Jjmonl 1509.Pmd

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Jjmonl 1509.Pmd alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 8, No. 9 September 2015 Stalking the Hunter A view of the Orion Nebula (M42) viewed through the dome at McCarthy Observatory and enhanced by our JJMO imaging team. For more information, see inside, page 13. The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Production & Design Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Technical Support has established itself as a significant educational and Bob Lambert recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Allison Jim Johnstone Steve Barone Carly KleinStern Colin Campbell Bob Lambert Dennis Cartolano Roger Moore Route Mike Chiarella Parker Moreland, PhD Jeff Chodak Allan Ostergren Bill Cloutier Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Randy Finden Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Jon Wallace Tina Hartzell Paul Woodell Tom Heydenburg Amy Ziffer In This Issue OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT .................................... 4 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 13 HYGINUS AND ARIADAEUS RILLES ..................................... 5 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 13 INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT ...................... 6 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 13 VIEW FROM AFAR ........................................................... 6 COVER PHOTO CREDIT .................................................. 13 LUNAR ECLIPSE ............................................................. 7 COVER PHOTO .............................................................. 13 NEW WORLDS ............................................................... 8 SECOND SATURDAY STARS POSTER ................................... 14 MAVEN UPDATE ............................................................. 9 SEPTEMBER GRAPHIC CALENDAR .................................... 15 TETHYS ......................................................................... 9 RIDING THE COMET ....................................................... 10 THREE YEARS ON MARS ................................................. 10 AUTUMNAL EQUINOX ..................................................... 11 AURORA AND THE EQUINOXES .......................................... 11 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 11 SUMMER NIGHTS ........................................................... 11 PRESENT AND FUTURE POLE STARS .................................. 11 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 11 2 • Sep 2015 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org September Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Sep 2015 • 3 “Out the Window Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity), the and appears to be volcanic in origin. on Your Left” Haemus Mountains on its south- The rille abruptly changes directions ern rim, the nearby Hyginus and at the Hyginus caldera. T’S BEEN OVER 40 years Ariadeus Rilles, the Apollo 16 The waxing crescent on the 19th since we left the last footprint landing site in the Descartes High- also provides an opportunity to ob- Ion the dusty lunar surface. lands, and the Altair Scarp. serve the elusive Valentine Dome. Sadly, as a nation founded on ex- The Hyginus and Ariadaeus The volcanic dome can be found on ploration and the conquest of new Rilles can be found near the Moon’s the western shore of Mare Serenitatis frontiers, we appear to have lost equator, just to the west of Mare and is approximately 24 miles (39 our will to lead as a space-faring Tranquilitatis (Sea of Tranquility). km) across but less than 1,200 feet nation. But, what if the average Rima Ariadaeus starts near the west- (350 meters) high. It’s only visible citizen had the means to visit our ern shore of Mare Tranquillitatis and when near the terminator. only natural satellite; what would runs towards Mare Vaporum to the The Altai Scarp is a prominent they see out the window of their west. The linear fault or graben is feature in the southern highlands spacecraft as they entered orbit 186.4 miles (300 km) in length. Av- when the Sun is low in the lunar around the Moon? This column eraging 3.1 miles (5 km) in width, sky. The arcing cliff rises to a may provide some thoughts to pon- Rima Ariadaeus slices through other, height of 2 to 2½ miles (3.5 to 4 der when planning your visit (if presumably older geologic features. km) and is a remnant of the mul- only in your imagination). Rima Hyginus emerges from the tiple mountain rings that typically shadows in the west and is punctu- encircle large impact basins. This ated by a series of small rimless pits particular scarp is part of the outer and the Hyginus caldera. Its length ring of the Nectaris impact basin, is approximately 136 miles (219 km) one of the oldest on the Moon. The International Observe the Moon Night is an annual event sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Re- connaissance Orbiter, NASA’s So- lar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute to encourage lunar observation and its connec- tion to solar system exploration. This year (2015), the event is scheduled for September 19th. Ad- ditional information on scheduled events can be found at http:// observethemoonnight.org/. A six day old Moon will be vis- ible on the 19th to observers with clear skies. The terminator (divid- Formerly known as Linné Alpha the ellipticall feature bisected by a ing the sunlit and shadowed por- rille at left of center has been popularly dubbed Valentine Dome, tions of the near-side) will traverse perhaps because it suggested a heart pierced by an arrow - or the western reaches of Mare perhaps just a big pizza pie..