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Home , 1 Cancri, 29 Herculis, Lists of comets, Lost comet, NGC 2403, NGC 2808

April 2017

The Sidereal Times

MINUTES MARCH 16, 2017 President John Toney called the meeting to order at the Bur- lington Public Library at 7 PM. Present were Jim and Judy Hil- kin, Jim Wilt, David and Vicki Philabaum, Jim Steer, and Carl and Libby Snipes. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Judy made a motion to approve the minutes as printed in the newsletter; Jim Hilkin 2nd. Minutes (cont.) 2 Treasurer’s Report 2 David presented the Treasurer's report. Jim Hilkin made a mo- Looking Back 3 tion to approve the report; Jim Wilt 2nd. Space Place Article 4-5 Groups and Visitors: David reported that group of Girl Scouts Observer’s Report 6-7 visited the observatory on March 7. Additional scheduled Calendar 8 Sky Maps 9-10 groups are Cub Scouts on Tuesday March 21, Burlington High School Wednesday March 29, and a church group on Wednes- day April 5. CLUB OFFICERS

Executive Committee Old/New Business: Frances Owen is continuing to make ar- President John Toney Vice President Jim Hilkin rangements for a bus trip in August for the solar eclipse. Treasurer David Philabaum Secretary Vicki Philabaum Vicki made a motion for Jim Hilkin to purchase traffic cones Chief Observer David Philabaum Members-at-Large for use on public nights; John 2nd. The motion passed. Paul Sly Carl Snipes Jim Wilt (Continued on page 2) Board of Directors Chair Jim Wilt Vice Chair Judy Hilkin UPCOMING DATES Secretary Libby Snipes Members-at-Large ~ The next meeting will be Friday, April 21, 2017 at the John H. Witte, Jr. Duane Gerling Ray Reineke Observatory at 7 pm. Nomination of club officers. Bill Stewart Audit Committee ~ The deadline for the May newsletter is Friday, May 12, 2017. John Toney (2014) Bill Stewart (2015) ~ The May meeting will be Friday, May 19, 2017 at the John H. Witte Ob- Karen Johnson (2016) servatory at 7 pm. Election of club officers. Newsletter Karen Johnson

TREASURER’S REPORT

“For myself, I declare I don’t know anything about it. But the sight of the always makes me dream.” Vincent Van Gogh (July 1888)

MINUTES (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)

David is continuing to search for a suitable sound bar for the DID YOU KNOW? classroom. Judy announced the Youth Jamboree at Big Hollow will be In 1612 Monoceros Saturday May 13 from 8 AM to 2 PM. appeared for the John reminded everyone that nominations for officers will be first time on a held at the April meeting with elections at the May meeting. globe. It was Vicki reminded everyone that an audit needs to be done be- called Monoceros fore the elections. Unicornis. Later, Jim Steer thanked everyone for their work with the observato- in 1624, it was ry and pledged support from the County Conservation Board. first included in a Dave presented the Observer's report. chart. Jim Hilkin presented the Corner on Monoceros. The meeting adjourned. Meetings will resume on third Fri- days at the observatory on April 21. Respectfully Submitted, Vicki Philabaum, Secretary

