alactic Observer John J. McCarthy Observatory G Volume 12, No. 2 February 2019 Ice-Covered Branches Glisten Under the Illumination of a Full Wolf Moon - Photo: Bill Cloutier The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Production & Design Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky Technical Support It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Bob Lambert has established itself as a significant educational and recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Barone Jim Johnstone Colin Campbell Carly KleinStern Dennis Cartolano Bob Lambert Route Mike Chiarella Roger Moore Jeff Chodak Parker Moreland, PhD Bill Cloutier Allan Ostergren Doug Delisle Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Louise Gagnon Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Paul Woodell Tina Hartzell Amy Ziffer In This Issue OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT .................................... 4 JOHN GLENN AND THE FLIGHT OF FREEDOM 7 ................... 22 VALENTINE DOME .......................................................... 4 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 23 SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON ............................................ 5 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 23 UPDATE ON ULTIMA THULE .............................................. 6 COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 28 PERILOUS TIMES AHEAD IN THE GALACTIC NEIGHBORHOOD .7 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 28 CHINA ON THE FAR SIDE .................................................. 8 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 28 GALACTIC CANNIBALISM ................................................. 8 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 28 SATURN'S EPHEMERAL RINGS ........................................... 9 LAGRANGE POINTS ........................................................ 29 A DAY ON SATURN ......................................................... 10 NASA'S GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE RESOURCE ............... 29 ROCK STRENGTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE CONTACT INFORMATION ................................................. 30 ON OCEAN WORLDS ....................................................... 11 RUMBLE IN THE ASTEROID BELT ...................................... 12 SPOTLIGHT ON THE MCCARTHY OBSERVATORY'S METEORITE COLLECTION ............................................... 12 BENNU ......................................................................... 13 CRATERING RATE CHANGES ON THE MOON AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EARTH ........................................ 19 SUPERNOVA ................................................................... 20 SOVIET MOON PROGRAM ............................................... 21 February Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac The Earth's orbit, like all planets that are bound to the Sun, is elliptical although its eccentricity (amount by which the orbit deviates from a perfect circle) is small. At its closest point to the Sun (perihelion), around January 3rd, the Earth is approximately 91.7 million miles (147 km) from the Sun while at the furthest, around July 4th, the Earth is approximately 94.8 million miles (152 km) from the Sun (a 3.1 million mile difference). The images (above) were taken in early July 2017 and January 2018 with the same camera and identical settings. While the difference in the diameter of the Sun is small (with the 3.5% difference in the max/min distance), it is still noticeable. The sunlight falling on the Earth is slightly more intense in January but with the northern hemisphere tilted away from the Sun and the Sun lower in the sky, the days are shorter and colder. Photos: Bill Cloutier Out the Window on feet (122 meters) above the adja- biter. Older peaks poke through Your Left" cent mare. The dome's north- the surface of the dome -- sev- It's been more than 45 years since south profile (shown below) was eral are visible in the photo on we left the last footprint on the generated from data collected by the following page, as well as a dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as a na- the Lunar ReconnaissanceMare Serenitatis Or- faint rille (fissure) that traverses tion founded on exploration and the conquest of new frontiers, we appear to have lost our will to lead as a space-faring nation. But, what if the average citizen had the means to visit our only natural satellite; LROC ACT-REACT-QuickMap http://target.lroc.asu.edu/q3/ Valentine Dome Lunar seas are actually expansive low- lying plains formed by ancient lava flows what would they see out the window of their spacecraft as they entered orbit around the Moon? This column may provide some thoughts to ponder when planning your visit (if only in your imagination). A broad, low-profile lava dome is visible as the waxing Moon achieves first quarter phase on Feb- ruary 23rd and the Sun is low in the lunar sky. Valentine Dome is located along the northwestern shore of Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity), along the Caucasus Mountains and just north of the breech into the Imbrium basin (30.9° latitude, 10.1° longitude). It is one of the largest domes visible on the lunar surface, measuring ap- proximately 18.6 miles (30 km) across its heart-shaped surface. Lava domes are volcanic pro- trusions created by an upwelling of magma. On average, the top of the Valentine dome rises 400 4 • Feb 2019 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org the dome in an east-west direc- For scale, crater Linné is 1.5 Linné brightens as the Moon tion. A second, much smaller miles (2.4 km) across. Craters F waxes, becoming a bright white dome, lies just to the north of and B are 3 miles (4.8 km) in spot under the sunlight of a Full Valentine. diameter. Despite its small size, Moon. Super Blood nating the Moon. If the Earth did ash into the upper atmosphere that Wolf Moon not have an atmosphere, the Moon can effectively block refracted sun- Lunar eclipse watchers in New would completely disappear within light during an eclipse. On the England on the night of January the Earth’s shadow or umbra. With other end of the scale, an L4 value 20/21 were hampered by the af- an atmosphere, sunlight is refracted is indicative of a relatively clear at- termath of a major snow and ice or bent around the Earth, provid- mosphere. The L value for this ob- storm, frigid temperatures and arc- ing feeble illumination to an object server in New Milford was be- tic winds. In New Milford, skies within its shadow. The intensity of tween L2 and L3. cleared in time to view the partial the scattered light varies by the The Moon in the upper photo is eclipse phase, but a cloud layer amount of water vapor and particu- not illuminated evenly, with the moved into the area from the west late (dust, ash and other debris) in northern limb much brighter than around the time of totality that the atmosphere. This material can the southern limb. Since the Moon’s started at 11:41 pm EST. At first, block, filter and/or scatter the sun- orbit is slightly inclined, its path the eclipsed Moon was visible light as it’s being refracted, thereby through the Earth’s shadow will through intermittent openings in affecting the appearance of the vary, something traveling through the cloud deck, however; by mid- Moon. French astronomer Andre the upper half and, at other times, eclipse, the cloud deck had thick- Danjon created a five-point scale traveling through the lower half. ened. The temperature at mid- in the 1920s to evaluate the Moon’s The Moon traveled though the up- eclipse was 5°, with gusty winds appearance during totality. An L0 per half of the umbra during and frozen toes. value is so dark that little detail is January’s eclipse, so the Moon’s During a total eclipse, the Earth visible. This can occur when a ma- southern limb was closer to the blocks direct sunlight from illumi- jor volcanic eruption hurls dust and center of the shadow and therefore West Coast observer, Conor Cloutier, reported fair weather conditions on Sunday evening with a temperature around 40°, but Fully eclipsed supermoon captured around 12:15 AM EST an eclipsed Moon darker in appearance on January 21, 2019. Photo: Bill Cloutier (estimated between an L1 and L2) http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org JJMO Feb 2019 • 5 darker. The crimson color is the result of the Earth’s atmosphere filtering out the shorter wavelength blue-colored light. January’s full moon occurred when the Moon was closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit (the Moon’s distance from the Earth can vary as much as 26,500 miles or 42,600 km). When this occurs, the Moon can appear up to 14% larger in the sky and 30% brighter, and is commonly re- ferred to as a “supermoon.” To add to the excitement, sev- eral observers photographing the Moon at the start of totality man- aged to capture the flash from the impact of an object on the lunar surface, west of Mare Humorum (Sea of Moisture) at 11:41 p.m. EST. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England recorded a second flash two minutes later. Update on Image from the Griffith Observatory broadcast and the impact flash Ultima Thule Data from the New Horizons spacecraft’s successful flyby of the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 in the early morning of January 1, 2019 will