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Newsletter Archive the Skyscraper December 2015 the vol. 42 no. 12 Skyscraper December 2015 AMATEUR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND 47 PEEPTOAD ROAD NORTH SCITUATE, RHODE ISLAND 02857 WWW.THESKYSCRAPERS.ORG In This Issue: Friday, December 4, 7:00pm 2 Skyscraper Meetings at Seagrave Memorial Observatory 2015-2016 Searching for the Oldest Stars by Anna Frebel 4 A Gem of a Meteor Shower and Maybe a Take a walk on a moonless night. Watch author offers an intriguing account of the Naked-eye Comet the Milky Way above, made from a myriad latest research results paired with a unique of stars. Did you know that some of them insight look into the life as an astronomer. have been shining for more than 13 billion Having discovered several of the oldest and 6 Open Cluster in Cassiopeia years? These are the oldest, still surviving, most primitive stars using the world’s larg- Messier 52 objects in our 13.8 billion years old universe. est telescopes she tells fascinating discovery “Stellar archaeology” identifies these ex- stories that allow the audience to witness 7 A Look Inside Venus tremely rare relics. Analysis of their chem- what it means to be a scientist in this day ical composition shows that they contain and age. Spectacular video clips about ob- 8 Star Party & only trace amounts of heavy elements (e.g. serving with the 6.5m optical Magellan Workshops Update calcium, iron) because these stars formed at telescopes in the Atacama desert in Chile a time when little of these elements existed. will be shown. This offers the extraordinary opportunity Anna Frebel is Assistant Professor of 10 The Sun, Moon & to use local Milky Way stars for exploring Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Planets in December the earliest times in the universe. This work Technology (MIT). She has received nu- has revealed tantalizing details about the merous international honors and awards 11 Our Solar System Is Almost short-lived very first stars which cannot for her discoveries and subsequent chem- Normal, But Not Quite be studied otherwise. When they explod- ical abundance analyses of the oldest stars ed as supernovae they left behind individ- and how these stars can be employed to un- ual element signatures in the surrounding cover information about the early Universe gas clouds. These “chemical fingerprints” some 13 billion years ago. Prof. Frebel has were incorporated into the next genera- authored more than 70 papers in various tion long-lived stars that we still observe refereed journals, including Nature, and today. Having access to these fingerprints enjoys communicating science to the pub- also provides exclusive information about lic through public lectures, magazine arti- element nucleosynthesis, chemical evolu- cles, interviews as well as her popular sci- tion, early star and galaxy formation pro- ence book “Searching for the Oldest Stars” cesses, and even the formation of the Milky (in book stores Dec 2 2015, by Princeton Way. Being at the forefront of this field, the University Press). Phases of the Moon Last Quarter Moon December 3 07:40 New Moon December 11 10:29 First Quarter Moon December 18 15:14 Full Cold Moon December 25 11:11 Skyscraper Meetings 2015-2016 Contact Steve Siok for more information: [email protected] December 4 at Seagrave Observatory April 1 at North Scituate Searching for the Oldest Stars by Anna Frebel (MIT) Community Center (if needed) January 15 at North Scituate May 6 at Seagrave Observatory Community Center Holiday Party & An Astronomical Vacation in June 3 at Seagrave Observatory Chile by Steve Hubbard (Skyscrapers, Inc.) AstroAssembly: September 30/October February 5 at North Scituate 1 at Seagrave Observatory/North Community Center Scituate Community Center Reserved Cosmic Rays by Dr. Wallace Arthur (Farleigh Dickinson University) March 4 at North Scituate Community Center Cosmology and the Decay of Dark Matter by Gordon Blackadder (Brown University) Visit the Ladd Observatory blog at http://blogs.brown.edu/ladd/ The Skyscraper is published President Public Outreach Coordinator monthly by Skyscrapers, Inc. Bob Horton [email protected] Francine Jackson [email protected] Meetings are held monthly, usually on the first or second 1st Vice President Public Relations Spokesperson Friday or Saturday of the month. Steve Siok [email protected] Francine Jackson [email protected] Seagrave Memorial Observatory is open every Saturday night, 2nd Vice President Observatory Committee Chairperson weather permitting. Kathy Siok [email protected] Jim Crawford [email protected] Directions Secretary Membership Activities Coordinator Directions to Seagrave Memorial Observatory are Tina Huestis [email protected] Pat Landers [email protected] located on the back page of this newsletter. Submissions Treasurer Librarian Submissions to The Skyscraper are always welcome. Ed Haskell [email protected] Alex Bergemann [email protected] Please submit items for the newsletter no later than December 18 to Jim Hendrickson, 1 Sunflower Cir- Members at Large Historian cle, North Providence, RI 02911 or e-mail to jim@ Ian Dell’Antonio [email protected] Dave Huestis [email protected] distantgalaxy.com. Tracy Prell [email protected] Archivist E-mail subscriptions To receive The Skyscraper by e-mail, send e-mail Trustees Jim Crawford [email protected] with your name and address to jim@distantgalaxy. Jim Crawford [email protected] Editor com. Note that you will no longer receive the news- Tom Thibault [email protected] Jim Hendrickson [email protected] letter by postal mail. Matt Ouellette [email protected] 2 The Skyscraper December 2015 Seagrave Memorial Observatory Open Nights Saturdays at 7:00 pm weather permitting Saturday, December 5: Astronomy Workshop Week 5: A Telescope for the Holidays? 47 Peeptoad Road , North Scituate, RI fit within my budget? Is it good enough to what might be the best observing equip- Contact: Robert Horton, President: Shoot- see what I want to observe? Do I want one ment for you. [email protected] that zooms across the sky, or one that caus- Also, weather permitting, Seagrave ob- Once again, it’s the holiday season, and es me to learn the constellations and find servatory will be open to the public after thoughts turn to gift giving. Often, people the objects myself? the workshop is over. You might want to who have developed an interest in astrono- Bob Horton, President of Skyscrapers, stay and enjoy the sky with others who love my might wonder about buying a telescope, Inc., has been observing the sky for over 40 looking up. either as a gift for someone else, or maybe years. In that time, he has used telescopes This program is just $5.00 per person, for themselves. But, with the myriad array of all kinds, including several he has crafted free to Skyscrapers, Inc., members. For of instruments being offered at this time of himself. In this workshop, he will share his more information, please contact President year, which one might be best? What might observing history, and help you determine Bob Horton, at [email protected] Friday, December 11: Stars of the Pharaohs at the University of Rhode Island Planetarium University of Rhode Island Planetarium In addition to the featured presentation, Upper College Road, Kingston, RI Losing the Dark, a short introduction to Friday, December 11, 2015 light and its problems in our society will be 6:00 P.M. given, as well as a tour of The Skies above Contact: Francine Jackson: 401-527-5558 the URI campus. Travel to ancient Egypt to see how sci- Admission to this presentation is $5.00, ence was used to tell time, make a workable to benefit the URI Planetarium Fund. The calendar, and align huge buildings. URI Planetarium is on Upper College You’ll learn about the connection the Road, at the end of Engineering Row and ancient Egyptians felt with the stars and across the parking lot from East Hall. various astronomical phenomena, and ex- The University of Rhode Island Plane- perience some of the most spectacular tem- tarium is available for programs of many ples and tombs of the ancient world recreat- varied topics of astronomical interest. For ed in all of their original splendor. more information, please call 401-527-5558. The Skyscraper December 2015 3 A Gem of a Meteor Shower and Maybe a Naked-eye Comet by Dave Huestis Usually I’m complaining about the ence fiction movie, and I couldn’t help but higher above the horizon and towards the weather and how it affects our astronomi- wonder what ancient civilizations would left, becoming dimmer each morning. On cal observations in southern New England. think when an event like this occurred. the 4th the waning crescent Moon will be However, local stargazers were more fortu- This thought lead me to the realization that approximately three degrees to the low- nate during the second half of this year. events like this were probably the reason er right of Jupiter. Then on the 7th Comet The annual Perseid meteor shower back that many ancient peoples worshipped and Catalina will be approximately four de- in August performed reasonably well. It highly respected the skies and heavens be- grees, about eight full Moon diameters, to wasn’t spectacular, but clear skies during cause of how powerful they are to watch. the left of Venus. At that time a very thin most of peak night on August 12-13 provid- Even though we know what is happening, crescent Moon will be just above and to ed shooting star watchers with dozens of an event like a total lunar eclipse is still so the right of Venus. This alignment is one bright meteors blazing across the sky. majestic.” of those astronomical photo opportunities And the best event was the total lunar I’m hoping our good luck will continue that shouldn’t be missed.
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