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Jjmonl 1402.Pmd alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 7, No. 2 February 2014 Beneath the Clouds: An in-depth look at Jupiter's wacky weather machine. See inside, pages 6 and 20. 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 Barone Jim Johnstone Colin Campbell Carly KleinStern Dennis Cartolano Bob Lambert Mike Chiarella Roger Moore Route Jeff Chodak Parker Moreland, PhD Bill Cloutier Allan Ostergren Cecilia Dietrich Marc Polansky Dirk Feather Joe Privitera Randy Fender Monty Robson Randy Finden Don Ross John Gebauer Gene Schilling Elaine Green Katie Shusdock Tina Hartzell Jon Wallace Tom Heydenburg Paul Woodell Amy Ziffer In This Issue OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT .................................... 4 JUPITER AND ITS MOONS ................................................ 20 SCHILLER TO HANSTEEN .................................................. 5 TRANSIT OF THE JUPITER'S RED SPOT .............................. 17 LRO IMAGES CHANG'E 3 LANDING SITE ........................... 6 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ..................................................... 17 JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF JUPITER ................................ 7 CHANGING SEASONS ON SATURN ....................................... 8 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ........................ 17 PHOBOS REVISITED ......................................................... 8 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ........................................... 20 PASSING OF A TELESCOPE-MAKING LEGEND ....................... 8 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES ......... 20 JOHN GLENN AND THE FLIGHT OF FREEDOM 7 ................... 11 SOLAR ACTIVITY .......................................................... 20 OUT OF HIBERNATION .................................................... 11 COVER CREDITS ........................................................... 20 LUNAR MYSTERY SOLVED? ............................................. 12 SECOND SATURDAY STARS .............................................. 21 COSMIC WAKEUP CALL ................................................. 13 FEBRUARY GRAPHIC CALENDAR ..................................... 22 MARTIAN MYSTERY ....................................................... 14 FEBRUARY HISTORY ....................................................... 14 SUPERNOVAS ................................................................. 15 A STAR CLUSTER FOR TREKKIES ..................................... 15 SOVIET MOON PROGRAM ............................................... 16 FEBRUARY NIGHTS ........................................................ 16 2 • Feb 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org February Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac o d ( 1 w h v 3 t p i John L. Dobson 1915-2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Feb 2014 • 3 “Out the Window on Your Left” Located between the craters Hansteen and Billy, t’s been over 40 years since we left the last foot is a triangular-shaped outcrop: Mons Hansteen, a des- print on the dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as a ignated lunar Red Spot. Lunar Red Spots are dome- Ination founded on exploration and the conquest like features of possible volcanic origin. Unlike other of new frontiers, we appear to have lost our will to volcanic domes, Red Spots were formed by much lead as a space-faring nation. But, what if the aver- more viscous, non-mare (non-basaltic) lavas. It is age citizen had the means to visit our only natural surmised that volcanoes such as Mons Hansteen were satellite; what would they see out the window of active shortly after the Imbrium basin impact 3.9 bil- their spacecraft as they entered orbit around the lion years ago, but before mare lavas flooded the im- Moon? This column may provide some thoughts to pact basin 3.5 billion years ago. ponder when planning your visit (if only in your South of Mare Humorum is Lacus Excellentiae imagination). (“Lake of Excellence”). A relatively small and irregu- lar lunar mare, it is bounded by the rugged lunar high- lands, with few distinguishing features. However, the rim of one of the largest craters on the nearside (Schickard) is visible nearby. From edge to edge, Schickard’s rim extends approximately 134 miles (215 km). Spectral analysis of the region around Schickard and Schiller suggests the presence of ancient im- pact basins and mare lava underlying the overbur- den layer of highlands material and impact ejecta. The proposed source of the mare lava may be a previously unrecognized basin (Schickard-Mee basin) and cryptomare adjacent to the crater