[Source: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.] 4 • Sep 2015 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Hyginus and Ariadaeus Rilles http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Sep 2015 • 5 International Observe the Moon Night The Moon will rise shortly after noon on September 19th and set at 10:39 pm. Approximately 36% of the near-side surface will be illu- minated, similar to the image cap- tured below. Photo notations cor- respond to the 1) Valentine Dome and Mare Serenitatis; 2) Hyginus and Ariadeus Rilles; 3) Mare Tranquillitatis; 4) Descartes Highlands and the Apollo 16 landing sit, and 5) the Altai Scarp and Mare Nectaris. View from Afar The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite is a collaborative mission between NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force. The satellite is positioned 1 Photo: Bill Cloutier million miles from Earth, between the Earth and the Sun. Its primary mission is to provide real time data on the solar wind for use in space weather forecasts and alerts. The satellite is also equipped with a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope that is used to image the Earth as it rotates, pro- viding data on ozone, vegetation, clouds and aerosols in the atmo- sphere. On July 16th, the camera also captured the Moon as it passed between the satellite and the Earth, providing a view seldom seen of the Moon's fully illuminated far side. Unlike the side facing the Earth, there are relatively few maria on the Moon's far side. The most prominent patch of lava seen in the image is Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Moscow) in the upper left of the lunar orb. Credits: NASA/NOAA 6 • Sep 2015 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Lunar Eclipse On the evening of September 27th, the full Moon will slip into the Earth's shadow. Once in the shadow, the Earth will block all direct sun- light from illuminating the lunar sur- face. This arrangement, with the Earth in line between the Sun and the Moon, produces a lunar eclipse. The image at the right was taken at the McCarthy Observatory on October 27, 2004. It shows the Moon nearing the completion of its travel through the darkest part of the Earth's shadow (or umbra). The crimson glow is from sunlight scattered by the Earth's atmosphere that has fil- tered out most of the blue colored light. The northern limb of the Moon Photo: Bill Cloutier is brighter as it is closest to the edge of the umbra. On the 27th, the Moon ing 72 minutes. The entire eclipse "September’s full moon will be will travel through the southern half will be visible to viewers on the east the closest to the Earth in 2015 of umbra. The eclipse will be vis- coast. The Moon will be rising with (221,755 miles or 356,880 km) and ible (weather permitting) for observ- the eclipse in progress for viewers appear the largest. The next total ers in North America, with totality on the west coast, with moonrise lunar eclipse visible in the north- starting at 10:11 pm EDT and last- just before the onset of totality. east U.S. will be in January 2019." Total eclipse begins (Moon completely within the umbra) 10:11:10 pm EDT Total eclipse ends (Moon begins to exit umbra) 11:23:05 am EDT http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Sep 2015 • 7 New Worlds NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI On July 14th, after nine and one-half years and more than 3 million miles (5 million km), the wait was finally over when the New Horizons spacecraft pro- vided earthlings their first up close view of Pluto, its compan- ion moon and diminutive satel- lites. While it will take almost 16 months to transmit all the data collected by New Horizons
Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:1912.09192V2 [Astro-Ph.EP] 24 Feb 2020
    Draft version February 25, 2020 Typeset using LATEX preprint style in AASTeX62 Photometric analyses of Saturn's small moons: Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene are dark; Helene and Calypso are bright. M. M. Hedman,1 P. Helfenstein,2 R. O. Chancia,1, 3 P. Thomas,2 E. Roussos,4 C. Paranicas,5 and A. J. Verbiscer6 1Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 2Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853 3Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY 14623 4Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, G¨ottingen,Germany 37077 5APL, John Hopkins University, Laurel MD 20723 6Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 ABSTRACT We examine the surface brightnesses of Saturn's smaller satellites using a photometric model that explicitly accounts for their elongated shapes and thus facilitates compar- isons among different moons. Analyses of Cassini imaging data with this model reveals that the moons Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene are darker than one would expect given trends previously observed among the nearby mid-sized satellites. On the other hand, the trojan moons Calypso and Helene have substantially brighter surfaces than their co-orbital companions Tethys and Dione. These observations are inconsistent with the moons' surface brightnesses being entirely controlled by the local flux of E-ring par- ticles, and therefore strongly imply that other phenomena are affecting their surface properties. The darkness of Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene is correlated with the fluxes of high-energy protons, implying that high-energy radiation is responsible for darkening these small moons. Meanwhile, Prometheus and Pandora appear to be brightened by their interactions with nearby dusty F ring, implying that enhanced dust fluxes are most likely responsible for Calypso's and Helene's excess brightness.