2 LOOKING BACK 30 —APRIL 1987 "We would like to extend the congratulations of The Sidereal Times to the following people, without whom, this structure would not have been built. To the best of our knowledge this is a complete list of everyone in S.I.A.C. who worked on the observatory. If you were accidently overlooked it is with our sincerest apology. As with any project good leadership is essential. Our special thanks there- fore goes to: Claus Benninghoven --- Mason Jim Hilkin ------Carpenter David Bachtell ------Electrician Other S.I.A.C. members: Jim Wilt, Dick Wilt, Dean Moberg, Marion Bachtell, Jim Blair, Duane Gerling, Jeri Moberg, Larry DID YOU KNOW? Johnson, Karen Johnson, Jesse Munoz, Jerry Rigdon, Bill Graf, Adolf Gerst, Elinore Benninghoven, Alta Blair, Dan Carlson, According to Chelsea Carlson, Mike Campbell, Lois Rigdon, Tom Meyers, William Hausner, John Loots, Mark Roberts, Mike Newland, Dr. James Green, Warren Conner, Tony Oliver, Jerred Cook, Tony Bachtell, Robert Director of Moberg, Dave Philabaum." (The May issue added the following NASA’s Planetary names: Ted Upton, Robin Gerling, Doran Gerling, Craig Sours, Patrick Prickett.) Science Division, and Burlington The first logbook entry for the observatory was made on April 3, Native, the 4 1987. The observatory was opened at 20:15 with the following places in our people there: Claus Benninghoven, Bob Sullivan, Aaron Doan, Dean Moberg, Rob Moberg, Jim Wilt, and Dave Philabaum. The most following objects were viewed: The , M42 Betelgeuse, likely to have NGC2440, M67, M104, M13. life are , Enceladus, LOOKING BACK 10 YEARS—APRIL 2007 , and From the Observer's report: "Of the of , not only . Enceladus seems to have interior activity which shows itself in geyser activity. Now there also are reports that the 's satellite Dione seems to have active out gassings. And Tethys, another one of the Ringed Planet’s moons, shows volcanic flow patterns on its surface. (An April 14, 2017 article in Science magazine by J. Hunter Waite et al. claims that molecular hydrogen detected by the Cassini spacecraft in the geysers emanating from Enceladus is evi- dence of hydrothermal processes. The heat in Enceladus’s ocean exists because Saturn tidally wrenches the moon in the same way the Moon creates tides on .)

3 NOAA’S JOINT POLAR SATELLITE SYSTEM (JPSS) TO MONITOR EARTH AS NEVER BEFORE BY ETHAN SIEGEL

Later this , an ambitious new Earth-monitoring satellite will launch into a polar orbit around our planet. The new satellite— called JPSS-1—is a collaboration between NASA and NOAA. It is part of a mission called the Joint Polar Satellite System, or JPSS.

At a destination altitude of only 824 km, it will complete an orbit around Earth in just 101 minutes, collecting extraordinarily high- resolution imagery of our surface, oceans and atmosphere. It will obtain full-planet coverage every 12 hours using five separate, independent instruments. This approach enables near-continuous monitoring of a huge variety of weather and climate phenomena. “JPSS-1 will Improve the JPSS-1 will improve the prediction of severe weather events and will help advance early warning systems. It will also be indispen- prediction of sable for long-term climate monitoring, as it will track global rainfall, drought conditions and ocean properties. severe weather events and will The five independent instruments on board are the main assets of this mission: help advance · The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) will detail the at- early warning mosphere’s 3D structure, measuring water vapor and temper- ature in over 1,000 infrared spectral channels. It will enable systems.” accurate weather forecasting up to seven days in advance of any major weather events. · The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) adds 22 microwave channels to CrIS’s measurements, im- proving temperature and moisture readings. · Taking visible and infrared images of Earth’s surface at 750 meter resolution, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument will enable monitoring of weather patterns, fires, sea temperatures, light pollution, and ocean color observations at unprecedented resolutions. · The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) will measure how ozone concentration varies with altitude and in time over every location on Earth's surface. This can help us understand how UV light penetrates the various layers of Earth’s atmos- phere. · The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant System () instru- ment will quantify the effect of clouds on Earth’s energy bal- ance, measuring solar reflectance and Earth’s radiance. It will

(Continued on page 5) 4 NOAA’S JOINT POLAR ... (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4)

greatly reduce one of the largest sources of uncertainty in cli- mate modeling.

The information from this satellite will be important for emergen- cy responders, airline pilots, cargo ships, farmers and coastal resi- dents, and many others. Long and short term weather monitoring will be greatly enhanced by JPSS-1 and the rest of the upcoming satellites in the JPSS system.

