January 2015 The Sidereal Times Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club A Member Society of the Astronomical League Club Officers: Minutes December 18, 2014 Executive Committee President Jim Hilkin President Jim Hilkin and approve the Treasurer's the project. Jim also re- Vice President Libby Snipes Treasurer Vicki Philabaum Judy Smithson hosted the report, seconded by Paul, ported that a grant of Secretary David Philabaum Chief Observer David Philabaum December meeng in their and the moon passed. $8,000 has been given to Members-at-Large Claus Benninghoven Duane Gerling home. The following mem- Jim Hilkin said that he had Partners for Conservaon Blake Stumpf bers were in aendance: received a thank-you note for painng the Wie Ob- Board of Directors Chair Judy Hilkin Jim Wilt, Libby & Carl from a girl in Colorado servatory and classroom. Vice Chair Ray Reineke Secretary David Philabaum Snipes, John Toney, JT & who had recently been to The bids have come in Members-at-Large Frank Libe Blake Stumpf Blake Stumpf , Paul Sly, the observatory. Vicki said around $5,000 so there Jim Wilt Chuck Block, Claus & Elea- that the club had received may be enough to also Audit Committee Dean Moberg (2012) nore Benninghoven, a thank-you note from paint the Prugh-Carver Ob- JT Stumpf (2013) John Toney (2014) Duane & Robin Gerling, Kae Powers for hosng servatory. Jim reported Newsletter Karen Johnson Fritz Goeckner, and Dave her Awana group at the that the Rand foundaon & Vicki Philabaum. John observatory. Jim Hilkin re- would like to host Dr. moved to approve the Sep- ported that the evergreens Stone for a lecture with tember minutes as pub- on the north side of the the help of the astronomy Inside this issue: lished, Claus seconded, classroom have been tak- club. Jim said that the an- and the moon passed. en down. They have been nual Observatory Board Minutes (cont.) 3 Vicki gave the Treasurer's trimmed back numerous meeng with representa- report. The current bal- mes previously and were ves of the Des Moines Space Place 2,3 ance in the checking ac- just geng too big. Dave County Conservaon Looking Back 4 count is $1816.86 which got one coat of paint on Board will be held in Janu- includes $225.48 in grant the doors of the Prugh- ary and that he will be Treasurer’s Report 4 funds. Vicki said that there Carver observatory, and checking with observatory Observer’s Report 5-6 was a $10 discrepancy be- Jim Hilkin has new panels key holders to check if the tween what she had paid on the south side and is key number on file match- Calendar 7 Ray for the Argo Navis Dig- about halfway done with es the key that they have. Sky Maps 8-9 ital Telescope Computer President Hilkin said that and what was reimbursed Dr. Steve Spangler of the by Partners for Conserva- University of Iowa would on. Jim Wilt moved to like to come to the obser- (continued on page 3) Page 2 The Sidereal Times Minor mergers have massive consequences for black holes By Dr. Ethan Siegel When you think of our Way, houses a supermas- must have undergone only sun, the nearest star to our sive black hole that weighs minor mergers no less than world, you think of an iso- in at about four million a billion years ago, where lated entity, with more solar masses, while our big the black hole pair is sepa- than four light years sepa- sister, Andromeda, has one rated by only 490 light rating it from its next near- nearly twenty times as years! It's only in the cores est neighbor. But it wasn't massive. But even relative- of active, X-ray emitting always so: billions of years ly isolated galaxies didn't galaxies that we can detect ago, when our sun was simply form from the mon- binary black holes like first created, it very likely olithic collapse of an iso- this. Examples like NGC formed in concert with lated clump of matter, but 3393 and IC 4970 are not thousands of other stars, by hierarchical mergers of only confirming our pic- when a giant molecular smaller galaxies over tre- ture of galaxy growth and cloud containing perhaps a mendous timescales. If formation, but are teaching million times the mass of galaxies with large us that supermassive relics our solar system collapsed. amounts of stars all have from ancient, minor mer- “...many black While the vast majority of black holes at their centers, gers might persist as holes—form, stars that the universe then we should be able to standalone entities for forms—some ninety-five see some fraction of Milky longer than we ever with the majority percent—are the mass of Way-sized galaxies with thought! eventually our sun or smaller, a rare not just one, but multiple but significant fraction are supermassive black holes Check out some cool imag- migrang ultra-massive, containing at their center! es and artist reconstruc- towards the tens or even hundreds