Observer February EVANSVILLE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC. 2020

EAS Meeting @ Museum February 21st ,2020 Full Dome Movie "Loosing the Dark"

Water found in habitable Super-Earth’s Atmosphere Exoplanet K2-18b orbits a red dwarf and has an extended atmosphere containing at least some water vapor, as seen in this artist's concept. The system also contains another exoplanet sitting closer to the star, but it lies inside of the star's habitable zone. Alex Boersma

Inside this Issue.. 2 – Local Events and information 3 – News around the Globe 4 – Calendar 5 – EAS Business

The EAS newsletter, Observer, is published monthly. Anyone wishing to contribute articles or photos may mail them to the club’s PO Box: EAS, PO Box 3474, Evansville, IN 47733, or e-mail them to the editor at: [email protected]

EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

The Evansville Astronomical Society (EAS) is a non-profit organization fully incorporated in the state of Indiana. It has, as its primary goal, the Local Events and Information advancement of amateur astronomy. Founded in 1952, the society seeks to: EAS Update:

1… maintain adequate facilities for its members Please Note we have a Regular Meeting scheduled at the and the public in order to extensively study the Evansville Museum on Friday, February 21st, 2020 @ skies and 7:30pm. Please arrive between 7:00pm and 7:30pm as 2… promote an educational program for those the doors may be locked at other times. Full Dome Movie who wish to learn more about the science of "Loosing the Dark" Astronomy. EAS Update: Meetings are held the third Friday of each month, except June, when the annual EAS picnic is held. Please Note that the board met on Sunday, January 26th, The society also sponsors monthly Open House 2020 in Jasper at Tony’s residence and set the schedule events during the warmer seasons that afford the for 2020. public an opportunity to tour the observatory.

EAS 2020 Officers and Contacts EAS Update:

President – Tony Bryan Please Note we have a Regular Meeting scheduled at the th 812.827.3234 Observatory on Friday, March 20 , 2020 @ 7:30pm. [email protected] EAS Update: Vice President – Scott Conner Please Note We have a Winter work day scheduled at the Secretary – David M Kube Observatory on March 21st, 2020 beginning at 10:00am. 740.223.6854 EAS Update:

Treasurer – Amy Barrett Please Note we have a Venus Watch scheduled at the

Evansville Museum on Saturday, March 28th, 2020 from Counselors 7:30-9:00pm. Michael Borman (2018) Ken Harris (2019) Mitch Luman (2020) EAS Update:

Webmaster – Michael Borman Please Note we have a Regular Meeting scheduled at the Observatory on Friday, April 17th, 2020 @ 7:30pm. Program Director Chuck Allen EAS Update: Newsletter editor – Dave Kube [email protected] Please visit our website www.evansvilleastro.org and our Facebook page to keep yourself up to date for any For more information about the EAS or directions changes. to the Observatory, please visit the club’s web page: FOR SALE: www.evansvilleastro.org

Telescopes and accessories for sale...

As mentioned in last month’s issue, Mike Borman still has some excellent telescope equipment and imaging accessories for sale. Some of the gear has already been sold. If interested, go to Mike’s web page. Here is the link:

http://www.mborman.org/forsale.htm

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EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

Four Strange New Objects Found Around The dust-shrouded objects may be binary merging the ’s Black Hole. as they orbit the supermassive black hole in our galaxy's core..

Astronomers have discovered four new and mysterious objects orbiting the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. The bizarre objects look a lot like common clouds of gas and dust, but they surprisingly manage to stay compact like stars as they run laps around our galaxy's gargantuan black hole.

The quartet of new objects share striking similarities with two others, dubbed G1 and G2, that were found in the past 15 years or so. This has led researchers to conclude the four new bodies likely belong to the same class of objects as G1 and G2, which are simply referred to as G- An illustration of the orbital paths of the six sources or G-objects. known G-objects around the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way. Researchers don't yet know exactly what these G-

Anna Ciurlo, Tuan Do/UCLA Galactic Center objects are, but they think the strange bodies might be Group binary stars in the process of merging.

Binary Star V Sagittae Expected to Light Up By the end of the 21st century, stargazers may witness a the Night Sky in 2083. “new star” seems to appear in the the Arrow. Located roughly 7,800 light-years away, the two stars, collectively called V Sagittae, are spiraling closer and closer together. And as they twirl around each other, the larger star is dumping material onto its smaller, companion. Ultimately, the two will collide and coalesce, creating a powerful burst of light that astronomers estimate will make V Sagittae the brightest star in the night sky for about a month.

