Highlights of the April Sky

- - - 1st - - - First Quarter Moon 6:21 am EDT A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society DAWN: Saturn and Mars are 1° apart, with Jupiter about 6° to the upper right.  

- - - 3rd - - - PM: Venus is in the . The brilliant planet will not be closer to the Seven KAS Sisters unl April 2028.

- - - 7th - - - Full Moon General Meeting: Friday, April 3 @ 7:00 pm 10:35 pm EDT

- - - 14th - - - Observing Session: Saturday, April 11 @ 8:00 pm DAWN: The Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars form an arc that spans 20° above the south-southeastern horizon. Observing Session: Saturday, April 25 @ 8:00 pm

Last Quarter Moon 6:56 pm EDT ― ALL CANCELED DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ―

- - - 15th - - - DAWN: The Moon is 3° below Saturn, with Jupiter and Mars flanking the pair.

- - - 16th - - - Inside the Newsletter. . . DAWN: The Moon is nearly 4° to lower right of Mars. March Meeng Minutes...... p. 2 - - - 22nd - - - AM: Lyrid meteor shower Board Meeng Minutes...... p. 4 peaks (10 - 20 meteors/hr.). KAS Library Update...... p. 4 New Moon 10:26 pm EDT Observaons...... p. 5

- - - 25th - - - Messier Marathon Report...... p. 7 DUSK: A thin waxing crescent Moon is 3.5° right NASA Night Sky Notes...... p. 8 of . Membership of the KAS...... p. 9 - - - 26th - - - DUSK: The Moon is 4° to the April Night Sky...... p. 10 lower right of (’ southern horn), KAS Board & Announcements...... p. 11 Venus is 7° to Moon’s le. Miller Planisphere...... p. 12 - - - 30th - - - First Quarter Moon 4:38 pm EDT   March Meeting Minutes

The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society Leonard James Ashby Telescope will [hopefully] be held on was brought to order by President Richard Bell on Friday, Saturday, May 30th at 6pm. All KAS members are strongly March 6, 2020 at 7:09 pm EST. Approximately 63 members encouraged to attend. Please! and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center (KAMSC). Richard ended his report with an announcement. He will not be seeking another term on the KAS Board at the end of the In his President’s Report, Richard started with an update on . Richard said that this is his 26th year as a KAS member Jeff Goldblum and National Geographic shooting footage for and 25 of those have been spent serving on the Board (15 as the Disney+ series The World According to Jeff Goldblum at president). He feels he’s accomplished all he can and it’s Arizona Sky Village (ASV). The crew was due to arrive at time to step aside. Therefore, he made the announcement so 7pm on March 1st, but arrived 3 hours late. They were soon in the year to give other members time to step forward planning to record scenes from inside Rick Beno’s and serve. Richard said he still plans to act as Newsletter observatory, but never made it in there (much to Rick’s Editor and Webmaster as well as serve as Program and dismay). Instead, they asked some ASV residents to stage a Membership Chair. Much of his effort will also go into mock observing session (as it was totally overcast) on Rick’s promoting and encouraging use of Owl Observatory and the cement pad and this is where all the recording took place. Remote Telescope. After a few chaotic hours, the crew packed up their gear and left at 1am. Mike Patton said it wasn't worth all the effort. The evening’s guest speaker, Dr. Elias Aydi, is a Research Hopefully the footage shot will survive editing and be Associate in the Physics & Astronomy Department at released later this year or early 2021. Mike & Kathy did get Michigan State University. He graduated from the University a nice photo with Mr. Goldblum (see below), so that was of Cape Town with a PhD in astronomy and got his Masters something! at Notre Dame University in Beirut. His research interests involve working on eruptive stars and optical transients. The Richard thanked all those members that recently volunteered title of his well-received presentation was Where is their time with community outreach. Dave Garten, Scott Everybody? The Fermi Paradox. Macfarlane, and Don Stilwell passed out KAS literature at the Nature Center’s new "Club Connection" event on Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light- distant, is the nearest star February 8th. Arya Jayatilaka and his daughter Akila joined to the Sun. An exoplanet, Proxima Centauri b, was found Don at Family Science Night on February 19th at Hastings orbiting this red dwarf star in 2016. The discovery of a Public Library. Don also setup a table on February 29th second planet was announced in April 2019, but remains when the Battle Creek Symphony performed The Planets. unconfirmed. If intelligent life exists on Proxima Centauri b Richard then covered upcoming outreach, including and they observed the planets of our solar system with a Vicksburg Middle School’s annual Science Night on March large telescope, they would see Earth as it appeared 4 years 11th (volunteers for this event included Dave Garten, Arya, ago. This is due to the time needed for light to travel the Thenuka, and Akila Jayatilaka, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and distance between the two worlds. This phenomenon is Dave Woolf). known as lookback time. In another example, if an alien civilization about 50.7 light-years away focused a very Greg Sirna (unable to attend due to a non-coronavirus powerful telescope on the Moon, they would witness the first illness) e-mailed Richard some pictures of the new cabinet Moon landing on July 20, 1969. for Owl Observatory. This cabinet will secure eyepieces, filters, cameras, etc. when not in use. The dedication of the The Milky Way Galaxy is approximately 100,000 light-years in diameter. The Sun is located about two-thirds (or about 28,000 light-years) from the galactic center. It is estimated to contain 200 - 400 billion stars. The nearest big galaxy to the Milky Way is Andromeda (M31), located about 2.5 million light-years away. Civilizations in M31 with even bigger telescopes pointed at the solar system would see an Earth devoid of humans. Instead they would see Homo habilis, the first human ancestors known to use tools.

