Volume 26, Number 9 NHagerstown, MD NSept. 2010 What’s Inside this issue! Editor’s Notes - Jim Stanicek ummer is almost gone, and pretty soon, we for our continued outreach events. In order to Editor’s Notes ...... Swill be seeing the of Autumn. One of support that, dues are going to be raised during the last weekends of the month brought some this meeting year. If you are enrolled in the Grillin’ & Gazin’...... marvelously clear skies at Ostertag , and a Google Groups, you should have received notice taste of what the next few months will bring to about this already, but there is a short article Dues Change...... the area as we approach Fall. outlining the need for this increase, and the benefits that will result because of it, included in We have had a wonderful “Grillin & Gazin’ this newsletter. Our Friendly Skies...... season, and there will be plenty of photos and descriptions of the great time we had at Rod’s Of course, there are always other items of The Q&A Page...... house just a few short weeks ago. interest in “The Observer” including Rod Martin and Andy Smetzer’s “Our Friendly Skies” Afocal ... One of the good things that happens as the school season gets underway, is the return of Our newest feature “Q&A” will attempt to meetings to the Brish Planetarium in the BOE answer the question, “Why are nebula so much building just off Commonwealth Ave. here in dimmer than a star of the same magnitude?”. The photos below show the Arecibo dish as Hagerstown. If you are a brand-new member, it really appears. ( I didn’t think that last or one who has just never attended one of our And don’t miss Steve’s article on afocal astro- month’s “Froot Loops” picture would fool you for one minute! ) TSA member Randy meetings, please make an effort to do so this on page 6. O'Connell, photographed it from the very year. rim, and then turned his upward to Clear Skies ! Jim S. capture the feedhorns for the sensitive Regarding this, the officers of our Club have receivers that pick up faint signals from the universe. decided that we really must purchase insurance

www.TriStateAstronomers.org Grillin’ & Gazin’ - An Extremely Popular Summertime Activity for the TSA !

The final Grillin’ & Gazin’ event for the season was held at Rod Martin’s house just north of Chambersburg, PA. Even though skies were cloudy ( as they have been pretty much for the whole Summer season ) great food was available in copious quantities, and a session was held to show how to polar align a German Equatorially mounted telescope. That scope was also fin- THE OBSERVER tuned for collimation, using some neighbor’s electric candles as our artificial “star”. is the monthly newsletter of the TriState Astronomers. As an extra treat, TSA Member Jack Roddick showed us the versatility of his big-wheeled TSA is a nonprofit group that was established in 1985 to promote Segway while Marsh Fuller looks on! In other pictures, Jim Stanicek wolfs down a burger for astronomy and encourage related the camera while wife, Margaret gets a laugh, host Rod Martin puts more meat on the grill activities to interested persons in while President Steve and other members patiently wait, and “Deep Sky Dan” Kaminsky wields the Maryland, Pennsylvania and his trusty camera to capture all the fun. West Virginia Area. Membership in the TSA costs $15.00 annually. An un-official count of 29 guests was made, and everyone enjoyed the cool, if overcast The group meets on the third weather! Wednesday of the month in the planetarium of the Washington County Board of Education in Hagerstown, Maryland. Outdoor observing sessions are usually scheduled each month during the weekend of the new moon, weather permitting.

TSA OFFICERS Steve Berte’ . . . . . Chairman Donn Williams . . . . Secretary Steve Ott . . . . . Treasurer and Membership Chairman Andy Smetzer . . Publicity Dir. Dan Kaminsky .Program Coord. Jim Stanicek .Newsletter Editor Andy Smetzer . . . Webmaster

Mailing Address: TriState Astronomers Washington Co. Planetarium 820 Commonwealth Ave. Hagerstown, MD 21740

What is it ? ? ? Web Site: Can you figure out www.tristateastronomers.org what this object might be ? Yes, it is related to astro- nomy, and yes, it is a very important tool NEW MEMBERS ARE for those who use it. ALWAYS WELCOME! The answer will be found on P. 3, but don’t look before Contents © Copyright 2010 TriState Astronomers you have made a unless otherwise noted pretty good guess !

p.s. the object on the right is Dan K ! CHANGE IN MEMBERSHIP DUES ANNOUNCED !

Change in Membership Dues Club Officers recently took action to ensure the TSA and all its members are protected from lawsuits by purchasing liability insurance for the TSA. The best policy available, and at the best rate, was one offered by the Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org/) which resulted in a decision by club officers to join the AL. Membership in the AL brings additional benefits to TSA members like the quarterly AL journal, "The ", and ability to participate in a variety of observing clubs with achieving certificates and awards associated with those clubs. These changes required the membership dues be raised from $15/year to $25/year to cover club recurring costs." Steve Berte Chairman, TriState Astronomers

Below are samples of Steve Berte’s moon pictures, as taken by his afocal camera setup on his 11 inch Schmidt-Cass telescope. Top-left: Clavius region Bottom-left: Mare Imbrium region Right: Copernicus-Bullialdus region

More information will be found on page 6 Our Friendly Skies - September 2010 - Rod Martin - Art by Andy Smetzer

VISIBLE EVENING PLANETS

VENUS is bright low in the west after sunset. MARS is low in the west. JUPITER is visible all night, in the east after sunset.

