NWASNEWS the Newsletter for the Wiltshire, Beckington, William Herschel and Swindon Group of Astronomical Societies

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NWASNEWS The Newsletter for the Wiltshire, Beckington, William Herschel and Swindon Group of Astronomical Societies

HAPPY SUMMER... June 2009 I am pleased to announce that while Saturday August 23rd is the Salisbury Philip Proven is not able to be with us star party and talks. Nick, Simon and I Volume 13 Issue 10 on our last meeting, he is back out of will be there. The details and location for hospital but visiting the cardiologist this the star party is here: evening (June 2nd). We all hope these http://www.churchfarmcandcpark.co.uk/ gets him over the problems that have The 7th, 8th and 10th August there are seen him in and out of the hospital IYoA evening viewing events with tele- Inside this issue: through the month. scopes in front of the Royal Crescent in Slightly more cheery note, Simon Bar- nes, our vice chair has cut down on one Bath and at Cumberwell Park on the Notes and News 2 vice at least and got married at the be- Monday. Helpers required. ginning of May. Good luck to you and And there is also the little matter of the Beckington Society 3 your new wife. longest Solar Eclipse of the century going We have a few events falling into this on in China. W Herschel Society/ BRLSI 3 summer, Beckington have their village Oh yes, work is proceeding in Spain, fete on 6th June and will have a stand. ready for a visit in September. Another Swindon Stargazers 4 Seend will be holding their fete on Au- gust 8th and the Wiltshire AS will have busy summer... NASA Space Place: 5 a stand. Clear skies: Andy Burns Solar Energy Capture Web Site: Picture Stitching 6

Creed’s Big Bang Update 7

Space News 7-9 Huge Flare Images and viewing logs 10- dubbed Big Bad 13 Boy, Imaged by Nick Howes on What’s Up in Summer 14 May 31st..

Constellation of the Month: 15- He did not leave our planet to it! 16 Draco The image of the Summer sky events 17 Earth is put in for scale. International Year of Astron- 18 More images in omy Events the Newsletter pages. ISS Times for Summer 19 Society Pages 20

Don’t forget our web site on www.wasnet.org.uk AND www.wasnet.co.uk

Volume 13 Issue 10

Dear Society Secretary, Notes, Notices I shall be obliged if you could pass on details of this meet- INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY 2009 ing to your members. The following details can also be found on the Section web site at http://www.britastro.org/vss/ STAR PARTIES IN THE BATH AREA Variable Star Section Meeting - Cardiff The Meeting will be held on Saturday 13th June 2009 at Wiltshire AS, Herschel Museum of Astronomy and the Faculty Lecture Theatre, TrevithickBuilding, Cardiff Herschel Society University. The lecture theatre has a capacity of 150 delegates and SUMMER ‘BY JOVE AND CATCH A FALLING has full projection facilities including PC, Laptop and Apple STAR’ Mac. We also have the Junior Common Room available which Friday 7th August: Venue In front of No1 Royal Cres- has loose seating and a capacity of 200 and so plenty of room for exhibitions. cent from 9pm. ‘By Jove’ Tea and coffee will be available during the morning and Saturday 8th August: Venue In front of No1 Royal afternoon. Lunch will be available in the refectory and will offer a Crescent from 9pm. ‘By Jove’ choice of three meals th The cost of the meeting will be £10 per head which will Thursday 13 August: Venue Cumberwell Park Golf include all refreshments including lunch. There will be no Club from 9pm. Catch a Falling Star: Telescopes to be reduction if you do not require lunch. set up on the driving range. Car parking and bar will be I am very grateful to Paul Roche and Alison Tripp of the Faulkes Telescope team for helping with the arrangements open! and for meeting some of the costs. The programme is now complete but poster papers will be Your help is required at these events. We had a very very welcome. exciting last time in front of the Royal Crescent. A list of accommodation in the area can be found here: http://www.britastro.org/vss/Hotel%20Listings%20in% 20Cardiff%20City%20Centre%20_1_.pdf

Roger Pickard, Director BAA VSS Frome Festival Event event? Talk by Dr Allan Chapman of Oxford University, PROGRAMME 10.00 am - Tea/ Coffee - Welcome Historian, 10.45 - 11.30 Vanessa Stroud, Faulkes Telescope Project/ Open and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society: University/LCOGT: A Search for Photometric Variability in Friday 10th July Massive Stars Using the MACHO and OGLE Microlensing Surveys 11.30 - 12.00 David Boyd, VSS: Results from the international CCD photometry campaign on DW UMa Are Science & Religion Necessarily in Confllict? 12.00 - 12.30 Tony Markham, VSS: A non-telescopic 100,000

Venue: St John's Church Frome. BA11 1DA 12.30 - 14.00 Lunch

Starts at 19:00 14.00 - 14.30 Stan Waterman, VSS: Some interesting stars £8 in Cygnus 14.30 - 15.15 Fraser Lewis, Faulkes Telescope Project/ And from 22.00 an astronomical observing session Open University/LCOGT: Photometry of quiescent LMXBs in Victoria Park 15.15 - 16.00 Tea Break Frome. 16.15 - 17.15 Dr Danny Steeghs, Warwick University: Map- ping the acrretion flows in compact binaries

17.15 - Short Presentations: Gary Poyner, VSS: V630 Cas; Event No. 1005 Jeremy Shears, BAA: Precursor to a superoutburst; Clive See: www.fromefestival.co.uk Beech, BAA: Review of visual data for 2008

Frome Festival Ltd, 25 Market Place, Frome 18.00 - Close BA11 1AHT 01373 453889 [email protected]

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Beckington Society Volume 13 Issue 10 Just a couple of things. Beckington Village Day is being held on Dear All, the 6th June. Noon - 5.00pm. We plan to have our Astronomy I've been asked to pass onto you details about the new stand there. There are various side shows and events and if the Herschel outreach website - it has a bunch of resources that weather is kind it is a very nice day out for all the family. societies might find useful.. "The websites are at: Having with the help of various people solved the Laptop (running http://herschel.cf.ac.uk SkyMap pro10) to HEQ5 mount control problem I have taken http://planck.cf.ac.uk my first image (unguided) of M64 the black eye galaxy. The and contain images for anyone to use as well as descriptions next step was to get Guidedog working and that has been an- on the instruments and science they will do. We also have a other challenge. few videos (ESA+our own) on there for people to watch. There will also be updates on technical info after launch and will include popular science articles written by mission scientists.

Hello, dear Herschellians About 15 of us enjoyed (so they said) the trip by train to Green- wich at the beginning of May. If you have not been since the upgrade a couple of years ago, I thoroughly recommend a visit (it's free!). Then, of course was the launch of the Planck and Herschel Space Telescopes. If you missed the launch, it can be viewed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8050327.stm This coming month we have a dramatic lecture at the BRLSI. Next Friday, 5th June, Andrew Lound, UK Coordinator of the Planetary Society, will present "Lunatick Astronomers". Many of you will know about the Lunar Society - a group of forward thinkers and movers of the 18th Century, which met on a night when the full moon would light their way home. Andrew writes: "The Lunar Society was one of the most influential groups in the 18th century, no aspect of science and industry was overlooked at their monthly dinner parties. Although the development of the Although the SkyMap pro handbook emphasises one should steam engine and coinage production became the main focus make all connections before running up the various programmes I for Matthew Boulton, he had developed a passion for astron- have found that can cause a problem. The default levels from the omy. Andy Lound tells the story of the Lunar Society’s interests Astronomiser unit (which plugs into the printer port) are such that in astronomy based on new research that has revealed some a 'guide signal' is sent which prevents the main programme track- surprising facts! A dramatic presentation beautifully illustrated ing at sidereal rate. Ironically the Guidedog programme needs to and accompanied by music and presented with 18th century be run up (but not set to guide) to prevent these unwanted sig- flair!" nals causing the mount to drift off target. The other alternative is Our last event was great fun, with some members of the audi- to disconnect the autoguide cable until required. Like so many ence calling for a heckler to be ejected from the meeting when problems the solution is easy once found!! he was indeed part of the show. This one should be no less entertaining, so try your utmost to be there! Regards, John However, that is not all there is of interest to astronomers this coming week. On Wednesday 3rd June, Dr Gary Mathlin (who talked to us about the cosmic origin of the chemical elements last September) will deliver the General University Lecture Pro- gramme "Galileo and the founding of the Modern World". Dr Mathlin is Bath University's representative on the Committee of the William Herschel Society,of which many of you are members. Parking in the west car-park (accessible from North Road) BRLSI/WHS is free and the lecture (also free) will be held at 5.15 p.m. in Herschel Group Meetings Lecture Theatre, 8 West 3.22. Details of the talk can be found all welcome at http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2009/05/29/gulp-mathlin/. at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Perhaps some of you are wondering when we will onext bserve 16-18 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HN tel: 01225 312084 at Wellow. Well, although we don't freeze in the summer months web: www.brlsi.org and www.williamherschel.org it never gets really dark and this means very late nights. It is (meetings start 7.00 for 7.30 unless otherwise stated) therefore proposed to leave off observing until September - still Visitors £4: Members/Students £2 balmy and possible to observe from about 9 p.m onwards. If you (except WHS Astronomy 2008 - Series fee £30: Members/ are going overseas on holiday and can get away from the bight Students £25) lights, don't forget to take binoculars and a guide to the skies. CONVENOR: Richard Phillips The further south you go, the better. Even without a star guide, follow the milky way down to the southern horizon where there are star clouds and nebulae. However, a star guide will tell you what you are looking at. So often people tell me what wonderful Fri 5 Jun Andrew Lound, British “Lunatik astronomy” skies they have seen when on holiday abroad, yet are never 09 Planetary Society. prepared to take best advantage of them. Hope to see you at least once during the coming week. Fri 3 Jul “Short Talks by Bristol As- Members of Bristol Astro- Best regards 09 tronomers” (TBC) and So- nomical Society. cial Dick Phillips

