December 2019 BRAS Newsletter
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The Denver Observer December 2017
The Denver DECEMBER 2017 OBSERVER Messier 76, the Little Dumbbell Nebula, one of the deep-sky objects featured in this month’s “Skies.” Image © Joe Gafford. DECEMBER SKIES by Zachary Singer The Solar System of view in your ’scope will include the Moon’s Sky Calendar 3 Full Moon December will be a decent month for eastern section and the star, with plenty of 10 Last-Quarter Moon planetary events; though some planets are room. 17 New Moon slipping from view, others will take their I recommend you observe early—it 26 First-Quarter Moon place. We also have an occultation of Alde- should be a beautiful view, with the star a baran; as seen from Denver, the Moon will bright spark near the Moon’s edge, and over pass in front of the star at approximately the following minutes (they’ll go fast, just like In the Observer 4:06 PM, on the 30th. At that point, with the recent solar eclipse did), you can see the Moon move in its orbit around us, using the sunset still more than half an hour away, the President’s Message . .2 star won’t be visible to the naked eye, but it star for a benchmark. (Before 4:00 PM, look Society Directory. 2 should be in a telescope if you know where for Aldebaran outside the square, but along to look: Imagine a square drawn just large the diagonal from the Moon’s center to that Schedule of Events . 2 enough to touch the edges of the Moon, and lower-left edge.) About Denver Astronomical Society . -
Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Second Edition
RASC Observing Committee Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Second Edition Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Welcome to the Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Program. This program is designed to provide the observer with a well-rounded introduction to the night sky visible from North America. Using this observing program is an excellent way to gain knowledge and experience in astronomy. Experienced observers find that a planned observing session results in a more satisfying and interesting experience. This program will help introduce you to amateur astronomy and prepare you for other more challenging certificate programs such as the Messier and Finest NGC. The program covers the full range of astronomical objects. Here is a summary: Observing Objective Requirement Available Constellations and Bright Stars 12 24 The Moon 16 32 Solar System 5 10 Deep Sky Objects 12 24 Double Stars 10 20 Total 55 110 In each category a choice of objects is provided so that you can begin the certificate at any time of the year. In order to receive your certificate you need to observe a total of 55 of the 110 objects available. Here is a summary of some of the abbreviations used in this program Instrument V – Visual (unaided eye) B – Binocular T – Telescope V/B - Visual/Binocular B/T - Binocular/Telescope Season Season when the object can be best seen in the evening sky between dusk. and midnight. Objects may also be seen in other seasons. Description Brief description of the target object, its common name and other details. Cons Constellation where object can be found (if applicable) BOG Ref Refers to corresponding references in the RASC’s The Beginner’s Observing Guide highlighting this object. -
Homogeneous Spectroscopic Parameters for Bright Planet Host Stars from the Northern Hemisphere the Impact on Stellar and Planetary Mass (Research Note)
A&A 576, A94 (2015) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201425227 & c ESO 2015 Astrophysics Homogeneous spectroscopic parameters for bright planet host stars from the northern hemisphere The impact on stellar and planetary mass (Research Note) S. G. Sousa1,2,N.C.Santos1,2, A. Mortier1,3,M.Tsantaki1,2, V. Adibekyan1, E. Delgado Mena1,G.Israelian4,5, B. Rojas-Ayala1,andV.Neves6 1 Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal e-mail: [email protected] 2 Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal 3 SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9SS, UK 4 Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain 5 Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidade de La Laguna, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain 6 Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Received 27 October 2014 / Accepted 19 February 2015 ABSTRACT Aims. In this work we derive new precise and homogeneous parameters for 37 stars with planets. For this purpose, we analyze high resolution spectra obtained by the NARVAL spectrograph for a sample composed of bright planet host stars in the northern hemisphere. The new parameters are included in the SWEET-Cat online catalogue. Methods. To ensure that the catalogue is homogeneous, we use our standard spectroscopic analysis procedure, ARES+MOOG, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities. These spectroscopic stellar parameters are then used as input to compute the stellar mass and radius, which are fundamental for the derivation of the planetary mass and radius. -
