San Diego Astronomy Association Celebrating Over 40 Years of Astronomical Outreach

Office (619) 645-8940 January 2011 Observatory (619) 766-9118 http://www.sdaa.org A Halloween Party A Non-Profit Educational Association by Gene and Kathy Dolphin P.O. Box 23215, San Diego, CA 92193-3215 One of our favorite holidays during the year is Halloween. Mind you that it’s not because of all the candy and parties that come forth this night or that we’re into SDAA Business Meeting witches and goblins and the like. If the sky is clear, it is the perfect night to take a Next meeting will be held at: scope out and share your passion with costumed treat-seekers (of all sizes and ages) 3838 Camino del Rio North coming by your home. Suite 300 Consider the factors: San Diego, CA 92108 1- Location/Time: directly in the front of the house ... no loading, unloading January 8th at 7 pm equipment into a car to go anywhere 2- Amenities: you’re home Next Program Meeting 3- Sending Announcements, providing directions: nothing needed. Set up the SDAA Annual Banquet scope(s) and everyone comes to you. January 22, 2011 4- Determining list of ‘targets’ to show: easy! One bright target per telescope - and 6:00-11:30 pm if in town, easier: Jupiter, Saturn, the moon. It’s a 2+ hour constant flow of new viewers, except those who come back with their family and friends. At Halloween last year, two of Jupiter’s moons, Io and Europa put on a nice CONTENTS eclipse show that evening: Io passed directly in front of Europa and we counted well January 2011, Vol XLIX, Issue 1 over a hundred sets of eyes peering through the scopes trained on Jupiter and a quite Published Monthly by the full moon. San Diego Astronomy Association This year there were more! About 175 kids, teens, and adults came by from 75¢ /$8.00 year 6:30pm to 9pm and stopped to check out the feature attraction: Jupiter, “King of the Incorporated in California in 1963 planets.” We set up two scopes for the evening: a C-5 and an 8” Meade Dob. Both A Halloween Star Party...... 1 scopes are totally manual, and even though they needed to be re-aimed after every 3rd SDAA Annual Banquet...... 2 person, many kids and adults noticed how the planet moved across the field of view TDS Site Plan Update...... 2 and they were amazed that this was due to the spin of mother earth. Wanted: New Newsletter Editor...... 3 Jupiter offered a special treat this year: In the early part of the evening, IO was Banquet Invitation...... 4 crossing in front of Jupiter and we could watch its shadow crossing the face of the December Minutes...... 5 planet. After 8pm, IO emerged and for awhile we could still see its shadow. SDAA Contacts...... 7 Children, teens, and adults were all very delighted, courteous, and thankful for our January Calendar ...... 8 “eye-candy” treat. On 2 separate occasions, a 10-12 yr. old actually came back to us February Calendar...... 9 and offered a candy bar from his/her stash as thanks. Needless to say, everyone had a Holloween Star Party Pictures...... 10 great time. Huge Space Molecules...... 12 We have thoroughly enjoyed hosting this annual “mini” star party for over 10 years Global Eruption Rocks the Sun...... 12 now. It’s a great way to meet neighbors and to give something that everyone appreci- AISIG Gallery...... 15 ates. More than once we heard, “This is the highlight of the whole evening.” We’re The Back Page...... 16 hoping to plant a seed with this article to inspire others with telescopes to consider doing this in your neighborhoods in the years to come. I’ve attached a few snapshots (see pages 10 and 11) for you to select from and a graphic I composed from an astronomy program that shows the positions of Jupiter’s moons at 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm. The “telescopic view” is how this actually looked through the large telescope. San Diego Astronomy Association

