Pictures and Notes
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Observer Staff Editor & Publisher: Richard DeMidio Published by MAFware Solutions and Countdown to MM Newsletter of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society Vol. 2005 No. 2 “All the news that fits in print” February 2005 Pictures and Notes PPPrrreeesssiiidddeeennnttt'''sss MMMeeessssssaaagggeee PPPiiiccctttuuurrreeesss GGGaaalllooorrreee I had the 14" TScope out for 3 hours from 7-10 PM. I hit the carbon star I stopped by Home Depot the other day The first picture this month is Saturn Winter Double (R Leporis and S and they had put away all the snow taken by Herb Bubert. Cephei, missing only Y Canum blowers -- in their place were Venaticorum for the carbon star Winter lawnmowers. I know we just had our Triple). Red stars at night-- “Freeze Your Buns” night, but this is an astronomer's delight? The Orion Nebula unmistakable sign that spring will was glorious. All six of the Trapezium eventually get here! visible, even with the Merrimack light pollution. I bagged Rigel's companion With the warmer weather comes star for the first time. No such luck with the party season. This year we have put Sirius companion, though--Sirius was just about every star party in the bright enough in the scope to have an northeast on the club calendar, found on ice crystal diffraction ring around it, our web site. They start in April with such as one often sees with the Moon. the DelMarVa Star Party in Maryland, Ï Paul Winalski and run through October with Astro- Assembly down in Rhode Island. All- Photo by Herb Bubert Rigel's companion and other doubles in-all, fifteen star parties and other Not to be outdone, Nils Wygant took were so easy that I also tried for Sirius astronomy events to keep us busy all this wonderful shot of comet Macholz B. But even with my 16-inch at 360x, I through spring and summer! in which a lot of detail can be seen. didn't see it. Saturn was great: the C- Great job guys! ring was visible, the Enke minimum But first we have to brave extreme, was visible in the A-ring, there were mind-numbing cold at least one more two bands and a whitish polar cap on time for the annual Messier Marathon! the planet itself. I saw five moons (and It’s scheduled for March 11th, with a no shadow!). From in-town Nashua rain/snow/cloudy date of the 12th. As M42 didn't show up well, but the E and always, it will be held at Larry’s house F stars in the Trapezium were clearly in New Boston. Assuming we accept visible with the 16. When the skies are NGC5866 as M102, (and we can get stable, aperture wins. M30 in the morning twilight!) that Ï John Bishop gives 110 objects in about 10½ hours of Finally bagged an image of Saturn with darkness. Remember, once M74 and the Obsession using my video camera and newly acquired adapters. Managed M77 have set, they’re gone until the next night! to get about 15 seconds of video while Photo by Nils Wygant successfully keeping the image in the Ï Mathew Marulla The details of these pictures may be field of view. I think Registax is love NHAS President 2005 found on our NHAS photo committee processing this video! PPPuuubbbllliiiccc OOObbbssseeerrrvvviiinnnggg HHHiiiggghhhllliiiggghhhtttsss Yahoo group along with many other Ï Rich DeMidio fine photos. Keep them coming folks! There were no public observing events Noteworthy News since last publication. FFiieelldd NNootteess Field Notes Messier Marathon ………...…Page 2 Ï Ed Ting Editor’s Note: Several members logged field reports from their observing session. Here are a few them for your enjoyment. On the web at http://www.nhastro.com/ 2 The NHAS Observer February 2004 MMMeeessssssiiieeerrr MMMaaarrraaattthhhooonnn to the West of the planet. Since the But I'm not on the equator, and thus my Moon was several days past full, I position doesn't trace out a circle of The time can certainly go by fast when could see the shadow edge and estimate radius 1: at 42.45 degrees North, my not paying attention. It seems like it the North/South axis of the Moon radius is only was just yesterday when I was dusting relative to the Sun. That let me the snow off my telescope at Larry and estimate the direction of motion of the cos(42.45) = .737 Linda’s place after a snow squall Moon (at right angles to the shadow dumped about 3 inches of snow at the axis, and to the East). It looked like the of the Earth's radius, So my actual site. Of course, we were