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Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views In Southwestern Virginia

Volume 31—Number 2 February 2014

RVAS January Meeting Notes

Coming to you live . . . by Rick Rader, RVAS Secretary

From Seattle, Washington, it's--wait, wait, don't tell me!

Sorry to steal a line from the Sunday morning NPR program, but our January Club gathering was yet another example of why you may wish to brave the elements to meet with your fellow all-things-astronomical enthusi- asts.

In a first for a monthly meeting, RVAS President Frank Baratta and Mark Hodges (all things mystical and elec- trical Science Museum master) orchestrated an intri- guing hour with Tom Field, live via webcast from his location in Seattle. A contributing editor at Sky & Tele- scope magazine and author of RSpec software, Tom re- Frank Baratta Tom Field galed the twenty eight hardy souls present with an ad- RVAS President connects with for the evening’s live webcast talk. venture delving into the surprisingly easy world of hard Photo by John Goss science: spectroscopic investigation of light emitting objects of all types in our universe. had been born.

The bombardment of energy reaching Earth can be ana- Fast forward. Spectroscopy has taught us that every lyzed to reveal the constituent elements of a celestial element of the Periodic Table when heated emits or ab- object. The process is not brand new, having been first sorbs light of specific wavelengths, which appear as defined by Newton with his prism experiments. Joseph lines in their otherwise continuous, multi-colored spec- von Fraunhofer, a wonderfully skilled glass maker, ob- tra. Among other things, spectroscopy can even detect served 574 dark lines in the seemingly continuous spec- the motion (including rotation) of objects due to a Dop- trum of Sun in the early 1800s. He then equipped his pler shift in such lines: toward the blue end of the spec- telescope with a prism to study Venus, the Moon, Mars trum when the source is approaching and toward the red and Betelgeuse. The field of astronomical spectroscopy (Meeting Continued on page 4)

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President’s Message

Astronomy and Humility

I was sitting at the dining room table this morning, en- few asteroids. Now, surveys of hundreds of thousands joying the bright early morning sunshine again, as I of them are telling us that they formed throughout the have a fondness of doing, and listening to NPR. A spot solar system. How they collected mainly in the asteroid on some new astronomical findings came on and it belt involves new theories about planetary orbital dy- sparked a rush of thoughts. Somehow, it also reminded namics and the influence of Jupiter during the early me of a quote from Mark Twain, one with which I’m stages of the solar system. sure many of you are familiar. Interesting. But what impressed itself upon me was, When I was a boy of 14, my father was once again, science as an enterprise in which the proba- so ignorant I could hardly stand to have bility of change is “1”; that is, a certainty. In one way, the old man around. But when I got to this is truly annoying. It might be nice to have things be 21, I was astonished at how much the settled once and for all. But that way lies stagnation old man had learned in seven years. and decline.

It’s likely that from the dawn of humanity older gener- ations have endured with a kindly (mostly) indulgence such attitudes that accompany our early years. It’s part of the process of individuation and maturation that we all pass through. We grow out of it, though some vestige of the attitude persists throughout our years, more so in some than in others.

In the present case, the NPR spot that sparked these and other thoughts had to do with how the asteroid belt formed. Since the 1980s, astronomers had been Artist concept of an asteroid belt around a sun-like star. of the opinion that the asteroid belt formed in situ Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech from the same cloud from which the planets formed. Turns out that this opinion was based on observing too (Message Continued on page 3)

The Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society is a membership organization of amateur astronomers dedicated to the pursuit of observational and photographic astronomical activities. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. See calendar on last page of newsletter for location. Meetings are open to the public. Observing sessions are held one or two weekends a month at a dark-sky site. Yearly dues are: Individual, $20.00; Senior Individual, $18.00; Family, $25.00; Senior Family, $22.00; Student, $10.00. Articles, quotes, etc. published in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the RVAS or its editor.