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Volume 13 Issue 10 Swindon Stargazers

Swindon’s own astronomy group

The club meets at The Lawn Community Centre - Guildford Avenue - Lawn - Swindon - SN3 1LA and has one meeting this month before the summer break as follows:

Friday 19 June 2009 19:00 - 21:30 - Programme: John Bryant - Intro- duction to Radio Astronomy John is Membership Secretary for Swindon Star- Email: [email protected] gazers Address: 30 Tudor Crescent, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, SN3 4JU

NATIONAL TRUST NIGHT WALK During July and August there will be no formal club meeting, but a Club Summer BBQ is planned Hello Andy, and perhaps combined with a viewing of the I just wanted to make contact as I am the Warden for Cley Hill nr Warminster and will be hopefully joint leading the Perseids Meteor Shower around 12th August. night walk in June. Sarah has kindly made contact with you Also in August we are planning to have a good and says you will be interested in taking a prominent role in attendance at the Salisbury Star Party, organised helping with the astrology on night? I am happy to talk about the features of the hill our management and how we man- through Stargazer1980 on the Stargazers Lounge. age (pretty simple really so won't last too long!) But am a This year will be very well attended so we are pure beginner as far as the beauty of the night sky is con- looking forward to a great time! cerned. We will welcome Jonathan, Ian and Bruce and very much appreciate your involvement. Myself and one other National Regular club meetings will reconvene on Friday Warden will be present and will do a brief talk of our man- 25 September 2009. agement of the site, it will be brief as the light will be fading and the walk is for the night and the astronomy. There is a small car park at the base of the hill, both myself and my The club recently gained membership of FAS so colleague will aim to be there 8.30pm onwards just in case we will be able to organise stargazing nights es- any people turn up early but the walk is advertised as 9pm - pecially in the winter with the confidence! midnight. I attach directions to the car park and we will all set off from there. Could we please have a contact number one of the people To find out more about Swindon Stargazers please contact Peter coming along in case of any last minute change of plans? Struve or Michael Partridge, or simply log on to the website at: Directions to small car park: From Warminster, come off the http://www.swindonstargazers.com A36 onto the A362. The car park is just over a mile towards Frome, on your right. Hope to hear from you soon, Chairman: Peter Struve All the best Tracy Bollans Tel No: 01793 481547 Countryside Warden Email: [email protected] Wiltshire Countyside Address: 3 Monkton Close, Park South, Swindon, SN3 2EU

Secretary: Michael Partridge Tel Number: 01793 825258

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Volume 13 Issue 10 recent years shows, fire safety can be an issue with this battery type.

“The challenge was to take these batteries and put in a power management circuit that protects against internal Scoring More Energy from overcharge,” Stevens explains. So NASA contracted with ABSL Power Solutions to develop spacecraft batteries with Less Sunlight design control circuits to prevent power spikes that can lead to fires. “It worked like a charm.”Now that ST-5 has demon- strated the safety of this battery design, it is flying on NASA’s THEMIS mission (for Time History of Events and For spacecraft, power is everything. Without electrical power, Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) and is slated to satellites and robotic probes might as well be chunks of cold fly aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Solar rock tumbling through space. Hundreds to millions of miles Dynamics Observatory, both of which are scheduled to from the nearest power outlet, these spacecraft must somehow launch later this year. Thanks to ST-5, a little sunlight can go eke enough power from ambient sunlight to stay alive. That’s a really long way. Find out about other advanced technolo- no problem for large satellites that can carry immense solar gies validated in space and now being used on new mis- panels and heavy batteries. But in recent years, NASA has sions of exploration at nmp.nasa.gov/TECHNOLOGY/ been developing technologies for much smaller microsatellites, scorecard. Kids can calculate out how old they would be which are lighter and far less expensive to launch. Often less before having to replace lithium-ion batteries in a handheld than 10 feet across, these small spacecraft have little room to game at spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/st5_bats.shtml. spare for solar panels or batteries, yet must still somehow power their onboard computers, scientific instruments, and This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, navigation and communication systems. Space Technology 5 was a mission that proved, among other technologies, new California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. concepts of power generation and storage for spacecraft. “We tested high efficiency solar cells on ST-5 that produce almost 60 percent more power than typical solar cells. We also tested batteries that hold three times the energy of standard spacecraft batteries of the same size,” says Chris- topher Stevens, manager of NASA’s New Millennium Program. This program flight tests cutting- edge spacecraft technologies so that they can be used safely on mission-critical satellites and probes.“This more efficient power supply allows you to build a science -grade spacecraft on a miniature scale,” Stevens says.Solar cells typically used on satellites can con- vert only about 18 percent of the available energy in sunlight into electrical current. ST-5 tested ex- perimental cells that capture up to 29 percent of this solar energy. These new solar cells, devel- Caption: oped in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory in Helen Johnson, a spacecraft technician at NASA's Goddard Ohio, performed flawlessly on ST-5, and they’ve already been Space Flight Center, works on one of the three tiny Space swooped up and used on NASA’s svelte MESSENGER probe, Technology 5 spacecraft in preparation for its technology which will make a flyby of Mercury later this year. Like modern validation mission. laptop batteries, the high-capacity batteries on ST-5 use lithium -ion technology. As a string of exploding laptop batteries in

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Volume 13 Issue 10 Web Sites of the Month: Silverlight Deep Zoom

A research end of Microsoft have put a fantastic multi file type ICE/ image composition editor. Stitch together those moon shots... Trust me...amazing...utterly amazing... time saving beyond belief.. Make an all sky image that can be zoomed right into... Nick I just used this to composite a lunar image...from another set I took last year (12 images) http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/

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Volume 13 Issue 10 Before the Big Bang (An Update) SPACE NEWS Last year I wrote an article outlining my researches into the Planet-Hunting Method Succeeds: Jupiter cause of the Big Bang. Although the argument was complete, -like Planet Found Orbiting One Of Small- there were some missing numbers ...... est Stars This update revises my ideas behind the Big Bang and most ScienceDaily (May 29, 2009) — A long-proposed tool for importantly now includes the missing numbers (Don't worry – hunting planets has netted its first catch -- a Jupiter-like no maths). planet orbiting one of the smallest stars known. The technique, called astrometry, was first attempted 50

