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Announcements New Scientist Live The Orbit Issue 302 Newsletter of the Worthing Astronomical Society Dec 2015 Forthcoming Meeting Speakers and subjects: 16th December 2015 - Video Announcements TUESDAY OBSERVING EVENINGS I am very pleased to inform you that the observatory is operational again. Members evening resume with effect from Tuesday the 15th December from 7.30pm till around 11.00pm and every Tuesday thereafter. If in doubt about the sky conditions I can be reached on 01903 505346 during the day or on the observatory mobile 07754821357. All are welcome. Further to this members should be aware that at the moment the only person that has access to the observatory is Graham Boots who has fitted a combination lock and is the only person who knows the access code. The Executive Committee has requested that he either provides the access code or replaces the lock with the previous key lock. It is the intent of the Executive Committees to provide training in the use of the observatory for any member wishing to undertake it. Suitably qualified members would then have unrestricted access to this facility. To avoid any clash of interests a Booking System will be implemented on the Web Site. LUNAR OCCULTATION OF ALDEBAREN On Wednesday 23rd December 2015 the first magnitude orange red giant star Aldebaran will be occulted by the twelve day old moon (almost full) at 18h 10m GMT and reappear at 19h 12m GMT at our location. These times are fairly precise for Worthing. This event can be observed with the naked eye although binoculars or a small telescope will be useful. Aldebaran is a large it might show a fade before the events of disappearance and gradual brightening at reappearance. Another star in Scorpius called Antares which is a red super giant star and is much bigger has been recorded as showing a fade many times. The moon will be low in the east. Please telephone me on 01903 505346 if unsure what to expect. Our chairman attended a conference at the British Library : New Scientist Live - Instant Expert: Frontiers of Astronomy He has kindly provided the meeting notes which are a bit large for Orbit but I have published them on our Web Site http://www.worthingastronomicalsociety.org The link can be found under the Orbit menu. Almanac ALMANAC All times U.T for B.S.T. Add one hour PHENOMENA Rise and set times are for Worthing December December / January Day Hour LUNAR 17th 08 Neptune 3º S of Moon 20th 01 Uranus 1º N of Moon December Date Time Rise Set 22nd 04 Winter solstice 29th 03 Mercury at elongation east 20º First quarter 18th 15.17 12.04 00.19 31st 18 Jupiter 1º N of Moon Perigee 21st 09.01 368,417 km Full Moon 25th 11.11 16.38 07.28 January January 3rd 19 Mars 1.5º S of Moon 5th 23 Pluto at solar conjunction Last quarter 2nd 05.31 00.02 11.50 7th 00 Venus 3º S of Moon Apogee 2nd 11.53 404,277 km 7th 05 Saturn 3º S of Moon New Moon 10th 01.31 07.49 17.14 9th 04 Venus 0.1º N of Saturn Perigee 15th 02.10 369,619 km 7th 05 Saturn 3º S of Moon First quarter 16th 23.27 11.08 00.39 10th 18 Mercury 2º S of Moon 14th 14 Mercury at inferior conjunction EARTH 16th 06 Uranus 1º N of Moon December Sunrise Sunset Minima of Algol 18th 07.59 15.56 December 15th 07.00 18th 03.48 21st 00.36 25th 08.02 16.00 23rd 21.30 26th 18.18 January January 7th 05.30 10th 02.18 12th 23.12 15th 20.00 18th 16.48 2nd 08.03 16.07 10th 08.01 16.16 16th 07.57 16.25 Lunar Occultations Times as at Greenwich U.T. PLANETS Date Z.C. No Mag Phase U.T. (As at December 17th) December Rises Sets Mag Mercury 09.24 16.52 -0.57 23rd Aldebaran 0.9 Diss 18.10 Evening object quite easily observable into the New Year 23rd Aldebaran 0.9 Reapp 19.12 Venus 04.16 14.01 -4.30 24th 741 5.6 Diss 04.56 Easy morning object throughout this period, ideal period to see it 25th 1029 5.2 Reapp 23.38 Mars 02.05 13.06 +1.40 Early morning object in central Virgo near Spica 29th 1409 5.0 Reapp 03.22 Jupiter 23.27 12.16 -1.92 Morning object in south-eastern Leo, now rising before midnight January Saturn 06.34 15.06 +0.61 Pre-dawn object in Ophiuchus, very close to Venus in early January 12th 3188 5.6 Diss 16.35 Uranus 12.47 01.55 +5.78 16th 219 4.8 Diss 18.44 Early to mid=evening object in southern Pisces 19th 667 5.0 Diss 23.59 Neptune 11.39 22.09 +7.92 20th 669 3.8 Diss 00.15 Evening object in Aquarius 20th 677 4.8 Diss 00.55 Pluto 09.09 17.31 +14.27 Approaching conjunction with the Sun - but invisible to