The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field was released in 2012. The Hubble Space Telescope took an equivalent exposure of 23 days over the course of 10 years in an area of the sky measuring only 2.3ʹ × 2.0ʹ. It contains around 5,500 galaxies, the most distant of which is 13.2 billion light-years away. The observable universe is estimated to be 93 billion light- years in diameter. Although, thanks to the universe being 13.8 billion years old, we cannot actually view galaxies more distant than 13.8 billion light-years. Light simply hasn’t had enough time to travel further than that.

Prime Focus Page 2 April 2020 Most stars in the Milky Way are now thought to contain at least one planet of its own. Today, we know of over 4,000 exoplanets orbiting stars other than the Sun (most of these stars are relatively nearby). Therefore, our galaxy alone likely contains trillions of planets. The observable universe contains at least 100 billion galaxies. Doing a bit of math, there are 1021 total stars in the universe. So, the total number of planets in the universe is staggeringly large!

Dr. Aydi then covered the two most successful techniques to discover exoplanets utilized today, the and transit methods. The Kepler Space Telescope and Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) were also discussed. (Richard covered these topics in his talk on exoplanets last year. Please see pages 2 - 4 of the March 2019 issue of Prime Focus to learn more.) Dr. Elias Aydi, a Research Associate in the Physics and The existence of planets around distant stars, along with Astronomy Department at MSU, was the guest speaker at possible inhabitants, has long been speculated. Therefore, in our meeting on March 6th. 1950, the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, asked (over lunch with his colleagues) “Where is everybody?” If climate of their planet? If this were the case, alien races the Milky Way has been inhabited with intelligent wouldn’t last long enough to discover one another. If alien extraterrestrial civilizations for tens of million of years then civilizations do exist, but are infrequent, then they would be they’ve had plenty of time to spread out and explore the scattered throughout the Galaxy. This would make visitation Galaxy, including visits to Earth. Since no visitations have or even communication very impractical. Perhaps most alien occurred, intelligent life beyond Earth must not exist. societies aren’t transmitting signals. And finally, maybe highly advanced alien cultures just don’t find us interesting. In 1961, the American astronomer Frank Drake developed Dr. Aydi used the analogy of driving down the highway. If what became known as the Drake Equation, used to calculate you saw an ant hill would you bother to stop and try to share the number of currently active communicative extraterrestrial your technology? Dr. Aydi then asked “would we want them civilizations. Making various assumptions for the variables, to visit us?” If our history is any indication, a less advanced the number of advance alien societies can range from 20 to culture often suffers when visited by a technologically 50,000,000 in our galaxy alone. However, Dr. Aydi argued superior people. Very alien cultures may frankly be too that non-intelligent life is far more abundant in the universe. different for us to understand. And finally, maybe there is nobody else out there and it is just us. Bacteria appeared very early in Earth’s history, perhaps within the first 100 million years. Therefore, this type of life KAS members shared observing reports after the snack must be common on suitable planets within their star’s break. Aaron Roman managed to spot Venus in broad habitable zone (the distance necessary for liquid water to daylight with both binoculars and a telescope. Aaron said it exist on the surface). Dr Aydi speculated that NASA will was easier to spot in binoculars first, since Venus was discover bacterial life on one of the moons of Jupiter or equidistant between the Sun and Moon on March 2nd. Roger Saturn within the next 10 to 20 years. As for intelligent life, Williams was able to image galaxies from his relocated and that took an additional 3 billion years to appear on Earth. If light-polluted backyard observatory on March 4th. Paul it weren't for the comet or asteroid that crashed into Earth Asmus witnessed the launch of more SpaceX Starlink about 65 million years, bringing about the end of the satellites from 3.5 miles away on January 29th. Someone dinosaur age, intelligent life like humans may have taken asked about the current brightness of Betelgeuse and Richard considerably longer to appear. Additionally, the formation mentioned that it is brightening again. It looks like the recent of the East African Rift changed the climate of central Africa dimming was part of the normal 430-day variation cycle. If from forest to savannahs. This forced early primates to start Betelgeuse continues to brighten at its current rate, it will walking on two legs and gradually develop tools, instead of return to full brightness by September. happily jumping from tree to tree. This, along with the discovery of fire, helped primates develop larger brains, Under astronomical news. Richard shared a video of a which would lead to homo sapiens. These sequence of spectacular daytime meteor captured from a dashcam in events are no doubt unique to Earth, but the shear abundance Slovenia on February 28th. On March 4th, NASA released of other planets make it highly probable that intelligent life Curiosity’s highest resolution panorama to date. On the exists elsewhere in the Galaxy or universe. following day, NASA announced the new name for the Mars 2020 rover: Perseverance. Jack Price mentioned that NASA So, if intelligent life beyond Earth exists, where are they? is asking amateur astronomers to record and submit images The first possibility is that they are not yet advanced enough with streaks from those pesky Starlink satellites. Some to communicate with radio telescopes. Maybe we are the European countries are preparing to complain to the United most advanced civilization in the Galaxy thus far? Nations about the effects the satellites are having on Additionally, maybe intelligent races don’t last very long. professional astronomy. Karen Woodworth mentioned Perhaps they exist for several hundred years and snuff Earth’s latest temporary mini-moon. The meeting concluded themselves out by nuclear war or severely altering the at 9:16 pm.