Want to teach kids about polar and geostationary orbits? Go to the DID YOU KNOW? NASA Space Place: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/geo-orbits/ NOAA Satellites has its own Twitter page at: twitter.com/ noaasatellites It also has its own Facebook page at: facebook.com/ noaanesdis

Caption: Ball and Raytheon technicians integrate the VIIRS Optical and Electrical Modules onto the JPSS-1 spacecraft in 2015. The spacecraft will be ready for launch later this year. Image Credit: Ball Aerospace & Technol- ogies Corp.

This article is provided by NASA Space Place. With articles, activities, crafts, games, and lesson plans, NASA Space Place encourages everyone to get excited about science and technology. Visit spaceplace..gov to explore space and Earth science!

5 OBSERVER’S REPORT FOR APRIL/MAY 2017

Mars is in Taurus moving east and on April 20-22 it passes about 3° to the east of the Pleiades. By mid-May it is located between the horns of the Bull. It sets about two hours after the in mid-April and by mid-May it is setting about 30 minutes earlier. In another month or so it will be lost in the glow of evening twilight. Mars shines at magni- tude +1.6 in mid-April and dims a bit to +1.7 by mid-May. is moving west in Virgo and on April 15th it is about halfway between Spica and 2.7 Porrima (Gamma Virginis), a close . Although Jupiter is past opposition, good views are still possible. Jupiter shines at magnitude -2.4 on May 1st and transits a little before midnight 44° above the southern horizon. On April 20th a 10th magni- tude star is very close to the southwest of Jupiter. On May 9th the moons , , and Ganymede form a triangle east of the planet after Ganymede reappears from being eclipsed by Jupiter at 22:00. Europa is west of the planet until it is occulted at 22:45. All four NOTE: moons lie west of Jupiter on April 24th and again on May 15th when the Great Red Spot is centered on planet at 23:00. All four moons are rd ALL TIMES GIVEN east of the planet on the night of May 3 beginning after Io reappears from being eclipsed by Jupiter at 23:59. On May 7th the waxing gib- IN THE bous Moon is about 3° to the left of Jupiter. Some times when the OBSERVER’S GRS is centered on Jupiter include: 4-21 at 22:26; 4-27 at 22:3; 5-3 at REPORT ARE CST 23:19; 5-8 at 22:27; 5-15 at 23:13. Saturn is moving west in Sagittari- us and on May 19th moves into Ophiuchus. Saturn rises a little after USING A 24-HOUR midnight in mid-April and shines at magnitude +0.3. The rings are CLOCK. tilted 26°, almost their maximum. Between April 30th and May 3rd Sat- urn passes through a star field with several 10-12th magnitude stars that could be mistaken for moons. On April 30th a 9.7 magnitude star lies about twice a far out from Saturn as Titan southwest of the planet. Titan lies west of Saturn on April 17th along with the moons Rhea, Di- one, and Tethys less than half of the way between Saturn and Titan. Titan is west of the planet again on May 3rd. It is east of Saturn on April 25th and May 11th. Saturn's moon Iapetus will be west of the planet, and therefore at its brightest, during the first couple weeks of May. is in Sagittarius less than 3° east of Pi Sagittarii. By mid- May Pluto is almost as high as it will get just before the onset on twi- light. Good viewing conditions to the south will be needed to catch a glimpse of Pluto since it will only be 26° up. is moving east in Aquarius shining at magnitude 7.9 just over 2° east of Lambda Aquarii. It is getting high enough to see just before the start of morn- ing twilight by mid-May. It will then be about 11° above the eastern horizon. is moving east in Pisces and is at its brightest in the morning sky on April 30th when it will shine at magnitude -4.7. On that date it will be about 12° up in the eastern sky 30 minutes before sunrise. On April 24th try to spot a very thin crescent Moon about 10° below and a bit to the left of Venus. passes through inferior