System. Our simulations support the conclusion that giant outer planets, notably Jupiter in our Solar System, do not always shield the interior of planetary systems from collision events but, rather, can facilitate the delivery of material from the out- skirts of planetary systems into their interiors. Dr. Grazier grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He earned BS degrees in computer science and geology from Pur- due University. After spending a year writing video games and then three years in the auto industry-while simultaneously earn- ing another BS in physics at Oakland University-he returned to Purdue and earned an MS degree in physics. Kevin then moved on to UCLA to do his doctoral research in planetary physics, performing long-term, large-scale computer simula- tions of early Solar System evolution. While at UCLA, he worked simultaneously at the RAND Corporation, processing Viking Mars imagery in support of NASA’s Mars Observer mission. Kevin started at JPL in 1995 as an academic part-time student, finishing his Ph.D. dissertation in 1997. His first JPL SDAA Annual Banquet assignment was to write multi-mission planning and analysis software-software that won JPL- and NASA-wide awards. Saturday January 22nd He came to NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn as Science Speaker: Dr. Kevin Grazier, JPL System Engineer in early 1998, and shortly thereafter assumed “Jupiter: Shield or Sniper?” the additional role of Investigation Scientist for the Cassini The banquet this year will be at a new venue, the Handlery Imaging Science Subsystem. He continues research involving Hotel and Resorts in Mission Valley. The price is the same as computer simulations of Solar System dynamics, evolution, and last year, just $45 per person, and includes parking. You can pay chaos. Dr. Grazier is active in teaching the public, in particu- by check using the form on page 4 of the newsletter, or by Pay- lar children, about science in general, and space. Depending Pal at our Web site, www.sdaa.org. January 18th is the cutoff upon the term, he can be found teaching classes in planetary date for tickets. science, astronomy, cosmology, or the search for extraterres- Remember, this is the Club’s annual fundraiser so if you trial life at UCLA or Cal State, Los Angeles. He can also be have a piece of astro-gear that’s collecting dust, please consider found performing planetarium presentations at LA’s landmark donating it to the club so that it can be auctioned off at the Griffith Observatory. Dr. Grazier also works in Hollywood. banquet to benefit the SDAA. All donations are tax deductible He has been featured in several documentaries, and currently and each donor will receive a “letter of donation.” Watch the serves as the scientific advisor for the PBS animated series The SDAA Web site, http:/www.sdaa.org/banquet.htm, for a list of Zula Patrol, and the Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka and Battlestar door prizes and raffle items. Galactica. He has also recently served as author and editor for We are fortunate to have Dr. Kevin Grazier from JPL as the books The Science of Dune, and The Science of Michael our speaker. He will present “Jupiter: Shield or Sniper?” It is Crichton. widely assumed that giant planets or brown dwarfs situated at or near the periphery of a planetary system will shield inner planets from collisions with planetesimal material originating at great distance. Using our Solar System as a test bed, we simu- Tierra del Sol – Site plan update lated the trajectories and tracked the orbital evolutions and Over the last few years the SDAA has continued to grow, close encounter history of 30,000 massless test particles situ- and is now nearing 600 members. Recently, more members ated in the outer planet gaps using a highly accurate numerical have expressed a strong interest in astrophotography, and integrator. We observed that a substantial fraction of these this proposal is to use the last remaining area at TDS – the planetesimals underwent a cascade of interactions with Jovian 1.5 acres north of the observatories – to provide an area that planets, primarily Jupiter, that successively reduced their peri- caters to imagers, but can also be used as an overflow area helia distances, resulting in their delivery into the inner Solar for the public pads or for group events.

Page 2 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

The proposal here is one of many original proposals that for. Each site will have a buy-in cost of $2,000* and a yearly have been narrowed down by the Board of Directors and the maintenance cost of $100*. It is expected that this project membership – who overwhelmingly preferred this option to will net the SDAA $6,000. the others. Of the 1.5 acres available for expansion, 35% of If you have any questions about the proposal or are inter- the area will be set aside for public use, including a park- ested in leasing a private observatory site, please e-mail Bill ing area and at least 10 pads with electricity to be used on Carlson at [email protected]. a first-come basis. The remaining 65% will be split up into * - Prices subject to change based upon lease agreement 13 privately leased pad sites with fewer restrictions than the terms and conditions. current private pads, so that small (120sqft – 12’ tall max) observatories can be built on them. The expansion will include a new electrical system as well as Internet access to Wanted: New Newsletter Editor? each of the pads. by Mark Smith All of the cost associated with the construction of this ex- Last month, I made and appeal for a replacement Newslet- pansion (~$20,000) will be paid for by those who choose to ter Editor. Unfortunately, the response has been less than lease the small observatory sites, and any remaining income encouraging. from the pad leases will go to the SDAA. Absolutely no My new job will not allow me to do the newsletter in the construction will start until all 13 pad sites have been paid Continued on Page 6