Officers/Executive Committee/Editor/Webmaster Frank Baratta, President ([email protected] ) Sharon Stinnette, Vice President ([email protected]) Rick Rader, Secretary ([email protected]) Jeff Suhr, Treasurer ([email protected]) Carol Mesimer, Member at Large ([email protected]) Michael Good, Immediate Past President ([email protected]) Paul Caffrey, Past President ([email protected]) David E. Thomas, RVAS Newsletter Editor ([email protected]) Roger Pommerenke & David E. Thomas, Webmaster ([email protected]) RVAS web page: http://rvasclub.org

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(Message Continued from page 2) Indeed, imbedded therein lies a concept expressed by In fact, science is an ongoing lesson in humility. Oh, the late eminent philosopher of science Karl Popper, who sure, scientists (from professionals down to rank ama- asserted that a statement is "scientific" only if it is, teurs) are human and loathe to yield their cherished among other things, “falsifiable.” Or take the corollary theories and beliefs. But there’s a saying about Fate Einstein is reported to have said, “No amount of experi- that applies to the inevitability of change in the scienc- mentation can ever prove me right, but a single experi- es: You can go along with it peacefully or get dragged! ment can prove me wrong.” In Popper’s view, to say that a statement is “unfalsifiable” is not to say it is irrele- It may take a while—as in how long the geocentric view vant or without value, it’s just “non-scientific.” of the universe persisted—but eventually the weight of accumulating evidence demands acknowledgement. Science exacts a price from the practitioner: a hum- Sometimes it does so gently, other times like the force bling assent—whether consciously or not—that tomor- of two long-jammed tectonic plates releasing their pent row’s science may prove me wrong. It may be a litmus -up energies. In this, science differs from some areas test for our times. Those who would withhold their as- of human understanding. Science is a chain of unfolding sent are not practicing science. awareness in which each contribution is at least to some degree provisional. Frank Baratta

Sears Applied Technologies Center Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC 2014 March 1

For complete information: www.gtcc.edu/observatory/tristar

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(Meeting Continued from page 1) when the source is receding.

What has been difficult to quantify without some major financial investments is now within reach for many ama- teurs with a variety of webcams, DSLRs (I would propose mirror-less cameras will suffice, if good quality), astro CCD cameras, grating lenses and Mr. Field's RSpec software. One huge asset to this exercise is the imme- diacy of feedback. Once you have your image, you can download it to a laptop which will show the object and Tom demonstrates boxing a star’s spectrum (left side) and the spectrum on the left side of your screen. Engage the resulting analysis (right side) using RSpec software. the software and you will then see all the defined ab- Photo by Rick Rader sorption and emission lines in the continuous format with the specific wavelengths measured. You can then ing James and Darlene Thompson and Hart Gillespie determine the chemical, motion and other properties of from the Blue Ridge Astronomy Club in Lynchburg, your target. where Jim serves as President, and Erica Reed, who tutors at Roanoke’s Jackson Middle School. The Lynch- Tom is a very engaging, entertaining speaker and there burg group had accompanied RVAS members from Bed- was significant back and forth conversation as we were ford Jack Gross and Roger Yeager to the meeting. We all quite captivated by what we were seeing and hearing. hope you all felt welcomed and would love to have you You can see Tom in a ten minute Sky & Telescope inter- back. view from 2011 Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=ORK_Xwpt2B8. His website is RSpec-astro.com and is quite detailed in the equipment and software needed to apply yourself to this discipline. Tom also had an article on the subject in the August 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.

After thanking Tom and bidding him farewell, Frank called on Genevieve Goss for a short segment to close out the evening. Genevieve is just a wonderful speaker. Her topic was the Globe at Night and Night Sky Net- work—again, citizen science. The former’s activities focus on gathering star counts for specified reference areas by observers from their own homes all over the world to help measure light pollution. The current reference area is Orion. Details, including observing dates and reference charts, are available at Genevieve Goss points out steps in the Globe at Night www.globeatnight.org. This is an easy but very valuable activity for the early months of 2014. effort, well worth your time. Oddly enough, the NSN Photo by Carolyn Baratta latest target for outreach activities is also in the constellation Orion—the star Betelgeuse. (If only Fraunho- Our next meeting will be on February 17th, same time fer could see what he started!!) Information about the (7:30PM), same place (Center on Church, 20 E. Church NSN, its activities and resources are at http:// Avenue, Roanoke, VA 24011). Our featured speaker will nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm. be Bruce Jones, sail boater and former Coast Guard captain, who’ll be enlightening us on the subject of ce- We were pleased to welcome as our guests for the even- lestial navigation. Won't you join us?