    [Show full text]
  • Cassini Update
    Cassini Update Dr. Linda Spilker Cassini Project Scientist Outer Planets Assessment Group 22 February 2017 Sols%ce Mission Inclina%on Profile equator Saturn wrt Inclination 22 February 2017 LJS-3 Year 3 Key Flybys Since Aug. 2016 OPAG T124 – Titan flyby (1584 km) • November 13, 2016 • LAST Radio Science flyby • One of only two (cf. T106) ideal bistatic observations capturing Titan’s Northern Seas • First and only bistatic observation of Punga Mare • Western Kraken Mare not explored by RSS before T125 – Titan flyby (3158 km) • November 29, 2016 • LAST Optical Remote Sensing targeted flyby • VIMS high-resolution map of the North Pole looking for variations at and around the seas and lakes. • CIRS last opportunity for vertical profile determination of gases (e.g. water, aerosols) • UVIS limb viewing opportunity at the highest spatial resolution available outside of occultations 22 February 2017 4 Interior of Hexagon Turning “Less Blue” • Bluish to golden haze results from increased production of photochemical hazes as north pole approaches summer solstice. • Hexagon acts as a barrier that prevents haze particles outside hexagon from migrating inward. • 5 Refracting Atmosphere Saturn's• 22unlit February rings appear 2017 to bend as they pass behind the planet’s darkened limb due• 6 to refraction by Saturn's upper atmosphere. (Resolution 5 km/pixel) Dione Harbors A Subsurface Ocean Researchers at the Royal Observatory of Belgium reanalyzed Cassini RSS gravity data• 7 of Dione and predict a crust 100 km thick with a global ocean 10’s of km deep. Titan’s Summer Clouds Pose a Mystery Why would clouds on Titan be visible in VIMS images, but not in ISS images? ISS ISS VIMS High, thin cirrus clouds that are optically thicker than Titan’s atmospheric haze at longer VIMS wavelengths,• 22 February but optically 2017 thinner than the haze at shorter ISS wavelengths, could be• 8 detected by VIMS while simultaneously lost in the haze to ISS.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamics of Saturn's Small Moons in Coupled First Order Planar Resonances
    Dynamics of Saturn's small moons in coupled first order planar resonances Maryame El Moutamid Bruno Sicardy and St´efanRenner LESIA/IMCCE | Paris Observatory 26 juin 2012 Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Saturn system Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Very small moons Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk New satellites : Anthe, Methone and Aegaeon (Cooper et al., 2008 ; Hedman et al., 2009, 2010 ; Porco et al., 2005) Very small (0.5 km to 2 km) Vicinity of the Mimas orbit (outside and inside) The aims of the work A better understanding : - of the dynamics of this population of news satellites - of the scenario of capture into mean motion resonances Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Dynamical structure of the system µ µ´ Mp We consider only : - The resonant terms - The secular terms causing the precessions of the orbit When µ ! 0 ) The symmetry is broken ) different kinds of resonances : - Lindblad Resonance - Corotation Resonance D'Alembert rules : 0 0 c = (m + 1)λ − mλ − $ 0 L = (m + 1)λ − mλ − $ Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Corotation Resonance - Aegaeon (7/6) : c = 7λMimas − 6λAegaeon − $Mimas - Methone (14/15) : c = 15λMethone − 14λMimas − $Mimas - Anthe (10/11) : c = 11λAnthe − 10λMimas − $Mimas Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Corotation resonances Mean motion resonance : n1 = m+q n2 m Particular case : Lagrangian Equilibrium Points Maryame El Moutamid ESLAB-2012 | ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk Adam's ring and Galatea Maryame
