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The Denver Observer September 2015

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The Denver Observer September 2015 The Denver SEPTEMBER 2015 OBSERVER On the evening of the 27th, Coloradoans will get to see a total eclipse of the moon, like the one pictured here. (See story on page 5.) This image was taken near the end of totality during the April 15th, 2014 lunar eclipse, as seen in Lakewood, Colorado. Image © Jeff Tropeano SEPTEMBER SKIES by Zachary Singer On the “to-see” list for this month, we have a total lunar eclipse, a ance, and will be nearly 30° above the horizon in a darker sky. (The relatively easy-to-find example of a rare carbon star, two different sets planet’s eastern bearings and later sunrise are, of course, a harbinger of binary stars, a well-known and brilliant open cluster, and an equally of fall’s arrival.) well-known supernova remnant, as well as some notes on other hap- Saturn is now low penings in the solar system. in the west in the eve- Sky Calendar The big headline, of course, is the total lunar eclipse on the eve- ning; by the end of the ning of Sunday, September 27th; the first subtle (penumbral) darken- month, it will be close 5 Last-Quarter Moon ing begins at 6:12 p.m. For full details of the eclipse’s timing, as well to setting as the sky 13 New Moon as the Denver Astronomical Society’s public eclipse viewing event at becomes dark, and will 21 First-Quarter Moon Chamberlin Observatory, please see “Lunar Eclipse!,” on page 5. reappear this winter 27 Full Moon—Total Lunar Next to an eclipse, the motions of the planets might seem anticli- as a morning object in Eclipse (see story p. 5) mactic, but there are still Scorpius. Meanwhile, In the Observer sights to be seen. Among Neptune comes to op- President’s Message . 2 the first is Venus as a very position on the night of Society Directory. 2 thin, bright crescent, large Aug. 31/Sep. 1, and is therefore at its best around midnight at the be- in a telescope at dawn as ginning of the month—and at 10 p.m. at month’s end. Unlike a planet Schedule of Events . 2 September begins. Look nearer to us, Neptune’s size and appearance won’t change much as DAS News —S&S Optika to Close— 3 for the (-4.4)-magnitude Earth’s orbit begins to move our planet away from Neptune. The disk About the DAS . 3 planet about 14° above will shrink from a tiny 2.4” at opposition to a slightly tinier 2.3” two the eastern horizon at 6:00 months from now…. (For the newbies, Neptune should be a detectable Getting Your Bearings . 4 a.m.; it should be easy to disk at high power; if space permits next month, there will be some Lunar Eclipse! . 5 spot in the pre-dawn sky. help with finding the planet then.) DAS Picnic Images. 5 By month’s end, Venus Unfortunately, September’s meteor showers are worth noting only will have “fattened up” to to say that they’re hardly worth noting: The Aurigids, a minor shower, a lemon-wedge appear- will be obscured by a nearly full moon. Another minor shower, the Continued on Page 6 THE DENVER OBSERVER SEPTEMBER 2015 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Ron Hranac Society Directory Astronomy and Pseudo-Science DAS Executive Board President: Although most of us are not professional scientists, what we amateur astronomers do still rests sol- Ron Hranac 303-790-0893 idly on the accuracy of scientific facts and logical reasoning. When we deal with the general public, president@denverastro .org though, we’re occasionally confronted with the unscientific side of things. Vice President: Stuart Hutchins As I write this month’s President’s Message, the annual “Mars Spectacular” hoax is making its vp@denverastro .org rounds via the Internet: The claim is that Mars will appear as big as the full Moon in our night sky. Secretary: That’s clearly nonsense, but when the hoax surfaces every year, I get asked about it anyway. This year Jeff Tropeano was no exception. secretary@denverastro .org The origin of the hoax is the August 27, 2003, Mars opposition, when the red planet was unusually Treasurer: Michael Nowak near to Earth. Even during that close approach, Mars still looked like an orange “dot” to the unaided treasurer@denverastro .org eye—but when viewed through a telescope, at a moderate magnification of 75X, it would appear about Executive Board Members: the size of the naked-eye full Moon. (I enjoyed observing Mars around the time of the ’03 opposition, Johnny Barela Ed Scholes Jack Eastman Sorin although I don’t recall its appearance in the eyepiece being as big as the Moon.) Joe Gafford Ken Sturrock What the hoax leaves out, of course, is “when viewed through a telescope (in August of 2003).” Chuck Habenicht Dan Wray Instead, the hoax surfaces