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Affiliated with ReflectionsReflections The Newsletter of the Popular Astronomy Club ESTABLISHED 1936 October 2020 President’s Corner October 2020 which there are many). You won’t Welcome to the want to miss this year’s virtual ban- Popular Astronomy quet. Watch your email for a reminder Club’s October and link to the Zoom meeting (October Page Topic th Newsletter. Octo- 24 , 7:00pm Moline Time). ber is significant for 1-2 Presidents I would also like to point out we al- PAC for a number of Corner ready have a number of speakers ten- reasons. First, this 2-4 Announcements Alan Sheidler tatively signed up to provide talks into 5-7 Contributions October marks the the New Year. November will feature a 8 You Tube Video Eighty-fourth year since the founding talk entitled “Exploring Pluto after New Links of the Popular Astronomy Club. 9 Mars 2020 Horizons: Oceans, Volcanism, and Hab- That’s a long time for any organiza- 10 12 different itability at the Edge of the Solar Sys- classifications of tion and is certainly worthy of cele- tem”, by Adeene Denton, PhD student Globular Clusters bration at our club “virtual banquet” from Purdue University. For Decem- 11-12 Astronomy in on October 24th. This year, the ban- Print ber, PAC member Roy Gustafson will quet will be conducted using Zoom, 13 Skyward by David provide the program “Year in Review”. so it will not be an in-person Levy January is tentatively planned to be 14 Upcoming Events meeting, and the banquet will fea- “Cosmic Horizons” by Chuck Allen, Vice 15 Sign Up Report ture a feast for the mind rather than 16 Astronomical President of the Astronomical League. the stomach. The featured guest Calendar of The rest of 2021 is shaping up too and speaker is Lisa Wells, Remote Ob- Events/ The you can see all of the proposed talks Planets server for the Canada-France-Hawaii here in this newsletter. While you are 14 Sky Views Telescope located on the summit of perusing this list, please consider sign- 15 Planetary Mauna Kea on the big island of Ha- Alignments/ ing up to do a newspaper article, a con- waii. Ms. Wells’ talk, “An Astrono- Double Stars stellation report or a smorgasbord top- 14 Deep Sky mer’s Life”, will highlight her career ic. These are great opportunities for Wonders in Astronomy from humble begin- you to do some research on a topic, 20-21 Astronomical nings in the Quad Cities to working at League write an article and/or do a talk for one several world class observatories. 22 Spotlight: Hyades of the club meetings. The next year This talk will be informative about 23-24 NASA Space Place will be a good one and with your help it 25-28 News Links her accomplishments and inspira- will be a great one! 29-37 Member tional for anyone inclined to pursue a Observations career in the science of astronomy. We are also in need of volunteers to be 38-41 Paul Castle In addition to this talk, there will also trained to use the newly refurbished Observations 42 PAC Monthly be a number of awards given out in Paul Castle Observatory. Rusty Case, Meeting recognition for club member accom- Terry Dufek, Dale Hachtel and I are ful- 43 Treasurers Report plishments and contributions (of ly trained and qualified to use the ob- 44 Membership Application (Continued in next column) (Continued on next page) 1 (Continued from previous page) ANNOUNCEMENTS / INFO Popular servatory and the new telescope. Astronomy This is an impressive facility but very NCRAL Club Officers easy to operate. Come out to one of Seasonal the observing sessions we will have Messier this fall and see one of us to get PRESIDENT - Alan Sheidler Marathon 3528 56th Street Court, Moline, trained on the operation of the ob- IL, 61265 servatory. If you haven’t done so Program Phone: (309) 797-3120 already, try doing the NCRAL Fall NCRAL’s Seasonal Messier Marathon VICE PRESIDENT – Dino Milani Messier Mini Marathon. Paul’s Ob- observing program is NOT designed servatory is the perfect tool to ob- to qualify observers for the Astro- 2317 29 1/2 Street, Rock Island, IL, 61201 serve all 28 objects in one evening. nomical League’s Messier Observing program; the two programs are unre- Phone: (309) 269-4735 There is an award for completion of lated and observing requirements are one of these Mini Marathons. It’s a quite different. In the NCRAL pro- SECRETARY - Terry Dufek gram, the main requirement is to 2812 W. 65th Street, Davenport, great excuse (if you need one) to get quickly observe and essentially check out under the stars and do some ob- IA, 52806 Phone: (563) 386-3509 off items from one of four seasonal serving. lists of Messier objects as noted in the section to follow. TREASURER – Dale Hachtel In addition to marking the end of 1617 Elm Shore Drive, Port Byron NCRAL recognition will consist a suit- IL, 61275 PAC’s fiscal year, October is also time able printed certificate and a 3⁄4-inch Phone: (614) 935-5748 to renew your membership. A mem- enameled star pin (a different color for each