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 3 San Diego Astronomy Association

You are cordially invited to The San Diego Astronomy Association’s Annual Banquet

______Speaker: Dr. Kevin Grazier of the Jet Propulsion Labratories Topic: Jupiter: Sheild or Sniper?

Traditionally, Jupiter has been seen as protector of the Earth. The idea is that comets from the outer solar system which might otherwise smash into the Earth (a la Armageddon and Deep Impact) get sucked into Jupiter’s gravity well instead and are swallowed up, similar to how comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with Jupiter in 1994. Now, Kevin and his colleagues have created a detailed simulation of the solar system that suggests that Jupiter might be responsible for kicking comets towards the inner solar system, where the Earth lives.

This research also has implications for the search for extraterrestrial life, and especially intelligent life — up until now, scientists have worried that if a solar system didn’t have something like a Jupiter, it might be too dangerous for life to get very far before getting wiped out by an impact. If Jupiter actually makes things worse for inner planets, we might be more likely to find life in solar systems without big gas giants.

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Choice of Entrees:

Black Jack Flat Iron Steak - Served with Potatoes & Seasonal Vegetables Pancetta Chicken - w/ Crisp Pancetta Pork Soaked Apples & Seasonal Vegetables Vegetarian Wellington – Stuffed Pastry Stuffed w/ Roasted Vegetables & Portabella Mushroooms SDAA Banquet Order Form Use this form or order online at http://forms.sdaa.org/banquet.htm Name______Address______City, State, Zip______Telephone______Email______Dinner Selections (Enter number of each) Flat Iron Steak____ Chicken Pancetta ____ Vegetarian Wellington____ Number Attending ____ @ $45 each Total Payment included $ ______Mail to: San Diego Astronomy Association *Make checks payable to SDAA P.O. Box 23215 Orders must be received no later than 01/18/2011 San Diego, CA 92193-3215 NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR

Page 4 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

SDAA Board of Directors Monthly Business Meeting Minutes 14 December 2010 - Unapproved and Subject to Revision

1. Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm with the following board members in attendance: Bob Austin, President; Mike Vander Vorst, Vice President; Ed Rumsey, Treasurer; Kin Searcy, Corresponding Secretary; Brian McFar- land, Recording Secretary; Paul Pountney, Director; David Petit, Director; Bill Carlson, Director.

2. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes. The minutes of November 2010 board meeting were reviewed and approved.

3. Priority / Member Business. None.

4. Standard Reports. Treasurer’s Report. .Accepted. Membership Report. • Current membership is down 7 to 536 • An email problem that may have contributed to the membership numbers has been corrected Site Maintenance Report. Nothing new to report. Observatory Report. No hosts. Private Pad Report. No action to report; Alice will work with Mark Smith to prepare and submit a year-end report with the non-compliance report for the January meeting, and will hand everything over to him prior to that meeting. Outreach Committee Report. • School star parties are going well, the weather notwithstanding. • A Jamul star party is coming up, and will be the 1st out of our normal area. Moose will coordinate • Jan 7 is the Sycamore Canyon Open Space Star Party – it’s on the calendar Program Report. Program meeting schedule is as follows: December: No meeting January: Banquet, Kevin Grazier February: Gary Petersen Will include another banquet announcement in the newsletter, and will allocate $350 honorarium for the speaker. NASA Robotic Observatory. Jerry built the computer and is ready to install it. The last two times he was out there the weather was too harsh to do the install. He is hoping to get out there this weekend to get it installed and put the weather station back online. He cleaned the Lumicon spotter scope. If conditions are good this weekend he’ll at- tempt to test the connectivity with the telescope and see if the dome control is working correctly from the computer. Bob A. and Bill C. will investigate the node problems. AISIG Report. • Meetings will resume in January at Kin’s house • There is now an AISIG committee • The AISIG projector and the new Program Meeting projector each need good cases – Kin will pick up two foam-lined hard case from Lowes or Harbor Freight; $100 was authorized Governing Documents Report. We need a volunteer to take over. Newsletter Report. No report and we need a volunteer to take over. Website Report. • Creation of new SDAA Website is complete and now live • Have submitted a request to PBWorks for a refund for unused services – still waiting for a reply • Changed all SDAA Yahoo Groups and the AISIG Gallery site header images to reflect the new look of the SDAA Website • The website now has a Google calendar Continued on Page 6 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 5 San Diego Astronomy Association

