The Observer's Handbook for 1922
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Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps
W here Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps Abo ut the Activity Whe re are the distant worlds in the night sky? Use a star map to find constellations and to identify stars with extrasolar planets. (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye) Topics Covered • How to find Constellations • Where we have found planets around other stars Participants Adults, teens, families with children 8 years and up If a school/youth group, 10 years and older 1 to 4 participants per map Materials Needed Location and Timing • Current month's Star Map for the Use this activity at a star party on a public (included) dark, clear night. Timing depends only • At least one set Planetary on how long you want to observe. Postcards with Key (included) • A small (red) flashlight • (Optional) Print list of Visible Stars with Planets (included) Included in This Packet Page Detailed Activity Description 2 Helpful Hints 4 Background Information 5 Planetary Postcards 7 Key Planetary Postcards 9 Star Maps 20 Visible Stars With Planets 33 © 2008 Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org Copies for educational purposes are permitted. Additional astronomy activities can be found here: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov Detailed Activity Description Leader’s Role Participants’ Roles (Anticipated) Introduction: To Ask: Who has heard that scientists have found planets around stars other than our own Sun? How many of these stars might you think have been found? Anyone ever see a star that has planets around it? (our own Sun, some may know of other stars) We can’t see the planets around other stars, but we can see the star. -
College of San Mateo Observatory Stellar Spectra Catalog ______
College of San Mateo Observatory Stellar Spectra Catalog SGS Spectrograph Spectra taken from CSM observatory using SBIG Self Guiding Spectrograph (SGS) ___________________________________________________ A work in progress compiled by faculty, staff, and students. Stellar Spectroscopy Stars are divided into different spectral types, which result from varying atomic-level activity on the star, due to its surface temperature. In spectroscopy, we measure this activity via a spectrograph/CCD combination, attached to a moderately sized telescope. The resultant data are converted to graphical format for further analysis. The main spectral types are characterized by the letters O,B,A,F,G,K, & M. Stars of O type are the hottest, as well as the rarest. Stars of M type are the coolest, and by far, the most abundant. Each spectral type is also divided into ten subtypes, ranging from 0 to 9, further delineating temperature differences. Type Temperature Color O 30,000 - 60,000 K Blue B 10,000 - 30,000 K Blue-white A 7,500 - 10,000 K White F 6,000 - 7,500 K Yellow-white G 5,000 - 6,000 K Yellow K 3,500 - 5,000 K Yellow-orange M >3,500 K Red Class Spectral Lines O -Weak neutral and ionized Helium, weak Hydrogen, a relatively smooth continuum with very few absorption lines B -Weak neutral Helium, stronger Hydrogen, an otherwise relatively smooth continuum A -No Helium, very strong Hydrogen, weak CaII, the continuum is less smooth because of weak ionized metal lines F -Strong Hydrogen, strong CaII, weak NaI, G-band, the continuum is rougher because of many ionized metal lines G -Weaker Hydrogen, strong CaII, stronger NaI, many ionized and neutral metals, G-band is present K -Very weak Hydrogen, strong CaII, strong NaI and many metals G- band is present M -Strong TiO molecular bands, strongest NaI, weak CaII very weak Hydrogen absorption. -
October 2017 BRAS Newsletter
October 2017 Issue Next Meeting: Monday, October 9th at 7PM at HRPO nd (2 Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory) October Program: BRAS President John Nagle will. reveal how he researches and puts together his Observing Notes column for our newsletter each. month. What's In This Issue? HRPO’s Great American Eclipse Event Summary (Page 2) President’s Message Secretary's Summary Outreach Report - FAE Light Pollution Committee Report Recent Forum Entries 20/20 Vision Campaign Messages from the HRPO Spooky Spectrum Observe The Moon Night Natural Sky Conference HRPO 20th Anniversary Observing Notes – Phoenix & Mythology Like this newsletter? See past issues back to 2009 at http://brastro.org/newsletters.html Newsletter of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society October 2017 President’s Message The first Sidewalk Astronomy of the season was a success. We had a good time, and About 100 people (adult and children) attended. Ben Toman live streamed on the BRAS Facebook page. See his description in this newsletter. A copy of the proposed, revised By-Laws should be in your mail soon. Read through them, and any proposed changes need to be communicated to me before the November meeting. Wally Pursell (who wrote the original and changed by-laws) and I worked last year on getting the By-Laws updated to the current BRAS policies, and we hope the revised By-Laws will need no revisions for a long time. We need more Globe at Night observations – we are behind in the observations compared to last year at this time. We also need observations of variable stars to help in a school project by a new BRAS member, Shreya. -
