019 calendar year can be found by clicking here. Images provided by J.
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