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Member Activities

Super Nova in M82

Photoshop CS4. Below is an image I took on January 29 of the new su- pernova in Messier 82. It was a balmy 18 degrees, and I I am attaching an earlier image from January 10, 2010, set the CCD cooler at an amazing -30 Centigrade. for comparison. This image is different in terms of being inverted (originally from a mirror image - the earlier This image was taken using a Celestron 14” with a Celes- AO7 adaptive optics used a tip/tilt mirror, where the tron f6.3 focal reducer, through an AO8 adaptive optics newer AO8 device uses a tip/tilt lens for corrections). I guiding at 4.1 hertz for lum, and 3 hertz for color data. rotated the second image to aid in picking out the su- The atmospheric seeing alternated between a 2 out of 5 pernova. and a 1 out of 5, with a 30 second periodicity. I used one minute integrations, and captured data with 2x2 The skies clouded over around 10pm, about the time I binning of the chip. Fifteen one minute integrations of was capturing color data… luminosity were average combined in AIP4WIN and combined with a paltry 2 minutes red and green, and 3 Michael Good minutes blue data, simply to add a little color to the image. The luminosity and color data were assembled in Poages Mill, Virginia

Photos by Michael Good

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Member Activities

617 Patroclus and Me:

Two Ships Passing in the Night … by Dan Chrisman Qualifier for 2012-2013 Most Improved Club Meeting Attendance Award

Report Brief Two score and five days later, I searched the IOTA website (www.occultations.org) for an occultation where In retrospect, I have little in common with Patroclus. an asteroid would cast a shadow upon the Blue Ridge Patroclus was a Greek mythological warrior. I am not. Parkway’s Cahas Knob Overlook. One match predicted To the Greek demigod Achilles, Patroclus was a beloved that asteroid 617 Patroclus would occult the star TYC comrade and brother-in-arms. With the Trojans 0646-0730-1. I did not possess any optical equipment threatening the Greek navy, Patroclus lusted for com- that was capable of viewing these dim objects (a 9.6 bat. Against the advice of Achilles, Patroclus donned magnitude star and a 15.5 magnitude asteroid). Nor did Achilles’ armor as a disguise and led the Greek Army I possess the equipment to accurately measure the tim- against Trojans. Successfully driving the retreating ing of the brief occultation (predicted to last for 8.6 Trojan armies back to the Gates of Troy, Patroclus paid seconds). So I posted a message to the RVAS Yahoo with his life at the hands of Trojan prince Hector. Group (“Subject: A Worthy Occultation?”), offering my

services as lackey for the 2:43 am EST October 21, In my case, I hail from Roanoke, stargaze as a hobby 2013 occultation. and am not part of anyone’s mythology. I do not lust for combat but was intrigued by an astronomical chal- One day later, Paul Caffrey, Past Club President and lenge. No one from Omaha offered me $1 Billion for a Annual Picnic Beef Patty Griller, expressed interest in positive observation. However, the Astronomical the event. Coincidently, Paul had been gathering and League offers an Occultation Observing Program pin for assembling equipment for such a purpose. So, eighteen one positive observation and a half-dozen well- days before the event, we agreed to attempt to witness documented attempts. For a positive observation, sev- the brief disappearance of a star in the constellation eral club members espoused 20:1 odds. On an early Aries. To the careful observer, the star would decrease Winter-like morning in October, I eschewed Achilles’ by magnitude 5.1, from 9.6 to 14.7. armor and instead donned my winter backpacking cloth- In preparation, there was scant information about this ing. I drove to Cahas Knob Overlook (CKO) to witness orange-red star; however, there was much for me to the asteroid 617 Patroclus occultation. I lived to tell learn about the Trojan asteroid 617 Patroclus. about it. This is my story.

Mr. Patroclus’ Neighborhood My Story As a child, I was taught that the asteroids were rocks, My odyssey began on August 19th, 2013 with Steve and much smaller than the planets. Like the planets, the Cindy Conard’s presentation to our club. They focused asteroids orbited the Sun. These rocks were in orbit upon the rich history and prominent results of the In- about the sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, ternational Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) (see evenly sprinkled about that orbit. Astronomers label Rick Rader’s “A Full Evening of IOTA”, Sept, 2013 this orbit the Asteroid Belt. RVAS newsletter).