Virgo the Virgin
Virgo the Virgin Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac, the group tion Virgo itself. There is also the connection here with of 12 constellations that lies on the ecliptic plane defined “The Scales of Justice” and the sign Libra which lies next by the planets orbital orientation around the Sun. Virgo is to Virgo in the Zodiac. The study of astronomy had a one of the original 48 constellations charted by Ptolemy. practical “time keeping” aspect in the cultures of ancient It is the largest constellation of the Zodiac and the sec- history and as the stars of Virgo appeared before sunrise ond - largest constellation after Hydra. Virgo is bordered by late in the northern summer, many cultures linked this the constellations of Bootes, Coma Berenices, Leo, Crater, asterism with crops, harvest and fecundity. Corvus, Hydra, Libra and Serpens Caput. The constella- tion of Virgo is highly populated with galaxies and there Virgo is usually depicted with angel - like wings, with an are several galaxy clusters located within its boundaries, ear of wheat in her left hand, marked by the bright star each of which is home to hundreds or even thousands of Spica, which is Latin for “ear of grain”, and a tall blade of galaxies. The accepted abbreviation when enumerating grass, or a palm frond, in her right hand. Spica will be objects within the constellation is Vir, the genitive form is important for us in navigating Virgo in the modern night Virginis and meteor showers that appear to originate from sky. Spica was most likely the star that helped the Greek Virgo are called Virginids. -
The Observer's Handbook for 1953
THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK FOR 1953 PUBLISHED BY The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada C. A. CHANT, E ditor RUTH J. NORTHCOTT, A s s is t a n t E ditor DAVID DUNLAP OBSERVATORY FORTY-FIFTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION P rice 50 C en ts TORONTO 3 Willcocks Street Printed for the Society By the University of Toronto Press THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA The Society was incorporated in 1890 as The Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto, assuming its present name in 1903. For many years the Toronto organization existed alone, but now the Society is national in extent, having active Centres in Montreal and Quebec, P.Q.; Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, and Windsor, Ontario; Winnipeg, Man.; Saskatoon, Sask.; Edmonton, Alta.; Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. As well as nearly 1000 members of these Canadian Centres, there are nearly 400 members not attached to any Centre, mostly resident in other nations, while some 200 additional institutions or persons are on the regular mailing list of our publications. The Society publishes a bi-monthly J o u r n a l and a yearly O b serv er's H a n d bo o k . Single copies of the J o u r n a l are 50 cents, and of the H a n d bo o k , 50 cents. Membership is open to anyone interested in astronomy. Annual dues, $3.00; life membership, $40.00. Publications are sent free to all members or may be subscribed for separately. Applications for membership or publications may be made to the National Secretary, 3 Willcocks St., Toronto. -
A Weekly Journal of Practical Information. Ar T
(Entered atthe Post OfIlce of New'Ycirk, N. Y., as Second·QIass:Matter.] A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION. ART. SCIENCE. MECHANICS,. CHEMISTRY AND MANUFACTURES. VOJ. XLVlII.-No.eERlEs.] 1S_] [$3.20 perAIIDllm· [NlIW NEW YORK, MAROH 31, 1883. [1'08rAGE PREPAID.] IMPROVED FILTERS. which is in a loosely moving stat the next llner imptlrities e ; our issue of Janua y 7, 1882, we gave an illustrated of r In r are arrested a little further away, where. the current wate descripthn of the" Multifold Filter," manufactured by the being. lowel', the sand is not so much di.sturbed; finer s par Newark Filtering Company. That filter was ·composed.of ticles again are stopped further away. by the . stil denser I stlperposed compartment�, the s n s several a d in which wa sand; and so tbe process goes on by gradations, till the water . -- wasbedby means of traveling jets of water comes Band w ich is motionless and compact.' In this . into h plan of washing is the i nvention of Mr. Clark, d. The P. of compact san adjacent to the outlet, the fine and last iie Rahway, N. J., while the multi old construction of the fll� maini llg impurities. are obst ucte an d pure water passes f r d, tel' was invented by Mr. J. W. yatt, of Newnrk. Th the D, into the outlet pipe, H e through tubes, C, E. multifohl jet washer filter was a very excellent filtering de This description applies to each of the three varieties of "Vi e , and vcry likely no chau e in the system of filtering Hyatt filters here shown. -