years ago to search for planets outside our solar system, What caused the Big Bang ? called exoplanets. It involves measuring the precise motions of a star on the sky as an unseen planet tugs the star back My model of the Cosmos suggests that the Big Bang occurred and forth. But the method requires very precise measure- because our Universe got too big. ments over long periods of time, and until now, has failed to turn up any exoplanets. In other words there is a possible limit to the size that any astro- A team of two astronomers from NASA's Jet Propulsion nomical body can reach. If it exceeds this size (mass), it be- Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has, for the past 12 years, comes unstable and explodes – This is what I believe happened been mounting an astrometry instrument to a telescope at at the Big Bang the Palomar Observatory near San Diego. After careful, in- termittent observations of 30 stars, the team has identified a new exoplanet around one of them -- the first ever to be discovered around a star using astrometry. The missing Numbers ...... "This method is optimal for finding solar-system configura- After many hours of calculations I am now pleased to tell you tions like ours that might harbor other Earths," said astrono- that I have a value to the maximum size of an astronomical mer Steven Pravdo of JPL, lead author of a study about the body, which I am calling Creeds Constant (Critical Universal results to be published in the Astrophysical Journal. "We found a Jupiter-like planet at around the same relative place Mass): as our Jupiter, only around a much smaller star. It's possible this star also has inner rocky planets. And since more than seven out of 10 stars are small like this one, this could mean Creeds Constant(Critical Universal Mass) = 3.1*1082 kg planets are more common than we thought." The finding confirms that astrometry could be a powerful planet-hunting technique for both ground- and space-based OK it's just a number so what does it mean? telescopes. For example, a similar technique would be used by SIM Lite, a NASA concept for a space-based mission that Well our stable universe over time kept growing due to accre- is currently being explored. tion. At some point it reached and then exceeded the Creeds The newfound exoplanet, called VB 10b, is about 20 light- Constant (universal critical mass) and then things became inter- years away in the constellation Aquila. It is a gas giant, with esting. a mass six times that of Jupiter's, and an orbit far enough away from its star to be labeled a "cold Jupiter" similar to our The forces inside our universe then became greater than the own. In reality, the planet's own internal heat would give it an gravitational forces holding it together and it simply exploded Earth-like temperature. (Big Bang). The planet's star, called VB 10, is tiny. It is what's known as an M-dwarf and is only one-twelfth the mass of our sun, just So: The mass of our Universe at the time of the Big Bang barely big enough to fuse atoms at its core and shine with 82 would be equal to the Creeds Constant: 3.1 10 kg. starlight. For years, VB 10 was the smallest star known -- now it has a new title: the smallest star known to host a Currently the best estimate of the mass of the universe is planet. In fact, though the star is more massive than the 55 about 1* 10 kg. and rising, so my value of the mass of the uni- newfound planet, the two bodies would have a similar girth. verse is acceptable, especially as in my paper I point out that Because the star is so small, its planetary system would be two major elements are omitted in the current best estimate. a miniature, scaled-down version of our own. For example, More details on www.creedsuniverse.org VB 10b, though considered a cold Jupiter, is located about as far from its star as Mercury is from the sun. Any rocky Dudley Creed Earth-size planets that might happen to be in the neighbor- hood would lie even closer in. "Some other exoplanets around larger M-dwarf stars are also similar to our Jupiter, making the stars fertile ground for future Earth searches," said Stuart Shaklan, Pravdo's co- author and the SIM Lite instrument scientist at JPL. "Astrometry is best suited to find cold Jupiters around all kinds of stars, and thus to find more planetary systems ar- ranged like our home." Two to six times a year, for the past 12 years, Pravdo and

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Volume 13 Issue 10

Shaklan have bolted their Stellar Planet Survey instrument onto a host of planetary nebulae in the outskirts of Messier 87. Palomar's five-meter Hale telescope to search for planets. The (Planetary nebulae are the final phase in the life of sun-like instrument, which has a 16-megapixel charge-coupled device, or stars, when stars eject their outer layers into space.) CCD, can detect very minute changes in the positions of stars. The VB 10b planet, for instance, causes its star to wobble a small fraction of a degree. Detecting this wobble is equivalent to measuring the width of a human hair from about three kilometers away. Other ground-based planet-hunting techniques in wide use include radial velocity and the transit method. Like astrometry, radial velocity detects the wobble of a star, but it measures Dop- pler shifts in the star's light caused by motion toward and away from us. The transit method looks for dips in a star's brightness as orbiting planets pass by and block the light. NASA's space- based Kepler mission, which began searching for planets on May 12, will use the transit method to look for Earth-like worlds around stars similar to the sun. "This is an exciting discovery because it shows that planets can be found around extremely light-weight stars," said Wesley Traub, the chief scientist for NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Pro- gram at JPL. "This is a hint that nature likes to form planets, even around stars very different from the sun."

This deep image of the Virgo Cluster shows the diffuse light between the galaxies belonging to the cluster.

Observing the light of the planetary nebulae in the Virgo Cluster from Earth is akin to looking at a 30-Watt light bulb from a distance of about 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometres), or about 15 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. "It is a little bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, but in the dark," said team member Magda Arnaboldi of the ESO. The new observations, detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, show that Messier 87's halo of stars is missing some members. The team estimates that it has a diameter of about a million light-years, which is significantly smaller than expected (though still three times the extent of the Milky Way's halo). "This is an unexpected result," said team member Ortwin Gerhard of the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Phys- This artist's concept shows the smallest star known to host a ics in Germany. "Numerical models predict that the halo around Messier 87 should be several times larger than our planet. The planet, called VB 10b, was discovered using astrom- observations have revealed. Clearly, something must have etry, a method in which the wobble induced by a planet on its cut the halo off early on." star is measured precisely on the sky. (Credit: NASA/JPL- Just what that something is, scientists aren't yet sure, though Caltech) they have a few ideas. Parts of Nearby Galaxy Mysteriously Missing The collapse of dark matter nearby in the galaxy cluster could account for the "cut-off." Another possibility is that an- Tuesday, May 26, 2009 other galaxy in the cluster, Messier 84, came much closer to Chris Mihos (Case Western Reserve University)/ESO

The giant galaxy Messier 87 has finally been sized up, but outer parts that should have been there are missing, scientists now find. The galaxy is smaller than expected. Messier 87 belongs to the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, the nearest galaxy cluster to our own Milky Way. The relatively young cluster is located about 50 million light- years away in the constellation Virgo and contains many hundreds of galaxies. A team of astronomers used the super-efficient FLAMES spec- trograph at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile to make ultra-precise measurements of

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Volume 13 Issue 10

Messier 87 in the past (about a billion years ago) and dramati- Space Center and his colleagues found that the models are cally perturbed it. actually quite good: They're accurate to within 10% of the measured dose. That means it's "all systems go" for using "At this stage, we can't confirm any of these scenarios," Arn- these models to plan NASA's return to the Moon or even a aboldi said. "We will need observations of many more plane- trip to Mars. tary nebulae around Messier 87." The most dangerous kind of radiation astronauts experience One thing the observations showed for sure though is that is galactic cosmic rays (GCR). These are bare atomic nuclei, Messier 87 is on a collision course with another nearby some as heavy as iron atoms, accelerated to nearly the neighbour, Messier 86. speed of light by distant supernovas. Because of their high "We may be observing them in the phase just before the first velocity, high mass, and positive electric charge, GCR parti- close pass," Gerhard said. "The Virgo Cluster is still a very cles can cause tremendous damage to a person's cells. And dynamic place and many things will continue to shape its gal- traditional radiation shielding can't stop them. axies over the next billion years." Understanding the danger isn't as simple as just knowing how much radiation is out there. The Phantom Torso Returns "What matters most is how much radiation actually hits a May 27, 2009: The Phantom Torso is back, and he has quite person's vital organs," says Cucinotta. a story to tell. And to reach those organs, particles of radiation must first He's an armless, legless, human-shaped torso, a mannequin pass through the walls of the spacecraft, the person's that looks like he's wrapped in a mummy's bandages. Scien- spacesuit, and their skin and other body tissues. It's very tists at the European Space Agency call him Matroshka, and complex. Sometimes these barriers will slow down or stop a like his NASA counterpart Fred, this mannequin is an intrepid particle of radiation. But sometimes the collision between a space traveler. Now that he's spent four months on the Inter- radiation particle and a barrier will produce a shower of new national Space Station, scientists are learning about the radiation particles called "secondary" radiation. Computer space radiation that Matroshka endured. models must account for all of this. Right: The Space station astronauts wear sensors on their flight suits to Phantom record total radiation exposure, but there's no practical way Torso. to measure how much radiation actually reaches their vital organs. Fred has sensors just about everywhere--even on the inside. Lessons The Phantom Torsos are made of a special plastic that learned from closely mimics the density of the human body, sliced hori- Fred and Ma- zontally into 35 one inch layers. In these layers, researchers troshka have embedded a total of 416 lithium-crystal dosimeters, each of major implica- which measures the accumulated radiation dose at one tions for point in the body over the course of the experiment. Fred NASA's plans and Matroshka also contain several "active" dosimeters lo- to set up a cated where vital organs such as their brain, thyroid, heart, manned out- colon, and stomach would be. These active sensors keep a post on the record of how the radiation dose changes moment by mo- Moon and ment. Together, these various sensors thoroughly docu- eventually to mented how radiation propagate through their bodies. send people to Mars. Pro- "The geometry and the composition of the torso mimics the tecting astro- human body nauts from the very well," harmful ef- Cucinotta fects of space says. "I think radiation will it's a very be a critical good test." challenge for these ex- So now that tended mis- these com- sions. To de- puter models sign spacesuits, vehicles, and habitats with enough shielding have been to keep astronauts safe, mission scientists need to know how verified in the much radiation --and what kinds --astronauts actually absorb. real world, what do they Scientists can estimate this radiation dose using computer say about models, but a computer model and real-life can be two wildly keeping as- different things. Until now, researchers weren't sure whether tronauts safe their models accurately predicted the radiation dose astro- in a lunar nauts experience in space. outpost - or That's where the Phantom Torso comes in. on Mars? He provided the real-world test needed to prove that the mod- "Short lunar missions are fine," Cucinotta says, "but living in els are essentially correct. By analyzing the measurements a lunar habitat for 6 months starts to be problematic. We're from hundreds of radiation sensors embedded throughout going to have to do a really good job with radiation shielding Matroshka's body, Francis Cucinotta of NASA's Johnson and perhaps medical countermeasures to have 6-month