Continued from Page 3 long run, although I can probably manage to do the next TDS Schedule for 2011 issue or two. As newsletter editor, you are responsible for (R=rise S=set) collecting articles, formatting the newsletter, sending it to the DATE MOON DATA SUNSET Board of Directors for review, and then sending a print ver- JAN. 1 R-12:26A 4:51P sion to the printer and a web version to the Web Master (the 8 S- 9:16P 4:56P PUBLIC last page is formatted a little differently in the print and web 29 R- 4:09A 5:15A versions). You are also free to find other articles that may be FEB. 5 S- 8:01P 5:22P PUBLIC of interest to the membership and include them. 26 R- 4:09A 5:40P The time commitment is not that much greater than what MAR. 5 S- 6:49P 5:45P PUBLIC is required for other SDAA volunteer positions and could 26 R- 2:36A 7:01P probably be cut down if you automated some of the functions APR. 2 S- 6:38P 7:06P PUBLIC that I do by hand. I currently use Adobe In-Design to format 23 R- 1:13A 7:21P PUBLIC the newsletter, but there is no reason why another program 30 S- 5:27P 7:26P couldn’t be used. The only stressful part of the job is the MAY.21 R-11:46P 7:41P PUBLIC fact that you are on a deadline each month. Often times a 28 R- 2:47A 7:46P slip of 2 or 3 days in getting an issue to the printer can mean JUN.18 R-10:18P 7:56P PUBLIC more than a week’s delay in getting the print version out to 25 R- 1:52A 7:57P the membership. JUL.23 R-12:26A 7:50P PUBLIC Overall, the job is rewarding. It is not uncommon to have 30 S- 7:40P 7:45P members come up to you at meetings or out at TDS and AUG.20 R-11:03P 7:25P PUBLIC thank you for doing the Newsletter. You also get to interact 27 S- 6:12P 7:17P with various people who learn about the club through the SEP. 17 R- 9:42P 6:49P PUBLIC newsletter and then contact the editor for more information. 24 S- 4:41P 6:40P For me, that has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the OCT.22 R- 3:19A 6:05P job. 29 S- 8:37P 5:58P PUBLIC So, we are looking for somebody to take over this job. . NOV.19 R- 1:08A 4:42P PUBLIC I would really like the February issue to be my last. I will 26 S- 6:20P 4:40P retain capability to publish the newsletter so if life catches up DEC.17 R-12:06A 4:42P PUBLIC with you, or you just need a break for a month or two, I’ll be 24 S- 5:03P 4:45P I DON’T THINK SO there as a backup. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me at [email protected] or contact and SDAA Board Member.

Continued from Page 5 • The calendar is missing the January Board Meeting – need to correct Site Master Plan Committee Report. We are ready to go with the newsletter announcement. The ballot will be a separate mailing and will go out by December 31st, with the final tally on January 31st. We will accept ballots at the banquet.

5. Old Business. We are still looking into ways to provide online merchandise purchases.

6. New Business. Newsletter-only subscription will be offered at $30, and the subscriber will get a free Basic Membership with that subscription. This makes the Treasurer’s and Membership Chair’s jobs easier.

7. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.

Page 6 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

SDAA Contacts Club Officers and Directors President Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174 Vice-President Michael Vander Vorst [email protected] (858) 755-5846 Recording Secretary Brian McFarland [email protected] (619) 462-4483 Treasurer Ed Rumsey [email protected] (858) 722-3846 Corresponding Secretary Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 Director Alpha Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 Director Beta Brian Staples [email protected] Director Gamma Paul Pountney [email protected] (619) 465-7014 Director Delta David Petit [email protected] (858) 395-9593