(Continued on page 7) 6 OBSERVER’S REPORT (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)

conjunction with the Sun on April 20th and enters the morning sky. It is at greatest elongation west of the Sun on May 17th but because of the shallow angle the ecliptic makes with the horizon it will be lost in the glow of sunrise. like Mercury is very low in the eastern sky and is lost in the bright twilight. On April 28th Mercury and Ura- nus are only 0.1° apart but are only 12° from the Sun and are not visi- ble. The Moon phases are: new 4-26 at7:17; FQ 5-2 at 21:47; Full 5- 10 at 16:43; LQ 5-18 at 19:34. On April 28th the thin waxing crescent Moon occults Aldebaran during the day from 11:16 until 12:16. On the night of May 2nd a grazing of Omicron Cancri may be visible from the observatory starting around 21:50. On this date the Moon will be about 5° south of the . There are cur- DID YOU KNOW? rently three that are magnitude 7 or brighter. The first, 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, was reported to be magnitude 6.0 on NASA has a April 7th. It is currently moving S.S.E. through and then into Planetary Defense Lyra. On May 2nd it will lie about halfway between Vega and Theta Coordination Herculis. The second is comet C/2015 ER61 (PanStarrs) which un- Office, whose job derwent an outburst on April 4th and was reported to be magnitude th th is to ensure the 6.2 on April 7 . It is moving east through Aquarius and on April 24 early detection of will be about 7° below Alpha Aquarii 10° above the eastern horizon and at the start of morning twilight. The third comet is C/2017 E4 (Lovejoy), also a morning comet, which is currently moving east comets that come through Andromeda and then into Triangulum. On April 23rd it is 1.5° within 5 million to the left of Beta Andromedae about 9° above the northeastern hori- miles of Earth and zon just before the start of morning twilight. Both of the morning are large enough comets are getting lower in the sky each day and will eventually be to reach its lost in the glow of twilight. Another comet, C/2015 V2 (Johnson), is surface. in moving S.W. from the northwestern corner of Hercules into Boot- es. On April 26th it is just over one degree west of 4th magnitude . It was reported to be magnitude 9.2 on April 7th and bright- ening, although it is dimmer than earlier predicted.

The Lyrid meteor show peaks on the morning of April 22nd with the peak predicted to be 7:00. The best viewing time will be the hours just before the start of morning twilight. The thin waning crescent Moon should not interfere. Under ideal conditions expect 12-20 me- teors per hour. , shining at magnitude 8, moves east through during May. On May 1st it is less than one degree south of Psi Cancri and on May 16th it is less than 0.5° south of Upsi- lon 1 Cancri.

7 April/May 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

16 (April) 17 18 19 20 21 22 Easter Last Quarter Moon Pluto appears SIAC meeting 7 pm Lyrid meteor stationary at Witte Observa- shower tory Mercury in inferior Neptune 0.2° conjunction Nomination of north of Moon Saturn 3° south of club officers Moon Lyrid 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Venus 5° north of New Moon Moon at perigee Mars 6° north of Day Moon Moon

30 1 (May) 2 3 4 5 6 Venus at greatest First Quarter Moon First Friday Public Eta Aquarid mete- illuminated ex- Night 7:30 pm— or shower tent Mercury appears 10:30 pm at Witte stationary Observatory Eta Aquarid mete- or shower Cinco de Mayo 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Jupiter 2° south Full Moon Moon at apogee Outdoor Youth of Moon Jamboree, Witte Observatory open Mercury 2° south 9:00 am—2:00 pm of Uranus Saturn 3° south of Moon

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Mother’s Day Mercury at great- Last Quarter Moon SIAC meeting 7 pm Neptune 0.5° est elongation at Witte Observa- north of Moon tory Election of club officers

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Venus 2° north of Uranus 4° north of New Moon and at Mars 5° north of Moon Moon perigee Moon Mercury 1.6° north of Moon

8 Vesta NGC 2392 (Eskimo , Clown Nebula) PANSTARRS (P/2013 J4) Catalina (P/2011 CR42) PANSTARRSLeo (C/2015 Minor D3) Pollux NGC 4565 PANSTARRS (C/2015 X5) Berenices LINEAR (P/2015 TP200) Castor ATLAS (C/2015 X7) Lemmon (C/2015 XY1) Egeria Siding Spring (C/2013 A1)