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Volume 13 Issue 10 missions." Historians debate what made Harriot so reticent. In a paper Mars will be even tougher, these models suggest. Some sce- published in February [pdf], Oxford professor Allan Chap- man argues that Harriot was well-off and “was not an narios call for missions that would last 18 months or more. agenda- or career-driven individual,” whereas Galileo was "Right now there's no design solution to stay within safety lim- determined to rise in station through his science. But Pum- its for such a Mars mission," Cucinotta says. "Putting enough frey also notes that both of Harriot’s wealthy patrons ended radiation shielding around a spacecraft would make it far too up imprisoned in the Tower of London, which may have dis- heavy to launch, so we need to find better lightweight shield- couraged him from crowing about his controversial discover- ing materials, and we probably need to develop medical tech- ies. “Harriot had no one to protect him, because his patrons were worried about having their heads chopped off,” Pum- niques to counteract damage to cells caused by cosmic rays." frey says. An exhibition of Harriot’s maps opens on July 23 He notes that one of the biggest obstacles to progress in this at the Science Museum in London. area is "uncertainty in the types of cell damage deep cosmic ray exposure can cause. We still have a lot to learn."

Another key question: How do solar flares affect astronauts? Observing Logs Fred and Matroshka have not experienced any intense solar Viewing Log 11th May 2009 radiation storms during their time onboard the ISS. 21:30 to 23:00 "The energy spectrum of solar events and how the radiation Seeing moderate, Transparency Good. Quite windy. dose changes from organ to organ will be very different than what we have seen so far from cosmic rays," says Cucinotta. 10” Skywatcher dobsonian, 13mm Ethos and 30mm Sky- watcher 2” eyepieces To find the answer, scientists have recreated the intense ra- 11x60 Helios binoculars diation from giant solar flares right here on Earth, and Ma- troshka has been chosen as the unlucky volunteer who will From Saturn to the Space Station - Waiting for the dark experience the blast. A fake astronaut is about to be subjected Heaved out the 10” Dobsonian, which I hoped would give to an artificial solar flare! my some galaxies to view. Arthritis in the knee limited my setting up capabilities so this was a good choice of instrument, minimising weight and set up. First Map of the Moon Leo and Saturn getting clearer as the dark fell. A good On a clear night in July of 1609, English polymath Thomas chance of the Virgo cluster and down to the Sombrero ap- Harriot pointed his “Dutch perspective glass” toward the cres- pearing through the trees to my south. cent moon. The crude lunar map he sketched from his observations dates him as the earliest person known to have used a telescope to study a celestial object, beating Galileo Galilei by nearly four months. Over subsequent years Harriot produced remarkable drawings showing the locations of the moon’s craters and what he believed to be its oceans and coastlines. His cartography was not bettered for decades. So why does Gali- leo enjoy lasting fame while Harriot has been all but forgotten? “The unfortunate thing is that Harriot never got around to pub- lishing his maps,” says Stephen Pumfrey, a professor of history at Lancaster University in England, “and it was definitely a publish-or-perish situation.” Since Harriot never publicly claimed to have been the first to observe the moon’s surface in detail, Galileo got the credit.

A very interesting pattern of Moons. The Televue 13mm Ethos was showing its power and clarity. The triangle of Encaladus, Dione and Tethis shimmering into view, to the right Titan and Hyperion was suggesting itself – for enough from Saturn not to be drowned out by the planets glow. At 14.3 magnitude its around 100 time dimmer than Titan. Fur- ther out was Iapetus at 11th Magnitude. Alone to the left was Rhea. 7 of Saturn’s moons in one night! But where was Mi- mas. Unfortunately it was in front of Saturn, and I just wasn’t able to pick up it, or its shadow. The rings were nice. OK, no goto, just memory, star hopping and occasional checks on potential positions on Sky Map Pro left running on a computer inside (I should have taken out a book. I used to. The binoculars certainly help when you are star hopping. Up the trailing leg of Leo, and before you reach Theta Leo (Chertan) 3.3 magnitude, about half way up from Iota Leo 4th Magnitude, the smudgy glows are visible of M65 and M66, and above this NGC3628, a very thin fuzzy streak. The

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Volume 13 Issue 10 traditional Leo triplet, but I do prefer the second Leo triplet, so M39 high up, loose open cluster, then a suggestion of across from Chertan (Theta Leo) to Regulus (alpha Leo). A NGC7000, the north American nebula to the west of th little over halfway back and you get to a 5 Magnitude star (no Deneb. Then below the cross the patch of 7/8 stars that name, 52 Leo) then drop south towards 53 Leo – about the make up the open cluster M29, neat but very small. same brightness. Now search the area about halfway be- On down, even in the one hand held binoculars I can pick tween the two and three fuzzy glows are there (with a few out both components of Alberio, the brighter orange star stars), this is M105, nudge down and right for M95 and M96. and just to one side a small blue bright speck. On through These 6 galaxies lie around 35 million light years away – to Altair, about half way and the coat hanger cluster is easy about 2/3rds of the way to my next targets, the Virgo/Coma to pick out. Now move to the east from here, not too far, Berenices cluster. three fields of view and a large dim patch is visible. M27, First, start at the lowest point. Below Spica, and towards the the dumbbell nebula. top of Corvus. I just pick up a small arrow of 5/6 stars of the th th Now a glimmer through the tree tells me moving and wait- 7 to 8 Magnitude. Once you are used to looking for this ing will bring Jupiter into view. And there are the Moons, they seem to point down and left across ¼ degree to a fuzzy two left and two right but they ones on the right are joined blob with a hard dark band running across it. This is M104, by a 5th magnitude star, Mu Capricorn, 90 light years away. the Sombrero galaxy. Now I remember that Neptune should be close. Half a de- Rather than scan up, I then go to the top of my area of inter- gree above and slightly East. That is in the same field of est (gets a tree branch out of the way, which is underlit by a view. A check, and above a neighbours tree branch there street light, it’ll be cleared by the main cluster of galaxies in is a 8th magnitude blip. No other stars this bright in the re- about 1/2hour) . Up to Canes Venetici, out of the cluster and gion, so I have caught Neptune a meer 4447 million kilo- only 27million light years away is M51 the Whirlpool and its metres away, next to Jupiter 729 million kilometres away. companion NGC5195. Move down to alpha Canes V. Known as Cor Caroli, named by Edmund Halley in honour of king Charles II (under advice from the kings surgeon at the time). On the way a fuzzy blob of M63, the Sunflower galaxy comes into view. Then to the right and up from Cor Caroli is another blob, M94, a very cir- cular shape. Very interesting to image this galaxy... Past the Coma Berenices star cluster (binoculars advised for this), and to the lower left is another galactic blob with a bit of a dark ring underneath it – M64, the black eyed galaxy. Again a nice picture for imagers. Ignoring the globular clusters close to alpha Coma and down to the border with Virgo. Now is a real test for identification of the numerous blobs that make up the Virgo cluster. Using the brighter as guides, in the middle of the cluster is M86, then down and left to the huge M87then left and slightly down over Nice one. twice the distance to M60. Next to M86 is M84, in the same field of view, then do the same at M60, and M59 can be seen Andy to the west. Run the line back towards M87, and M58 can just The recent good weather was forced me out. You just can’t be seen. Go North/East from here a small hop to M89 and not get out there. While I did not want to get into big imag- M90. ing sessions, I couldn’t avoid imaging the Moon. Tuesday, Now move up and right from M86, about the same distance 26th saw a lovely Earth shine Moon but a lot of cloud, and 2.3 degrees and you are just into Coma Berenices and here is was not ready to get out the full EQ6 equipment. A quick M99. Another 1.5 degree North and slightly East from here and he last fuzzy for tonight. The beautiful face on spiral of 600mm equivalent shot propped up on the car... M100. It is a fairly active galaxy, and it was the measurement of the Cephied variables in the galaxy that set the distance for the rest of the Virgo cluster – a mere 50 million light years away! Now my leg was aching I began to pack up. But there was icing on the cake. At 22:50 I saw the bright blob of the space station go over. A quick change to a 2” 30mm eyepiece and was able to chase the space station with the dobsonian telescope, and could easily discern shape to station, a definite ‘H’ shape was visible. A nice evening. Pain and cloud stopped any more viewing until last night: Pyjama Viewing Log 22nd May 2009 (no time or inclination for dressing gown) 03:00 – 03:30 Transparency and seeing good. Light coming into sky pre dawn. 11x60 Helios binoculars- one handed, poisoned arm! The terminator is just running through mare Crisium. The Scanning down from overhead view to the side of my house craters that can just be made out in a line are Langrenus, gives a lovely Cepheus, Cygnus, Aquilla milky way line. Petavius, Furnevius and Pontecoulant.