Committees Site Maintenance Bill Quackenbush [email protected] (858) 395-1007 Observatory Director Jim Traweek [email protected] (619) 477-7279 Private Pads Alice Harvey [email protected] (858) 622-1481 Outreach Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 N. County Star Parties Rafeal de la Torre [email protected] (858) 386-8241 S. County Star Parties -Vacant- [email protected] E. County Star Parties Bob Affeldt [email protected] (619) 328-2487 Central Area Star Parties Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 Camp with the -Vacant- [email protected] Newsletter Mark Smith [email protected] (858) 484-0540 Membership Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 New Member Mentor Bill Carlson (425) 736-8485 Webmaster Bob Austin [email protected] (760) 787-1174 AISIG Kin Searcy [email protected] (858) 586-0974 Site Acquisition Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Field Trips Michael Vander Vorst [email protected] (858) 755-5846 Grants/Fund Raising Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Merchandising Pau “Moose” Pourtney [email protected] (619) 465-7014 Publicity Jerry Hilburn [email protected] (858) 565-4059 Roboscope Director Kent Richardson [email protected] (858) 268-9943 Governing Documents -Vacant- TDS Network Bill Carlson [email protected] (425) 736-8485 Amateur Telescope Making Peter DeBaan [email protected] (760) 745-0925

SDAA Editorial Staff Have a great new piece of gear? Read an astronomy-related book that you think Editor - Mark Smith others should know about? How about a photograph of an SDAA Member in [email protected] action? Or are you simply tired of seeing these Boxes in the Newsletter rather Assistant Editor: Craig Ewing than something, well, interesting? Contributing Writers Kin Searcy Bob Austin Join the campaign to rid the Newsletter of little boxes by sharing them with the Mark Smith Gene Dolphin membership. In return for your efforts, you will get your very own by line or pho- Dr. Tony Phillips Kathy Dolphin tograph credit in addition to the undying gratitude of the Newsletter Editor. Just Bill Carlson Trudy E. Bell send your article or picture to [email protected] or [email protected]. Michael Vander Vorst

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 7 San Diego Astronomy Association

January 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

New Year's Day 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stars in the Park Sycamore Canyon

New Moon 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Lakeview SDAA Business Sherman Stars at Mission Cub Scout Pack Elementary Meeting Academy Trails 546 at Anza Borrego

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Millenial Mt. SDAA Annual Technical School View/Beckwourth Banquet Library Full Moon 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Pepper Drive Kumeyaa Phoenix House Elementary

30 31

Page 8 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

February 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 Darnall Charter Stars in the Park Curie Elementary TDS Public Night

Mt. Woodson Elementary New Moon Groundhog Day

6 7 8 9 1 0 11 12 SDAA Business Fletcher Hills Stars at Mission Meeting Library Trails

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Dingrman SDAA Program Elementary Meeting

Valentine's Day Full Moon

20 21 22 2 3 24 25 26 Murray Manor

Presidents' Day 27 28

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 9 San Diego Astronomy Association

Halloween Star Party Pictures All photos courtesy of Gene and Kathy Dolphin. See Page 1 for the article. Editor’s Note: Every Halloween, I think about breaking out my telescope and setting up a Sidewalk Star Party. Every year, my wife talks me out of it saying, “Nobody is going to be interested.” With Gene and Kathy’s encouragement, next year, there will be a Halloween Star Party in Rancho Penasquitos too!

Page 10 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 11 San Diego Astronomy Association

