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Eclipse Newsletter
ECLIPSE NEWSLETTER The Eclipse Newsletter is dedicated to increasing the knowledge of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology and related subjects. VOLUMN 2 NUMBER 1 JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2018 PLEASE SEND ALL PHOTOS, QUESTIONS AND REQUST FOR ARTICLES TO [email protected] 1 MCAO PUBLIC NIGHTS AND FAMILY NIGHTS. The general public and MCAO members are invited to visit the Observatory on select Monday evenings at 8PM for Public Night programs. These programs include discussions and illustrated talks on astronomy, planetarium programs and offer the opportunity to view the planets, moon and other objects through the telescope, weather permitting. Due to limited parking and seating at the observatory, admission is by reservation only. Public Night attendance is limited to adults and students 5th grade and above. If you are interested in making reservations for a public night, you can contact us by calling 302-654- 6407 between the hours of 9 am and 1 pm Monday through Friday. Or you can email us any time at [email protected] or [email protected]. The public nights will be presented even if the weather does not permit observation through the telescope. The admission fees are $3 for adults and $2 for children. There is no admission cost for MCAO members, but reservations are still required. If you are interested in becoming a MCAO member, please see the link for membership. We also offer family memberships. Family Nights are scheduled from late spring to early fall on Friday nights at 8:30PM. These programs are opportunities for families with younger children to see and learn about astronomy by looking at and enjoying the sky and its wonders. -
Rosette Nebula and Monoceros Loop
Oshkosh Scholar Page 43 Studying Complex Star-Forming Fields: Rosette Nebula and Monoceros Loop Chris Hathaway and Anthony Kuchera, co-authors Dr. Nadia Kaltcheva, Physics and Astronomy, faculty adviser Christopher Hathaway obtained a B.S. in physics in 2007 and is currently pursuing his masters in physics education at UW Oshkosh. He collaborated with Dr. Nadia Kaltcheva on his senior research project and presented their findings at theAmerican Astronomical Society meeting (2008), the Celebration of Scholarship at UW Oshkosh (2009), and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in La Crosse, Wisconsin (2009). Anthony Kuchera graduated from UW Oshkosh in May 2008 with a B.S. in physics. He collaborated with Dr. Kaltcheva from fall 2006 through graduation. He presented his astronomy-related research at Posters in the Rotunda (2007 and 2008), the Wisconsin Space Conference (2007), the UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2007 and 2008), and the American Astronomical Society’s 211th meeting (2008). In December 2009 he earned an M.S. in physics from Florida State University where he is currently working toward a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics. Dr. Nadia Kaltcheva is a professor of physics and astronomy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Sofia in Bulgaria. She joined the UW Oshkosh Physics and Astronomy Department in 2001. Her research interests are in the field of stellar photometry and its application to the study of Galactic star-forming fields and the spiral structure of the Milky Way. Abstract An investigation that presents a new analysis of the structure of the Northern Monoceros field was recently completed at the Department of Physics andAstronomy at UW Oshkosh. -
MESSIER 13 RA(2000) : 16H 41M 42S DEC(2000): +36° 27'
MESSIER 13 RA(2000) : 16h 41m 42s DEC(2000): +36° 27’ 41” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Globular Cluster CONSTELLATION: Hercules BEST VIEW: Late July DISCOVERY: Edmond Halley, 1714 DISTANCE: 25,100 ly DIAMETER: 145 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +5.8 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 20’ Starry Night FOV: 1.00 Lyra FOV: 60.00 Libra MESSIER 6 (Butterfly Cluster) RA(2000) : 17Ophiuchus h 40m 20s DEC(2000): -32° 15’ 12” M6 Sagitta Serpens Cauda Vulpecula Scutum Scorpius Aquila M6 FOV: 5.00 Telrad Delphinus Norma Sagittarius Corona Australis Ara Equuleus M6 Triangulum Australe BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster Telescopium CONSTELLATION: Scorpius Capricornus BEST VIEW: August DISCOVERY: Giovanni Batista Hodierna, c. 1654 DISTANCE: 1600 ly MicroscopiumDIAMETER: 12 – 25 ly Pavo APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +4.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 25’ – 54’ AGE: 50 – 100 million years Telrad Indus MESSIER 7 (Ptolemy’s Cluster) RA(2000) : 17h 53m 51s DEC(2000): -34° 47’ 36” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Scorpius BEST VIEW: August DISCOVERY: Claudius Ptolemy, 130 A.D. DISTANCE: 900 – 1000 ly DIAMETER: 20 – 25 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +3.3 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 80’ AGE: ~220 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Hercules Libra MESSIER 8 (THE LAGOON NEBULA) RA(2000) : 18h 03m 37s DEC(2000): -24° 23’ 12” Lyra M8 Ophiuchus Serpens Cauda Cygnus Scorpius Sagitta M8 FOV: 5.00 Scutum Telrad Vulpecula Aquila Ara Corona Australis Sagittarius Delphinus M8 BASIC INFORMATION Telescopium OBJECT TYPE: Star Forming Region CONSTELLATION: Sagittarius Equuleus BEST -
The Denver Observer December 2017