By referring to an archive of observations dating back more than a century, a team of researchers recently determined the two stars in the V Sagittae system have been spiraling in toward each other at an ever-

The V Sagittae contains a white dwarf increasing rate. Currently, it takes about 12 hours for the that stealing material from a larger companion stars to orbit each other once, but as they keep getting star as the two spiral in toward each other. New closer, the pair will continue to brighten. By the year research suggests the pair will merge by about 2083 — give or take 16 years — the researchers expect 2083, which is expected to make V Sagittae one them to fully merge together. of the brightest stars in the night sky for about a month..

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

Up and Coming Events 2019 and 2020 Regular Meeting – Friday, February 21st @ Museum @ 7:30 pm Regular Meeting – Friday, March 20th @ Observatory @ 7:30 pm Winter Work Day – March 21st @ Observatory @ 10:00 am

Venus Watch – Saturday, March 28th @ Museum @ 7:30 - 9:00 pm Regular Meeting – Friday, April 17th @ Observatory @ 7:30 pm PSW – Saturday, April 25th @ Observatory @ 7:30 pm

Moon Phases

New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Third Quarter

March 24th, 2020 March 2nd, 2020 March 9th, 2020 March 16th, 2020

Moon Phases courtesy of Time and Date.com

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EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

EAS Meeting Minutes for January – 2020

The January 17, 2020 meeting was called to order at 7:31 pm by Vice President Scott Conner. There were 17 members and 2 visitors present. The officers present were Scott Conner, Amy Barrett and Dave Kube. Ken Harris made the motion that the minutes from the December meeting, be accepted as published in the January Newsletter. That motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Scott Conner read a Message from the President: Although Tony was unable to attend this evening due to work responsibilities, He wanted to extend warm welcomes to each member and guest present tonight. Being the first meeting of the calendar year, the agenda for tonight is somewhat light, so please use the extra time to socialize and enjoy tonight’s program. Clear skies, Tony Bryan

V. President Scott Conner announced the following upcoming events.

Planning Session Sunday, January 26 2:30 EST @ Jasper, IN Regular Meeting Friday, February 21 7:30 PM @ Museum

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Amy Barrett reported that our finances are doing well and are in the black. Amy stated that we had enough donations to cover the museum charges for our winter meetings at the museum. Currently we have 42 paid members and she has a list of Non Paid from last year. Chuck Allen stated he has sent a second letter to some of those who have not re-joined.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

There are no significant changes in status of any of our special projects.

OLD BUSINESS

Constellation Quiz – Thanks go out to Mike Borman for composing a superb constellation quiz, and to the contributors of the awesome prizes. Congratulations to the winners in each category.

NEW BUSINESS

LAS President – Ken Alderson, President of the Louisville Astronomical Society for the past several years, has stepped down from his office due to health reasons. No other details regarding his condition are public at this time. James McEuin is now serving as LAS President. Please wish good health for Ken and a successful transition to the office of President for James.

Planning Session – The Executive Committee and persons serving in appointed board positions will be meeting for our 2020 Planning Session on January 26th. We have already had some ad hoc discussions about events, and are excited about things to come in 2020! Please talk to an officer or call Tony prior to the 26th if you have comments or suggestions regarding our 2020 events. The calendar of events will be posted to our website soon after the session.

Cub Scout Pack – Pack 383 will visit our observatory on February 15th as a night for the group to fulfill requirements for a Science Award. Dave Kube and possibly Scott Conner are serving as our ambassadors for the evening. We have received the requirements from the Scoutmaster, and those have been passed to Dave and Scott. Any other member wishing to help out that evening will be welcome. Dave confirmed that he will lead this event and has started on a new PowerPoint Presentation for this event.

NASA Essay Contest - Are you a student who dreams of becoming a NASA scientist? You are in luck! NASA's Scientist for a Day essay contest is now open for students in grades 5-12! The essay “Triton, Charon, or Miranda: which moon do you think we should return to for further exploration?” See any officer for more details, or go to the webpage https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scientist-for-a-day/

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EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

Texas Star Party Deadline – If you plan on going to the TSP in May of this year, you should submit a Registration / Reservation Request Form to ENTER THE TSP DRAWING before January 17, 2020. This will provide you the highest possible chance of being selected as one of the 500 people who will be able to attend TSP.

No Other New Business was presented by the membership

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Monthly Meeting - Our next regular meeting is scheduled for 7:30 PM on February 21, at the museum in Evansville. If you arrive late and find yourself locked out, please send a text message to an EAS officer. As a reminder, do not go to the observatory for our next monthly meeting night unless you wish solitude.

Program Tonight – Full Dome Move “Dark Matter Mystery” presented by Mitch Luman

ADJOURN MEETING

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm by Vice President Scott Conner

Respectfully Submitted – Dave Kube – Secretary

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