Research Report Dec 2019

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AAI Research Committee Report for December 2019 When it is cold it can be very clear. Solar System: Clif Ashcraft imaged the first quarter Moon showing a clear image of the diamond near the young impact Crater Proclus, near Mare Crisium. The bright asymmetric rays indicate a low angle oblique approach by the meteor which made this crater. These rays extend 600 km from the crater which is only second in brightness after Crater Aristarchus. Nebulae: Bobby Marinov imaged the Horsehead Nebula, the Orion Nebula M42, and NGC 2244, the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros, from a dark observing site an hour outside of Houston, Texas. Tony Sharfman imaged the California Nebula, the Elephant Trunk Nebula, the North American Nebula (NGC 7000), the Flaming Star Nebula, the Heart Nebula, and the region around Sadr (Gamma Cygni) which contains the Crescent Nebula. He used RGB filters to show the colors of the stars and a narrowband hydrogen alpha filter to show the gas between the stars. He assured us that the Ha filter is MAGIC! It reveals intricate swirling gas clouds in regions where the other filters show only our New Jersey local light pollution. Stars: Mark Zdziarski is learning to use his iphone to take snapshots of Orion rising in the cold night air. He can compare subsequent images to show the current fainting spell of Betelgeuse. Galaxies: Mary Ducca went on a photography tour to Morocco with some friends and took a beautiful picture of the Milky Way over a desert village. Not much air pollution there. Bobby also captured a wonderful image of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31 showing the dark dust lanes in its spiral arms. Presentations: Bob Vanderbei presented “Hertzsprung Russell Diagrams” on The Astro Imaging Channel on Sunday, December 15. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj-RrXmE5Gw). There was a great deal of interest in his method and code for constructing HR diagrams from RGB images of star clusters. Respectfully, Mary Lou West, Research Chair .

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BRAS Newsletter August 2013
www.brastro.org August 2013 Next meeting Aug 12th 7:00PM at the HRPO Dark Site Observing Dates: Primary on Aug. 3rd, Secondary on Aug. 10th Photo credit: Saturn taken on 20” OGS + Orion Starshoot - Ben Toman 1 What's in this issue: PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE....................................................................................................................3 NOTES FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT ............................................................................................4 MESSAGE FROM THE HRPO …....................................................................................................5 MONTHLY OBSERVING NOTES ....................................................................................................6 OUTREACH CHAIRPERSON’S NOTES .........................................................................................13 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION .......................................................................................................14 2 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Hi Everyone, I hope you’ve been having a great Summer so far and had luck beating the heat as much as possible. The weather sure hasn’t been cooperative for observing, though! First I have a pretty cool announcement. Thanks to the efforts of club member Walt Cooney, there are 5 newly named asteroids in the sky. (53256) Sinitiere - Named for former BRAS Treasurer Bob Sinitiere (74439) Brenden - Named for founding member Craig Brenden (85878) Guzik - Named for LSU professor T. Greg Guzik (101722) Pursell - Named for founding member Wally Pursell
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Rosette Nebula and Monoceros Loop
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Spatial and Kinematic Structure of Monoceros Star-Forming Region
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Winter Constellations
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Ghost Hunt Challenge 2020
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A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In
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Yankee Digital Dandy
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April's Total Lunar Eclipse by Steve Mastellotto
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List of Bright Nebulae Primary I.D. Alternate I.D. Nickname
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Open Clusters
Open Clusters Open clusters (also known as galactic clusters) are of tremendous importance to the science of astronomy, if not to astrophysics and cosmology generally. Star clusters serve as the "laboratories" of astronomy, with stars now all at nearly the same distance and all created at essentially the same time. Each cluster thus is a running experiment, where we can observe the effects of composition, age, and environment. We are hobbled by seeing only a snapshot in time of each cluster, but taken collectively we can understand their evolution, and that of their included stars. These clusters are also important tracers of the Milky Way and other parent galaxies. They help us to understand their current structure and derive theories of the creation and evolution of galaxies. Just as importantly, starting from just the Hyades and the Pleiades, and then going to more distance clusters, open clusters serve to define the distance scale of the Milky Way, and from there all other galaxies and the entire universe. However, there is far more to the study of star clusters than that. Anyone who has looked at a cluster through a telescope or binoculars has realized that these are objects of immense beauty and symmetry. Whether a cluster like the Pleiades seen with delicate beauty with the unaided eye or in a small telescope or binoculars, or a cluster like NGC 7789 whose thousands of stars are seen with overpowering wonder in a large telescope, open clusters can only bring awe and amazement to the viewer. These sights are available to all.
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2007 the Meaning of Life
The Meaning Of Life This observing list tells a story of birth, life and death within the Universe. Each entry has the essential facts about the object in tabular form and then a paragraph or two explaining why the object is important astrophysi- cally and where is sits on the timeline of the Universe . To get the most out of the list, be sure to read the textual descriptions and physical characteristics as you observe each object. In order to get your “Meaning of Life” observing pin, observe 20 of the 24 objects during the 2007 Eldorado Star Party. The objects are not necessarily listed in the best observing order but a summary sheet at the end lists them in order of setting time. Turn your completed sheet into Bill Tschumy sometime during the event to claim your pin. If you miss me at ESP you can also mail the completed list to the address given at the end of the list. ****Birth ****************************************************************************** NGC 6618 , M 17, Cr 377, Swan Nebula Constellation Type RA Dec Magnitude Apparent Size Observed Sgr DN, OC 18h 20.8m -16º 11! 7.5 11!x11! Age Distance Gal Lon Gal Lat Luminosity Actual Size 1 Myr 6,800 ly 15.1º -0.8º 3,757 Suns 22x22 ly The Swan Nebula houses one of the youngest open clusters known in the Galaxy. At the tender age of 1 million years, the cluster is still embedded in the irregularly shaped nebulosity from which it arose. Although the cluster appears to have around 35 stars, most are not true cluster members.
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