Winter Constellations
Winter Constellations *Orion *Canis Major *Monoceros *Canis Minor *Gemini *Auriga *Taurus *Eradinus *Lepus *Monoceros *Cancer *Lynx *Ursa Major *Ursa Minor *Draco *Camelopardalis *Cassiopeia *Cepheus *Andromeda *Perseus *Lacerta *Pegasus *Triangulum *Aries *Pisces *Cetus *Leo (rising) *Hydra (rising) *Canes Venatici (rising) Orion--Myth: Orion, the great hunter. In one myth, Orion boasted he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the protector of all animals, produced a gigantic scorpion, whose body was so heavily encased that Orion was unable to pierce through the armour, and was himself stung to death. His companion Artemis was greatly saddened and arranged for Orion to be immortalised among the stars. Scorpius, the scorpion, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so that Orion would never be hurt by it again. To this day, Orion is never seen in the sky at the same time as Scorpius. DSO’s ● ***M42 “Orion Nebula” (Neb) with Trapezium A stellar nursery where new stars are being born, perhaps a thousand stars. These are immense clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse inward to form stars, mainly of ionized hydrogen which gives off the red glow so dominant, and also ionized greenish oxygen gas. The youngest stars may be less than 300,000 years old, even as young as 10,000 years old (compared to the Sun, 4.6 billion years old). 1300 ly. 1 ● *M43--(Neb) “De Marin’s Nebula” The star-forming “comma-shaped” region connected to the Orion Nebula. ● *M78--(Neb) Hard to see. A star-forming region connected to the Orion Nebula. -
Maio - 2017 Francisco Jânio Cavalcante
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO NORTE CENTRO DE CIÊNCIAS EXATAS E DA TERRA DEPARTAMENTO DE FÍSICA TEÓRICA E EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM FÍSICA EVOLUÇÃO DO ÍNDICE DE FREIO MAGNÉTICO PARA ESTRELAS DO TIPO SOLAR FRANCISCO JÂNIO CAVALCANTE NATAL (RN) MAIO - 2017 FRANCISCO JÂNIO CAVALCANTE EVOLUÇÃO DO ÍNDICE DE FREIO MAGNÉTICO PARA ESTRELAS DO TIPO SOLAR Tese de Doutorado apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física do Departamento de Física Teórica e Experimental da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte como requisito parcial para a obtenção do grau de Doutor em Física. Orientador: Dr. Daniel Brito de Freitas NATAL (RN) MAIO - 2017 UFRN / Biblioteca Central Zila Mamede Catalogação da Publicação na Fonte Cavalcante, Francisco Jânio. Evolução do índice de freio magnético para estrelas do tipo solar / Francisco Jânio Cavalcante. - 2017. 166 f. : il. Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Terra, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física. Natal, RN, 2017. Orientador: Prof. Dr. Daniel Brito de Freitas. 1. Rotação estelar - Tese. 2. Freio magnético - Tese. 3. Distribuição e estatística - Tese. I. Freitas, Daniel Brito de. II. Título. RN/UF/BCZM CDU 524.3 Para Pessoas Especiais: A minha avó, minha mãe e minha namorada Ester Saraiva da Silva (in memorian) Cleta Carneiro Cavalcante Simone Santos Martins Agradecimentos Agradeço ao bom e generoso Deus, quem me deu muitas coisas no decorrer da minha vida. Deu-me compreensão e amparo nos momento de aflição e tristeza, saúde para continuar nesta caminhada. Ofereceu-me sua luz no momento em que a escuridão sufocava meu espírito. -
Arxiv:1305.7264V2 [Astro-Ph.EP] 21 Apr 2014 Spain