    [Show full text]
  • The 4 Major Asteroids and Chiron Report For
    The 4 Major Asteroids and Chiron Report for Brad Roberts 10 January 1964 6:33 AM Winnipeg, Manitoba,Canada Calculated for: Standard time, Time Zone 6 hours West Latitude: 49 N 53 Longitude: 97 W 09 Positions of Planets at Birth: Sun 19 Cap 18 Asc. 20 Sag 35 Moon 1 Sag 21 MC 21 Lib 49 Mercury 6 Cap 24 2nd cusp 0 Aqu 56 Venus 21 Aqu 54 3rd cusp 17 Pis 07 Mars 27 Cap 52 5th cusp 15 Tau 45 Jupiter 11 Ari 42 6th cusp 4 Gem 07 Saturn 21 Aqu 25 Ceres 9 Sag 44 Uranus 9 Vir 47 Pallas 20 Sco 12 Neptune 17 Sco 47 Juno 23 Sco 36 Pluto 14 Vir 47 Vesta 4 Cap 54 True Node11 Can 47 Chiron 11 Pis 23 Aspects and orbs: Conjunction : 7 Deg 00 Min Trine : 5 Deg 00 Min Opposition : 6 Deg 00 Min Sextile : 3 Deg 00 Min Square : 4 Deg 00 Min Interpretations by astrologer Dave Campbell Report and Text Copyright By Cosmic Patterns Software, Inc. The contents of this report are protected by Copyright law. By purchasing this report you agree to comply with this Copyright. Libra Moon, Inc www.libramoonastrology.com www.zodiac-reports.com Chapter 1: Ceres Ceres in Sagittarius: You nurture people with your generosity cheerfulness and encouragement. Giving them the optimism and openness they need. You aim to inspire them and make them feel like they are it. Your honest disposition and behavior is also a gift for them to know your devotion to them. All of these things are exactly what you need in order to feel cared for.
    [Show full text]
  • Occultation Newsletter Volume 8, Number 4
    Volume 12, Number 1 January 2005 $5.00 North Am./$6.25 Other International Occultation Timing Association, Inc. (IOTA) In this Issue Article Page The Largest Members Of Our Solar System – 2005 . 4 Resources Page What to Send to Whom . 3 Membership and Subscription Information . 3 IOTA Publications. 3 The Offices and Officers of IOTA . .11 IOTA European Section (IOTA/ES) . .11 IOTA on the World Wide Web. Back Cover ON THE COVER: Steve Preston posted a prediction for the occultation of a 10.8-magnitude star in Orion, about 3° from Betelgeuse, by the asteroid (238) Hypatia, which had an expected diameter of 148 km. The predicted path passed over the San Francisco Bay area, and that turned out to be quite accurate, with only a small shift towards the north, enough to leave Richard Nolthenius, observing visually from the coast northwest of Santa Cruz, to have a miss. But farther north, three other observers video recorded the occultation from their homes, and they were fortuitously located to define three well- spaced chords across the asteroid to accurately measure its shape and location relative to the star, as shown in the figure. The dashed lines show the axes of the fitted ellipse, produced by Dave Herald’s WinOccult program. This demonstrates the good results that can be obtained by a few dedicated observers with a relatively faint star; a bright star and/or many observers are not always necessary to obtain solid useful observations. – David Dunham Publication Date for this issue: July 2005 Please note: The date shown on the cover is for subscription purposes only and does not reflect the actual publication date.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sources and Dynamical Mechanisms Responsible for Differing Regolith Cover on Satellites Embedded in Saturn’S E Ring