(Patroclus Continued on page 7)

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(Patroclus from page 6) (For more details, consider searches for “three-body problem”, “Leonhard Euler”, “Joseph Louis Lagrange” and At the beginning of the 20th century, astronomers dis- “Lagrange Points”) covered asteroids in Jupiter’s orbit, outside the Aster- oid belt. Scientists categorized the asteroids that 617 Patroclus: A Brief History shared an orbit with Jupiter as Trojans. The Trojans were not found evenly distributed about Jupiter’s orbit. German astronomer August Kopff discovered 617 Pa- Instead they resided near two locations in Jupiter’s or- troclus (the 617th asteroid with a confirmed orbit) in bit. These two locations, termed Trojan points, lie in Oct, 1906. He was completing his Ph.D. at the Universi- the orbit of Jupiter, approximately 60° ahead of and ty of Heidelberg, Germany. It was the second Trojan 60° behind the planet (see diagram). As asteroids asteroid discovered. Given the aforementioned mythol- were discovered and a naming convention was estab- ogy of Patroclus, Achilles and Hector, I share that five lished, astronomers labeled those asteroids ahead of months after his discovery of 617 Patroclus, Kopff dis- Jupiter in orbit as “the Greeks”. Those asteroids be- covered 624 Hektor, the LARGEST Jupiter Trojan and hind Jupiter in orbit were labeled “the Trojans”. 617 the third Trojan to be discovered. To conclude the trio of warriors, 588 Achilles was the FIRST of the Trojans to be discovered, seven months before 617 Patroclus by another German astronomer Max Wolf. Wolf earned his Ph.D. at the same university in 1888 and was serving as the Department Chairman when graduate student Kopff discovered 617 Patroclus.

While 617 Patroclus resides at Jupiter’s trailing Trojan point, 624 Hektor and 588 Achilles both lie in Jupiter's leading Trojan point. Having been named prior to the current Jovian-asteroid naming-convention, 617 Patroc- lus and 624 Hektor hold the distinction of being the only “misplaced” Jovian asteroids. That is, the asteroid 617 Patroclus, named for a Trojan hero, resides among the “Greeks” and the asteroid 624 Hektor, named for a Greek hero, resides among the “Trojans”.

Conard emphasized IOTA’s contribution to astronomers’ eventual determination in 2001 that 617 Patroclus is a binary Trojan, the only Jovian binary asteroid among Patroclus trails Jupiter in orbit about the sun and is “the Greeks”. Astronomers discovered in 2006 that specified as a Sun-Jupiter Trojan asteroid residing with 624 Hektor is also a binary Trojan, the only Jovian bina- “the Greeks”. ry asteroid among “the Trojans”. The term “binary” connotes the presence of two asteroids which orbit Astronomers have subsequently discovered similarly- their common center of mass. located asteroids in the orbits of Earth, Mars, Uranus and Neptune. These discoveries forced a new defini- The Rest of My Story tion. Currently, a Trojan is more generally defined as a minor planet or natural satellite (moon) that shares a Seventeen days before occultation, Paul cautioned me stable orbit with any planet or larger moon. For Trojan that observing the event would be difficult as the Moon asteroids discovered in planetary orbits, all reside near would be 95% sunlit and 11 degrees from our target. their planet’s Trojan points, either 60° ahead of or 60° What I heard was that the Moon would pose a minor behind their respective planet. inconvenience…

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 7 of 12 (Patroclus Continued on page 8)

