DOCSLIB.ORG

FY1990 Q1 Oct-Dec NO

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FY1990 Q1 Oct-Dec NO National Optical Astronomy Observatories National Optical Astronomy Observatories Quarterly Report October - December 1989 National Optical Astronomy Observatories Quarterly Report October - December 1989 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS 2 A. The Brightest Hydrogen Emission Region in the Small Magellanic Qoud . 2 B. Measurements of Stratospheric Hydrogen-Fluoride (HF) 2 C. Rotation of Solar Active Regions 3 D. Reduction of the South Pole Data 3 E. The Effect of Large-Scale Flows on Oscillation Ring Diagrams 3 F. The Kinematics of Very Low Mass Galaxies: Is Dark Matter Ubiquitous? . 4 G. Outflows in YSOs: Dynamics Revealed by New Technology 4 III. PERSONNEL 6 A. Visiting Scientists 6 IV. INSTRUMENTATION, NEW PROJECTS AND OBSERVATORY ACTIVITIES 7 A. Future Telescope Technology Program (FTT) 7 B. Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) 7 C. Instrumentation Projects 9 D. Observatory Activities 13 V. PROGRAM SUPPORT 15 A. Director's Office 15 B. 8-M Office 18 C. Central Administrative Services 18 D. Central Computer Services 18 E. Central Facilities Operations 19 F. Engineering and Technical Services 20 G. Publications and Information Resources 20 Appendices Appendix A Telescope Usage Statistics Appendix B Observational Programs Appendix C Annual Safety Report I. INTRODUCTION This quarterly report covers scientific highlights for the period of October - December 1989, as well as personnel changes for the period. Highlights emphasize concluded projects rather than work, in progress. The report also discusses new technology for telescopes and instrumentation, GONG, instrumentation projects, and observatory activities. The Engineering and Technical Services division now submits reports for the instrumentation projects, with contributions from program scientists, if necessary. The Associate Directors for CTIO and NSO continue to provide the information of efforts at La Serena/Cerro Tololo and Sacramento Peak. Activities of the NOAO units are included, and the appendices list telescope usage statistics, observational programs, and the NOAO annual safety report. H. SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS A. The Brightest Hydrogen Emission Region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The most prominent and strikingly beautiful feature of the Small Magellanic Cloud is a large, bright (H II) region of hydrogen emission, designated as NGC 346, found in the northern part of this nearby galaxy. The source of ionizing radiation has long been suspected to be luminous stars with extremely high photospheric temperatures. In 1978 CTIO staff astronomer N.R. Walbom found, with the CTIO 4-m telescope, two such stars near the center of NGC 346. One of the stars, designated as NGC 346-1, was so hot and luminous (spectral type 04 III) that it was spectroscopically similar to Zeta Puppis, which is suspected to be one of the most luminous galactic stars known. However, as Walbom recognized, NGC 346-1 by itself could not produce the required ionizing radiation. This star was, however, part of a cluster of luminous stars. Indeed Walbom, who by 1986 had become a staff member at the Space Telescope Science Inst, and his collaborator J.C. Blades (European Space Agency) found, with the Anglo-Australian 3.9-m telescope, another extraordinarily luminous star in that cluster. Designated as NGC 346-3, the contribution of this new star (of spectral type 03 III) appeared to be comparable to that of NGC 346-1, but Walbom and Blades concluded that an assessment of their role in the total required ionization had to await further studies. Recently, P. Massey (KPNO), collaborating with J.W. Parker and CD. Garmany (U. of Colorado), reobserved at CTIO the central cluster in NGC 346. Photometry with the 0.9-m telescope and spectroscopy with the 4-m telescope of 42 cluster members identified 33 hot, luminous (0 type) stars, doubling the total