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IMAGES and Logs Volume 13 Issue 10

On the 29th and 30th I got out to do a Dressing gown viewing 5mm eyepieces. of the night sky. The 5 day Moon was glorious at 11pm. Just used my 10x60 Helios binoculars. June 1st I swapped the scope for a lighter 102mm TMB refrac- Crater Aristoteles just placing its Easterm rim into mare Fri- tor. Again not very dark, but the Moon superb and Saturn gorus, further over in the sunlight Heracles and Atlas very readily visible. The rings are now moving even tighter to edge prominent. on. Very noticeable. 10mm and 3.5mm eyepieces used. Running down into Mare Serenitatis and crater Posidinius, Le Monnier, with clear Dorsa Lister and Smirnov (I wonder if it is full of Vodka). Across promontory Archemonsia, and then Plinius and Mare Tranquilitatis with small craters Ross and Arago. Over into Mare Nectaris and Fracastorius. Back towards the terminator the giant craters named after the Egyptian Alexendrian Greeks, Theophilus, Cyrillas and the martyred Catharina (beheaded for her Christian beliefs). Into the uplands and Rabbi Levi then Pitiscus, Hommel, Vlacq, Rosenberger (the german and dutch region of craters) and Maryinus. 30th 1:15 to 1:45am Just absorbing and scanning the Milky Way from the double cluster in Perseus, Cepheus, Cygnus, Vulpeccia, Sagatta, Aquilla, Scorpio, Libra and Ophiachus. With many cluster up for viewing, a precursor for our summer evenings. Nice to see growth in the Moon as the terminator moves day Evening of 30th. by day, revealing new features. The alpine rift at the edge on At last a solid mount lifted. EQ6 and 8” Maksutov. Not dark Sunday night, this had moved over to include Plato and lower but viewing and imaging the Moon and Saturn with a friend. down the Rupes Recta or straight wall. Just DSLRs on the back of the scope.

Then up in the middle of the night, well 3:20 and Jupiter easily seen. Out with the 76mm Televue on Telepod and in 30 sec- onds I am blown away as the 12mm Nagler reveals a line of This is the evening I alighted on Nu Draco, the fantastic eyes moons, not only that, a dot on the edge of Jupiter, a shadow of of Draco, double A class binary system about 100 light years Ganymede! Then a line a moons Ganymede, Io, Europa and away. Callisto all within 4 Jupiter widths! M57, M13, Albierio, and Saturn with Titan close in. The sky Just get out there and view! wasn’t properly dark - but at least some viewing possible. Andy May 31st...same set up but at home...

And again viewing done at the same time using 14mm and M13 25x4min exp ,left it all night imaging woke up at 4am to

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Volume 13 Issue 10 find guide cam jammed against pier. Never thought about Sharpless 106. checking to see if it would hit. Live and learn no damage Imaged in 7 minutes through 7 filters in IR.. done. Equipment Enjoy M13 200" Mount Palomar Telescope !!! Ian Imaged by David Thompson, Caltech Processing and data reduction - Nick Howes Fits data, in H, H2, K, KS, KS1, and BRG bands Combined in Maxim DL5, final processing in CS2 Nick

If anyone wants to see it in all of its glory http://deepzoompix.com/Album.aspx? alias=howesnickhowes&album=1

M97 Owl Nebula Ian

We're probably going to use this for the Moon picture as well as it will avoid any potential download issues/print/stealing issues Not sure it will work on everything, but give it a go..and it ex- ports directly to deep zoom, PSD and other quite useful for- mats :-) Nick

(Note this requires a download from Microsoft Silverlight to enable viewing-Andy see website page)

Eclipse 22nd July

A few from this past weekend. A huge prom on Sunday, probably extended around 120,000Km from the surface. Nick

Here is a look at the positions of planets and bright stars that should come out to play when the Sun plunges into eclipse at 9:34am.

Andy

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What’s Up In Summer, 2009 Volume 13 Issue 10

The night sky can be a little short in June at our latitude, but Also we get an opportunity to see more star features. In par- this improves through July and August, and if any of you are ticular dying stars and planetary nebula such as M27 Dumb- travelling further south for the summer holidays then the bell, and M57 the Ring Nebular. length of darkness increases as the twilight decreases. Of course on the 22nd July we have the total solar eclipse. The above sky map is from Stellarium and is set for 1st Au- This will be invisible from the United Kingdom, taking place at gust (so a full Moon to the south). Note how much lower the around 1:40 in the morning. However 2 weeks after this event Moon sits against the ecliptic line shown, so it will look large there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse taking place from 23:05 (the Moon effect). on the 5th August, reaching fullest eclipse around 1:15 on the Saturn and Leo with the associated clusters have disap- 6th. peared by 10pm in August, to be replaced by the summer The Sun is fairly quiet still but is capable of springing a few triangle and to the East, Jupiter is coming up (but again is surprises. You just have to see the image on the front of the below the ecliptic). magazine taken by Nick at the end of May. Overhead and to the south we are looking at our own Milky If the weather stays as fine as it has been at the end of May/ Way galaxy. The associated galactic halo prevents us seeing beginning of June we are due for some fantastic sights. Don’t many galaxies during this period but they are replaced by forget the Perseid meteor shower on the 12th August. See wonders of our own galaxy, globular clusters swarming page 17. around our galactic centre that lies in the direction of Sagitta- Clear skies. rius. Hanging in the galaxy we have lots of open clusters of various ages of stars. Andy

Constellation of the Month: Draco Volume 13 Issue 10

Draco world on his shoulders, so he told Heracles, "just a few more months and I'll return", planning to leave Heracles The ancient story of the Dragon concerns the Golden Apples the task of carrying the worldly globe. of the Hesperides and Heracles' Eleventh Labour. Heracles agreed but asked Atlas if he could get more The eleventh task of Heracles (some references say it was comfortable. He begged Atlas to take the globe for a the Twelfth) was to steal the golden apples from the apple moment while he put some padding on his head. Atlas tree which Gaia (Mother Earth) had given to Hera, Queen of placed the apples on the ground and picked up the the Heavens, at her wedding to Zeus. globe. Hera had chosen Ladon, a monstrous dragon with a hundred Heracles thanked him very much and walked away with heads, to guard her precious tree. So Ladon would lay in the the three apples. garden, coiling himself around the tree, and Hera feared no one would steal her apples. As for Ladon, Hera felt miserable over its loss and placed it in the heavens, coiled around the north pole. Heracles went about collecting useful bits of information about the dragon, finding out how to fool it and steal the ap- As it wraps itself around the northern hemisphere Draco ples. One suggestion was to take along Atlas, who could be is circumpolar, not far from the North Pole. In fact Thu- of some assistance. ban (alpha Draconis) was once the Pole Star, at about the time these stories were being told for the first time. For having opposed Zeus, Atlas had been punished by having to carry the world on his shoulders. Heracles devised the A very old and extensive constellation, Draco once held perfect plan; he offered to relieve Atlas of the terrible burden even more stars. Quite fittingly, Hercules is just to the for an hour or so, long enough for Atlas to perform a favour in east of Draco. In fact, some cartographers draw the fig- return: fetch the golden apples from the Garden of the Hes- ure of Hercules with one foot resting on the head of perides. Draco. Atlas was in agreement; anything for a little rest. But there Depending on the time of year one studies the constella- was one problem: the terrible dragon. Heracles saw no prob- tion, its head (formed by beta, gamma, nu, and xi) takes lem. He shot an arrow over the garden wall, killing Ladon on a different look. When beta and gamma are `on top', instantly. they look like two eyes, or perhaps the forehead. Other times of the year the face is rather indistinct. While Heracles hoisted up the globe, Atlas trotted off to re- trieve the three golden apples. At his return Atlas found he There are a full range of Bayer stars in the constellation. could go on living quite happily without the weight of the While there are few deep sky objects of any interest

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Volume 13 Issue 10

(and just one Messier) the constellation does have a wide variety of interesting binaries to investigate, some of which 41 and 40 Draconis (Struve 2308) form a pleasant, fairly wide, are listed further below. binary of two cream-coloured stars: 5.7, 6.0: PA 232º, 19.3". Note that 41 is the primary.