    50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2019 (LPI Contrib. No. 2132) 2790.pdf WHY SO MUTED? THE SOURCES AND DYNAMICAL MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIFFERING REGOLITH COVER ON SATELLITES EMBEDDED IN SATURN’S E RING. S. J. Morrison1 and S. G. Zaidi1, 1Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, 525 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State Uni- versity, University Park, PA, 16802, USA ([email protected]) Introduction: Saturn’s E ring, sourced primarily by resonances with Tethys and Dione. We also numerically cryovolcanic material erupted from Enceladus, extends integrate E ring particle trajectories including these outward from Enceladus’ orbit to beyond Dione’s orbit forces using the integrator package REBOUND and RE- [1][2]. Amongst the satellites embedded in this ring, BOUNDx [10-12]. We use initial orbits for the Satur- there are observed differences in regolith cover. In par- nian System from [13] and estimated masses for the tad- ticular, the small satellites Telesto, Calypso, Helene, pole moons from [7] that assume an average density of and Polydeuces have more muted surfaces, an absence 0.6 g/cc. We include Saturn’s gravitational harmonics of small craters, and downslope transport of regolith up to J4 and plasma drag forces arising from collisions within large craters than observed on Tethys and Dione with co-rotating O+ ions, the primary constituent of on similar distance scales [3][4]. However, these small plasma in the region of the Saturnian system of interest. satellites orbit in a different dynamical environment: Results: To provide insight into whether outwardly Telesto and Calypso are on leading and trailing tadpole drifting E ring particles should accumulate in the 1:1 orbits about the L4 and L5 Lagrange points in the co- resonances with Tethys and Dione, we compare the orbital 1:1 mean motion resonance with Tethys, respec- timescale for a particle of a given size to drift across the tively, as are Helene and Polydeuces tadpoles of Dione maximum libration width of this resonance to the corre- [e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Observing the Universe
    ObservingObserving thethe UniverseUniverse :: aa TravelTravel ThroughThrough SpaceSpace andand TimeTime Enrico Flamini Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Tokyo 2009 When you rise your head to the night sky, what your eyes are observing may be astonishing. However it is only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum of the Universe: the visible . But any electromagnetic signal, indipendently from its frequency, travels at the speed of light. When we observe a star or a galaxy we see the photons produced at the moment of their production, their travel could have been incredibly long: it may be lasted millions or billions of years. Looking at the sky at frequencies much higher then visible, like in the X-ray or gamma-ray energy range, we can observe the so called “violent sky” where extremely energetic fenoena occurs.like Pulsar, quasars, AGN, Supernova CosmicCosmic RaysRays:: messengersmessengers fromfrom thethe extremeextreme universeuniverse We cannot see the deep universe at E > few TeV, since photons are attenuated through →e± on the CMB + IR backgrounds. But using cosmic rays we should be able to ‘see’ up to ~ 6 x 1010 GeV before they get attenuated by other interaction. Sources Sources → Primordial origin Primordial 7 Redshift z = 0 (t = 13.7 Gyr = now ! ) Going to a frequency lower then the visible light, and cooling down the instrument nearby absolute zero, it’s possible to observe signals produced millions or billions of years ago: we may travel near the instant of the formation of our universe: 13.7 By. Redshift z = 1.4 (t = 4.7 Gyr) Credits A. Cimatti Univ. Bologna Redshift z = 5.7 (t = 1 Gyr) Credits A.