season). There will be no bership form is included here in this ALCOR – Roy E. Gustafson direct cost to the membership for 11 Deer Run Road, Orion, IL, newsletter, so don’t delay in filling it participating in the award program; the cost of the program (pins, certifi- 61273 out and sending it in to Dale Hachtel, cates, mailers, postage) will be borne Phone: (309)526-3592 your club Treasurer. Your club has by the Region as a benefit of affilia- tion. Relevant program documents DIRECTOR OF OBSERVATORIES - much to offer. Keep looking up! Al. are linked below Rusty Case 2123 W. 16th Street, Davenport, NCRAL Seasonal Messier Marathon Pro- IA, 52804 gram Rules Phone: (563) 349-2444 NCRAL WINTER Seasonal Messier List PAST PRESIDENT - Wayland Bauer NCRAL SPRING Seasonal Messier List 3256 Pleasant Drive, Bettendorf, IA., 52722 NCRAL SUMMER Seasonal Messier List Phone: (563) 332-4032 NCRAL AUTUMN Seasonal Messier List NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Terry Dufek 2812 W. 65th Street, Davenport, IA, 52806 Phone: (563) 386-3509 Contact for Information or questions here: popularastronomy- [email protected] Photo JPL/ NASA 2 ANNOUNCEMENTS / INFO READY FOR MEMBERSHIP OR TO RENEW? LOOKING FOR Thank you for OLDERLOOKING ISSUES FOR OF OLDER For PAC Documents Use REFLECTIONSISSUES OF REFLECTIONS Renewing“Enrollment Form Your” NEWSLETTER?NEWSLETTER? Click HERE Membership! HISTORY OF PAC? HISTORY OFClick PAC? HERE ElizabethSUBMISSIONS Robinson If you have an article or photos to submit or Brad Smith Popular Astronomy Club items of interest, we encourage you to send on Facebook? them inMark by the 25th Pershing of the month. Links to Popular Astronomy Club on Facebook?Click HERE stories are welcome also. Thank you! Astronomical League Observing Programs The Astronomical League provides many different Observing Programs. These Observing Programs are designed to provide a direction for your obser- vations and to provide a goal. The Observing Pro- grams have certificates and pins to recognize the observers’ accomplishments and for demon- stratingstrating their their observingobserving skills skills withwith a avarie- variety of in- ty of instrumentsstruments and and objects objects Check out the Astronomical Click Here League ONLINE! Check out the North Central Region of the Astronomical League (NCRAL) online 3 ANNOUNCEMENTS / INFO September 18, 2020 Invitation to Attend 2020/2021 Season of “Online Viewing Sessions” Dear Members of the Popular Astronomy Club: Sharing the night sky with the public through outdoor observing has been a long-standing tradition for both of our organizations. However, persistent cloud cover and frigid temperatures make sharing the sky quite challenging during the winter months. The KAS is pleased to announce that beginning on November 7th we will be introducing “Online Viewing Sessions” that will run through February of 2021. The monthly sessions will be held on the video conferencing service Zoom. We would like to extend an invitation to all of your members to join us during one or more of the sessions. Those interested in attending should contact us through our website for the Zoom meeting ID and password. We would also be happy to add them to a mail- ing list, so we can send them the Zoom info before each session. Please see the table below for start times. Admission is free. If weather conditions necessitate a cancellation there will be a second “cloud date” scheduled the following Saturday. Postponement or cancellation information will be posted on the KAS website and social media platforms. Online Viewing Sessions utilize our premiere facility, the KAS Remote Telescope, located under the dark de- sert skies of Arizona Sky Village in Portal, AZ. The Remote Telescope consists of a 4-inch Takahashi refracting telescope mounted on a 20-inch PlaneWave CDK telescope, both equipped with identical full-frame CCD cameras. Session participants will view images of deep-sky objects captured on the CCD cameras in Arizona, transmitted to participant’s computer, tablet, and smart phone screens. Once the session has concluded, attendees will be provided with a link to download the images captured that night to share with friends and keep as mementos. Participants will also be able to view live streaming video of the telescope in operation through our website. The Remote Telescope Project involved a 7-year fundraising effort that included contributions from KAS members, corporations and foundations, raising over $122,000. Dates and times for the 2020/2021 season are as follows: Primary Date Cloud Date Time (EST) November 7th November 14th 8:30 – 10:30 pm December 5th December 12th 8:30 – 10:30 pm January 9th January 16th 9:00 – 11:00 pm February 6th February 13th 9:00 – 11:00 pm For more details and to view images of the Remote Telescope, please our website at kasonline.org.
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  • August 10Th 2019 August 2019 7:00Pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho

    August 10Th 2019 August 2019 7:00Pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho

    Snake River Skies The Newsletter of the Magic Valley Astronomical Society www.mvastro.org Membership Meeting MVAS President’s Message August 2019 Saturday, August 10th 2019 7:00pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho. Colleagues, Public Star Party follows at the I hope you found the third week of July exhilarating. The 50th Anniversary of the first Centennial Observatory moon landing was the common theme. I capped my observance by watching the C- SPAN replay of the CBS broadcast. It was not only exciting to watch the landing, but Club Officers to listen to Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra discuss what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Robert Mayer, President Aldrin was relaying back to us. It was fascinating to hear what we have either accepted or rejected for years come across as something brand new. Hearing [email protected] Michael Collins break in from his orbit above in the command module also reminded me of the major role he played and yet others in the past have often overlooked – Gary Leavitt, Vice President fortunately, he is now receiving the respect he deserves. If you didn’t catch that, [email protected] then hopefully you caught some other commemoration, such as Turner Classic Movies showing For All Mankind, a spellbinding documentary of what it was like for Dr. Jay Hartwell, Secretary all of the Apollo astronauts who made it to the moon. Jim Tubbs, Treasurer / ALCOR For me, these moments of commemoration made reading the moon landing’s [email protected] anniversary issue from the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) 208-404-2999 come to life as they wrote about the features these astronauts were examining – including the little craters named after the three astronauts.
  • Pulsation and Rotation in NGC 6811: the Kepler Short-Cadence Stars

    Pulsation and Rotation in NGC 6811: the Kepler Short-Cadence Stars

    MNRAS 491, 4345–4364 (2020) doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3143 Advance Access publication 2019 November 12 Pulsation and rotation in NGC 6811: the Kepler short-cadence stars E. Rodr´ıguez ,1‹ L. A. Balona ,2‹ M. J. Lopez-Gonz´ alez,´ 1‹ S. Ocando,1 S. Mart´ın-Ruiz1 and C. Rodr´ıguez-Lopez´ 1 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/491/3/4345/5622881 by Universidad de Granada - Biblioteca user on 29 April 2020 1Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andaluc´ıa, CSIC, PO Box 3004, E-18080 Granada, Spain 2South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9, Observatory, Cape 2735, South Africa Accepted 2019 November 6. Received 2019 November 6; in original form 2019 September 11 ABSTRACT We have analysed a selected sample of 36 Kepler short-cadence stars in the field of NGC 6811. The results reveal that all the targets are variable: two red giant stars with solar-like oscillations, 21 main-sequence pulsators (16 δ Scuti and five γ Doradus stars), and 13 rotating variables. Three new γ Doradus (γ Dor) variables (one is a hot γ Dor star) are detected in this work together with five new rotating variables. An in-depth frequency analysis of the δ Scuti (δ Sct) and γ Dor stars in the sample shows that the frequency spectra are very rich, in particular for the δ Sct-type variables. They present very dense frequency distributions and wide diversity in frequency patterns, even for stars being members of the cluster and with very similar location in the Hertzsprung–Russell (H–R) diagram.
  • Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps

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  • MESSIER 13 RA(2000) : 16H 41M 42S DEC(2000): +36° 27'