Prime Focus Page 3 April 2020 members were available to attend Statewide Astronomy Night at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on April 17th. Finally, developments in the planning for KAS to host a meeting of the Great Lakes Region of the Astronomical League and Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers had made it unfeasible to proceed for the current year.

Under New Business, Dave suggested a mini star party for a The KAS Board met on March 8, 2020 at Sunnyside Church. few members at his dark sky site in the Manistee National The meeting began promptly at 5:00 pm EDT. Those present Forest in August. The idea was met with enough interest to were Richard Bell, Joe Comiskey, Dave Garten, Scott continue planning, with a sign-up sheet to show the level of Macfarlane, Rich Mather, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and interest. Roger Williams (Aaron Roman arrived at 6pm due to Daylight Time issues). Don presented the Treasurer’s With the end of business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 Report, which showed the right totals but which failed to pm. The next meeting was set for 5:00 pm on April 19th (due reconcile the checks properly. There was apparently a data to Easter on the 12th) at Sunnyside. entry error, but Don had not been able to locate it before the meeting began. Richard reiterated his criticism that the Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams account balance report needs new categories, since it currently shows over $20,000 in the Remote Telescope Account, which is misleading.

Richard’s summary of March/April events included Messier KAS Library Update Marathon on March 21st, the general meeting on April 3rd, and Public Observing Sessions on April 11th and April 25th. by Karen Woodworth, Ph.D. (In the time since the board meeting, developments in the COVID-19 virus area led to daily changes and difficulty in Twenty-three items (textbooks and CD-ROMs) have been scheduling any events.) removed from our library. They were offered to members at the February meeting and then were offered to students at the In the Follow-up category, the Owl Observatory Upgrade Kalamazoo Area Mathematics & Science Center. We are Project was discussed. The donated 10-inch Meade Classic keeping more recent editions of astronomy textbooks and LX200 was tested by Scott and found to work properly. also some vintage textbooks. Donations are still being However, it was dustier than anticipated and will need some accepted for the library. Thank you to Paul McKinley, who serious cleaning before it is sold. Richard will look at this. donated two items at the March meeting. If you would like Additional items to be purchased for Owl Observatory to donate items to the library, please talk to me at a meeting included Sequence Generator Pro software, TheSkyX and/or put them on the "returned items" portion of the shelf. Serious Edition software, a 2× PowerMate for use in planetary photography, and an AC-DC power supply for the Do you know how to find the library catalogue on the dew-control system. Richard estimated the cost of these website? Go to kasonline.org and hover over the "Resources" items at $650, and Joe moved to authorize Richard to make tab. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on "KAS Library" the purchase. After a second by Dave, the motion passed. and you'll find the list of holdings (the catalogue) under Dave had been working on the motorized roll-off roof. He information about how to check out books. Which categories reported having all the basic parts needed to control the roof of materials are you most interested in? Please let me know but still needing smaller fasteners, etc. to assemble the unit. with an email or talk to me at a KAS meeting. Here are your Some of the parts previously OK’d from Astronomy choices: Solutions were regarded as not necessary, since they were aimed towards remote operation, while we only required Amateur Astronomy, Astrophysics, General, Historical motorized operation with supervision. This would also save Fiction [pertaining to astronomy], Science Fiction, Solar significant money. Dave estimated the remaining cost at System, Textbooks, DVDs, Miscellaneous. $360. After a motion by Don and second by Joe, the Board voted to authorize the expenditure. Finally, the dedication Knowing what you'd most like to check out will help when ceremony for the Leonard James Ashby Telescope was set accepting or soliciting donations of materials. for May 30th when May 16th was found to interfere with a scheduled wedding reception at KNC. 6:00 pm appeared to At the February and March meetings, I announced the return be the preferred time. of the KAS Puzzle Challenge! Here's how it works: Check out the "Celestial Planisphere" puzzle, put it together, take a On the topic of year 2020 outreach, Jack had organized the photo of the completed puzzle with yourself and anyone else helpers needed for Vicksburg Middle School Science night who helped assemble the puzzle, print and date the photo, on March 11th. Jack and Dave were planning to attend the and tape the photo into the box to join the photos that are Barry County Science Festival at Pierce Cedar Creek on already there. This is a 1,000-piece puzzle, although since March 21st (subsequently canceled). A request from Lakeside there's a piece missing it's really a 999-piece puzzle. Center Elementary School for March 21st encountered too Donations of additional astronomy-themed puzzles with all many conflicts, and the Board agreed to turn it down, with a of their pieces included will be happily accepted into the request for earlier notification in the future. At least two KAS library.