number of such stars previously known in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The total ionizing flux of all the hot stars now known to exist within NGC 346 is consistent with the brightness of the hydrogen H n emission regioa Furthermore, and astrophysically more interesting, is the fact that the cluster contains very young bright stars estimated to fall in the mass range 40 to 85 solar masses~at the upper known limit of stellar masses. Thus this group of stars shows how extremely massive stars may be distributed in a star forming region and confirms their existence in significant numbers in the Small Magellanic Cloud. In addition, there is a group of somewhat older less massive stars; five of them are probably red supergiants and two are blue supergiants with masses estimated at about 15 solar masses. The presence of the evolved stars together with the more massive stars is not only an example of how massive stars evolve, but is evidence that one can not always assume, as is usually taken for granted, that all members of a star cluster field are coeval. B. Measurements of Stratospheric Hydrogen-Fluoride (HF). The molecule hydrogen-fluoride is one of several end products from a series of chemical reactions originating from the industrial release of fluorocarbons. Not found near ground level nor in the troposphere, HF appears confined to the stratosphere. Its presence is therefore not measured by normal gas sampling schemes. Thanks to a suggestion of C. Rinsland (NASA/Langley), L. Wallace (KPNO) and W. Livingston (NSO/T) have measured the strength of the HF feature at 24752.05 A in the 'Stokes' archives 1979-1985. HF is found to have doubled in strength over this time interval. New FTS data show the trend continues. The eruption of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska may also cause new increases of HF. Jet streams in December brought volcanic ash to Arizona for a short time. NSO is presently attempting to monitor HF using the 13.5-m vertical spectrograph. C. Rotation of Solar Active Regions. R. Howard (NSO/T) has examined the rotation of solar active regions using data from Mt. Wilson. He finds generally good agreement with some previous studies of plage and active region rotation characteristics, although the rates are slightly slower than those found previously for magnetic fields and faculae. Reversed polarity regions show little if any differential rotation, and the scatter in their rotation rates is larger than for regions showing normal polarity orientation. Larger regions rotate more slowly than smaller regions. There is a correlation of rotation rate with activity cycle phase that is similar in nature to that found in sunspot data. Leading and following portions of regions show very similar rotation rates, unlike spot groups, where the leading portions rotate more rapidly than the following portions. Active regions with polarity orientations nearest the normal orientation tend to show rotation rates nearest the mean values. In general these results support the notion that older, weaker magnetic fields at the solar surface have evolved different subsurface connections from the time that they were a part of sunspots or plages. It seems possible that they are connected at a shallower layer than are sunspot or plage fields. D. Reduction of the South Pole Data. S. Jefferies (Bartol/NSO/T) has continued work on the analysis of the 1981 and 1987 South Pole data sets. To address the issue of possible temporal variations in the mode frequencies due to changing solar activity, the differences in the mode frequencies from the two data sets (taken at times of high and low solar activity respectively), were computed for the frequency range 2.4 < v < 4.8 mHz and the degree range 3 < / < 98. It was found that the differences appeared to be independent of v and / over these ranges, with a mean difference (v„81 - v19g7) of 224 ± 19 nHz. This result is consistent with reports of increasing frequency with increasing solar activity. The line width