VISIBLE MORNING PLANETS

JUPITER is visible all night, in the west before sunrise. MERCURY is in the east in late September.

For more information about the visible evening planets and nighttime sky, download the planetarium's podcast "Skylights" from antpod.com.

SOLAR SYSTEM

The bright grouping of planets that we enjoyed all summer is starting to leave our sky over the next couple of months. However, there are still two very bright planetsfor us to enjoy. in fact, they are brighter than anything at night except the Moon

The brightest planet in the west is Venus. It is -4.7 magnitude, which is almost 10 times brighter than the next brightest planet. Take time to look at Venus through a small telescope or binoculars. You will notice that it is actually a thin crescent shape. The phases of Venus helped prove that it revolved around the Sun, not the Earth. Late in the month Venus will set less than an hour after the Sun.

In the opposite direction is the -2.9 magnitude Jupiter. It reaches opposition on September 21. That is the time that it is directly opposite the Sun in the sky and is closest to the Earth. It is visible all night and will dominate the sky when Venus leaves. Look for it below the square pattern of stars called Pegasus. Actually you can find the square after you see Jupiter. Your binoculars may show up to four of Jupiter's large satellites.

Even though Uranus is normally very difficult to find, this is the month to search! All month it is less than one degree north of Jupiter. That is about the width of two full moons. At +5.7 magnitude, you will definitely need a telescope or good binoculars. It is visible all night too.

Mars has been hanging around the sky but becoming fainter and fainter as the Earth speeds away in its faster orbit. It is +1.5 magnitude and just resembles a dim red star near Venus. It is low in Virgo and will pass into Libra later this month. Public planetarium programs will resume in October with the "Universe of Dr. Einstein." learn about the events that shaped the life of one of Saturn was part of the trio of planets, along with Venus and Mars. the greatest scientists ever. the program describes many of his Since their orbits are faster, Saturn has been left behind and enters theories and their impact on us. the muck of the twilight this month. When it reappears in a month or so, it will be a morning planet. The programs will begin the first Tuesday of October at 7 pm. Admission fees are $3 for adults, $2 for students, and senior citizens Mercury will have its best morning appearance of the year during late with a WCPS Gold Card are free! September. Mercury passes between the Earth and Sun on September 3 then rapidly moves away. The geometry is perfect to give Mercury the steep The planetarium is located at the Central Offices of the Washington angle to the horizon to be easy to spot during the last half of the County Public Schools on Commonwealth Avenue off Frederick Street in month. Look at the spot the Sun rises about a half hour before sunrise. Hagerstown. The planetarium's The "star" is Mercury. website is SUN AND MOON http://www.wcps.k12.md.us/depts_ programs/planetarium/index.html Since the end of March we have enjoyed more daytime than nighttime. Unfortunately that is about to change. As the Earth revolves around the http://www.wcboe.k12.md.us/conte Sun, sometimes we are leaning toward the Sun to give us summer and part nt/d_i_planet.cfm of the time we are leaning away from the Sun to give us winter. The position of the Earth when it is halfway between the two extremes is the It’s a SHOE ! fall equinox. That is the day that the Sun seems to cross the celestial A c t u a l l y, i t ’s a v e r y equator heading south. Daytime and nighttime are the same length and is an equinox, which means equal night. specialized shoe. Since the “mirror” on the Aricebo This year's fall equinox occurs on September 22 at 11:09 pm. From that telescope is composed of a date until the vernal equinox in March, we will have more nighttime than daytime. wire mesh, technicians must be very careful not to On September 1, the Sun rises at 6:38, sets at 7:42 for 13 hours and 4 distort the shape of it when minutes of daylight. By September 30, the Sun rises at 7:06, sets at actually walking on its 6:54 for 11 hours and 48 minutes of daylight. surface as they make The Sun enters the astronomical boundaries of Virgo the Maiden from Leo i n s p e c t i o n s , o r d o the Lion on September 16. Virgo is the largest zodiacal constellation maintenance work. Think and the Sun spends more time within its boundaries than any other constellation “ s n o w - s h o e s ” f o r a telescope! The Moon reaches last quarter on September 1, new on September 8, first quarter on September 15, full on September 23, and another last quarter on September 30.