    [Show full text]
  • 1247 (Created: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 1:32:54 PM Eastern Standard Time) - Overview
    JWST Proposal 1247 (Created: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 1:32:54 PM Eastern Standard Time) - Overview 1247 - Saturn Cycle: 1, Proposal Category: GTO INVESTIGATORS Name Institution E-Mail Dr. Leigh Fletcher (PI) (ESA Member) University of Leicester [email protected] Matthew Tiscareno (CoI) SETI Institute [email protected] Dr. Stefanie N. Milam (CoI) (US Admin CoI) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center [email protected] OBSERVATIONS Folder Observation Label Observing Template Science Target Saturn Observations 301 System NIRCam 1 NIRCam Imaging (637) SATURN-CENTRE 312 Pandora NIRSpec NIRSpec IFU Spectroscopy (617) PANDORA 314 Epimetheus NIRSpec NIRSpec IFU Spectroscopy (611) EPIMETHEUS 318 Pallene NIRSpec NIRSpec IFU Spectroscopy (633) PALLENE 319 Telesto NIRSpec NIRSpec IFU Spectroscopy (613) TELESTO 341 System NIRCam 2 NIRCam Imaging (637) SATURN-CENTRE 665 Saturn Background MI MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (2) SATURN-OFFSET RI 330 Saturn Rings MIRI MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (600) SATURN-RINGS 666 Saturn North Pole MIR MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (634) SATURN-75N I 667 Saturn 45N MIRI MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (635) SATURN-45N 668 Saturn 15N MIRI MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (636) SATURN-15N ABSTRACT 1 JWST Proposal 1247 (Created: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 1:32:54 PM Eastern Standard Time) - Overview Reconnaissance of the Saturn system with NIRCam will test the capacity of JWST to detect faint moons around bright planets, via comparison to the faint targets already detected by Cassini, which will be useful for ERS and GO observers of other planetary systems. Furthermore, the NIRCam images should be sensitive to discovering new moons significantly fainter than any that Cassini has discovered.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SATURNIAN G RING: a SHORT NOTE ABOUT ITS FORMATION Revista Mexicana De Astronomía Y Astrofísica, Vol
    Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica ISSN: 0185-1101 [email protected] Instituto de Astronomía México Maravilla, D.; Leal-Herrera, J. L. THE SATURNIAN G RING: A SHORT NOTE ABOUT ITS FORMATION Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, vol. 50, núm. 2, octubre, 2014, pp. 341- 347 Instituto de Astronomía Distrito Federal, México Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57148278016 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Revista Mexicana de Astronom´ıa y Astrof´ısica, 50, 341–347 (2014) THE SATURNIAN G RING: A SHORT NOTE ABOUT ITS FORMATION D. Maravilla and J. L. Leal-Herrera Departamento de Ciencias Espaciales, Instituto de Geof´ısica, UNAM, Mexico Received March 21 2014; accepted August 18 2014 RESUMEN En este trabajo se estudia la formaci´on del anillo G de Saturno considerando que el sat´elite Ege´on es la fuente de part´ıculas de polvo. El polvo que forma el anillo se produce por impactos entre los micrometeoroides interplanetarios que ingresan en la magnet´osfera Saturniana y la superficie de Ege´on. Para explicar c´omo se forma el anillo se usa un modelo gravito-electrodin´amico suponiendo que las fuerzas gravitacional y electromagn´etica son las ´unicas fuerzas que modulan el comportamiento din´amico de las part´ıculas de polvo. Las soluciones del modelo muestran que existen reg´ımenes de confinamiento (captura) as´ıcomo reg´ımenes de escape de polvo en la vecindad de Ege´on.
    [Show full text]
  • Phase Integral of Asteroids Vasilij G
    A&A 626, A87 (2019) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935588 & © ESO 2019 Astrophysics Phase integral of asteroids Vasilij G. Shevchenko1,2, Irina N. Belskaya2, Olga I. Mikhalchenko1,2, Karri Muinonen3,4, Antti Penttilä3, Maria Gritsevich3,5, Yuriy G. Shkuratov2, Ivan G. Slyusarev1,2, and Gorden Videen6 1 Department of Astronomy and Space Informatics, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv 61022, Ukraine e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institute of Astronomy, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv 61022, Ukraine 3 Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00560 Helsinki, Finland 4 Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI, Geodeetinrinne 2, 02430 Masala, Finland 5 Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, Mira str. 19, 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia 6 Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut St. Suite 205, Boulder CO 80301, USA Received 31 March 2019 / Accepted 20 May 2019 ABSTRACT The values of the phase integral q were determined for asteroids using a numerical integration of the brightness phase functions over a wide phase-angle range and the relations between q and the G parameter of the HG function and q and the G1, G2 parameters of the HG1G2 function. The phase-integral values for asteroids of different geometric albedo range from 0.34 to 0.54 with an average value of 0.44. These values can be used for the determination of the Bond albedo of asteroids. Estimates for the phase-integral values using the G1 and G2 parameters are in very good agreement with the available observational data.