Draft version September 18, 2018 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 08/22/09 THE MOVING GROUP TARGETS OF THE SEEDS HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING SURVEY OF EXOPLANETS AND DISKS: RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FIRST THREE YEARS Timothy D. Brandt1, Masayuki Kuzuhara2, Michael W. McElwain3, Joshua E. Schlieder4, John P. Wisniewski5, Edwin L. Turner1,6, J. Carson7,4, T. Matsuo8, B. Biller4, M. Bonnefoy4, C. Dressing9, M. Janson1, G. R. Knapp1, A. Moro-Mart´ın10, C. Thalmann11, T. Kudo12, N. Kusakabe13, J. Hashimoto13,5, L. Abe14, W. Brandner4, T. Currie15, S. Egner12, M. Feldt4, T. Golota12, M. Goto16, C. A. Grady3,17, O. Guyon12, Y. Hayano12, M. Hayashi18, S. Hayashi12, T. Henning4, K. W. Hodapp19, M. Ishii12, M. Iye13, R. Kandori13, J. Kwon13,22, K. Mede18, S. Miyama20, J.-I. Morino13, T. Nishimura12, T.-S. Pyo12, E. Serabyn21, T. Suenaga22, H. Suto13, R. Suzuki13, M. Takami23, Y. Takahashi18, N. Takato12, H. Terada12, D. Tomono12, M. Watanabe24, T. Yamada25, H. Takami12, T. Usuda12, M. Tamura13,18 Draft version September 18, 2018 ABSTRACT We present results from the first three years of observations of moving group targets in the SEEDS high-contrast imaging survey of exoplanets and disks using the Subaru telescope. We achieve typical contrasts of ∼105 at 100 and ∼106 beyond 200 around 63 proposed members of nearby kinematic moving groups. We review each of the kinematic associations to which our targets belong, concluding that five, β Pictoris (∼20 Myr), AB Doradus (∼100 Myr), Columba (∼30 Myr), Tucana-Horogium (∼30 Myr), and TW Hydrae (∼10 Myr), are sufficiently well-defined to constrain the ages of individual targets. -
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010 Phil Harrington on't you just love a happy ending? I know I do. Picture this. Princess Andromeda, a helpless damsel in distress, chained to a rock as a ferocious D sea monster loomed nearby. Just when all appeared lost, our hero -- Perseus! -- plunges out of the sky, kills the monster, and sweeps up our maiden in his arms. Together, they fly off into the sunset on his winged horse to live happily ever after. Such is the stuff of myths and legends. That story, the legend of Perseus and Andromeda, was recounted in last month's column when we visited some binocular targets within the constellation Cassiopeia. In mythology, Queen Cassiopeia was Andromeda's mother, and the cause for her peril in the first place. Left: Autumn star map from Star Watch by Phil Harrington Above: Finder chart for this month's Binocular Universe. Chart adapted from Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas (TUBA), www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm This month, we return to the scene of the rescue, to our hero, Perseus. He stands in our sky to the east of Cassiopeia and Andromeda, should the Queen's bragging get her daughter into hot water again. The constellation's brightest star, Mirfak (Alpha [α] Persei), lies about two-thirds of the way along a line that stretches from Pegasus to the bright star Capella in Auriga. Shining at magnitude +1.8, Mirfak is classified as a class F5 white supergiant. It radiates some 5,000 times the energy of our Sun and has a diameter 62 times larger. -
Naming the Extrasolar Planets
Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named. -
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory a Autumn Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory A Autumn Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye CASSIOPEIA Look for the ‘W’ 4 shape 3 Polaris URSA MINOR Notice how the constellations swing around Polaris during the night Pherkad Kochab Is Kochab orange compared 2 to Polaris? Pointers Is Dubhe Dubhe yellowish compared to Merak? 1 Merak THE PLOUGH Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in autumn. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 1.2 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. Close to the horizon is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan with the handle stretching to your left. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The two right-hand stars are called the Pointers. Can you tell that the higher of the two, Dubhe is slightly yellowish compared to the lower, Merak? Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white- hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you upwards to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the left are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. -
Arxiv:0809.1275V2