Struve 2398 is an extremely near binary at only 11.3 light Thuban is the Arabic name for Dragon. To find Thuban sweep years. It consists of two red dwarfs, 8.0, 8.5; PA 163º, separa- down the length of the Little Dipper and jump over to the end tion 15.3". It is thought the companion has an orbit of roughly of the handle of the Big Dipper. Midway is found a much 350 years. fainter star, which is Thuban. It is believed that the star was considerably brighter several thousand years ago. The binary is found just between omicron Draconis (which to the east) and 39 Draconis. This star was the pole star at about 2700 BC. The fact that Thuban was the Pole Star at just the time the Egyptians were Variable stars in Draco: building pyramids hasn't escaped the archaeologists. R Draconis is a Mira-type variable with a period of 245.6 days; The main object of the archaeologists' study is the Great it fluctuates from 6.7 to 13.2 magnitude. In 2000 the maximum Pyramid of Khufu. It is claimed that a particular passage in the should occur in the third week of April. pyramid was built to point at Thuban as that star dipped to its Deep Sky Objects in Draco: lower culmination. Draco offers one Messier object: M102 (although this object is However, if the above assumption is true, then the pyramid not universally recognised as a bona fide Messier). With sev- would have been built at around 2200 BC. The problem is that eral dozen other galaxies, and a bright planetary nebula, there Khufu is about five hundred years older. are plenty of objects to study. Below are a few suggestions. There are many books and articles on the subject (and no M102 (NGC 5866) is an edge- doubt several web pages on the Internet) for those who wish on galaxy with dust lane and to delve deeper into the problem or to study the alignment of brightly glowing centre. other stars with ancient artifacts. The galaxy is four degrees southwest of iota Draconis. Double stars in Draco: Draco has dozens of binaries worth investigating. Below are NGC 5907 is in the same region some of the more easily resolved double star systems, and a one degree east of M102. This couple not-so-easy ones. is another edge-on (nearly flat) Mu Draconis is one of the closer binaries, a slow orbit of 482 galaxy with dust lane. years. Presently the companion can be found at PA 14º and NGC 5985 is an inclined spiral, quite faint unless under ideal separation 1.91". conditions. Nu Draconis is a splendid fixed binary, found in the dragon's NGC 5985 is midway between iota and theta Draconis; (NGC head. Two similar 4.9 visual magnitude stars: PA 312º and 5982 is in the same field to the west. This elliptical gallaxy is separation 61.6". I was viewing this on the 30th May and was considerably smaller but about the same magnitude, around stunned by the similarity of these stars. It was almost like two 12). eyes looking at me!Around 100 light years away, they are NGC 6543: a planetary both A class stars so appear very white, being 8.26x and 8.6x nebula that appears as a the Suns luminosity. Well worth a look. miniscule blue-green Psi Draconis is also easily resolved: 4.9, 6.1; PA 15º, separa- disk. Because of its blue- tion 30.3" green colouring, it is Omicron Draconis has a fine colour contrast, orange and blue. sometimes called the Magnitudes 4.7, 7.5; PA 326º, separation 34.2". Cat's Eye Nebula. It's located halfway between 17 Draconis forms a magnificent fixed triple with 16 Draconis. delta and zeta Draconis. 17AB: 5.5, 6.4, PA 108º, separation 3.4"; 16 Draconis is com- It's exact distance isn't ponent C: PA 194, separation 90.3". known; estimates vary 26 Draconis is a close binary with orbit of 76 years. The com- from 1500 to 3500 light years. ponent is currently at PA 334º and separation 1.6". There is a faint (10m) very wide third member, at PA 162º and separation 12.3'.

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Volume 13 Issue 10

SUMMER EVENTS AND SIGHTS PERSEID METEOR SHOWER

Space Weather News for May 30, 2009 Every year in early August, we can observe the Perseid meteor shower (“the Perseids”). And it’s a fascinating sky event. FIRST NLCs of 2009: The first noctilucent clouds (NLCs) of 2009 have been sighted over northern Europe. Last night, Here’s a beginners’ guide to what it is and how best to enjoy it. May 29th, photographers recorded wispy electric-blue tendrils (Perhaps, impress your friends with these astronomy ques- spreading across the twilight skies of Denmark, Northern Ire- tions and answers!) land and Scotland. This follows a similar display over Russia on May 27th. These sightings signal the beginning of the 2009 NLC season, which is expected to last until late July. Early- What are the Perseids and what is a meteor? season NLCs are usually feeble, but these were fairly bright Every year in August, the Earth passes through rock and dust and vibrant, suggesting that even better displays are in the fragments left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, last time it offing. Check today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for came near the Sun. As these small particles collide with the photos. Earth’s atmosphere, they burn-up, often creating a startling streak of light across the sky. You can easily observe this and Noctilucent clouds are an unsolved puzzle. They float 83 km it can be a wonderous spectacle. above Earth's surface at the edge of space itself. People first noticed NLCs in the late 19th century. In those days you had to travel to high northern latitudes to see them. In recent Why is it called the Perseid meteor shower? years, however, the clouds have been sighted in the United States as far south as Oregon, Washington and even Colo- The term “Perseid”, refers to the star constellation of Perseus. rado. Climate change, space dust, and rocket launches have The meteors actually have nothing to do with the stars we see all been cited as possible explanations for the phenomenon. from Earth, as being part of Perseus. It just appears as though Interestingly, low solar activity seems to promote the clouds, the meteors originate from Perseus. In fact, the rock fragments so the ongoing deep solar minimum could set the stage for a are close to the Earth - that’s why they burn in our atmos- good season in 2009. phere. They are very close, just a few hundred miles - not many, many light years distant like the stars. But, if you trace- back the bright trails of meteors we see, they appear to originate from the stars of Perseus.

When can you see them? The Perseid meteor shower actually starts in late July and runs to late August. However, the best time to view is around the peak. It’s not precise, but the peak is expected on August 12th between 11.30 and 14.00 hours UT. There is some uncertainty, so it’s very worthwhile to observe either side of this. In particular for European observers, the hours of darkness either side the peak hours, may well prove more fruitful! And there is also a potentially prominent Moon to contend with. It will not set below the horizon until the early hours of the morning.

What equipment do you need to observe the meteor shower? The good news is none! Just use your eyes. It will help your observation if you give your eyes some time (say 15 minutes), to become adapted to the darkness. Binoculars my also help, but on the other hand, they may restrict your view to a small part of the sky. The meteors originate in the region of Perseus, but they may appear in view just about anywhere in the sky. Although, if you were to track-back their trails, you would get to Perseus.