The Denver DECEMBER 2017 OBSERVER Messier 76, the Little Dumbbell Nebula, one of the deep-sky objects featured in this month’s “Skies.” Image © Joe Gafford. DECEMBER SKIES by Zachary Singer The Solar System of view in your ’scope will include the Moon’s Sky Calendar 3 Full Moon December will be a decent month for eastern section and the star, with plenty of 10 Last-Quarter Moon planetary events; though some planets are room. 17 New Moon slipping from view, others will take their I recommend you observe early—it 26 First-Quarter Moon place. We also have an occultation of Alde- should be a beautiful view, with the star a baran; as seen from Denver, the Moon will bright spark near the Moon’s edge, and over pass in front of the star at approximately the following minutes (they’ll go fast, just like In the Observer 4:06 PM, on the 30th. At that point, with the recent solar eclipse did), you can see the Moon move in its orbit around us, using the sunset still more than half an hour away, the President’s Message . .2 star won’t be visible to the naked eye, but it star for a benchmark. (Before 4:00 PM, look Society Directory. 2 should be in a telescope if you know where for Aldebaran outside the square, but along to look: Imagine a square drawn just large the diagonal from the Moon’s center to that Schedule of Events . 2 enough to touch the edges of the Moon, and lower-left edge.) About Denver Astronomical Society . -
Our Place in Space for Young Scientists Ages 6 –10 Order and Classify Some of the Objects in Our Universe
Family STEM Activity Our Place in Space For young scientists ages 6 –10 Order and classify some of the objects in our universe. Prep Time: 15 minutes • Activity Time: 15 minutes or longer Materials (printer required): • 15 printable Universe Cards containing images and information about astronomical objects (pages 3 – 9) 1 Print out the Universe Cards double-sided if possible, Object Classification or print single-sided and attach the information card Classify the objects in a variety of ways. You can even for each object on the reverse side of the image of that come up with your own categories of classification. object. Print the image card in color if you can. Here are just a few ideas: 2 Once you have assembled the cards, they can be used • Classify by object type: is the object a planet, moon, either as fact cards or for a variety of activities, including: star, galaxy, etc.? • Classify by location in the universe: is the object in our Put the Universe in Order by Distance to Earth solar system, the Milky Way Galaxy, or beyond? Organize the object cards by their distance from Earth starting with the closest object to us and continuing to • Classify by age: research the age of each object and the farthest. See page 2 for the correct order. place in order from youngest to oldest. Put the Universe in Order: Size Organize the object cards by their size starting with the smallest object and continuing to the largest. Share Your Results with Us on Social! #MOSatHome Our Place in Space ANSWER KEY Order of the objects from closest to farthest -
Messier Objects
Messier Objects From the Stocker Astroscience Center at Florida International University Miami Florida The Messier Project Main contributors: • Daniel Puentes • Steven Revesz • Bobby Martinez Charles Messier • Gabriel Salazar • Riya Gandhi • Dr. James Webb – Director, Stocker Astroscience center • All images reduced and combined using MIRA image processing software. (Mirametrics) What are Messier Objects? • Messier objects are a list of astronomical sources compiled by Charles Messier, an 18th and early 19th century astronomer. He created a list of distracting objects to avoid while comet hunting. This list now contains over 110 objects, many of which are the most famous astronomical bodies known. The list contains planetary nebula, star clusters, and other galaxies. - Bobby Martinez The Telescope The telescope used to take these images is an Astronomical Consultants and Equipment (ACE) 24- inch (0.61-meter) Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. It has a focal ratio of F6.2 and is supported on a structure independent of the building that houses it. It is equipped with a Finger Lakes 1kx1k CCD camera cooled to -30o C at the Cassegrain focus. It is equipped with dual filter wheels, the first containing UBVRI scientific filters and the second RGBL color filters. Messier 1 Found 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula (known as M1) is a supernova remnant. The original supernova that formed the crab nebula was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Arab astronomers in 1054 AD as an incredibly bright “Guest star” which was visible for over twenty-two months. The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula is thought to have been an evolved star roughly ten times more massive than the Sun. -
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. -
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010
Binocular Universe: You're My Hero! December 2010 Phil Harrington on't you just love a happy ending? I know I do. Picture this. Princess Andromeda, a helpless damsel in distress, chained to a rock as a ferocious D sea monster loomed nearby. Just when all appeared lost, our hero -- Perseus! -- plunges out of the sky, kills the monster, and sweeps up our maiden in his arms. Together, they fly off into the sunset on his winged horse to live happily ever after. Such is the stuff of myths and legends. That story, the legend of Perseus and Andromeda, was recounted in last month's column when we visited some binocular targets within the constellation Cassiopeia. In mythology, Queen Cassiopeia was Andromeda's mother, and the cause for her peril in the first place. Left: Autumn star map from Star Watch by Phil Harrington Above: Finder chart for this month's Binocular Universe. Chart adapted from Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas (TUBA), www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm This month, we return to the scene of the rescue, to our hero, Perseus. He stands in our sky to the east of Cassiopeia and Andromeda, should the Queen's bragging get her daughter into hot water again. The constellation's brightest star, Mirfak (Alpha [α] Persei), lies about two-thirds of the way along a line that stretches from Pegasus to the bright star Capella in Auriga. Shining at magnitude +1.8, Mirfak is classified as a class F5 white supergiant. It radiates some 5,000 times the energy of our Sun and has a diameter 62 times larger. -