measurements from the two data sets showed the same variation with frequency as that previously reported by K. Libbrecht (Big Bear Solar Obs.), an increase with degree (/) and with solar activity. Investigations are continuing into the line width measurements and their apparent variation with solar cycle. The 1987 data set was also used to make measurements of the rotational splittings of the sectoral modes (m = ± I) in the range (3 < / < 15). The measurements showed no indication of a dependence on the depth of the lower turning points of the modes. E. The Effect of Large-Scale Flows on Oscillation Ring Diagrams. F. Hill (NSO/T) has continued his development of the oscillation ring diagrams as a tool for mapping convection zone flows by theoretically computing the effects of large-scale flows on the ring diagrams. To do this, Hill has analyzed the forward problem, wherein a large-scale velocity field as a function of depth is assumed, the corresponding depth-weighted velocity for a given ring is computed, a dispersion relation is assumed, a set of artificial rings is generated, the artificial rings are fitted with ellipses, and the artificial ellipse parameters are compared with those obtained from the data. The computed results are sensitive to the choice of parameters in the assumed dispersion relation, and point out the need for more accurate determinations of these quantities. The chosen parameters minimize the rms deviation between the calculated ellipses using the velocity curves actually determined from the data, and the observed ellipses. These same dispersion relation parameters were then used to investigate the effect of different velocity curves on the rings. It was found that velocity curves with a local maximum were much better fits to the data than curves that varied monotonically. This is consistent with the velocity curve actually inferred from the data. F. The Kinematics of Very Low Mass Galaxies: Is Dark Matter Ubiquitous? Over a decade ago, work by V. Rubin (Dept. of Terrestrial Magnetism) and others on the rotation curves of spiral galaxies began to provide definite evidence for some amounts of non luminous matter in large spiral galaxies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Keck Spectra of Brown Dwarf Candidates and a Precise
    TABLE 1 Summary of Optical Imaging for Alpha Persei Telescope Area Covered Limiting Magnitude (sq.degrees) (R/I) CWRU Schmidt 3.2 21.5/20.5 MHO 1.2m 1.1 22.0/20.7 KPNO 0.9m 0.5 21.5/20.5 KPNO 4.0m 1.3 22.4/21.0 KPNO 4.0m a (2.5) ≈ 24/≈ 23 aBouvier et al. (1999) TABLE 2 Photometry of Alpha Persei Stars Star α(J2000) δ(J2000) Ic R − Ic K Ic − K AP300 3 17 27.6 49 36 53.0 17.85 2.18 14.62 3.23 AP301 3 18 09.2 49 25 19.0 17.75 2.22 14.14 3.61 AP302 3 19 08.4 48 43 48.5 17.63 2.08 ······ AP303 3 19 10.9 48 42 20.0 16.98 1.88 ······ AP304 3 19 13.2 48 31 55.0 18.83 2.40 ······ AP305 3 19 21.7 49 23 32.0 18.48 2.34 ······ AP306 3 19 41.8 50 30 42.0 18.40 2.34 14.9 3.5 AP307 3 20 20.9 48 01 05.0 17.08 2.01 ······ AP308 3 20 59.7 48 18 37.0 16.71 1.89 ······ AP309 3 22 40.6 48 00 36.0 16.57 1.88 ······ AP275 a 3 23 03.3 48 53 07.0 17.25 2.20 ······ AP310 3 23 04.7 48 16 13.0 17.80 2.33 14.55 3.25 AP311 3 23 08.4 48 04 52.5 17.70 2.12 14.30 3.40 AP312 3 23 14.8 48 11 56.0 18.60 2.41 15.21 3.39 AP313 3 24 08.1 48 48 30.0 17.55 2.13 ······ AP314 3 25 19.6 49 17 58.0 18.20 2.26 15.15 3.05 AP315 3 26 34.5 49 07 46.0 18.20 2.34 14.80 3.40 arXiv:astro-ph/9909207v2 15 Sep 1999 AP316 3 27 01.3 49 14 40.0 17.75 2.18 14.48 3.27 AP317 3 28 06.0 48 45 13.5 17.85 2.29 15.0 2.85 AP318 3 30 42.5 48 21 27.0 17.45 2.16 14.10 3.35 AP319 3 31 03.2 49 02 58.0 16.89 1.95 ······ AP320 3 31 25.3 49 02 52.0 16.79 1.90 ······ AP321 3 32 18.7 49 32 18.0 17.75 2.20 ······ AP322 3 33 08.3 49 37 56.5 17.60 2.14 14.57 3.03 AP323 3 33 20.7 48 45 51.0 17.50 2.13 14.33 3.17 AP324 3 33 48.2 48 52 30.5 18.10 2.36 14.68 3.42 AP325 3 35 47.2 49 17 43.0 17.65 2.30 14.14 3.51 AP326 3 38 55.2 48 57 31.0 18.70 2.40 15.09 3.61 aAP275 is from Prosser (1994).