Can they be measured, at all? The best time to look for NLCs is just after sunset or just be- Yes. Keen astronomers count how many appear in a fixed fore sunrise when the sun is between 6 and 16 degrees below period of time, in a certain area of the sky. This is expressed the horizon. That's when the geometry is just right for sunlight as a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR). We may expect around 100 to illuminate the tiny ice crystals that make up the clouds. Ob- streaks of meteor light across the sky per hour, at or near the serving tips and sample photos may be found in the 2008 shower peak. Do watch out for them on Tuesday 12th August Noctilucent Cloud Gallery, above is a shot I took leaning out and during the hours, before and after. of my bedroom window last July. Andy

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Volume 13 Issue 10 International Year of Astronomy Cosmos and Culture, astronomical objects of enjoyment, Alison Boyle, Curator of Astronomy, the Science Museum, 19th UK launches International Year of Astronomy October, 1 pm

ASTRONOMY NOW Burning Bright, the extraordinary life of William Blake, Dr Posted: 19 February, 2009 Sally Brown, former Head of Literary Manuscripts, at The Brit- Members of the media and representatives of the UK’s as- ish Library; Monday 26th October, 1 pm tronomy community gathered at London’s Royal Observa- tory Greenwich last night to mark the occasion of the Inter- national Year of Astronomy 2009. All hosted at Number 1 Royal Crescent, Bath Sandwich lunch and lecture £8, lecture only £5 Professor Andy Fabian, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, said, "As the UK embarks on a year-long celebra- tion of astronomy, we want to highlight the huge significance Tickets must be pre booked, call 01225 446865 of Galileo's early observations of the night sky. Astronomers in the 21st Century enjoy the legacy of the 400 years of The International Year of Astronomy 2009 work that followed, built on his pioneering discoveries." A series of five key lectures by Dr. Rodney Hillier looking at current discoveries and controversies in the field of astronomy Exhibitions in Bath District (via Herschel Museum) at BRLSI Queens Square, Bath, Saturday mornings 10am- Inspirations Around the Sun 12pm (including coffee break) The Herschel Museum, Bath February 27th - June 29th £30 for the series, £25 for students and members of BRLSI th th th An astronomical sculpture by artist Chris Williams forms the and The William Herschel Society 10 and 24 October, 7 st th centrepiece of an exhibition on orreries and inspiration; entry and 21 November, 5 December included in general admission to the Museum

Bright Stars, Daughters of Urania The Herschel Museum, Bath, July 16th - November 15th An exploration of the important role of women in astronomy from ancient times to the present day; entry included in admission to the Museum Lectures INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY 2009 The Herschel Group Series STAR PARTIES IN THE BATH AREA Lunatik Astronomy, Andrew Lound, British Planetary Society BRSLI, Queens’ Square, Friday 5th June, 7.30pm, tickets £4, Wiltshire AS, Herschel Museum of Astronomy and Herschel members/students £2 Society

SUMMER ‘BY JOVE AND CATCH A FALLING STAR’ The Herschel Group series th Short Talks by Bristol Astronomers. Friday 7 August: Venue In front of No1 Royal Crescent from Friday 3rd July, 7.30pm BRSLI, Queens Square, Bath, tickets 9pm. ‘By Jove’ £4, members/students £2 Saturday 8th August: Venue In front of No1 Royal Crescent from 9pm. ‘By Jove’ The Beckford’s Tower series Thursday 13th August: Venue Cumberwell Park Golf Club from Building Towers to the Heavens: Beckford’s Observatory, 9pm. Catch a Falling Star: Telescopes to be set up on the Amy Frost, Curator driving range. Car parking and bar will be open! Beckford’s Tower & Museum Lansdown, Bath, Monday 21st September and Monday 12th October, 7pm; tickets £5 - call AUTUMN MOONWATCH

01225 446865 to book th Monday 26 October: Venue Cumberwell Park Golf Club from 9pm. Moonwatch: Telescopes to be set up on the driving range. Car parking and bar will be open! Bright Stars and Inspirations series th Women and the Art of Science, Dr Claire Brock, Leicester Friday 30 October: Venue In front of No1 Royal Crescent University, from 8pm. Moonwatch th Monday 5 October, 1 pm Saturday 31st October: Venue In front of No1 Royal Crescent from 8pm. Halloween Moonwatch Joseph Wright of Derby, Dr Matthew Craske, Oxford Brookes University, Monday 12th October, 1 pm

Page 18 Volume 13 Issue 10

ISS times for Feb/Mar 2009 11 Jul-2.1 21:57:38 10SW 22:00:28 47SSE 22:03:17 10E 11 Jul-2.3 23:32:39 10W 23:35:35 84N 23:38:30 10E

12 Jul-2.4 01:07:51 10W 01:10:45 62SSW 01:10:48 62S Date Mag Starts Max Ends 12 Jul-2.4 22:21:30 10WSW 22:24:25 79SSE 22:27:20 10E

12 Jul -2.4 23:56:42 10 W 23:59:37 89 SSW 00:01:36 19 E Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. 13 Jul -0.3 01:31:57 10 W 01:33:00 18 W 01:33:00 18 W 25 Jun -0.5 03:46:21 10 SSW 03:48:34 20 SE 03:50:48 10 E 13 Jul -2.3 22:45:30 10 W 22:48:25 84 N 22:51:21 10 E 26 Jun -1.6 04:10:11 10 SW 04:12:57 39 SSE 04:15:43 10 E 14 Jul -2.4 00:20:42 10 W 00:23:35 61 SSW 00:23:57 54 SSE 27 Jun -0.6 03:01:32 17 S 03:02:32 20 SSE 03:04:47 10 E 14 Jul -2.4 21:34:17 10 WSW 21:37:13 79 SSE 21:40:07 10 E 28 Jun -1.7 03:24:45 15 SW 03:26:51 41 SSE 03:29:37 10 E 14 Jul -2.4 23:09:28 10 W 23:12:24 89 S 23:14:58 13 E 28 Jun -1.7 03:24:45 15 SW 03:26:51 41 SSE 03:29:37 10 E 15 Jul -0.8 00:44:44 10 W 00:46:22 25 WSW 00:46:22 25 WSW 29 Jun -0.8 02:16:27 21 SE 02:16:27 21 SE 02:18:39 10 E 15 Jul -2.3 21:58:13 10 W 22:01:08 84 N 22:04:03 10 E 29 Jun -2.4 03:48:21 10 WSW 03:51:15 72 S 03:54:10 10 E 15 Jul -2.3 23:33:24 10 W 23:36:18 61 SSW 23:37:25 32 SE 30 Jun -1.9 02:39:31 28 SSW 02:40:37 42 SSE 02:43:24 10 E 16 Jul -2.4 22:22:07 10 W 22:25:03 89 S 22:27:58 10 E 30 Jun -2.3 04:12:48 10 W 04:15:45 86 NNE 04:18:38 10 E 16 Jul -2.4 22:22:07 10 W 22:25:03 89 S 22:27:58 10 E 1 Jul -0.4 01:31:04 18 ESE 01:31:04 18 ESE 01:32:23 10 E 16 Jul -1.4 23:57:23 10 W 23:59:52 32 SW 23:59:52 32 SW 1 Jul -2.4 03:02:31 14 WSW 03:04:58 73 SSE 03:07:52 10 E 17 Jul -2.3 22:45:59 10 W 22:48:52 60 SSW 22:50:56 17 ESE 2 Jul -2.0 01:53:59 41 S 01:54:15 43 SSE 01:57:03 10 E 18 Jul 0.2 00:21:43 10 WSW 00:22:21 13 WSW 00:22:21 13 WSW 2 Jul -2.3 03:26:26 10 W 03:29:22 85 N 03:32:17 10 E 18 Jul -2.3 21:34:39 10 W 21:37:34 88 S 21:40:29 10 E 3 Jul 0.0 00:45:21 14 ESE 00:45:21 14 ESE 00:45:59 10 E 18 Jul -1.4 23:09:54 10 W 23:12:34 32 SSW 23:13:25 26 S 3 Jul -2.5 02:16:46 21 WSW 02:18:32 74 SSE 02:21:27 10 E 19 Jul -2.2 21:58:26 10 W 22:01:19 60 SSW 22:04:11 10 ESE 3 Jul -2.3 03:50:49 10 W 03:53:45 88 N 03:56:40 10 E 19 Jul -0.3 23:34:10 10 WSW 23:35:54 16 SW 23:35:54 16 SW 4 Jul -1.9 01:08:00 42 SE 01:08:00 42 SE 01:10:33 10 E 20 Jul -1.3 22:22:17 10 W 22:24:56 32 SSW 22:27:00 14 SSE 4 Jul -2.4 02:39:56 10 W 02:42:52 85 N 02:45:47 10 E 21 Jul -0.2 22:46:30 10 WSW 22:48:22 16 SW 22:49:30 13 S 4 Jul -2.4 04:15:09 10 W 04:18:04 66 SSW 04:20:57 10 ESE 22 Jul -1.1 21:34:32 10 W 21:37:11 31 SSW 21:39:49 10 SE 4 Jul 0.0 23:58:59 13 E 23:58:59 13 E 23:59:28 10 E 23 Jul -0.1 21:58:42 10 WSW 22:00:33 16 SW 22:02:23 10 S 5 Jul -2.5 01:30:22 24 WSW 01:31:59 75 SSE 01:34:53 10 E 18 Aug 0.5 05:06:43 10 SSE 05:07:39 11 SE 05:08:34 10 ESE 5 Jul -2.4 03:04:16 10 W 03:07:11 89 N 03:10:06 10 E 19 Aug -0.5 05:27:39 10 SSW 05:30:02 23 SSE 05:32:25 10 E 6 Jul -2.1 00:20:41 41 S 00:21:08 45 SSE 00:23:57 10 E 20 Aug 0.4 04:17:12 10 SSE 04:18:01 11 SE 04:18:50 10 ESE 6 Jul -2.4 01:53:19 10 W 01:56:14 85 N 01:59:10 10 E 21 Aug -0.6 04:38:57 16 S 04:40:20 23 SSE 04:42:42 10 E 6 Jul -2.4 03:28:32 10 W 03:31:26 65 SSW 03:34:19 10 ESE 21 Aug -0.6 04:38:57 16 S 04:40:20 23 SSE 04:42:42 10 E 6 Jul -1.2 23:07:58 10 SSW 23:10:22 23 SSE 23:12:47 10 E 22 Aug -1.7 05:00:42 16 SW 05:02:47 44 SSE 05:05:33 10 E 7 Jul -2.5 00:42:22 10 WSW 00:45:17 76 S 00:48:12 10 E 23 Aug -0.5 03:51:01 21 SE 03:51:01 21 SE 03:52:51 10 E 7 Jul -2.4 02:17:34 10 W 02:20:29 89 NNW 02:23:24 10 E