BRISH PLANETARIUM AND EVENTS Q & A - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BUGGING YOU ! by Jim Stanicek, Editor - The Observer

At Rod’s Grillin’ & Gazin’ event, some the object is what determines its’ amateur scopes in today’s light- rather interesting questions came up, Absolute Magnitude. polluted skies. once again. So this month, I will attempt to answer them, as we Apparent Magnitude is how bright the Q: But you still haven’t answered, continue to develop this page of object appears to us here on Earth. A WHY do objects such as M33 ( questions and answers. Again, let certain object can have an extremely magnitude 5.7 ) appear so dim in my me encourage you to ask questions high Absolute Magnitude, but if it is telescope? I can hardly make it out, for this column, either at G&G events, far away, or shrouded in inter-steller but I have no problem seeing a 6th or during the regular meetings of the dust, it will appear to be dim to us. magnitude star ! TSA, or with your e-mails, either to Likewise, a comparatively dim star the TSA Google group, or by directly could appear to be quite bright A: Ahh, now we get to the difference contacting me at because of its nearness to us. Keep between seeing a point source of a [email protected] in mind, however, that the certain magnitude, and seeing a expressions “near” and “far” are diffuse object of the same magnitude. Here we go with this month’s Q&A: relative, because even the “nearest” star, Proxima Centuri, is over 4 light To answer this question, perform a Q: Just what exactly is “magnitude”, years away! That star, incidently has small experiment. Focus on a star of, and how come extended objects a very low Absolute Magnitude, so it let’s say, a third magnitude. It is fairly such as M33 are so much dimmer is not a very bright star in the southern bright in your scope, isn’t it? Now, than the same magnitude star! sky. rack your out of focus until the image is approximately the same Q: But just what does this all mean? diameter as a nebula or star cluster Just how is magnitude determined, that you may have seen. What do and why do the brightest stars, like you notice? The light from the point Sirius, actually have a source, which was relatively bright Magnitude assigned to them? before, has now spread out into a circle ( or maybe a donut if your A: The magnitude scale is actually telescope is a reflector ) and has logarithmic in nature. According to a become much dimmer in your vision. Wikipedia article, “It traces to the The star hasn’t become dimmer, but Greek astronomer Hipparchus (or the the image is, because the light from A l e x a n d r i a n a s t r o n o m e r that star is spread out over a larger Ptolemy—references vary). He AREA ! The same thing happens classed stellar objects on how bright when we look at an object such as they appeared — the brightest were M33. If all the light from M33 were "magnitude 1", the next brightest condensed into a point, it would M33 In Triangulum - Photo Hunter Wilson were "magnitude 2", on down to appear much brighter to our eye. "magnitude 6", the faintest he could A: Actually, when dealing with the see. Thus the scale is roughly 2000 That is exactly the way that subject of “magnitude”, one must years old.” Unfortunately, he ( or they magnitudes were assigned to the remember that there are actually two ) classified several of the brightest “faint fuzzies”. The apparent different quantities that are referred stars as “Magnitude 0” and did not diameter of the object was measured, to as “magnitude”. There is the start with the very brightest star and then a star of known magnitude “Absolute Magnitude” and there is the Sirius, so it had to receive a negative was de-focused to the point where its’ “Apparent Magnitude”. Actually, a number, brighter than zero. The light was spread out over the same third magnitude is sometimes scale goes backward, so several of area, and the magnitudes of the considered, which is “Photographic the brightest stars are between images were compared. The “faint Magnitude” the magnitude in specific magnitude 0 and 1, with increasingly fuzzy’s” magnitude would be the wavelengths of light, such as red and dimmer stars getting higher numbers, same as the star which produced the blue. down to the dimmest stars that can be same intensity of light when its light seen with the unaided eye, was spread over the same area! A b s o l u t e M a g n i t u d e , i s a magnitude 8. measurement of how bright the Now days, sensitive instruments are object actually is. This is primarily The invention of the telescope used to measure the magnitudes of determined by its size, and by its allowed stars down to around the stars and nebulae that are so dim that temperature. This figure is stated by 14th or 15th magnitude to be easily it takes DAYS of time to calculating how brightly the object seen in earlier days, with darker record their images on our most would shine at a fixed distance away skies. We are fortunate enough now sensitive instruments. But the in space, known as 10 parsecs, or days to see stars around the 8th to concept remains with us to this day. 32.6 light years. The luminosity of maybe 10th magnitude with most Afocal Astro-photography, A primer by Steve Berte’ - President - TRiState Astronomers