Prime Focus Page 4 April 2020 Our secretary, Roger Williams, omitted one bit of business I The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) brought up at end of the board meeting on March 8th. With is, as the name suggests, an asteroid impact early warning news of the coronavirus pandemic building, I wondered if we system operated by the University of Hawaii. Two 20-inch would have to cancel at least the general meeting on April (0.5-meter) telescopes, one atop Mauna Loa and another on 3rd. A couple of board members (I won’t say who) were very Haleakala, automatically scan the entire sky several times doubtful of the possibility of cancellation and thought I was every clear night looking for hazardous near-Earth asteroids. overreacting. However, I could see the writing on the wall. Like other similar survey projects, such as NEAT and Pan- A few days later, I e-mailed Mike Sinclair to ask about the STARRS, ATLAS has observed and discovered other items likelihood of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) closing of interest like supernovae, variable stars, and comets. down. Mike replied “We ain’t closing anytime soon.” Two days later KPS shutdown until after spring break. At that And a comet is exactly what the telescope on Mauna Loa point, there wasn’t a single case of COVID-19 in Kalamazoo found on December 28, 2019. Once confirmed, the comet County. Obviously, things developed very quickly that week. was given the designation C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). According Currently, Michigan ranks third in the number of deaths and to their slightly-dated website, ATLAS has discovered at fourth in the number of cases. least 37 other comets. This one might be special though. At the time of its discovery, ATLAS Y4 was only a 19.6- On March 23rd, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a magnitude fuzzball in Ursa Major and 273 million miles (2.9 stay-at-home order for Michigan through at least April 13th. AU) from the Sun. Its is inclined by 45° with respect to By this point, I had already made the decision to cancel the the and it currently has an of 6,000 April 3rd general meeting and the Public Observing Sessions years. After enough observations of the new comet were on April 11th and 25th. Frankly, our activities in May are in made, its precise orbit was calculated. That orbit bore an doubt as well. Our special guest speaker for the May meeting uncanny resemblance to the Great Comet of 1844, which doesn’t want to give an in-person presentation. I don’t blame reached 2-magnitude and sported a 10° tail in January 1845. him one bit. My guess is that KPS will cancel in-person Evidently, that comet and ATLAS Y4 are fragments of a classes for the remainder of the school year soon. I’m even larger body that broke up approximately 5,000 years ago. skeptical of being able to hold our telescope dedication on May 30th. It’s March 31st as I type this and COVID-19 cases What’s causing all the excitement is the sudden increase in haven’t even peaked yet. Experts say that won’t occur until brightness the comet experienced between February and the mid- to late April. What matters most is that everyone self- end of March. ATLAS Y4 experienced a 4,000-fold increase quarantines as best they can and practice social distancing. in brightness, from magnitude 17 to 8. Under dark, moonless Our guest speakers (I hope), the new telescope, and the night skies that makes it an easy target in binoculars. This dramatic sky will still be there after this nightmare is over. increase in brightness was caused by volatile ices on the comets surface suddenly sublimating (changing phases from However, there’s one thing that we can’t stop or delay until ice directly into gas) as it nears the warmth of the Sun. This the pandemic is over: a possibly very bright comet! phenomenon is common for comets that are venturing into the inner solar system for the first time. The question is will this increase in brightness continue or will the comet gradually fizzle out, as has happened so many times before? Recent examples include Comet Kohoutek in 1974 and Comet ISON in 2013. Much of this depends on the diameter of ATLAS Y4’s nucleus. In the case of ISON, its nucleus turned out to be only about 0.8 km and was nothing more than a rubble pile. It crumbled into pieces on Thanksgiving as it neared the Sun. If ATAS Y4 is more typical in size, say 3 to 5 km, and contains lots of dust, then it could put on one helluva show! Goodness know, we need and deserve it.