Kalliope Leto Lynx Lemmon (C/2012 K8) Ursa Major M106 Canes VenaticiPANSTARRS (C/2016 E1) AJISAI (EGS) Matheny (C/2016 T2) M63 (Sunflower )

Dubhe Auriga M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Alioth Menkalinan Alkaid NGC 2403 M81 (Bode's Galaxy) NGC 2403 PANSTARRS (C/2016 VZ18) M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy) Capella

Camelopardalis Catalina (C/2013 V4) Ursa Minor Catalina (C/2016 KA) Boattini (C/2010 U3) NEOWISE (C/2014 N3) Polaris Johnson (C/2015 V2) PANSTARRS (C/2016Perseus T3) Mirfak Catalina (C/2013 US10)

Algol h Persei NGC 884 (Perseus ) NGC 869 (Perseus Double Cluster) Draco M34 NGC 663 M103 M92 Cepheus Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak (41P) CassiopeiaNGC 457 (Owl Cluster) Owl Cluster PANSTARRS (C/2016 N6) IRIDIUM 91 [+] PacMan Nebula IRIDIUM 6 [+] M52 (The Scorpion) IRIDIUM 51 [S] NGC 6946 NGC 7789 Triangulum PANSTARRS (C/2016 M1) NGC 7789

NGC 6826 (Blinking Planetary) Vega M33 (, Pinwheel Galaxy) Mirach AndromedaM31 (Andromeda Galaxy) Lyra M39 NGC 6819 NGCLacerta 7662 (Blue Snowball) CygnusNGC 7000 () IRIDIUM 33 [-] SL-3 R/B M29 IRIDIUM 57 [-] IRIDIUM 54 [+] SL-8 R/B IRIDIUM 16 [-] IRIDIUM 77 [+] Alpheratz IRIDIUM 44 [-] IRIDIUM 17 [-] THOR AGENA D R/B NGC 6992 ( (East), Network Nebula) ARIANE 40 R/B SL-16 R/B IRIDIUM 7 [+] Coathanger Cluster (Brocchi's Cluster) NGC 6940 H-2A R/B Vulpecula Sagitta M106

M63 (Sunflower Galaxy) Lynx NGC 4449 Canes Venatici Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) ATLAS (C/2015 X7)

Egeria

Kalliope Whale Galaxy PANSTARRS (C/2015 D3) Castor Leo Minor LINEAR (P/2015 TP200) PANSTARRS (C/2016 E1) Catalina (P/2011 CR42) NGC 4565 Pollux NGC 4725 Vales (P/2010 H2) PANSTARRS (P/2013 J4) Makemake Vesta Irene Gemini Aquitania ComaM64 Berenices (Blackeye Galaxy) NGC 2903 Cancer M44 (Beehive Cluster) PANSTARRS (C/2017 A1) M53 Metis LINEAR (P/2010 A2) Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova (45P) Proserpina Leo Laetitia Leo Triplet Scotti (P/2003 L1) LINEAR-Grauer (P/2010 TO20) Regulus M67 (King Cobra) Daphne Amphitrite NGC 2264 (Christmas Tree Cluster) Forbes (37P) PANSTARRS (C/2016 A1) Schwartz (C/2014 B1) PANSTARRS (P/2016 A3) MOLNIYA 1-91 Vaticana Ariadne CanisProcyon Minor Artemis Eunomia

NGC 3521 LONEOS (C/2006 S3) PANSTARRSSextans (C/2016 C1) S/2003 J19 Thisbe STAR ONE D1 GALAXY 19 M48 Monoceros Jupiter Spindle GalaxySDO Virgo M50 Larson (P/2007 R1) NGC 2539 Aspasia PANSTARRS (C/2015 V4) M46 M47 Ausonia Crater Eye Nebula Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) Wolf-Harrington (43P) AthamantisCorvus Hydra Sirius Victoria Catalina-PANSTARRS (P/2013 R3-B) M93 M41 (Little Beehive) ATLAS (C/2017 D3) Canis Major M68 LINEAR (C/2017 B3) Pyxis Wesen Adhara IRIDIUM 5 [+] Antlia M83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) Puppis IRIDIUM 32 [+] NGC 2477 NGC 2451 CYGFM08