Exoplanetary Atmospheres: from Hot Jupiters to Habitable Planets
Observing Planetary Systems II – Santiago, Chile, March 5-8, 2012 Exoplanetary atmospheres: from hot Jupiters to habitable planets! Michaël Gillon [email protected] Overview! " From solar to extrasolar planetary atmospheres ! " Phase curves of non-transiting planets! " Transiting planets ! !Transit transmission spectrophotometry ! !Occultation emission spectrophotometry ! !Phase curves ! !2D emission maps! " Direct spectroscopy of extrasolar planets ! " Conclusions ! Before extrasolar planets:# solar planets atmosphere observations! XIXth century: imagery and photometry establish the existence of an atmosphere for several planets! !* Occultation of stars are gradual! !* Variable features incompatible with surface origin! From 1920s: spectroscopic studies of planets, e.g.! !* No O2 in Venus$ atmosphere (Webster 1927)! !* CH4 in the atmosphere of giant planets (Adel & Slipher, 1934) !* CO2 in the atmosphere of terrestrial planets (Adel 1937) !* Detection of the atmosphere of Titan (Kuiper 1944)! Second half of XXth century to now: in situ measurements with probes (orbiters & landers)! Accurate thermal profiles & composition (e.g. Seiff et al. 1998) The planetary atmospheres zoo: theoretical expectations! Seager & Deming (2010) " Primordial atmospheres captured from the protostellar nebula and dominated by H and He in cosmic proportions (giant planets)! " Outgassed atmospheres rich in H (up to 50%) around planets in the 10 to 30 Earth masses range, massive enough to retain H. No He.! " Outgassed atmospheres dominated by CO2 (Venus, -
The Denver Observer May 2016
The Denver MAY 2016 OBSERVER A section of a recent Hubble image of the Antennae Galaxies, NGCs 4038 and 4039, reveals intense star formation resulting from the galaxies’ colliding gases. Pink star-forming nebulae and blue (hot), new stars are clearly visible. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA MAY SKIES by Zachary Singer The Solar System ing 18.6” across from a distance of 0.50 AU. Interestingly, at opposi- Quite frequently in these pages, you’ll see that such-and-so planet tion, Mars will be roughly the same distance from us as Mercury at the is “lost in the solar glare,” and this month, Mercury embraces the spirit transit—so their relative disk sizes, 12 arcseconds vs. 18, quickly give of that phrase with gusto: The planet transits the Sun on the morning you a feel for each planet’s physical size. of May 9th. Already crossing the Sun’s face as it rises just before 6 AM, As May gives way to June, Mars will shrink in the eyepiece, return- the planet will finish its transit around 12:40 PM, as seen from Denver. ing to a 16” disk by early July. Even at the smaller diameter, the planet The planet’s apparent diameter will be 12.1 seconds of arc, making it should present some quite obvious even at moderate power—even small telescopes (with so- of its larger features, Sky Calendar lar filters, naturally) should show it clearly. While the DAS won’t have like ice caps or large 6 New Moon an official presence there, DU will open the Chamberlin Observatory plains like Syrtis Ma- 9 Mercury Transit from 9 AM to 12 noon. -
The Evening Sky Map
I N E D R I A C A S T N E O D I T A C L E O R N I G D S T S H A E P H M O O R C I . Z N O p l f e i n h d o P t O o N ) l h a r g Z i u s , o I l C t P h R I r e o R N ( O o r C r H e t L p h p E E i s t D H a ( r g T F i . O B NORTH D R e N M h t E A X O e s A H U M C T . I P N S L E E P Z “ E A N H O NORTHERN HEMISPHERE M T R T Y N H E ” K E η ) W S . T T E W U B R N W D E T T W T H h A The Evening Sky Map e MAY 2021 E . C ) Cluster O N FREE* EACH MONTH FOR YOU TO EXPLORE, LEARN & ENJOY THE NIGHT SKY r S L a o K e Double r Y E t B h R M t e PERSEUS A a A r CASSIOPEIA n e S SKY MAP SHOWS HOW Get Sky Calendar on Twitter P δ r T C G C A CEPHEUS r E o R e J s O h Sky Calendar – May 2021 http://twitter.com/skymaps M39 s B THE NIGHT SKY LOOKS T U ( O i N s r L D o a j A NE I I a μ p T EARLY MAY PM T 10 r 61 M S o S 3 Last Quarter Moon at 19:51 UT. -
Alpha Virginis: Line-Profile Variations and Orbital Elements