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  • Messier Objects

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  • Winter Constellations

    Winter Constellations

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    VISTA views a vast ball of stars 9 May 2012 sphere with a diameter of only about 25 times the distance between the Sun and the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. About 160 globular clusters have been spotted encircling our galaxy, the Milky Way, mostly toward its bulging centre. The two latest discoveries, made using VISTA, were recently announced. The largest galaxies can have thousands of these rich collections of stars in orbit around them. Observations of globular clusters' stars reveal that they originated around the same time - more than 10 billion years ago - and from the same cloud of gas. As this formative period was just a few billion years after the Big Bang, nearly all of the gas on hand was the simplest, lightest and most common in the cosmos: hydrogen, along with some helium and much smaller amounts of heavier chemical elements such as oxygen and nitrogen. This striking view of the globular star cluster Messier 55 Being made mostly from hydrogen distinguishes in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer) was globular cluster residents from stars born in later obtained in infrared light with the VISTA survey eras, like our Sun, that are infused with heavier telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. This elements created in earlier generations of stars. vast ball of ancient stars is located at a distance of about The Sun lit up some 4.6 billion years ago, making it 17,000 light-years from Earth. Credit: ESO/J. only about half as old as the elderly stars in most Emerson/VISTA.
  • August 13 2016 7:00Pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho

    August 13 2016 7:00Pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho

    Snake River Skies The Newsletter of the Magic Valley Astronomical Society www.mvastro.org Membership Meeting President’s Message Saturday, August 13th 2016 7:00pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho. Public Star Party Follows at the Colleagues, Centennial Observatory Club Officers It's that time of year: The City of Rocks Star Party. Set for Friday, Aug. 5th, and Saturday, Aug. 6th, the event is the gem of the MVAS year. As we've done every Robert Mayer, President year, we will hold solar viewing at the Smoky Mountain Campground, followed by a [email protected] potluck there at the campground. Again, MVAS will provide the main course and 208-312-1203 beverages. Paul McClain, Vice President After the potluck, the party moves over to the corral by the bunkhouse over at [email protected] Castle Rocks, with deep sky viewing beginning sometime after 9 p.m. This is a chance to dig into some of the darkest skies in the west. Gary Leavitt, Secretary [email protected] Some members have already reserved campsites, but for those who are thinking of 208-731-7476 dropping by at the last minute, we have room for you at the bunkhouse, and would love to have to come by. Jim Tubbs, Treasurer / ALCOR [email protected] The following Saturday will be the regular MVAS meeting. Please check E-mail or 208-404-2999 Facebook for updates on our guest speaker that day. David Olsen, Newsletter Editor Until then, clear views, [email protected] Robert Mayer Rick Widmer, Webmaster [email protected] Magic Valley Astronomical Society is a member of the Astronomical League M-51 imaged by Rick Widmer & Ken Thomason Herrett Telescope Shotwell Camera https://herrett.csi.edu/astronomy/observatory/City_of_Rocks_Star_Party_2016.asp Calendars for August Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 New Moon City Rocks City Rocks Lunation 1158 Castle Rocks Castle Rocks Star Party Star Party Almo, ID Almo, ID 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 MVAS General Mtg.
  • Observer Page 2 of 14

    Observer Page 2 of 14

    AAAssstttrrrooonnnooomyyy CCCllluuubbb ooofff TTTuuulllsssaaa OOOOOObbbbbbsssssseeeeeerrrrrrvvvvvveeeeeerrrrrr October 2009 Messier 15 Jean-Dominique Maraldi discovered M15 on September 7, 1746. He described it as 'A nebulous star, fairly bright and composed of many stars'. Charles Messier, who cataloged it on June 3, 1764, and Johann Bode couldn't make this out and described it as 'nebula without stars,' so that it remained to William Herschel in 1783 to resolve this fine star cluster. M15 was the first globular cluster in which a planetary nebula, Pease 1 or K 648 ("K" for "Kuster"), could be identified (Pease 1928, on photographic plates taken at Mt. Wilson in 1927). M15 can be found extremely easily: First find the 2nd magnitude star Epsilon Pegasi, and Theta Pegasi SE of it. Follow the line from Theta over Epsilon and find M15 3 1/2 deg W and 2 1/4 deg N of Epsilon. A 6th magnitude star is about 20' away to the East; another one of magnitude 7.5 is about 5' to the NNE. With its apparent visual brightness of magnitude 6.2, M15 is about at the limit of visibility for the naked eye under very good conditions. The slightest optical aid, opera glass or small binoculars, reveals it as a round nebulous object. It appears as a round mottled nebula in 4-inch telescopes, with at best the very brightest stars visible, but otherwise unresolved in a fine star field. Be sure to catch & log M15 this month! Inside This Issue: Important ACT Upcoming Dates: October Calendar - - - - - - p2 Misc. News - - - - - - - - - - p6 ACT Monthly Meeting @ Bass Pro - Fri, Oct.
  • The Evolution of the Milky Way: New Insights from Open Clusters