On average, Earthlings are supposed to enjoy one bright comet per decade. That has been the trend recently, but favoring the Southern Hemisphere. The last “great comet” was C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy), which reached a maximum magnitude of -3 or -4 and sported a 40° straight tail. That comet’s nucleus was also fairly small, but managed to survive its close passage around the Sun. Before that was C/2006 P1 (McNaught), the brightest comet to grace our This is one of the two custom built 20-inch f/2.0 Wright skies in over 40 years. That beauty reached a peak magnitude Schmidt telescopes that discovered Comet C/2019 Y4 of -5.5 and was adorned with a drop-dead gorgeous fan- (ATLAS) on December 28, 2019. shaped dust tail that made me green with envy. It was briefly visible to the unaided eye north of the equator, but we Prime Focus Page 5 April 2020 in West Michigan didn’t get to see it thanks to typically overcast January winter skies.

Technically, the last naked eye comet we northerners got to see was C/2011 L4 Pan-STARRS, which briefly reached 1st magnitude in March 2013. Several amateurs reported viewing the comet with the unaided eye, but the bright dusk sky made it difficult around here (or at least for me). Before that was 17P/Holmes in 2007. That comet experienced a half a million increase in brightness in October of that year and appeared as a distinct yellow dot in Perseus. Both were fine targets with camera and telescope, but neither qualified as “great comets.” For that, you have to go all the way back to 1996 and 1997.

Comet Hyakutake was the first bright comet I ever saw, since we had a bright-comet drought in the 1980’s. Hyakutake reached a peak brightness of 0-magnitude in late- March 1996 and its magnificent tail stretched over 80°! It The scene above, generated with Starry Night Pro, shows came closer to Earth than any comet had in 200 years. At its the position of ATLAS Y4 on May 19, 2020 at 9:45 pm closest, you could see it move across the sky...with the EDT. At this point, the comet should be brighter than 2- UNAIDED EYE! Then there was Hale-Bopp! Its discovery, magnitude and visible to the unaided eye. The ion tail on July 23, 1995, actually preceded that of Hyakutake. Its stretches back into Camelopardalis. The dust tail, if it has one, would curve off toward Auriga. The planets early discovery was made possible by its unusually large Venus (top) and Mercury are visible toward the west, in nucleus, estimates range from 40 to 80 km! Most of the time Taurus. you never know exactly how a comet will perform, but I cannot recall any doubts that Hale-Bopp was going to put on a grand show...and that it did. Both the ion and dust tail Sunday (appropriately enough), May 31st. At that time, it will were easy to see (even in moderately light-polluted skies) be 23.5 million miles (0.25 AU) from our local star. That and made the jaws of both novice and seasoned skywatchers qualifies it as a sun-grazing comet. Forecasting a comet’s drop. Thanks to its large size, it still holds the record for performance is an imprecise science, so there are a range of being visible with the unaided eye: 18 months. predictions. Daniel Green, Director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), used an equation based on Both Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp both helped with the re-birth the behavior of previous long-period, sun-grazing comets of the KAS in the mid- to late 1990s. The KAS may not be and calculated a peak magnitude of –0.3. Not bad. NASA’s in need of a re-birth at the moment, but a bright comet JPL Horizons is a bit more optimistic. They predict the certainly would help lead to an influx of new members. comet could reach a maximum magnitude of –5, exceeding That’s why it would be a shame if the pandemic made it that of Venus and putting it on par with Comet McNaught’s impossible for us to share ATLAS Y4 with the public. performance in 2007. On May 31st, ATLAS Y4 will be 13° Fortunately, if predictions pan out, all you’ll need is your southwest from the Sun, so this would make the comet own two eyes and a clear view of the northwestern sky. visible in broad daylight with a properly shielded telescope! That would be AWESOME, but don’t get your hopes up. Comet ATLAS Y4 reaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on The comet spends the entire month of April in the obscure Camelopardalis, starting off as a 7-magnitude fuzzball. By May 1st, it should reach 5-magnitude. It crosses the border into Perseus on May 12th and should have brightened to 3.5-magnitude. By mid-month, ATLAS Y4 should be visible to the unaided eye. JPL Horizons calculates it will be magnitude 1 or 2, while Director Green at CBAT predicts that number will be between 2 and 3. The comet makes its closest approach to Earth on May 23rd. At this point it will be very low in the sky, about 5° above the northwestern horizon 25 minutes after sunset. At this point, the ion tail will be lost in twilight. Will it have a glorious dust tail like comets McNaught or Lovejoy? As mentioned earlier, that depends on how much dust the nucleus contains. Further outbursts are always possible or the comet may crumble into nothing under the increasing heat of the Sun. Let’s hope it’s the former and not the later! You can track its Gregg Ruppel captured this image of Comet C/2019 Y4 progress online, of course, but the comet is well placed in the (ATLAS) on March 28, 2020 from Animas, New Mexico. evening sky. Why not get out there and monitor it every clear He used an ASA 10N astrograph and SBIG STL 11000M night yourself? Just practice proper social distancing. These CCD camera. It is a 48-minute total exposure. are strange times we live in!