7 Jul -1.7 03:52:50 10 W 03:55:32 35 SSW 03:58:13 10 SE 23 Aug -2.3 05:22:25 10 WSW 05:25:18 75 SSE 05:28:11 10 E

7 Jul -0.2 21:58:46 10 SSE 21:59:44 11 SE 22:00:41 10 ESE 24 Aug -1.8 04:12:38 42 S 04:12:52 43 SSE 04:15:39 10 E

7 Jul -2.1 23:31:33 10 SW 23:34:22 46 SSE 23:37:11 10 E 24 Aug -2.3 05:44:59 10 W 05:47:52 85 N 05:50:45 10 E

7 Jul -2.5 00:42:22 10 WSW 00:45:17 76 S 00:48:12 10 E 25 Aug -2.4 04:34:13 33 WSW 04:35:20 74 SSE 04:38:12 10 E

7 Jul -2.4 02:17:34 10 W 02:20:29 89 NNW 02:23:24 10 E 26 Aug -0.1 03:24:26 21 E 03:24:26 21 E 03:25:36 10 E

7 Jul -1.7 03:52:50 10 W 03:55:32 35 SSW 03:58:13 10 SE 26 Aug -2.4 04:55:47 18 W 04:57:50 85 N 05:00:43 10 E

7 Jul -0.2 21:58:46 10 SSE 21:59:44 11 SE 22:00:41 10 ESE 27 Aug -1.4 03:45:59 44 E 03:45:59 44 E 03:48:06 10 E

7 Jul -2.1 23:31:33 10 SW 23:34:22 46 SSE 23:37:11 10 E 27 Aug -2.4 05:17:25 10 W 05:20:19 87 N 05:23:12 10 E

8 Jul -2.4 01:06:33 10 W 01:09:30 85 N 01:12:24 10 E 28 Aug -2.5 04:07:32 81 WNW 04:07:39 86 NNW 04:10:32 10 E

8 Jul -2.4 02:41:46 10 W 02:44:40 64 SSW 02:47:33 10 ESE 28 Aug -2.3 05:39:51 10 W 05:42:44 69 SSW 05:45:35 10 ESE

8 Jul -0.8 04:17:26 10 W 04:19:28 17 SW 04:21:30 10 S 29 Aug 0.9 02:57:47 11 E 02:57:47 11 E 02:57:52 10 E

8 Jul -1.2 22:21:07 10 SSW 22:23:33 24 SSE 22:25:58 10 E 29 Aug -2.4 04:29:08 39 W 04:30:05 87 NNE 04:32:57 10 E

8 Jul -2.5 23:55:33 10 WSW 23:58:29 77 SSE 00:01:23 10 E 30 Aug 0.3 03:19:26 17 E 03:19:26 17 E 03:20:14 10 E

9 Jul -2.4 01:30:44 10 W 01:33:40 89 WNW 01:36:35 10 E 30 Aug -2.5 04:50:47 23 W 04:52:25 70 SSW 04:55:17 10 ESE

9 Jul -1.7 03:06:01 10 W 03:08:42 34 SSW 03:11:23 10 SE 30 Aug 0.3 03:19:26 17 E 03:19:26 17 E 03:20:14 10 E

9 Jul -2.1 22:44:40 10 SW 22:47:29 46 SSE 22:50:18 10 E 30 Aug -2.5 04:50:47 23 W 04:52:25 70 SSW 04:55:17 10 ESE

10 Jul -2.4 00:19:40 10 W 00:22:36 84 N 00:25:31 10 E 31 Aug -0.4 03:41:11 26 E 03:41:11 26 E 03:42:35 10 E

10 Jul -2.4 01:54:52 10 W 01:57:46 63 SSW 02:00:39 10 ESE 31 Aug -1.8 05:12:33 15 W 05:14:39 40 SSW 05:17:23 10 SE

10 Jul -2.5 23:08:35 10 WSW 23:11:30 78 S 23:14:26 10 E 1 Sep -1.0 04:03:06 33 ESE 04:03:06 33 ESE 04:04:51 10 ESE

11 Jul -2.4 00:43:47 10 W 00:46:45 88 ESE 00:49:00 15 E 1 Sep -0.9 05:34:29 10 W 05:36:44 20 SSW 05:38:57 10 SSE 11 Jul -0.7 02:19:03 10 W 02:20:20 21 WSW 02:20:20 21 WSW 2 Sep -1.0 04:25:15 27 SSE 04:25:15 27 SSE 04:26:53 10 SE 3 Sep -0.1 04:47:42 14 S 04:47:42 14 S 04:48:26 10 SSE

7 Sep -0.2 21:05:10 10 S 21:06:01 14 S 21:06:01 14 S

8 Sep -0.9 21:26:17 10 SW 21:27:54 25 SSW 21:27:54 25 SSW

SOCIETIES, DATES AND CONTACTS

Membership £15 Families £25 Wiltshire Astronomical Society Web site: www.wasnet.org.uk Meeting nights £1.00 for members £3 for none members Meetings 2007/2008 Season. Wiltshire AS Contacts NEW VENUE the Pavilion, Rusty Lane, Seend Andy Burns (Chairman, and Editor ) Tel: 01249 654541, email: Meet 7.30 for 8.00pm start [email protected] Beginners session for 15 minutes before each talk Simon Barnes (Vice Chairman) 2008 /2009 SEASON Kirsten Pass (Web liaison and Membership sec) Bob Johnston (Treasurer) Philip Proven (Hall coordinator and speaker secretary) June 2nd AGM Nick Howes: Two sides of the Sun, Chasing the Nick Howe (Technical Guru) Eclipse Ian Pass (Observations evenings and events coordinator) Pavilion, Rusty Lane Contact via the web site details. This is to protect individuals from unsolicited mail- ings.

Beckington Astronomical Society Membership fee £10/adult. £15 Family web site: www.basnet.org.uk Meeting fee free for members - non members £3.00 Meetings Contacts for Beckington A.S. : Venue: Baptist Church Hall, Beckington Start 7:30pm John Ball Chairman 01373 830419 BAS 2008/9 programme: Simon Barnes Vice Chairman 01373 300850 Beginners Items. a. (15-20 mins) Alan Aked Treasurer 01373 830232 Main Items b. (about 45 mins) Rosie Wilks Secretary 01225445814

Mike Witt Membership 01373 303784 Steve Hill Imaging advisor 01761 435663 19th June AGM Members Evening. John Dolton Telescope Hardware 01225335832 Dudley Creed. BAS Correspondent [email protected]

SUMMER Trip Observing Sessions Replaced with visit to Herschel The Wiltshire Astronomical Society’s observ- Bath/Bradford on Avon road. ing sessions are open, and we welcome BBC Radio visitors from other societies as well as mem- Andy Weekly recordings are still going bers of the public to join us at the Lacock on, and we have had interested viewing site. Located in the playing fields behind the Red Lion public house where members of the public get in con- there is usually plenty of park- tact. ing, more parking is available opposite the junction with Hither way, about 100 yards Herschel Society/BRLSI meetings from the playing field south See page 3 for the year’s pro- end. gramme. While we suspend are 4th Fri- day viewing events until Sep- Note tember, remember we have the IYoA events at the beginning of Griffon Educational Observatory in August, and the Perseids on Spain in racing ahead in April, and the 12th August. we should first light on 21st. These will be events at the Look out for invite to be ‘testers’ in Royal Crescent and Cumber- May well Park golf club (on the