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory a Autumn Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory A Autumn Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye CASSIOPEIA Look for the ‘W’ 4 shape 3 Polaris URSA MINOR Notice how the constellations swing around Polaris during the night Pherkad Kochab Is Kochab orange compared 2 to Polaris? Pointers Is Dubhe Dubhe yellowish compared to Merak? 1 Merak THE PLOUGH Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in autumn. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 1.2 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. Close to the horizon is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan with the handle stretching to your left. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The two right-hand stars are called the Pointers. Can you tell that the higher of the two, Dubhe is slightly yellowish compared to the lower, Merak? Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white- hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you upwards to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the left are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. -
Interferometric Observations of the Hierarchical Triple System Algol
The Astrophysical Journal, 705:436–445, 2009 November 1 doi:10.1088/0004-637X/705/1/436 C 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. INTERFEROMETRIC OBSERVATIONS OF THE HIERARCHICAL TRIPLE SYSTEM ALGOL Sz. Csizmadia1,2,9, T. Borkovits3, Zs. Paragi2,4,P.Abrah´ am´ 5, L. Szabados5, L. Mosoni6,9, L. Sturmann7, J. Sturmann7, C. Farrington7, H. A. McAlister7, T. A. ten Brummelaar7, N. H. Turner7, and P. Klagyivik8 1 Institute of Planetary Research, DLR Rutherfordstr. 2 D-12489 Berlin, Germany 2 MTA Research Group for Physical Geodesy and Geodynamics, H-1585 Budapest, P.O. Box 585, Hungary; [email protected] 3 Baja Astronomical Observatory, H-6500 Baja, Szegedi ut,´ Kt. 766, Hungary 4 Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, Netherlands 5 Konkoly Observatory, H-1525 Budapest, P.O. Box 67, Hungary 6 Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Astronomy, Konigstuhl¨ 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany 7 Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3969, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA 8 Department of Astronomy, Roland Eotv¨ os¨ University, H-1517 Budapest, P.O. Box 32, Hungary Received 2009 March 16; accepted 2009 September 11; published 2009 October 12 ABSTRACT Algol is a triple stellar system consisting of a close semidetached binary orbited by a third object. Due to the disputed spatial orientation of the close pair, the third body perturbation of this pair is a subject of much research. In this study, we determine the spatial orientation of the close pair orbital plane using the CHARA Array, a six-element optical/IR interferometer located on Mount Wilson, and state-of-the-art e-EVN interferometric techniques. -
PUBLIC OBSERVING NIGHTS the William D. Mcdowell Observatory
THE WilliamPUBLIC D. OBSERVING mcDowell NIGHTS Observatory FREE PUBLIC OBSERVING NIGHTS WINTER Schedule 2019 December 2018 (7PM-10PM) 5th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 12th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 19th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 26th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884)? January 2019 (7PM-10PM) 2nd Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 9th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 16 Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 23rd, Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Orion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 30th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Orion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) February 2019 (7PM-10PM) 6th -
A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In
Abasic requirement for studying the heavens is determining where in the sky things are. To specify sky positions, astronomers have developed several coordinate systems. Each uses a coordinate grid projected on to the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of the Earth. The coordinate systems differ only in their choice of the fundamental plane, which divides the sky into two equal hemispheres along a great circle (the fundamental plane of the geographic system is the Earth's equator) . Each coordinate system is named for its choice of fundamental plane. The equatorial coordinate system is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system. It is also the one most closely related to the geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fun damental plane and the same poles. The projection of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere is called the celestial equator. Similarly, projecting the geographic poles on to the celest ial sphere defines the north and south celestial poles. However, there is an important difference between the equatorial and geographic coordinate systems: the geographic system is fixed to the Earth; it rotates as the Earth does . The equatorial system is fixed to the stars, so it appears to rotate across the sky with the stars, but of course it's really the Earth rotating under the fixed sky. The latitudinal (latitude-like) angle of the equatorial system is called declination (Dec for short) . It measures the angle of an object above or below the celestial equator. The longitud inal angle is called the right ascension (RA for short).