Prime Focus Page 6 April 2020 Messier Marathon Report by Aaron Roman

Attending Members: Don counted at least 13 in a row. It is clear that viewing this phenomenon is dependent on the Sun still being up at the Don Stilwell, KAS member for 15 yrs., (left early to orbital level while being set here. There was discussion continue observations from his backyard and discuss later afterword that none of us was able to identify these objects. I that evening via phone) observed these objects at a different angle in the sky last

Monday. Andrew Loveless, KAS member for 4 or 5 yrs., (newly

rebuilt C8, had technical trouble preventing use) 9:35 - Bright shooting star from zenith falling west in

between Auriga and Orion. At least 35° long and -1.5 Aaron Roman, KAS member for 2 yrs., (10” Dobsonian magnitude. We agreed it wasn’t as bright as Venus though and tripod mounted 10×50 binoculars) when I asked Andrew what color he thought it had been, he

said orange. In this we didn’t agree... my color memory isn’t Via email: Joe Comiskey, KAS member for 11 yrs., “Went that great. out and saw a few galaxies from my driveway (and the 1/2

moon-shaped Venus earlier).” 9:35 to 10:20 - Completely overcast. Took the time to sketch

Pleiades through the clouds in the eyepiece. Social distancing, COVID-19, and general unease may be a

thing of the past one day, but for now this seemed like a 10:25 - Let the Marathon begin! Began with Owl Cluster great opportunity as I find myself hunkered down in front of with the following observation: “An easy to find, unevenly Netflix more and more each day. distributed with its brightest star a magnitude five. Stars vary in magnitude and color including one very 9:00 to 9:15 - Temperature: 31° F. Observed “march of the red star. 12.5mm eyepiece (100×, 0.8° AFOV).” satellites”. At 20° intervals, 4 - 5 magnitude satellites can be

seen in perfect line following each other. Visibility started So not a Messier, I know. But goals tonight were a mix of below Perseus and progressed through Taurus and into Leo. naked-eye southern , telescopic items from Caldwell’s list and as many binocular Messier Catalogue objects I could find.

When I was making up my list this week of potential targets for the marathon, it occurred to me that I didn’t know any constellations below Orion. I am aware that there is a rabbit down there somewhere , but anything from Lepus to Corvus is a mystery to me. With the early cloud cover, that was not remedied. Oh well, maybe I’ll get to learn those constellations another day.

12:56 - Right after observing M81 and M82 in the binoculars, I realized I may have breezed over a potentially great target while star-hopping my way to those targets. If the NASA app was to be believed, C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) comet (predicted magnitude 14.5) was recently found to be 8.5. So this comet is brightening quickly...could it be the one? I figured I better backtrack so I could say I was there. It Andrew Loveless is a bright nucleus surrounded by a faint green coma that is at least 6 arc minutes in diameter. Neat!

End Count:

Caldwell: 5 (favorite: Owl Cluster, NGC 457)

Binocular Messier: 16 (favorite: Hercules Cluster, M13)

Aaron Roman Comet: 1 Sketches: 2

I was the last member to leave at 2:30 am. Temperature: 22° F. Skies were still clear, but I was getting sluggish. All in all...personally, a successful night.

Prime Focus Page 7 April 2020 NASA Night Sky Notes...

by David Prosper

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 30th birthday in orbit around Earth this month! It’s hard to believe how much this telescope has changed the face of astronomy in just three decades. It had a rough start – an 8-foot mirror just slightly out of focus in the most famous case of spherical aberration of all time. But subsequent repairs and upgrades by space shuttle astronauts made Hubble a symbol of the ingenuity of human spaceflight and one of the most important scientific instruments ever created. Beginning as a twinkle in the eye of the late Nancy Grace Roman, the Hubble Space Telescope’s work over the past thirty years changed the way we view the universe, and more is yet to come!

We’ve all seen the amazing images created by Hubble and its team of scientists, but have you seen Hubble yourself? You actually can! Hubble’s orbit – around 330 miles overhead – is close enough to Earth that you can see it at night. The best times are within an hour after sunset or before sunrise, when its solar panels are angled best to reflect the light of the Sun back down to Earth. You can’t see the structure of the telescope, but you can identify it as a bright star-like point, moving silently across the night sky. It’s not as bright as the Space Station, which is much larger and whose orbit is closer to Earth (about 220 miles), but it’s still very noticeable as a single steady dot of light, speeding across the sky. Hubble’s orbit brings it directly overhead for observers located near tropical latitudes; observers further north and south can see it closer to the horizon. You can find sighting opportunities

using satellite tracking apps for your smartphone or tablet, and dedicated satellite tracking websites. These resources can also help you identify other satellites that you may see passing overhead during your stargazing sessions.