each summer, promising that in August of the current year, one will be able Past President, Ron Pearson President Emeritus, Larry Brooks to see a Moon-sized Mars. A variation of the hoax this year even has a photo with two moons in the sky, and the following text superimposed on the obviously Photoshopped image: “Aug 27th you will Committees see two moons in the sky, but only one will be the Moon. The other will be Mars. It won’t happen again Van Nattan-Hansen Scholarship Fund: Ron Pearson (Chair) until 2287. No one alive today has ever witnessed this happening.” PO Box 100621 Um, no, not even close to being true. Ever. Denver, CO. 80250-0621 For what it’s worth, the angular diameter of Mars as of mid-August this year is a tiny 3.7 arc-sec- EGK Dark Site Committee: Darrell Dodge, Interim Chair onds—some 500 times smaller than the hoaxers suggest, and barely large enough to see the planet’s darksite@denverastro .org disk, even in a telescope. IDA Representative: Another bit of the unscientific is UFOs. I’m not referring to legitimate unidentified flying objects, Dr. Robert Stencel which are just that: objects that are simply unidentified. (After all, people can be caught off guard the coloida@hotmail .com first time they see an Iridium flare or an International Space Station pass.) Rather, I’m talking about Volunteers or Appoint- the “flying saucer” variety. During the UFO craze of the late ’60s, a neighbor insisted he saw a UFO ed Representatives each night around sunset. One time I asked him to point it out, and there it was! (I explained that what ALCor: Darrell Dodge 303 932-1309 we were looking at was the planet Venus.) Continued on Page 5 Newsletter Editor: Zachary Singer 303 718-4188 DAS SCHEDULE editor@denverastro .org Newsletter Proofreaders: Darrell Dodge, Ron Hranac SEPTEMBER 2015 The Observer is available in color 4 E-Board Meeting—At DU’s Historic Chamberlin Observatory, 7:30 PM PDF format from the DAS website . 6 LAST “Solar Sunday” at S&S Optika—10:30 AM - 2 PM—See “DAS News” Website: Darrell Dodge 11-13 Dark Sky Weekend—EGK Dark Site & Brooks Observatory webmaster@denverastro .org 12-20 Okie-Tex Star Party—Kenton, OK IT Coordinator: Ken Sturrock 19 Open House—DU’s Historic Chamberlin Observatory—Starts at 8:30 PM itdept@denverastro .org 25 General Meeting at DU’s Olin Hall, 7:30 PM —Dr. John Bally External Outreach Coordinator: 26 LAST Backyard Star Party at S&S Optika—Starts at 8:00 PM Lindsey Shaw external@denverastro .org 27 Solar Day at Denver Museum of Nature and Science—10 AM - 4 PM Public Night Coordinator: 27 Total Lunar Eclipse: Open House—DU’s Chamberlin Observatory—Starts at 6:30 PM Hugh Davidson 303 679-0629 Librarian: During Open House, volunteer members of the DAS Public Nights feature a presentation on astronomical Phil Klos bring their telescopes to the Chamberlin Observa- subjects and a small-group observing session on the DAS Information Line: tory’s front (south) lawn, so the public can enjoy historic 20-inch telescope (weather permitting), at Cham- (303) 871-5172 views of the stars and planets, try out different berlin Observatory on Tuesday and Thursday evenings DAS Correspondence: telescope designs, and get advice from DAS mem- (except holidays), beginning at the following times: Denver Astronomical Society bers. The Observatory is open, too (costs listed March 10 - September 30 at 8:30 PM P.O. Box 102738 below), and its historic 20-inch telescope is open Denver, Colorado 80250 for observing with no reservations necessary. October 1 - March 9 at 7:30 PM president@denverastro .org Open House costs (non-members): If the skies are clear, Public Night costs (non-members): $4/adult, $2/person ($5/family), $1/person in inclement weather. The Executive Board conducts the business of $3/child and students with ID. DAS mem- the DAS at 7:30 p .m ., at Chamberlin Obser- DU students with ID, and DAS members free. bers and DU students with ID: free. vatory . Members of the public (non-DAS/DU, as above), please Please see the Schedule of Events for meeting make reservations via our website dates . All members are welcome . (www .denverastro .org) or call (303) 871-5172. http://www .denverastro .org The Denver Astronomical Society One Mile Nearer the Stars Page 2 THE DENVER OBSERVER SEPTEMBER 2015 DAS NEWS — S&S Optika to Close Its Doors — As many of you heard at the recent DAS General Meeting, Cathie and Tim of S&S Optika have decided to close the store—a move that leaves many of us sad to see them go, but excited for their future happiness… We’ll have more to say about this next month, but in the meantime, we were able to make room in the Observer for a note from them: S & S Optika thanks YOU for 43 years.
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