    [Show full text]
  • Optical Astronomy Observatories
    National Optical Astronomy Observatories National Optical Astronomy Observatories Internal Quarterly Report January - March 1989 4 May 1989 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 1 n. Personnel 2 Appendices Appendix A: Telescope Usage Statistics Appendix B: Observational Programs I. INTRODUCTION In June 1988, the Division of Astronomical Sciences of the National Science Foundation (NSF) decided that one quarterly report would be timed to coincide with the Annual Presentation to the NSF. Information that would have been included in the second quarter report was, instead, subsumed into material prepared by NOAO for the Annual Centers Presentation to the NSF, held May 18-19, 1989 in Washington, D.C. The NOAO Management Committee decided NOAO would continue to keep quarterly records of statistics. This document contains statistics from the Personnel Office, telescope usage statistics, and observational programs. n. PERSONNEL A. Visiting Scientists. The following visitors arrived at NOAO facilities for periods of one month or more during the January 1 - March 31, 1989 quarter. date NOAO facility arrived name institution visited 1/03/89 Sumner Davis UC Berkeley, California NSO/T 1/03/89 William Holzapfel UC Berkeley, California NSO/T 1/03/89 Nicolas Roddier Steward Obs. 8-m Office 1/15/89 Pierre Connes Centre Nat de la Recherche 8-m Office Scientifique, France 1/15/89 Dick White Lazy FW Ranch, Colorado NSO/T 1/20/89 Tetsuo Aoki Nat. Astromonical Obs., Japan KPNO 2/01/89 Domenico Bonaccini Osservatorio Astrofisico di NSO/SP Arcetri, Italy 2/01/89 Keliang Huang Nanjing U., China KPNO 2/01/89 Sergio Restaino New Jersey Inst, of Technology NSO/SP 2/14/89 Nidia Morrell U.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report / Rapport Annuel / Jahresbericht 1996
    Annual Report / Rapport annuel / Jahresbericht 1996 ✦ ✦ ✦ E U R O P E A N S O U T H E R N O B S E R V A T O R Y ES O✦ 99 COVER COUVERTURE UMSCHLAG Beta Pictoris, as observed in scattered light Beta Pictoris, observée en lumière diffusée Beta Pictoris, im Streulicht bei 1,25 µm (J- at 1.25 microns (J band) with the ESO à 1,25 microns (bande J) avec le système Band) beobachtet mit dem adaptiven opti- ADONIS adaptive optics system at the 3.6-m d’optique adaptative de l’ESO, ADONIS, au schen System ADONIS am ESO-3,6-m-Tele- telescope and the Observatoire de Grenoble télescope de 3,60 m et le coronographe de skop und dem Koronographen des Obser- coronograph. l’observatoire de Grenoble. vatoriums von Grenoble. The combination of high angular resolution La combinaison de haute résolution angu- Die Kombination von hoher Winkelauflö- (0.12 arcsec) and high dynamical range laire (0,12 arcsec) et de gamme dynamique sung (0,12 Bogensekunden) und hohem dy- (105) allows to image the disk to only 24 AU élevée (105) permet de reproduire le disque namischen Bereich (105) erlaubt es, die from the star. Inside 50 AU, the main plane jusqu’à seulement 24 UA de l’étoile. A Scheibe bis zu einem Abstand von nur 24 AE of the disk is inclined with respect to the l’intérieur de 50 UA, le plan principal du vom Stern abzubilden. Innerhalb von 50 AE outer part. Observers: J.-L. Beuzit, A.-M.