(Patroclus Continued from page 7) cellphone with the “Notes” app), then I could observe “Old School”! In gratitude, I promised to provide choc- Eleven days before occultation, Paul suggested that I olate chip cookies. download the software “Occult Watch- er” (www.hristopavlov.net). It provides a plethora of About ninety minutes before occultation, I arrived at details about each predicted asteroid occultation. 617 CKO in pretty bad shape (about 1 am on Monday). My Patroclus’ diameter is 140 km (the approximate distance plan for an early Sunday evening bedtime had gone the from Roanoke to Danville). The predicted diameter of way of many good plans, done in by too much adrenaline. its almost-circular shadow upon the Earth is approxi- Sleep had finally come around 11:45 pm. I was up short- mately 153 km. The predicted speed of the shadow ly thereafter, gathering the baked cookies and making a passing over the Earth’s surface is 988 km/hour (614 thermos of hot chocolate. I navigated the twenty- mph). To locate an occultation near a favorite observing minute drive up Bent Mountain Road to CKO, pulling in site, the program also displays the predicted path of with muted headlights. I added a fourth clothing layer the shadow upon a Google Map. This software also and strapped on my red-LED headlamp. Emerging from serves as the user interface for astronomers to an- the car, I found the air … bracing (about 30-36 degrees nounce their participation in a specific occultation and with little or no breeze). Paul chuckled “You won’t need to submit their observation reports. your headlamp tonight…” I turned it off and realized that my stargazer etiquette was unnecessary. Indeed, By this time, I had read portions of “Chasing the Shad- the Moon lit the landscape. He guided me to his car’s ow: the IOTA Occultation Observer’s Manual” and bet- open hatch. We unloaded what appeared to my sleep- ter understood the equipment that Conard displayed. deprived mind to be the LASER from “Mystery of the Paul described the analogous equipment that he was Lizard Men”, my favorite episode from the 1964-65 tel- configuring for the event: his Celestron Schmidt- evision series “Jonny Quest”. It was Paul’s Tube Dob- Cassegrain telescope with an eyepiece-mounted video sonian telescope with a Coulter 13.1” f4.7 mirror, a tele- camera, a video recorder with an LCD monitor, a digital scope with a special club history. A plastic case con- timing source that overlaid its data onto the camera’s tained a finderscope, Rigel Systems Quick Finder and video signal, a power distribution hub and a large bat- some eyepieces. tery. Paul had already set up a table beside his car with his About a week before the occultation, Paul dispelled my science project cabled together. For the interconnect- assumption of me playing the role of the lackey Planchet ed contraptions, he showed me the path that photons to his D’Artagnan. He offered to bring his Dobsonian would take through his project, then showed me the telescope and a digital shortwave radio for timing infor- path that the electrons would take. This tour included mation. If I could bring an audio recording device (my the final component whose construction he had completed only hours before. The solder was still warm. This component, the power distribution hub would be as important to our adventure as Professor Ikeda’s “Oscillation Overthruster”.

For the remaining seventy-five minutes, I bounced between the Sky Safari Plus star charts on my iPad, my 7.5-14 X 40 yard-sale zoom binoculars and the Dobsoni- an telescope eyepiece, finderscope and Quick Finder, struggling to match my view with my charts. My having not completed Star Hopping 101 was evident. Not know- ing the fields-of-view for the binoculars, the telescope/ eyepiece combinations and the two finders, this early morning adventure was becoming a character-building experience.

(Patroclus Continued on page 11) RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 8 of 12

Photons

Eden Phillpotts said: "The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Among the most seemingly magical things in the universe are PHOTONS. Without them everything would be black, and no heat from the Sun would reach us. Without photons in all their wavelengths, the universe as we know it would not exist.

One would think that something that important, and literally in our faces, would be fully understood. Howev- er, scientists cannot decide if photons are quanta particles, or waves, or both. There are many more unre- solved questions about photons. We are far from being enlightened.

Einstein used the speed of light in a vacuum ("c") in his famous E=mc^2 formula expressing the equivalency of cm^3. The core of the Sun is 150 g/cm^3. Stretching energy and matter. Even that simple formula has multi- our abilities to mentally embrace extreme densities: ple perspectives, as I have discussed elsewhere. atomic nuclei and neutron stars are in the range of 2 x 10^17 kg/m^3. The Planck density, where the force of It is the purpose of this essay to point to a possible gravity takes over, is up at 5.1 x 10^96 kg/m^3. Finally, resolution for these questions. I don't propose to prove seemingly impossible is the nearly infinite number of my thesis, just to show that it may lead to a more par- kg/m^3 for a black hole at singularity (which instanta- simonious and elegant conception than others. Elegance neously thereafter becomes zero kg/m^3 at the "big without tautology or self-contradiction is a good goal bang" following.) for any theory. Where do photons fit into this hierarchy? There is dis- It's human nature to see all phenomena in terms of the agreement as to their size and to their mass. It is gen- everyday dimensions we know. However, we are like all erally accepted that their resting mass is zero. Photons creatures, enjoying only a narrow spectrum of size, en- must be something more than pure energy, but less ergy, and time. than mere quanta.