    The Evolution of the Milky Way: New Insights from Open Clusters

    Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 000, 1–?? (2016) Printed 12 September 2016 (MN LATEX style file v2.2) The evolution of the Milky Way: New insights from open clusters Arumalla B. S. Reddy1⋆, David L. Lambert1 and Sunetra Giridhar2 1W.J. McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA 2Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore 560034, India Accepted 2016 September 07. Received 2016 September 07; in original form 2016 May 12 ABSTRACT We have collected high-dispersion echelle spectra of red giant members in the twelve open clusters (OCs) and derived stellar parameters and chemical abundances for 26 species by either line equivalent widths or synthetic spectrum analyses. We confirm the lack of an age−metallicity relation for OCs but argue that such a lack of trend for OCs arise from the limited coverage in metallicity compared to that of field stars which span a wide range in metallicity and age. We confirm that the radial metallicity gradient of OCs is steeper (flatter) for Rgc < 12 kpc (>12 kpc). We demonstrate that the sample of clusters constituting a steep radial metallicity −1 gradient of slope −0.052±0.011 dex kpc at Rgc < 12 kpc are younger than 1.5 Gyr and located close to the Galactic midplane (| z| < 0.5 kpc) with kinematics typical of the thin disc. Whereas the clusters describing a shallow slope of −0.015±0.007 −1 dex kpc at Rgc > 12 kpc are relatively old, thick disc members with a striking spread in age and height above the midplane (0.5 < | z| < 2.5 kpc).
  • Arxiv:1001.0139V1 [Astro-Ph.SR] 31 Dec 2009 Oadl Gilliland, L

    Arxiv:1001.0139V1 [Astro-Ph.SR] 31 Dec 2009 Oadl Gilliland, L

    Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Kepler Asteroseismology Program: Introduction and First Results Ronald L. Gilliland,1 Timothy M. Brown,2 Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard,3 Hans Kjeldsen,3 Conny Aerts,4 Thierry Appourchaux,5 Sarbani Basu,6 Timothy R. Bedding,7 William J. Chaplin,8 Margarida S. Cunha,9 Peter De Cat,10 Joris De Ridder,4 Joyce A. Guzik,11 Gerald Handler,12 Steven Kawaler,13 L´aszl´oKiss,7,14 Katrien Kolenberg,12 Donald W. Kurtz,15 Travis S. Metcalfe,16 Mario J.P.F.G. Monteiro,9 Robert Szab´o,14 Torben Arentoft,3 Luis Balona,17 Jonas Debosscher,4 Yvonne P. Elsworth,8 Pierre-Olivier Quirion,3,18 Dennis Stello,7 Juan Carlos Su´arez,19 William J. Borucki,20 Jon M. Jenkins,21 David Koch,20 Yoji Kondo,22 David W. Latham,23 Jason F. Rowe,20 and Jason H. Steffen24 arXiv:1001.0139v1 [astro-ph.SR] 31 Dec 2009 –2– ABSTRACT Asteroseismology involves probing the interiors of stars and quantifying their global properties, such as radius and age, through observations of normal modes of oscillation. The technical requirements for conducting asteroseismology in- clude ultra-high precision measured in photometry in parts per million, as well as nearly continuous time series over weeks to years, and cadences rapid enough 1Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; [email protected] 2Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, Goleta, CA 93117, USA 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark 4Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, K.U.Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, 3001, Leuven, Belgium 5Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Universit´eParis XI, Bˆatiment 121, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France 6Astronomy Department, Yale University, P.O.