Astronomers Stumble onto Huge Space Molecules by Trudy E. Bell and Tony Phillips Deep in interstellar space, in a the swirling gaseous envelope of a planetary , hosts of carbon atoms have joined together to form large three-dimensional molecules of a special type previously seen only on Earth. Astronomers discovered them almost accidentally using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. “They are the largest molecules known in space,” de- clared Jan Cami of the University of Western Ontario, lead author of a paper with three colleagues published in Science online on July 22, 2010, and in print on September 3. Not only are the molecules big: they are of a special class of carbon molecules known as “fullerenes” because their structure resembles the geodesic domes popularized by architect Buckminster Fuller. Spitzer found evidence of Superimposed on a Spitzer infrared photo of the Small Magellanic Cloud is two types of fullerenes. The smaller type, nicknamed the an artist’s illustration depicting a magnified view of a planetary nebula and “buckyball,” is chemical formula C60, made of 60 carbon an even further magnified view of buckyballs, which consist of 60 carbon atoms joined in a series of hexagons and pentagons to form atoms arranged like soccer balls. a spherical closed cage exactly like a black-and-white soccer space,” Cami said. “Now that we know fullerenes are out there, ball. Spitzer also found a larger fullerene, chemical formula we can figure out their roles in the physics and chemistry of deep C70, consisting of 70 carbon atoms in an elongated closed space. Who knows what other complex chemical compounds cage more resembling an oval rugby ball. exist—maybe even some relevant to the formation of life in the Neither type of fullerene is rigid; instead, their carbon at- universe!” oms vibrate in and out, rather like the surface of a large soap Stay tuned! bubble changes shape as it floats through the air. “Those Learn more about this discovery at http://www.spitzer.caltech. vibrations correspond to wavelengths of infrared light emit- edu. For kids, there are lots of beautiful Spitzer images to match ted or absorbed—and that infrared emission is what Spitzer up in the Spitzer Concentration game at http://spaceplace.nasa. recorded,” Cami explained. gov/en/kids/spitzer/concentration. Although fullerenes have been sought in space for the last This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 25 years, ever since they were first identified in the labora- California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the Na- tory, the astronomers practically stumbled into the discovery. tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. Co-author Jeronimo Bernard-Salas of Cornell University, an expert in gas and dust in planetary nebulae, was doing routine research with Spitzer’s infrared observations of planetary nebulae with its spectroscopy instrument. When he studied the spectrum (infrared signature) of a dim planetary Global Eruption Rocks the Sun nebula called Tc 1 in the southern-hemisphere by Dr. Tony Phillips of Ara, he noticed several clear peaks he had not seen before Science@NASA in the spectra of other planetary nebulae. On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. “When he came to me,” recounted Cami, an astrophysicist Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves who specializes in molecular chemistry, “I immediately and raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas bil- intuitively knew it I was looking at buckyballs in space. I’ve lowed into space. Astronomers knew they had witnessed some- never been that excited!” The authors confirmed his hunch thing big. by carefully comparing the Tc 1 spectrum to laboratory It was so big, it may have shattered old ideas about solar activ- experiments described in the literature. ity. “This discovery shows that it is possible—even easy—for “The August 1st event really opened our eyes,” says Karel complex carbonaceous molecules to form spontaneously in Schrijver of Lockheed Martin’s Solar and Astrophysics Lab Page 12 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association in Palo Alto, CA. “We see that solar storms can be global “For this kind of work, SDO and STEREO are game- events, playing out on scales we scarcely imagined before.” changers,” says Lika Guhathakurta, NASA’s Living with a For the past three months, Schrijver has been working Star Program Scientist. “Together, the three spacecraft moni- with fellow Lockheed-Martin solar physicist Alan Title to tor 97% of the sun, allowing researchers to see connections understand what happened during the “Great Eruption.” They that they could only guess at in the past.” had plenty of data: The event was recorded in unprecedented To wit, barely two-thirds of the August event was visible detail by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and twin from Earth, yet all of it could be seen by the SDO-STEREO STEREO spacecraft. With several colleagues present to offer fleet. Moreover, SDO’s measurements of the sun’s magnetic commentary, they outlined their findings at a press confer- field revealed direct connections between the various compo- ence today at the American Geophysical Union meeting in nents of the Great Eruption—no statistics required. San Francisco. Much remains to be done. “We’re still sorting out cause Explosions on the sun are not localized or isolated events, and effect,” says Schrijver. “Was the event one big chain they announced. Instead, solar activity is interconnected by reaction, in which one eruption triggered another--bang, magnetism over breathtaking distances. Solar flares, tsuna- bang, bang--in sequence? Or did everything go off together mis, coronal mass ejections--they can go off all at once, hun- as a consequence of some greater change in the sun’s global dreds of thousands of miles apart, in a dizzyingly-complex magnetic field?” concert of mayhem. Further analysis may yet reveal the underlying trigger; for “To predict eruptions we can no longer focus on the mag- now, the team is still wrapping their minds around the global netic fields of isolated active regions,” says Title, “we have to character of solar activity. One commentator recalled the old know the surface magnetic field of practically the entire sun.” adage of three blind men describing an elephant--one by feel- This revelation increases the work load for space weather ing the trunk, one by holding the tail, and another by sniffing forecasters, but it also increases the potential accuracy of a toenail. Studying the sun one sunspot at a time may be just their forecasts. as limiting. “The whole-sun approach could lead to breakthroughs in “Not all eruptions are going to be global,” notes Gu- predicting solar activity,” commented Rodney Viereck of hathakurta. “But the global character of solar activity can no NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, CO. longer be ignored.” “This in turn would provide improved forecasts to our cus- As if the sun wasn’t big enough already…. tomers such as electric power grid operators and commercial airlines, who could take action to protect their systems and ensure the safety of passengers and crew.” In a paper they prepared for the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR), Schrijver and Title broke down the Great Eruption into more than a dozen significant shock waves, flares, filament eruptions, and CMEs spanning 180 degrees of solar longitude and 28 hours of time. At first it seemed to be a cacophony of disorder until they plotted the events on a map of the sun’s magnetic field. Title describes the Eureka! moment: “We saw that all the events of substantial coronal activity were connected by a wide-ranging system of separatrices, separators, and quasi- separatrix layers.” A “separatrix” is a magnetic fault zone where small changes in surrounding plasma currents can set off big electromagnetic storms. Researchers have long suspected this kind of magnetic connection was possible. “The notion of ‘sympathetic’ flares goes back at least three quarters of a century,” they wrote in their JGR paper. Sometimes observers would see flares going off one after another--like popcorn--but it was impossible to Locations of key events are labeled in this extreme ultraviolet image of the sun, prove a link between them. Arguments in favor of cause and obtained by the Solar Dynamics Observatory during the Great Eruption of August effect were statistical and often full of doubt. 1st. White lines trace the sun’s magnetic field. Credit: K Schrijver & A. Title. SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 13 San Diego Astronomy Association