    [Show full text]
  • Moons of Saturn
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration 0 300,000,000 900,000,000 1,500,000,000 2,100,000,000 2,700,000,000 3,300,000,000 3,900,000,000 4,500,000,000 5,100,000,000 5,700,000,000 kilometers Moons of Saturn www.nasa.gov Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is home to a vast array • Phoebe orbits the planet in a direction opposite that of Saturn’s • Fastest Orbit Pan of intriguing and unique satellites — 53 plus 9 awaiting official larger moons, as do several of the recently discovered moons. Pan’s Orbit Around Saturn 13.8 hours confirmation. Christiaan Huygens discovered the first known • Mimas has an enormous crater on one side, the result of an • Number of Moons Discovered by Voyager 3 moon of Saturn. The year was 1655 and the moon is Titan. impact that nearly split the moon apart. (Atlas, Prometheus, and Pandora) Jean-Dominique Cassini made the next four discoveries: Iapetus (1671), Rhea (1672), Dione (1684), and Tethys (1684). Mimas and • Enceladus displays evidence of active ice volcanism: Cassini • Number of Moons Discovered by Cassini 6 Enceladus were both discovered by William Herschel in 1789. observed warm fractures where evaporating ice evidently es- (Methone, Pallene, Polydeuces, Daphnis, Anthe, and Aegaeon) The next two discoveries came at intervals of 50 or more years capes and forms a huge cloud of water vapor over the south — Hyperion (1848) and Phoebe (1898). pole. ABOUT THE IMAGES As telescopic resolving power improved, Saturn’s family of • Hyperion has an odd flattened shape and rotates chaotically, 1 2 3 1 Cassini’s visual known moons grew.
    [Show full text]
  • Lunar Occultations 2021
    Milky Way, Whiteside, MO July 7, 2018 References: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2021-BestEvents.htm https://in-the-sky.org/newscalyear.php?year=2021&maxdiff=7 https://www.go-astronomy.com/solar-system/event-calendar.htm https://www.photopills.com/articles/astronomical-events-photography- guide#step1 https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/ All Photos by Mark Jones Unless noted Southern Cross May 6, 2018 Tulum, MX Full Moon Events 2021 Largest Apr 27 2021: diameter: 33.7’; 345,572km May 26, 2021: diameter: 33.4’; 358,014km; Eclipse Smallest Oct 20, 2021: diameter: 29.7’; 402,517km; Eclipse Image below shows the apparent size difference between largest and smallest dates Canon DSLR FL=300mm Full Moon Events 2021 May 26 – Lunar Eclipse- partial from STL Partial Start 4:23am, Alt=9 deg moon set 5:43am, 80% covered Aug 22 - Blue Moon Nov 19 – Lunar Eclipse – Almost total from STL Partial Start 1:19am, Alt=61 deg Max Partial 3:05am, Alt=42 deg Partial End 4:49am, Alt=23 deg Total Lunar Eclipse, Oct 8 2014 Canon DSLR, Celestron C-8 Other Moon Events 2021 V Lunar-X on the Moon (Start Times) • Mar 20 – 16:01 Alt=54° • May 18 – 17:34 Alt=65° • Jul 16 – 17:00 Alt=42° • Sep 13 – 16:09 Alt=15° X • Nov 11 – 18:03 Alt=32° Lunar V also seen at same Sun angles Yellow=Favorable Moon Conditions Other Moon Events 2021 Lunar V - Visible at the same time just north of the X.
    [Show full text]