NGC 3201 PANSTARRS (P/2015 B1) PANSTARRS (C/2017 E3) Vela Suhail al Muhlif SL-6 R/B(2) NGC 2547 GSAT0214 (GALILEO 18)

NGC 5139 () NGC 3293 NGC 3532 NGC 3372 ( Nebula, Keyhole Nebula) NGC 3114 Avior Gacrux IRAS NGC 3766 NGC 2516 FLOCK 2E-2 NGC 2808 NGC 4755 () IRIDIUM 97 [+] Acrux Pictor SOUTHEASTERN IOWA A BRIEF HISTORY ASTRONOMY CLUB The JOHN H. WITTE, JR. OBERVATORY COMPLEX consists of three separate TRAVEL DIRECTIONS TO THE observatory buildings. It is located within the Big Hollow Recreation Area near WITTE OBSERVATORY COMPLEX Sperry IA (north of Burlington IA). The observatory complex is located The Observatory Complex is open for free public viewing every 1st and 3rd Fri- at 18832 152nd Avenue, Sperry, Iowa in Big Hollow Creek Recreation day of the month from April to December by volunteers from the Southeastern Area approximately 12 miles north Iowa Astronomy Club at DUSK. WEATHER PERMITTING of Burlington, Iowa. Witte Observatory Building houses a 12-inch aperture refractor manufactured in 1937 by Alvan Clark & Sons. It is doublet achromatic design with a brass tube approximately 15 feet long resting on a German Equatorial mount. De- pending on the eyepiece used, it can magnify celestial objects up to nearly 400 times. This telescope is believed to be the largest refractor in Iowa. John H. Witte, Jr. gave this telescope to the Burlington School District housed at Apollo School. The Des Moines County Conservation Board owns the telescope and the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club members built a building to house the telescope which was completed in 1987. Prugh-Carver Observatory Building (The Roll-Off) with a unique motorized roll roof was built in 1996 and houses John H. Witte’s personal 8-inch refractor manufactured in 1931. Stone-Kelly Observatory Building houses a 16-inch Ealing telescope relocated from the current Burlington High School in 2004. The building was named for two Burlington space pioneers, Dr. Edward Stone, Project Scientist for the Voy- ager Missions and former Director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Astronaut Jim Kelly, Space Shuttle Pilot on STS-102 Discovery and STS 114 Return to Flight missions. John H. Witte, Jr. Observatory Complex is the result of cooperation between Des Moines County Conservation, Burlington Community School District, John H. Witte Jr. Foundation, and Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club. The Witte Observatory and the Prugh-Carver Observatory are owned by Des Moines County Conservation. The Stone-Kelly Observatory is under a long-term loan agreement between Des Moines County Conservation and the Burlington Com- Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club munity School District.

P.O. Box 14 West Burlington, IA 52655

Dues $20 Individual $30 Family ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN IOWA ASTRONOMY CLUB

The Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club meets on the third Friday of each https://www.facebook.com/ month at the Witte Observatory at 7 pm from April to December . It meets at WitteObservatory/ the Burlington Public Library in February and March. There is no meeting in http://www.dmcounty.com/ January. index.aspx?NID=516 The purpose of the club is to provide astronomy opportunities to the local area, mainly through the use of the facilities at the John H. Witte, Jr. Observatory Complex. During monthly meetings, information is provided about upcoming events and items of interest locally, nationally, and worldwide. The meetings allow members to share their experiences and expertise with each other, as well as providing a forum for questions. The public is welcome to share in the meet- ings, and they are followed by a public viewing session (weather permitting).

Additional benefits to members include our monthly newsletter, The Sidereal Times, voting rights for club activities, and membership in the national Astro-

YOUR LOGO HERE nomical League. The Astronomical League membership provides a quarterly newsletter, discounts on certain astronomy-related products, special training/ skill building programs, and other great benefits.