A&A 590, A54 (2016) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526507 & c ESO 2016 Astrophysics Alpha Virginis: line-profile variations and orbital elements? David Harrington1; 2; 3, Gloria Koenigsberger4, Enrique Olguín7, Ilya Ilyin5, Svetlana V. Berdyugina1;2, Bruno Lara7, and Edmundo Moreno6 1 Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Schöneckstr. 6, 79104 Freiburg, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 3 Applied Research Labs, University of Hawaii, 2800 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 4 Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ave. Universidad S/N, Cuernavaca, 62210 Morelos, Mexico 5 Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany 6 Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70-264, D.F. 04510 México, Mexico 7 Centro de Investigación en Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, 62210 Mexico, Mexico Received 9 May 2015 / Accepted 18 February 2016 ABSTRACT Context. Alpha Virginis (Spica) is a B-type binary system whose proximity and brightness allow detailed investigations of the internal structure and evolution of stars undergoing time-variable tidal interactions. Previous studies have led to the conclusion that the internal structure of Spica’s primary star may be more centrally condensed than predicted by theoretical models of single stars, raising the possibility that the interactions could lead to effects that are currently neglected in structure and evolution calculations. The key parameters in confirming this result are the values of the orbital eccentricity e, the apsidal period U, and the primary star’s radius, R1. -
Adrian Zielonka's December Space and Astronomy News
Adrian Zielonka’s Astronomy and Space News Night Sky 2018 - December Sunrise Sunset Mercury Rises Venus Rises st st st st 1 – 7:52am 1 – 4:07pm 1 – 6:59am 1 – 4:10am th th th th 10 – 8:03am 10 – 4:04pm 10 – 6:10am 10 – 4:02am th th th th 20 – 8:11am 20 – 4:06pm 20 – 6:26am 20 – 4:03am th th th th 30 – 8:15am 30 – 4:13pm 30 – 7:03am 30 – 4:13am Moon Rise Moon Set Moon Rise Moon Set st st th th 1 – 12:34am 1 – 1:55pm 16 – 1:12pm 17 – 1:24am nd nd th th 2 – 1:50am 2 – 2:18pm 17 – 1:32pm 18 – 2:34am rd rd th th 3 – 3:04am 3 – 2:40pm 18 – 1:54pm 19 – 3:47am th th th th 4 – 4:18am 4 – 3:04pm 19 – 2:19pm 20 – 5:02am th th th st 5 – 5:30am 5 – 3:30pm 20 – 2:48pm 21 – 6:18am th th st nd 6 – 6:41am 6 – 4:00pm 21 – 3:26pm 22 – 7:33am (Full) th th nd rd 7 – 7:48am (New) 7 – 4:35pm (New) 22 – 4:13pm (Full) 23 – 8:42am th th rd th 8 – 8:49am 8 – 5:17pm 23 – 5:12pm 24 – 9:41am th th th th 9 – 9:44am 9 – 6:06pm 24 – 6:23pm 25 – 10:28am th th th th 10 – 10:30am 10 – 7:00pm 25 – 7:41pm 26 – 11:05am th th th th 11 – 11:08am 11 – 8:00pm 26 – 9:01pm 27 – 11:36am th th th th 12 – 11:40am 12 – 9:02pm 27 – 10:21pm 28 – 12:02pm th th th th 13 – 12:07pm 13 – 10:06pm 28 – 11:39pm 29 – 12:25pm (LQ) th th th th 14 – 12:30pm 14 – 11:11pm 30 – 12:54am 30 – 12:47pm th th st st 15 – 12:52pm (FQ) 16 – 12:17am 31 – 2:08am 31 – 1:10pm A useful site: www.heavens- above.com A S Zielonka There is a planned launch this month of a Chinese Long March 2D rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. -
Radial Velocity Transit Animation by European Southern Observatory Animation by NASA Goddard Media Studios
Courtney Dressing Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley The Space Astrophysics Landscape for the 2020s and Beyond April 1, 2019 Credit: NASA David Charbonneau (Co-Chair), Scott Gaudi (Co-Chair), Fabienne Bastien, Jacob Bean, Justin Crepp, Eliza Kempton, Chryssa Kouveliotou, Bruce Macintosh, Dimitri Mawet, Victoria Meadows, Ruth Murray-Clay, Evgenya Shkolnik, Ignas Snellen, Alycia Weinberger Exoplanet Discoveries Have Increased Dramatically Figure Credit: A. Weinberger (ESS Report) What Do We Know Today? (Statements from the ESS Report) • “Planetary systems are ubiquitous and surprisingly diverse, and many bear no resemblance to the Solar System.” • “A significant fraction of planets appear to have undergone large-scale migration from their birthsites.” • “Most stars have planets, and small planets are abundant.” • “Large numbers of rocky planets [have] been identified and a few habitable zone examples orbiting nearby small stars have been found.” • “Massive young Jovians at large separations have been imaged.” • “Molecules and clouds in the atmospheres of large exoplanets have been detected.” • ”The identification of potential false positives and negatives for atmospheric biosignatures has improved the biosignature observing strategy and interpretation framework.” Radial Velocity Transit Animation by European Southern Observatory Animation by NASA Goddard Media Studios How Did We Learn Those Lessons? Astrometry Direct Imaging Microlensing Animation by Exoplanet Exploration Office at NASA JPL Animation by Jason Wang Animation by Exoplanet Exploration Office at NASA JPL Exoplanet Science in the 2020s & Beyond The ESS Report Identified Two Goals 1. “Understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems as products of the process of star formation, and characterize and explain the diversity of planetary system architectures, planetary compositions, and planetary environments produced by these processes.” 2.