    [Show full text]
  • Atlas Menor Was Objects to Slowly Change Over Time
    C h a r t Atlas Charts s O b by j Objects e c t Constellation s Objects by Number 64 Objects by Type 71 Objects by Name 76 Messier Objects 78 Caldwell Objects 81 Orion & Stars by Name 84 Lepus, circa , Brightest Stars 86 1720 , Closest Stars 87 Mythology 88 Bimonthly Sky Charts 92 Meteor Showers 105 Sun, Moon and Planets 106 Observing Considerations 113 Expanded Glossary 115 Th e 88 Constellations, plus 126 Chart Reference BACK PAGE Introduction he night sky was charted by western civilization a few thou - N 1,370 deep sky objects and 360 double stars (two stars—one sands years ago to bring order to the random splatter of stars, often orbits the other) plotted with observing information for T and in the hopes, as a piece of the puzzle, to help “understand” every object. the forces of nature. The stars and their constellations were imbued with N Inclusion of many “famous” celestial objects, even though the beliefs of those times, which have become mythology. they are beyond the reach of a 6 to 8-inch diameter telescope. The oldest known celestial atlas is in the book, Almagest , by N Expanded glossary to define and/or explain terms and Claudius Ptolemy, a Greco-Egyptian with Roman citizenship who lived concepts. in Alexandria from 90 to 160 AD. The Almagest is the earliest surviving astronomical treatise—a 600-page tome. The star charts are in tabular N Black stars on a white background, a preferred format for star form, by constellation, and the locations of the stars are described by charts.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:2006.10868V2 [Astro-Ph.SR] 9 Apr 2021 Spain and Institut D’Estudis Espacials De Catalunya (IEEC), C/Gran Capit`A2-4, E-08034 2 Serenelli, Weiss, Aerts Et Al
    Noname manuscript No. (will be inserted by the editor) Weighing stars from birth to death: mass determination methods across the HRD Aldo Serenelli · Achim Weiss · Conny Aerts · George C. Angelou · David Baroch · Nate Bastian · Paul G. Beck · Maria Bergemann · Joachim M. Bestenlehner · Ian Czekala · Nancy Elias-Rosa · Ana Escorza · Vincent Van Eylen · Diane K. Feuillet · Davide Gandolfi · Mark Gieles · L´eoGirardi · Yveline Lebreton · Nicolas Lodieu · Marie Martig · Marcelo M. Miller Bertolami · Joey S.G. Mombarg · Juan Carlos Morales · Andr´esMoya · Benard Nsamba · KreˇsimirPavlovski · May G. Pedersen · Ignasi Ribas · Fabian R.N. Schneider · Victor Silva Aguirre · Keivan G. Stassun · Eline Tolstoy · Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay · Konstanze Zwintz Received: date / Accepted: date A. Serenelli Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Carrer de Can Magrans S/N, Bellaterra, E- 08193, Spain and Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Carrer Gran Capita 2, Barcelona, E-08034, Spain E-mail: [email protected] A. Weiss Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl Schwarzschild Str. 1, Garching bei M¨unchen, D-85741, Germany C. Aerts Institute of Astronomy, Department of Physics & Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium and Department of Astrophysics, IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands G.C. Angelou Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl Schwarzschild Str. 1, Garching bei M¨unchen, D-85741, Germany D. Baroch J. C. Morales I. Ribas Institute of· Space Sciences· (ICE, CSIC), Carrer de Can Magrans S/N, Bellaterra, E-08193, arXiv:2006.10868v2 [astro-ph.SR] 9 Apr 2021 Spain and Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), C/Gran Capit`a2-4, E-08034 2 Serenelli, Weiss, Aerts et al.