This article serves as an follow-on to my April 2010 A dedicated is also much easier to set Once you assemble the afocal system with eyepiece article in The Observer about how to use a Point & up as there are virtually no adjustments to be mad at one end and camera at the other, all you do is slap Shoot (P&S) camera to take lunar photos. Afocal to ensure the camera is properly positioned at the it into your telescope in place of your regular astrophotography is simply using a camera and its eyepiece. eyepiece and fire away (see photo of assembled lens to take a picture of the focused image coming camera afocal system)! out of your telescope eyepiece. You set your A key component of such setups is your telescope. camera's focus to infinity and fire away. The The quality and of your scope (not to Ideally, your camera should have a manual focus advantage of this technique is that you can useP&S mention your camera) are the key drivers to image option that you should set to infinity. If not, check or any camera with a fixed lens, not just quality. If you use an achromatic refractor for lunar your camera manual as many P&S cameras have a single lens reflex (SLR) cameras to take pictures. If work, you'll likely end up with some chromatic setting that locks focus at infinity. If you have a you have a camera for which adapters exist, you can aberration (CA) in your photos that you'll have to manual aperture and speed control that's be taking nice lunar photos for well under $100 in process out. CA also can result in some loss of great. If not, you'll have to play any tricks your additional equipment. sharpness due to the multiple bands of that camera will let you do to modify the exposure it result which converting the image to B&W won't fix. takes automatically, such as setting exposure The following is a quick , easy, and focused The smaller the aperture/ of your scope, compensation to underexpose, because the discussion of afocal astronphotography. For a more the less useful magnification and resolution you'll relatively small disc of the Moon and the black detailed discussion check out this site: be able to get. You should do afocal work with a background of the night sky is averaged by the http://www.barrie-tao.com/afocal.html fairly wide low power eyepiece (e.g., something in camera sensor. This results in an overexposed the 20mm to 40mm range). If you boost Moon. So, whatever camera you have, you'll have to The Moon is a great target for afocal photography magnification too much, you cannot focus afocally deal with this exposure issue. If you decide to (the explanation for why that is so is way beyond upgrade your camera, consider spending a little this short note)! more money on a P&S camera with more control over and aperture. The first thing you need to do is determine if you have a camera for which afocal adapters are made. My system consists of my Panasonic Lumix DMC- You'll need to do some research on your particular LX3, a Panasonic adapter that accounts for the fact camera to see if you can build an afocal system for your camera. If not, when next you buy a camera, be sure to do your camera research with afocal work in mind. A great site that can help you find afocal equipment for your camera and give you an idea of whether or not there are adapters for your particular brand of camera is Telescope Adapters.com at http://www.cncsupplyinc.com/ . The nice thing about the site is they sell all the parts you need to make your camera work and it will only set you back somewhere between $45 and $90 depending on what camera you own. Click on the "Digi-Kit Adapters" link right on the home page and off you go to an extensive list of adapter systems organized by camera make and because it is so large and bright. For example, to get model. pictures of stars and clusters you may have to use exposures of multiple seconds to even minutes to So, what do you need? Starting at the scope end, that the lens extends quite a bit in order to take get such dim images to record and you'd likely want you need an eyepiece, in my case it is a Celestron E- pictures, a step ring to connect the far end of the to use a higher ISO setting on your camera (e.g., 400- Lux 25mm piece I have dedicated to afocal work. camera adapter to the Digi-T ring and the eyepiece. 800). You may also have to take multiple images You can see the results are really pretty nice. All I've and 'stack' them to capture dim images. Some done to post-process these photos is tweak problems with multi-second (or longer) exposures exposure and shadows a little, adjust contrast, and high ISOs include blurring of the image due to sharpen, and crop. I think you'll agree the results movement of the scope (wind, bumps, etc.) and are pretty decent. All Moon photos were shot at ISO graininess of the images. However, you can 80 with shutter speeds of either 1/80 or 1/100 the Moon afocally at ISO 80, at F/2.8 for second and of F/2.8 or F/3.2 with lens set 1/100 sec so you can easily get clear and crisp to minimum zoom and focused at infinity. images that need little or no complex adjustments beyond cropping and perhaps minor exposure and So if you want to do some astrophotography that is contrast tweaks. Now comes the adapter system. You'll need a Digi-T ring adapter that attaches to your eyepiece (usually inexpensive, easy to do, and still allows your eyeball with set screws in the groove that holds the rubber time at your eyepiece, give lunar astrophotography There are a variety of ways to do afocal with your P&S camera a try! photography with your P&S camera ranging from eyecup on the eyepiece) and has threads for further simply holding it up to the eyepiece, to using so- adapters. Next you'll probably need a step-up ring called "universal" adapters, I mentioned in the to connect the smaller Digi-T ring threads to the previous article, or using an adapter system made (likely) larger diameter threads of your camera specifically for your camera. I'd like to give you an adapter. Next is the camera adapter unique to your example of the latter here to show you how camera and finally, your camera itself (see photo of affordable this method can be and how nice an system components). image can result.