Schickard, as well as from the Schiller-Zucchius impact basin. Lunar seas or lakes are actually expansive low-lying plains formed by ancient lava flows The sun rises on the Moon’s southwestern limb in our photo this month. Our view extends from the elongated crater Schiller in the southern high- lands to the crater Hansteen north of Mare Humorum (“Sea of Moisture”). While only partially visible in the image, Mare Humorum is the site of an ancient impact basin, approximately 500 miles (825 km) across and filled with molten rock to a depth of almost 2 miles (3 km). The impact basin may also be older than origi- nally thought, based upon a recent analysis of laser altimeter data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Or- biter (LRO) used to reconstruct an impact event Gassendi was a possible destination for the sequence for the Moon’s basins. Apollo 17 mission, to sample rocks from the Breaching the basin’s northern wall is the large, crater's peak for evidence of ancient impacts. fractured floor crater, Gassendi. At 55 miles (90 km) The boulder at the top of this LROC image is in diameter, its bright central peaks rise more than about 25 meters wide (62 feet). Credit: NASA/ 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above the surrounding plain. GSFC/Arizona State University 4 • Feb 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Mare Nectaris and Crater Fracastorius Schiller Crater and the Schiller-Zucchius Basin Mare Serenitatis SchillerOrion Rules the to Winter Sky HansteenMare Imbrium http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Feb 2014 • 5 LRO Images Chang’e 3 Landing Site The Chinese soft-landed their Chang’e 3 spacecraft setting. In the image (below, left), the lander and (carrying a rover) on the Moon on December 14, 2013. rover are visible as bright pixels, casting long shad- It set down on the lava plains of Mare Imbrium (Sea ows. For confirmation, the components are not vis- of Rains), southeast of Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rain- ible in an image of the same area taken in June (be- bows) and just east of a 1,500 foot (450 m) diameter low, right), under similar lighting conditions. LRO impact crater. Images of the Chang’e 3 lander and rover images were provided by NASA/Goddard Space- were made available by the Chinese Academy of Sci- flight Center/Arizona State University. ences. The rover is only about 5 feet (1.5 m) across; In late December, the LRO passed over the land- however, its visibility is increased by its reflective ing site. At the time, the orbiter was approximately solar panels and the shadow cast under a low angle 90 miles (150 km) above the site and the Sun was Sun. Chang'e 3 Lander Credit: Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering 6 • Feb 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Journey to the Center of Jupiter million miles, with a steady increase in radiation lev- els. Jupiter’s magnetic field has an intrinsic strength We are currently in the observing season of Jupi- 20,000 times greater than Earth’s and is saturated with ter. While the gas giant was closest to Earth in early a sea of charged particles. The Sun facing side of the January, it is now well placed in the early evening field is shaped and compressed by the solar wind, sky. The four Galilean moons are clearly visible as while the far side extends out past the orbit of Saturn. companion stars as they travel in synchronous orbits Inside the magnetosphere, our NTV encounters sev- around Jupiter. Prominent on the planet’s disk are al- eral small and irregular moons possible remnants from ternating bands of bright and dark clouds within the ancient collisions or captured debris left over from gaseous atmosphere. the solar system’s formation, before crossing the or- Cassini was the last spacecraft to visit Jupiter (13 bits of the four large, Galilean moons. Visible on the years ago on its way to Saturn), and it will be another Jupiter facing side of the outer moon Callisto are a two years before the Juno spacecraft arrives in July series of large concentric ridges surrounding Valhalla, 2016. While robotic spacecraft may one day explore an ancient impact basin. Ganymede is the next moon Jupiter’s moons, exploring the gas giant is more chal- encountered. Larger than the planet Mercury, its icy lenging (the Galileo atmospheric probe was destroyed surface is masked by large dark regions, impact cra- by Jupiter’s crushing atmospheric pressure less than ters and intersecting ridges and grooves. Closer to Ju- 100 miles below the cloud tops). piter is the enigmatic world, Europa. Its relatively But what if you could explore the depths of the gas smooth surface is crisscrossed with
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