    [Show full text]
  • December 2019 BRAS Newsletter
    A Monthly Meeting December 11th at 7PM at HRPO (Monthly meetings are on 2nd Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory). Annual Christmas Potluck, and election of officers. What's In This Issue? President’s Message Secretary's Summary Outreach Report Asteroid and Comet News Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night Member’s Corner – The Green Odyssey Messages from the HRPO Friday Night Lecture Series Science Academy Solar Viewing Stem Expansion Transit of Murcury Edge of Night Natural Sky Conference Observing Notes: Perseus – Rescuer Of Andromeda, or the Hero & Mythology Like this newsletter? See PAST ISSUES online back to 2009 Visit us on Facebook – Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 2 of 25 December 2019 President’s Message I would like to thank everyone for having me as your president for the last two years . I hope you have enjoyed the past two year as much as I did. We had our first Members Only Observing Night (MOON) at HRPO on Sunday, 29 November,. New officers nominated for next year: Scott Cadwallader for President, Coy Wagoner for Vice- President, Thomas Halligan for Secretary, and Trey Anding for Treasurer. Of course, the nominations are still open. If you wish to be an officer or know of a fellow member who would make a good officer contact John Nagle, Merrill Hess, or Craig Brenden. We will hold our annual Baton Rouge “Gastronomical” Society Christmas holiday feast potluck and officer elections on Monday, December 9th at 7PM at HRPO. I look forward to seeing you all there. ALCon 2022 Bid Preparation and Planning Committee: We’ll meet again on December 14 at 3:00.pm at Coffee Call, 3132 College Dr F, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, UPCOMING BRAS MEETINGS: Light Pollution Committee - HRPO, Wednesday December 4th, 6:15 P.M.
    [Show full text]
  • CONSTELLATION PERSEUS the Constellation Perseus Is a Constellation in the Northern Sky Which Was Named After the Greek Mythological Hero Perseus
    CONSTELLATION PERSEUS The constellation Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky which was named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere near several other constellations named after ancient Greek legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it is still among the 88 modern constellations as defined by the International Astronomical Union GENERAL Perseus is also bordered by Aries and Taurus to the south, Auriga to the east, Camelopardalis to the north, and Triangulum to the west. Some star atlases during the early 19th century also depicted Perseus holding onto the head of the Medusa, whose asterism was named together as Perseus et Caput Medusae, however, this never came into popular usage. The galactic plane of the Milky Way passes through Perseus but is mostly obscured by molecular clouds. The constellation's brightest star is the yellow-white supergiant Alpha Persei (also called Mirfak or Mirphak), which shines at magnitude 1.79. It and many of the surrounding stars are members of an open cluster known as the Alpha Persei Cluster. The best-known star, however, is Algol (Beta Persei), linked with ominous legends because of its variability, which is noticeable to the naked eye. Rather than being an intrinsically variable star, it is an eclipsing Perseus carrying the head of Medusa the Gorgon, as depicted in binary. Other notable star systems in Perseus Urania's Mirror, a set of cards published in London c.1825 include X Persei, a binary system containing a neutron star, and GK Persei, a nova that peaked at magnitude 0.2 in 1901.
    [Show full text]
  • Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia
    Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship Summer 7-2019 Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia Chris Stone Olivet Nazarene University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/pence_boyce Part of the Engineering Commons, Life Sciences Commons, and the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons Recommended Citation Stone, Chris, "Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia" (2019). Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship. 12. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/pence_boyce/12 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i | Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia Chris Stone Dr. Stephen Case July 2019 Olivet Nazarene University ii | Prospects of an Astrotourism Site in Namibia Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables .............................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vii Abstract…. .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The COLOUR of CREATION Observing and Astrophotography Targets “At a Glance” Guide
    The COLOUR of CREATION observing and astrophotography targets “at a glance” guide. (Naked eye, binoculars, small and “monster” scopes) Dear fellow amateur astronomer. Please note - this is a work in progress – compiled from several sources - and undoubtedly WILL contain inaccuracies. It would therefor be HIGHLY appreciated if readers would be so kind as to forward ANY corrections and/ or additions (as the document is still obviously incomplete) to: [email protected]. The document will be updated/ revised/ expanded* on a regular basis, replacing the existing document on the ASSA Pretoria website, as well as on the website: coloursofcreation.co.za . This is by no means intended to be a complete nor an exhaustive listing, but rather an “at a glance guide” (2nd column), that will hopefully assist in choosing or eliminating certain objects in a specific constellation for further research, to determine suitability for observation or astrophotography. There is NO copy right - download at will. Warm regards. JohanM. *Edition 1: June 2016 (“Pre-Karoo Star Party version”). “To me, one of the wonders and lures of astronomy is observing a galaxy… realizing you are detecting ancient photons, emitted by billions of stars, reduced to a magnitude below naked eye detection…lying at a distance beyond comprehension...” ASSA 100. (Auke Slotegraaf). Messier objects. Apparent size: degrees, arc minutes, arc seconds. Interesting info. AKA’s. Emphasis, correction. Coordinates, location. Stars, star groups, etc. Variable stars. Double stars. (Only a small number included. “Colourful Ds. descriptions” taken from the book by Sissy Haas). Carbon star. C Asterisma. (Including many “Streicher” objects, taken from Asterism.