How eccentric orbital solutions can hide planetary systems in 2:1 resonant orbits Guillem Anglada-Escud´e1, Mercedes L´opez-Morales1,2, John E. Chambers1 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT The Doppler technique measures the reflex radial motion of a star induced by the presence of companions and is the most successful method to detect ex- oplanets. If several planets are present, their signals will appear combined in the radial motion of the star, leading to potential misinterpretations of the data. Specifically, two planets in 2:1 resonant orbits can mimic the signal of a sin- gle planet in an eccentric orbit. We quantify the implications of this statistical degeneracy for a representative sample of the reported single exoplanets with available datasets, finding that 1) around 35% percent of the published eccentric one-planet solutions are statistically indistinguishible from planetary systems in 2:1 orbital resonance, 2) another 40% cannot be statistically distinguished from a circular orbital solution and 3) planets with masses comparable to Earth could be hidden in known orbital solutions of eccentric super-Earths and Neptune mass planets. Subject headings: Exoplanets – Orbital dynamics – Planet detection – Doppler method arXiv:0809.1275v2 [astro-ph] 25 Nov 2009 Introduction Most of the +300 exoplanets found to date have been discovered using the Doppler tech- nique, which measures the reflex motion of the host star induced by the planets (Mayor & Queloz 1995; Marcy & Butler 1996). The diverse characteristics of these exoplanets are somewhat surprising. Many of them are similar in mass to Jupiter, but orbit much closer to their 1Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 5241 Broad Branch Rd. -
Mr R) [ Ndwslffidr
SUMMER 1994 TI,D VOLUME 17, NO.2 /\lMr R) [ NDWSLffiDR Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 to Hit Jupiter Editor's Notes The Great Jupiter Comet Bash! Many changes have come to MIRA recently. For Get a front rorv seat to witness the cataclysmic one, the projected move to the new California State crash of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter. You University at Monterey Bay campus will become a re- are invited to The Great Comet Bash, a benefit event ality. Remodeling of the former Fort Ord building for MIRA, otr July 16th, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the scheduled for transfer to MIRA has gone to the draw- Monterey Conference Center. ing board (the computer screen?) at The Paul Davis You will be a part of an entertaining and educa- Partnership. Soon, MIRA's classrooms rvill surround a evening dinosaurs, music, good light- and greenery-filled atrium on the ground floor tional of astronoffiy, food, space art, and dance. of what was once an unprepossessing military struc- ture. The library and research facilities will occupy the second floor, and administrative offices and more Featured events include: research areas will take over the third level. At last, o Live pictures from the Space Telescope kstitute our many endeavors can be centralized in a single lo- o Historian Tom Logan on lost civilizations and comets cation, accessible to all, and convenient to other insti- o A children's comet art contest tutions committed to education and research. MIRA o Images from ground-based observatories sent via Internet of has some very exciting proposals under consideration the impact by a variety of public and private agencies. -
Exoplanet.Eu Catalog Page 1 # Name Mass Star Name
exoplanet.eu_catalog # name mass star_name star_distance star_mass OGLE-2016-BLG-1469L b 13.6 OGLE-2016-BLG-1469L 4500.0 0.048 11 Com b 19.4 11 Com 110.6 2.7 11 Oph b 21 11 Oph 145.0 0.0162 11 UMi b 10.5 11 UMi 119.5 1.8 14 And b 5.33 14 And 76.4 2.2 14 Her b 4.64 14 Her 18.1 0.9 16 Cyg B b 1.68 16 Cyg B 21.4 1.01 18 Del b 10.3 18 Del 73.1 2.3 1RXS 1609 b 14 1RXS1609 145.0 0.73 1SWASP J1407 b 20 1SWASP J1407 133.0 0.9 24 Sex b 1.99 24 Sex 74.8 1.54 24 Sex c 0.86 24 Sex 74.8 1.54 2M 0103-55 (AB) b 13 2M 0103-55 (AB) 47.2 0.4 2M 0122-24 b 20 2M 0122-24 36.0 0.4 2M 0219-39 b 13.9 2M 0219-39 39.4 0.11 2M 0441+23 b 7.5 2M 0441+23 140.0 0.02 2M 0746+20 b 30 2M 0746+20 12.2 0.12 2M 1207-39 24 2M 1207-39 52.4 0.025 2M 1207-39 b 4 2M 1207-39 52.4 0.025 2M 1938+46 b 1.9 2M 1938+46 0.6 2M 2140+16 b 20 2M 2140+16 25.0 0.08 2M 2206-20 b 30 2M 2206-20 26.7 0.13 2M 2236+4751 b 12.5 2M 2236+4751 63.0 0.6 2M J2126-81 b 13.3 TYC 9486-927-1 24.8 0.4 2MASS J11193254 AB 3.7 2MASS J11193254 AB 2MASS J1450-7841 A 40 2MASS J1450-7841 A 75.0 0.04 2MASS J1450-7841 B 40 2MASS J1450-7841 B 75.0 0.04 2MASS J2250+2325 b 30 2MASS J2250+2325 41.5 30 Ari B b 9.88 30 Ari B 39.4 1.22 38 Vir b 4.51 38 Vir 1.18 4 Uma b 7.1 4 Uma 78.5 1.234 42 Dra b 3.88 42 Dra 97.3 0.98 47 Uma b 2.53 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 47 Uma c 0.54 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 47 Uma d 1.64 47 Uma 14.0 1.03 51 Eri b 9.1 51 Eri 29.4 1.75 51 Peg b 0.47 51 Peg 14.7 1.11 55 Cnc b 0.84 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc c 0.1784 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc d 3.86 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc e 0.02547 55 Cnc 12.3 0.905 55 Cnc f 0.1479 55