Take size, for example: An adult human is about two There is a lot of cool science dealing with light waves, meters tall. However, the universe of universes is ap- and this is where we will find our thesis. Think of proximately 10^27 meters large. In the other direction, waves in the ocean. Waves can propagate over thou- the Planck scale is around 10^-35 meters. That's a total sands of miles following an earthquake beneath the dimensional spectrum of 62 POWERS of 10. This dimen- seabed, as with the 2004 Indonesian event. Waves sional range is greater than any everyday mind can move, but the sea itself stays put. grasp, so we retreat to math symbols. Waves are energy events with crests and troughs, just Take density: The human body is 1.062 g/cm^3, or just like light waves in space. Ocean waves don't vary that over a gram per cubic centimeter. Water is one gram much in their dimensions, but electromagnetic waves per cm^3. The average density of Earth is 5.515 g/ (Photons Continued on page 10)

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(Photons Continued from page 9) "Loop quantum gravity (LQG) is a theory that attempts to describe the quantum properties of gravity. It is also vary immensely. This difference doesn't really matter a theory of quantum space and quantum time, because, on an comparative basis. In this case, a change in size according to general relativity, the geometry of does not mean a change in type. spacetime is a manifestation of gravity. LQG is an attempt to merge and adapt standard quantum mechanics Of the four so-called fundamental forces, only two and standard general relativity. The main output of the reach out at a great distance. They are (photon) elec- theory is a physical picture of space where space is tromagnetism, and gravity. On the other hand, if all four granular. The granularity is a direct consequence of of are fundamental forces, when does any force become the quantization. It has the same nature of the granu- fundamental over the others? It's like deciding which larity of the photons in the quantum theory of electro- of four identical quadruplets, born by caesarean, will magnetism or the discrete levels of the energy of the become the next hereditary king. We need to look not atoms. But here it is space itself which is discrete." elsewhere, but in a different way, to find the true fundamental force. That article continues with this: "More precisely, space can be viewed as an extremely fine fabric or network The Wikipedia article, "Planck scale," talks about phys- 'woven' of finite loops. These networks of loops are ics at the minus 35th meters dimension: called spin networks. The evolution of a spin network over time is called a spin foam." "The Planck length is related to Planck energy by the uncertainty principle. At this scale, the concepts of size LQG differs from string theory because it is formulat- and distance break down, as quantum indeterminacy be- ed in three and four dimensions and without supersym- comes virtually absolute. Because the Schwarzschild metery and extra dimensions needed to make it true. radius of a black hole is roughly equal to the Compton This is very important in light of the recent demolition wavelength at the Planck scale, a photon with sufficient of supersymmetry. LQG is simpler, as its scope is lim- energy to probe this realm would yield no information ited to understanding quantum effects of the gravita- whatsoever." It goes on to say: "This is the most ex- tional interaction. treme example of the uncertainty principle, and explains why only a quantum gravity theory reconciling general As nice as all this sounds, there are multiple loose relativity with quantum mechanics will allow us to under- strings, if you pardon the pun. Finding THE answer in- stand the dynamics of space-time at this scale." volves both theoretical problems, and experimental dif- ficulties. Any general theory worth considering must deal with all forces at all dimensions. Any lesser theory must be a I believe that the ultimate answer will be found within derivative of the Grand Unified Theory. In other words, all the so-called fundamental particles, in the form of it is not enough to prove Einstein right using astronomi- what we call gravitons: cal measurements of red shifts, clock distortions, and Gravitons inside other particles are much smaller than gravitational lenses. These are all macro phenomena. even neutrinos, and below the Planck limit. They can ex- Nor is it enough to simply extrapolate from quantum press themselves as mostly energy, or mostly matter. effects at nuclear levels to the cosmos itself. We need A number of coherent gravitons phase shifting toward both deduction and induction. energy emerge from particles as photons. This process also works in reverse, as photons are absorbed into par- Among the various theories, I find that loop quantum ticles, with apparent zero rest mass. gravity (LQG) is closest to what I think is going on. In Gravitons outside particles could also act as circular the Wikipedia article entitled "Loop quantum gravity," it strings, vast numbers of which could be linked to form says: the granularity of space. It may be better to describe these flows of gravitons as granularity in space, because (Photons Continued on page 11)