all bummed Moon was going to go just underneath baseline in Earth radii is missing the first several hours Jupiter in a couple of hours. At the 1.63 * .737 = 1.2 radii. observing but reflecting back I moment, it was about three Moon I’ll note here that the line from the remember how much fun I had that diameters away. But I didn't stay up to Moon to me to the Earth's axis isn't night and specifically during that time watch a near conjunction, as Monday going to be parallel to the plane of my we were waiting. I remember sharing was a school day for my children and I latitude. There's another correction to stories, trying to keep up with Larry on was getting up early. The next morning make--but the Moon is far away and technology while trying hard not to be a I got up at 6:00 am and was outside at the angles involved are small, so I'll mental midget, warming up with great 6:45 am collecting the daily ignore that complication. This will food and drink, and most of all, newspaper. I looked up and saw the tend to make my final Moon distance enjoying the companionship. Moon on the other side of Jupiter. It too low. Further, my baseline isn't Somehow, the weather made no was a bit to the South and East It perpendicular to the direction to the difference for this was something seemed to be about two Moon moon, as the Moon wasn't exactly on bigger than trying to find 110 fuzzy diameters away. I realized I now had the meridian halfway through the 7.25 objects. I remember being anxious the the data to calculate the distance to the hours (at 23.5 + 3.625 = 27.125 = 3.125 night before so much that I could hardly Moon, just as Ptolemy had done many the next day = 3:08 am). Because the sleep. The car was packed the previous years ago. I drew a diagram where Moon was about half-way from full to evening and I was ready to go. Sleep Jupiter was a fixed dot, and plotted the last quarter, it was almost on the seemed like something of a hindrance, two positions of the Moon. The meridian at that time, and I'll ignore this but still had to try and get some. It was distance between then was about four complication as well. It also means that like the Christmas Eve again growing Moon diameters and thus the Moon had my final estimate is likely to be a bit up as a child. To me, the MM is the moved five of its own diameters too far. During the 7.25 hours, the super bowl and World Series combined. (leading edge to leading edge). So in 7 Moon moved relative to the fixed stars, The one time of the year where so hours and 15 minutes, the Moon had for which Jupiter is my stand-in, as many of us participate in enjoying the apparently moved 2.5 degrees as seen Jupiter doesn't move significantly in common theme that we all adore and from Nashua (42.54 degrees North). At this time span and is much further drives us to brave the cold, elements, this point you may care to try your hand away. Since the Moon goes around and sleep. No matter the conditions, at the calculations, as you have all the relative to the Earth in 27.32 days (a being around everyone talking, joking, data you need! I'm going to carry "sidereal month", as opposed to the and yes observing is what the event is through the calculation with two or 29.5 days of the Sun-relative "synodic all about. So everyone pack up the three significant digits, but that month"), in 7.25 hours the Moon moves night before and quest your way to New probably far overstates the precision of Boston for our annual super bowl. my casual, by-eye estimation of angles. (360*7.25)/(27.32*24) = 3.98 degrees Only four weeks to go but I shall resist To make things simpler, I'll use units of to the East. the temptation on packing my minivan Earth radii until the end. First, what is just yet. ☺ the length of my baseline? The time We'll call it 4.0 degrees. If the Moon Ï Rich DeMidio difference is 7.25 hours. Since the were stationary in the sky, our own Earth rotates relative to the fixed stars motion to the East should result in an MMMoooooonnn MMMeeeaaasssuuurrreeemmmeeennntttsss in 23:56 hours (23.93 hours, or four apparent motion (a "parallax") of the minutes a day less it does than relative Moon to the West. The Moon's A paper by John Bishop to the Sun, due to Earth's motion in its apparent motion was 2.5 degrees to the Editor’s Note: This is really more of a orbit), that 7.2 hours is East, and its actual motion was 4.0 white paper and brings to attention the degrees to the East.