us anyway 20th Aldebaran 0.9 Diss 03.24 20th 806 5.0 Diss 22.59 21st 944 5.9 Diss 18.42 Richard Godley Phoebe - Saturn’s 9th Largest Moon Phoebe - Saturn’s 9th Largest Moon By Jay Nair On the 16th of August 1899, astronomer William Henry Pickering discovered Phoebe using photographic plates from the Boyden Observatory near Arequipa in Peru. The plates were actually taken by one DeLisle Stewart, a renowned American astronomer. Phoebe is Saturn’s 9th Moon and was the first target met by the Cassini spacecraft on arrival at the Saturnian System in 2004. So this is the view that Cassini encountered on its arrival. Pheobe from Cassini. Phoebe is an irregular satellite of Saturn, which means that it’s orbit is inclined from the plane of its parent planet and in this case, the orbit is retrograde or opposite to Saturn’s direction of rotation. Based on this information, it is postulated that Phoebe was probably a captured Comet which probably originated in the Kuiper Belt. An unusual aspect of this Moon is that it possesses its own ring. This ring is not directly visible; however it is tilted at 27 degrees from the equatorial plane of Saturn and was seen in infrared by the Spitzer Space Telescope. It is understood that the ring was formed from micrometeoroid impacts on to Phoebe. Artist’s impression of Phoebe’s Ring As can be seen above, this ring can extend to 128 to 207 times the radius of Saturn, which will make it larger than then Saturn’s main rings. At 1/16 the size our own Moon, Phoebe is roughly spherical in shape and has a radius of 214Km, and rotates on its own axis every 9 hours and 16 minutes, with an orbit around Saturn taking 18 months. Most of Saturn’s moons have bright surfaces; however Phoebe exhibits a quite dark appearance with a very low albedo (light reflection) and can be described as lampblack in colour. This has led scientists to believe that Phoebe was probably a captured asteroid but this theory has now been discarded as Cassini has detected quantities of ice Phoebe - Saturn’s 9th Largest Moon below the surface and even carbon dioxide at the surface. Phoebe is heavily cratered indicating large impacts in the past. Some of these craters are up to 80Km across with large walls as high as 16Km. We have already tried to name some of these Craters as can be seen below. Phoebe’s Craters. It is understood that the surface temperature at Phoebe is -193Deg C. That quite cold, however again there are strong indications of large quantities of ice below the surface. Saturn’s Moons are definitely exciting the “Life Elsewhere” brigade, as we have now discovered definite signs of water, carbon Dioxide and other hydrocarbons on some the Moons. So I believe we should continue the exploration of our Giant Planets and their family of interesting Moons to determine if Earth is or is not the only planet with life. Saturn and its Moons and I would like to wish all readers a Happy Christmas and an Enjoyable and Successful Astronomical Year in 2016. Jay Nair – Dec 2015. Proposed Dark Sky Reserve Status in the South Downs Lecture Review Dan has worked for the South Downs National Park Authority for the last three years and has been very involved in seeking for the South Downs National Park to become a Dark Sky Reserve. Our society is very interested in his project becoming successful as our astronomical observatory is sited in the grounds of Windlesham House School, Washington which is located within the South Downs National Park. This area is already a country side protected zone and has no street lights near our observatory. Our observatory has been at this school since 2005. Both the school and our society have invested heavily in our observatory for the benefit of the pupils. Members and our guests act as volunteers operating the observatory and giving talks on many aspects of astronomy to the pupils. Dan’s occupation covers many areas including planning, external lighting, conducting various surveys and conservation of wild life generally. His main objective is for our local National Park to achieve Dark Sky status someday. Dan is also an active amateur astronomer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. One of the most marvellous sights we humans can experience is the dark starry night sky yet for most of us in the UK, this view is blighted by sky glow from the external lighting systems we employed during the twentieth century.
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