    [Show full text]
  • Membership and Binarity of Solar-Type Dwarfs in the Nearby Open Cluster Alpha Persei (Mel 20),
    A&A 488, 409–416 (2008) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200810016 & c ESO 2008 Astrophysics Membership and binarity of solar-type dwarfs in the nearby open cluster Alpha Persei (Mel 20), J.-C. Mermilliod1,D.Queloz2, and M. Mayor2 1 Laboratoire d’Astrophysique, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] 2 Observatoire de Genève, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland Received 21 April 2008 / Accepted 6 June 2008 ABSTRACT Context. The Alpha Persei open cluster (Melotte 20) is one of the nearby clusters (d < 500 pc) for which a long-term systematic radial-velocity monitoring of the solar-type stars has not been published so far. Aims. We undertook an observing program in 1982 to study the membership, duplicity, and rotation of the main-sequence stars and to compare the results with those of the other nearby clusters. Methods. Radial-velocity observations of 60 solar-type stars in Mel 20 were obtained with CORAVEL, and of 44 fainter stars with ELODIE spectrographs, in the magnitude range 9.5 < V < 13.85 Results. The membership of 37 stars from the list compiled by Heckmann is confirmed according to their proper motions, radial velocities, and photometry. We discovered twelve spectroscopic binaries (3 double-lined, 8 single-lined, 1 suspected) among the members and determined an orbit for the double-lined binary He 848. The observed frequency of spectroscopic binaries is there- fore 32% (12/37). Four stars are photometric binaries. In addition, the membership of 33 stars with AP numbers is supported by the present radial velocities.
    [Show full text]
  • Globular Clusters, Though
    Appendix: What You’re Looking At Early astronomers divided astronomical objects into three main types: planets, stars, and what were called mists or clouds; in Latin, nebulae. Stars had fixed positions relative to one another, but the planets moved about, and so the ancient Greeks called them wanderers, plan¯et¯es. The changing positions of the planets were hard to explain, and none of the Solar System models proposed bytheancientGreeksorRomansadequatelyexplainedthingssuchasretrograde motion. But even though they didn’t understand why the planets moved about, the Greeks and Romans both placed huge value on interpreting the movements of the planets. This is the art of astrology, a practice that has developed independently in many different cultures around the world. That stars were in some way similar to the Sun was something the ancient Greeks had guessed at, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century and the invention of spec- troscopy that scientists could demonstrate that the light produced by the Sun was the similar to that produced by the stars. Over time different types of stars were identi- fied, and it soon became clear that the Sun was a relatively small and ordinary star by cosmic standards, even though it is vitally important to us. Nebulae posed particular problems for astronomers prior to the invention of the telescope. To the naked eye all nebulae look alike, nothing more than faint, misty patches of light. Only with the telescope was the diversity of nebulae revealed, but while they could be seen to be morphologically different, astronomers of the early modern era didn’t understand that a planetary nebula is a very different thing to something like the Great Nebula in Andromeda, what we’d today recognize as a galaxy.
    [Show full text]