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(Patroclus Continued from page 8) visible neither at the eyepiece nor on the video display. With the cold procession of Time, we missed the occul- The location of the target star was right ascension: 02h tation. The Moon’s reflection of our Sun overwhelmed 47m 58.7769s and declination: +14o 05’ 58.732”. The our mirrors’ reflection of our target star. Asteroid 1: two brightest local stars for star hopping were Hamel, Amateur Astronomer 0. Alpha Arietis (magnitude 2.0) in Aries, the Ram and Menkar, Alpha Ceti (mag 2.5) in Cetus, the Sea Monster, So we broke out the hot tea, hot chocolate and choco- both naked-eye objects. From there, I found two dim- late chip cookies, enjoying the predawn silence. mer naked-eye objects, Lambda Ceti (mag 4.7) and Mu Ceti (mag 4.3), which together with our target star (mag Epilogue 9.6), form a right triangle. However, I could not find our target star. The star chart showed two stars that In subsequent months, I have reflected upon our adven- more closely bracketed my target: 38 Ari (mag 5.2) and ture and the lessons that I learned. Next time, my Sigma Arietis (mag 5.5). Like Sisyphus, beginning each preparation should include 1) understanding the fields- search with the stars in Cetus, the Whale, I repeatedly of-view for each optical instrument, 2) planning the oc- floundered to find the Aries pair. cultation observation with the star charts, specifically mapping the sequence of star hops with overlapping Nearby, Paul had the electronics working, “sined, sealed, views and 3) hosting a dress rehearsal on the star field delivered”, basking in the glow of the LCD monitor dis- of interest prior to the occultation. playing real-time data and an incrementing time stamp. With his telescope accurately aimed, he continued to And with a few weeks to accomplish my preparation, I search the screen for a pinpoint of star light amid the have found an opportunity with yet another dim star, a white noise of moon light. The signal-to-noise ratio was dimmer asteroid and the 95%-illuminated Moon only brutal. Shortly before the occultation, he announced seventeen degrees away to wash out a 19.7-second oc- that he had just lost power. In a scene reminiscent of cultation. Staying with the familiar, this occultation Dr. Who in the TARDIS, Paul unplugged wires, replugged involves 624 Hektor. How does an adventure to Puerto wires and flipped switches, resurrecting the system in Rico in mid-February grab you?? time for the event. Clear Skies and Clean Mirrors While I may or may not have been on target, Paul was properly aimed. The target star and the asteroid were

(Photons Continued from page 10) ------space is both void and granular, not just a classical Here are some additional links: ether. Photon Perhaps we are hereby getting closer to a Grand Unified What is a Photon: Particle or Wave? Theory (GUT), and to a Theory of Everything (TOE). Does a photon have physical volume or geometrical size?

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Monthly Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING: February 17th, 7:30 p.m., Center on Church, Downtown Roanoke. Join us at this month’s meeting for an evening devoted to celestial navigation. Bruce Jones, sail boater and former Coast Guard Captain, will lead us through this fascinating application of astronomy!

RVAS WEEKEND OBSERVING OPPORTUNITIES: Unless otherwise indicated, observing is held at Cahas Moun- tain Overlook, milepost 139 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

-- Friday and Saturday, February 21st and 22nd. Sunset is at 6:07 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 7:34 p.m. The Moon rises at 12:51 and 1:52 a.m., respectively.

-- Friday and Saturday, February 28th and March 1st. Sunset is at 6:14 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 7:40 p.m. The Moon sets at 5:48 p.m. and 6:57 p.m., respectively.

-- Future Sessions: March 21st and 22nd; March 28th and March 29th.

ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: Saturday, February 22nd, 6:30 p.m., Cahas Overlook, Milepost 139 Blue Ridge Parkway. Nonmembers must register with Parks & Rec. at 540-853-2236. Members can call 540-774-5651 for information. (Next session: March 22nd, 8:00 p.m., Cahas Overlook.)

Astro-Quiz

It's beautifully clear and you're awaiting darkness to begin observing. But as twilight ends, you notice the Milky Way's nowhere to be seen. What's going on--and what month is it?

Answer to Last Month’s Astro-Quiz: The astronomical knowledge of the Ancients is a matter of ceaseless won- der. To paraphrase Newton, we stand on the shoulders of these giants. By the Middle Bronze Age (2000 – 1500 BCE) the Babylonians had extended the knowledge of the Sumerians (2900 – 2300 BCE) and named many of the celestial events of importance using terms that are still heard today. For example, they named the points on the celestial sphere where the Sun is located on the two annual equinoxes. They designated the March, or vernal, equinox the “First Point of Aries” and the September, or autumnal, equinox the “First Point of Libra.” At the time, these were the constellations where the Sun was located on these events. Precession has since altered the locations to Pisces and Virgo, respectively.

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 12 of 12