NASA has a dedicated site for Hubble’s 30th’s anniversary. The Night Sky Network’s “Why Do We Put Telescopes in Space?” activity can help you and your audiences discover why we launch telescopes into orbit, high above the interference of Earth’s atmosphere. Amateur astronomers may especially enjoy Hubble’s images of the beautiful objects found in both the Caldwell and Messier catalogs. As we celebrate Hubble’s legacy, we look forward to the future, as there is another telescope ramping up that promises to further revolutionize our understanding of the early universe: the James Webb Space Telescope!

Discover more about the history and future of Hubble and space telescopes at nasa.gov. Hubble’s “first light” image. Even with the not-yet- corrected imperfections in its mirror, its images were This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network. The generally sharper compared to photos taken by ground- Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs based telescopes at the time. Image Credit: NASA across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov to find local clubs, events, and more!

Prime Focus Page 8 April 2020 Membership of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. . .

1. Thomas Abraham Senior 2020 69. John Lee Family 2020 2. Jan Andersen Senior 2020 70. Nancy Wood & Dale Lighthizer Senior Family 2020 3. Paul Asmus Senior 2021 71. Keith Longjohn Senior 2021 4. Harold Ballen Senior Family 2021 72. Andrew Loveless Family 2020 5. Soumendra Nath Bandyopadhyay Regular 2020 73. Gary & Phyllis Lubbert Family 2021 6. Richard Bell Lifeme n/a 74. Chuck Lund Senior 2020 7. Karen & Peter Berzins Senior Family 2020 75. Sco Macfarlane Family 2021 8. Luke Bessler Student 2020 76. Dale E. Mais Senior 2020 9. Charles Bibart Senior Family 2020 77. Phillip & Linda Marshall Senior Family 2020 10. Bey Bledsoe Senior 2021 78. Jon Towne & Bobbi Marndale Family 2021 11. Jack & Lorrie Bley Family 2021 79. Richard Mather Regular 2022 12. Hunter Boone Regular 2020 80. Randy & Michelle Matson Family 2020 13. Mahew Borton Regular 2021 81. Sandi McGuire Senior Family 2021 14. Tommy Brown Regular 2020 82. Joe McJilton Regular 2021 15. Phyllis Buskirk Lifeme n/a 83. Paul McKinley Senior 2021 16. Michael Bussey Senior 2020 84. Cathy McMinn Family 2020 17. Beverly Byle Senior 2020 85. Michael J. Melwiki Regular 2020 18. Dale A. Campbell Family 2020 86. Chris Miller Regular 2020 19. David Carpenter Family 2020 87. John Miller Regular 2021 20. Adam Castle Regular 2020 88. Mark & Ninah Miller Family 2020 21. Bonnie Covert & Mike Chaffee Family 2020 89. Dave & Carol Mitchell Senior Family 2021 22. Barry Collins Family 2021 90. David & Michelle Murphy Family 2020 23. Joe & Ellen Comiskey Family 2021 91. Bill Nigg Lifeme n/a 24. Roark Consola Senior Family 2021 92. Jim & Christene Oorbeck Family 2020 25. Michael Cook Family 2020 93. Charles Overberger Regular 2020 26. Harry Coerill Senior Family 2020 94. Mike Paon Senior 2020 27. Steve Crawford Regular 2021 95. Jack & Ruth Price Family 2020 28. John Dillworth & Dorilee Crown Family 2020 96. Alison Prui Family 2020 29. Kalman & Becky Csia Senior Family 2020 97. Sam & Tina Qualls Family 2020 30. Jean DeMo Senior 2020 98. Michael Quinn Senior Family 2020 31. Sue DeNise Regular 2021 99. Jay Raycra Regular 2021 32. Mahew DePriest Family 2020 100. Jonathan Reck Regular 2020 33. Richard Dirrenberger Senior 2020 101. Andrew C. Robins Regular 2021 34. Kris & Steve Durbin Family 2021 102. Florence Roe Senior 2021 35. Fred E. Duon Senior 2021 103. Aaron & McKenzie Roman Family 2020 36. James Dyer Senior Family 2020 104. Jason Schener Student 2021 37. Janet Dykens Regular 2020 105. Eric Schreur Senior 2020 38. Clion E. Ealy Jr. Regular 2020 106. Robert Secor Regular 2020 39. Richard Emmons Senior Family 2020 107. Frank & Susan Severance Senior Family 2020 40. William Fowler Family 2021 108. Diane Schear Regular 2021 41. Richard Frantz Senior 2020 109. Rick Shields Senior 2020 42. Dave Garten Family 2020 110. Lloyd Simons Family 2021 43. Ma Garten Regular 2020 111. Michael & Karen Sinclair Family 2020 44. Brendan & Dee Gauthier Senior Family 2021 112. Greg Sirna Regular 2021 45. Kalina Angell & Rob Gauthier Family 2020 113. Don Slwell Senior Family 2021 46. Tom George Regular 2021 114. Brian & Terri Swisher Family 2020 47. Jaimy Gordon Senior 2020 115. Jon Szczepanski Family 2020 48. Tony Gurczynski Senior 2021 116. Renée Szostek Regular 2020 49. Alexander Hanchar Senior 2021 117. David Taylor Regular 2021 50. Robert & Barbara Havira Senior Family 2020 118. Josh Taylor-Lehman Regular 2021 51. Geoffrey Hickok Senior Family 2020 119. Gary & Karen Theisen Family 2020 52. Christopher & Lydia Hodshire Family 2020 120. Eric Therkildsen Family 2021 53. Lydia Hoff Regular 2020 121. Terry Tomlinson Senior Family 2021 54. Nicholas & Nancy Hotra Senior Family 2020 122. Henry & Martha Upjohn Family 2020 55. Arya Jayalaka Family 2021 123. Michael & Debbie Vandeveer Senior Family 2021 56. Dean Johnson Senior 2020 124. Jim Vukelich Senior 2020 57. Phillip Johnson Family 2023 125. Robert Wade Supporng 2021 58. Kevin Jung Regular 2020 126. Brian Walesh Family 2021 59. Ahsanuddin & Maliha Ali Khan Senior Family 2021 127. Sharyl Weber Family 2021 60. Rodney Kinne Senior 2021 128. Kae & Duane Weller Family 2021 61. Mark Kinsey Family 2020 129. Danielle & James Whitaker Family 2020 62. Kellie Kloosterman Regular 2020 130. Bob White Senior 2021 63. Kirk & Angela Korista Family 2020 131. Roger & Molly Williams Family 2020 64. Srinivasa Kota Family 2020 132. Vera Paz-Moreno & Mahew Wimsa Family 2020 65. Zosha Kuiper Student 2020 133. John Wing Family 2024 66. Jim Kurtz Regular 2020 134. Klay & Karen Woodworth Family 2020 67. Tim Kurtz Regular 2020 135. David Woolf Family 2020 68. Cal Lamoreaux Senior Family 2020 136. Mohammed Zafar Regular 2020