Newsletter Deadline The deadline to submit articles for publication is the 15th of each month.

Page 14 SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 San Diego Astronomy Association

AISIG Gallery

Jim Thommes imaged the region (Page 14) from Dos Picos Park in Ramona with a SBIG ST8300M CCD imager through a Zenithstar 66 refractor mounted on a Losmandy G11 mount. The Heart Nebula, the brightest part of which is classified as NGC 896, is an located in the constellation Cassiopeia. The to the left of the Heart figure is NGC 1027. The cluster in the center of the Heart is Mellotte 15. Bob Austin posted an image of NGC 891 (below), an edge-on spiral in Andromeda, taken after the lightning damage at TDS. Bob’s image shows the dust lane clearly. Bob used a SBIG ST-2000XM CCD imager through an Astro Tech 203mm Ritchey Chretien scope mounted on a Losmandy G-11 mount. This consists of almost 6 hours total imaging capture. Of note is the fact that NGC 891 was the first light image of the Large Binocular Telescope in 2005. Michael Johnson tried the Horse Head Nebula (right) from Mission Valley with an Orion StarShoot II through a Celestron C-6 on a CG5 mount. This represents 45 minutes of imaging.

SAN DIEGO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION NEWS AND NOTES, JANUARY 2010 Page 15 San Diego Astronomy Association P.O. Box 23215 NON-PROFIT ORG. San Diego, CA 92193-3215 U.S. POSTAGE (619) 645-8940 PAID VOL XLIX Issue 1, January 2011 PERMIT NO. 3489 Published Monthly by the San Diego Astronomy Association SAN DIEGO, CA. Subscription $8.00/year, Single Issue 75¢

THE BACK PAGE

For Sale Meade LX200GPS SMT Telescope, Computer controlled. Looking at the front of the telescope it is labeled with D=254mm, F=2500mm, Schmidt-Cassegrain f/10. 254mm = 10”. With tripod, Ultra Wide Angle 82 degree 18mm, Ultra Wide Angle 82 degree 6.7mm, Tele Xtender 1.25” 2X and Autostar Suite LPI (Lunar Planetary Imager) USB capture to computer unit.

This unit is in like new condition. It has only been taken out of the case about a dozen times. It was originally purchased for over $4,000. Asking $2,000.00. Please call Carol @ 858-401-2429 or email: [email protected]

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