of tions of black holes from times the mass our star It was only in the early Chandra: http:// centers of their contains. When these stars 2000s that NASA's Chan- chandra.harvard.edu/ host galaxies…” run out of fuel in their dra X-ray Observatory was photo/category/ cores, they explode in a able to find the first binary blackholes.html fantastic Type II superno- supermassive black hole in va, where the star's core a galaxy, and that was in collapses. In the most mas- an ultra-luminous galaxy Kids can learn all about sive cases, this forms a with a double core. Many Black Holes from this cool black hole. other examples were dis- animation at NASA’s covered since, but for a Space Place: http:// Over time, many genera- decade they were all in spaceplace.nasa.gov/black tions of stars—and hence, ultra-massive, active gal- -holes . many black holes—form, axies. That all changed in with the majority eventual- 2011, with the discovery ly migrating towards the of two active, massive centers of their host galax- black holes at the center of ies and merging together. the regular spiral galaxy Our own galaxy, the Milky NGC 3393, a galaxy that JanuaryNovember 2015 2013 Page 3 Minutes (continued from page 1) vatory to see the Clark next meeng will be Thurs- someme in April. Dr. day February 19 th from Spangler had planned to 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Bur- come this past year but lington Public Library, was not able to fit it into Room B. Dave reported his schedule. He is original- that a group of Girl Scouts ly from the Houghton area. is scheduled to come to Jim also reported about a the observatory February possible Eagle Scout pro- 3rd . Dave then gave the ject to create a scale mod- Observer’s report followed Did You Know? el of the solar system in by Jim Hilkin's talk about the observatory parking the constellaon Cepheus. In mythology, Ce- lot. Upcoming dates were With no addional items pheus, the king of discussed. There will be no to discuss, John moved to Ethiopia, was mar- public viewing during Janu- adjourn, Claus seconded, ried to Cassiopeia. ary and February but the and the meeng was ad- They were the par- observatory can be used journed. ents of Androme- by members, and groups Respecully submied, da are sll being scheduled. There will be no club Dave Philabaum, secretary meeng in January. The Minor mergers … (continued from page 2) Images credit: NGC 3393 in the optical (L) by M. Malkan (UCLA), HST, NASA (L); NGC 3393 in the X-ray and optical (R), composite by NASA / CXC / SAO / G. Fabbiano et al. (X- ray) and NASA/STScI (optical). Page 4 The Sidereal Times Looking Back in the Sidereal Times 25 Years Ago—January 1990 To help break up the mo- their favorite chili recipe notony of winter, February's and dumps it into a pot with Club Nite will also include a everyone else's servings. chili dump. This means that The results can be inter- everyone who parcipates esng. The Club Nite date is brings along a serving from set for February 24 th . Looking Back in the Sidereal Times 10 Years Ago—January 2005 "NASA lit a birthday candle rovers to reach addional ing the Maran winter in today for its twin Mars Ex- desnaons and to keep April 2010. Spirit traveled ploraon Rovers Spirit and making discoveries. Spirit 4.8 miles. Opportunity is sll Opportunity. The Spirit rov- landed on Jan. 3 and Oppor- driving across Mars. As of er begins its second year on tunity Jan. 24. 2004 respec- December 2014 it is on the Mars invesgang puzzling vely" (Source: hp// west rim of Endeavour rocks unlike any found earli- marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/ Crater heading towards er. The rovers successfully newsroom/press releases/ 'Marathon Valley'. Oppor- Did You Know? completed their three- 50050103a.html) tunity has traveled 25.73 month primary missions in (Spirit became stuck in so miles.) You can roam Mars April. They astound even material in an area called their designers with how Troy on the west side of virtually at hp:// well they connue oper- Home Plate in May 2009 www.nasa.gov/ ang. The unancipated and did not wake up a er externalflash/m2k4/ longevity is allowing both going into hibernaon dur- frameset.html Treasurer’s Report SIAC Treasurer's Report December 2014 11/30/2014 Beginning Balance $1,879.13 Deposits Total Deposits $0.00 Expenses Check Payee 12/9/2015 458 MTC Technologies $30.89 12/19/2015 459 MTC Technologies $31.38 Total Expenses $62.27 12/31/2014 Ending Balance $1,816.86 General Fund $1,655.97 Grants $225.48 - $64.59 $160.89 Total in Checking Account $1,816.86 January 2015 Page 5 Observer’s Report for January/February Venus is rising higher in moving rapidly east begins to transit at 00:19 the western sky and is 9 ° among the stars and and Europa's shadow at above the southwestern moves into Pisces near 00:28.