Prime Focus Page 9 April 2020 — April Night Sky —

This star map is property of the This map represents the sky at the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. NORTH following local mes: However, you may make as many • Late March 11 pm copies as you wish free-of- • Early April 10 pm charge, so long as it is for non- profit educaonal purposes and • Late April 9 pm full credit is given to the KAS. • Early May 8 pm www.kasonline.org EAST WEST

SOUTH

enus visits the stars of the skies, as Venus won’t visit the Pleiades The Moon will be 3° below Saturn before Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, on like this again until April 2028. dawn on April 15th and 4° to the lower V rd th the evening of April 3 . The left of Mars on April 16 . brilliant evening star, shining at Early risers can catch the quartet of a last magnitude -4.4, lies just outside the quarter Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars The Moon, now in the evening sky, will “mini dipper’s” bowl or ¼° southeast of 30 minutes before sunrise on April 14th. be 3½° right of Aldebaran on April 25th. , the brightest of the Pleiads. This They’ll form an arc that spans some 20° The dark portion of the Moon will be will be a delightful sight in binoculars or above the south-southeastern horizon illuminated by Earthshine, making for a wide-field telescopes. Hope for clear starting in Sagittarius. stunning sight in binoculars. April 2020 Page 11 PRESIDENT Richard S. Bell and VICE PRESIDENT help the Jack Price

TREASURER Did you know that you could purchase Don Slwell telescopes, binoculars, eyepieces, and much more from Orion Telescopes & Binoculars SECRETARY/ALCOR and help the KAS in the process? Roger Williams Simply click on the link provided above and begin shopping on Orion’s website. PUBLICITY MANAGER Purchasing their products through the link Joe Comiskey gives the KAS a commission.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Dave Garten Sco Macfarlane ALL NEW KAS GALLERY Aaron Roman Visit the completely redesigned KAS Gallery! E-MAIL a BOARD MEMBER Not only does the gallery have a new look with several new pages added, but nearly every single image in older galleries has been reprocessed in some way. You won’t find another astronomy club’s gallery as extensive as ours anywhere online. Check it out at: gallery.kasonline.org

Keep up to date on the latest news and activities of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. Stay informed about upcoming events in the night sky. All this and more in 280 characters or less! − http://twitter.com/kzooastro/ − Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC STAMP 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

© April 2020, Stargazer Productions