The Orion Nebula: Where Cerns How Different Types of Telescopes Are Better Suit- Ed for Particular Applications Than Others

Home , Beta Taurids, NGC 1435, NGC 1514, NGC 1555

Contact information: Inside this issue: Info Officer (General Info) – [email protected] Website Administrator – [email protected] Page Postal Address: January Club Calendar 3 Fort Worth Astronomical Society Celestial Events 4 c/o Matt McCullar 5801 Trail Lake Drive Sky Chart 5 Fort Worth, TX 76133 Moon Phase Calendar 6 Web Site: http://www.fortworthastro.org Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3eutb22 Lunar Occultations/Conjs 7 Twitter: http://twitter.com/ftwastro Planet Vis & ISS Passes 8 Yahoo! eGroup (members only): http://tinyurl.com/7qu5vkn Mercury/Venus Charts 9 Officers (2014-2015): President – Bruce Cowles, [email protected] Minor Planets Charts 10 Vice President – Russ Boatwright, [email protected] 11 Sec/Tres – Michelle Theisen, [email protected] Comet Lovejoy Data Board Members: Jupiter Charts 14 2014-2016 Young Astronomer News 15  Mike Langohr  Tree Oppermann Good To Know Infograms 15 2013-2015 Cloudy Night Library 16  Bill Nichols Monthly AL Observing Club 18  open Cover Photo: Comet 2014Q2 Lovejoy just after it Constellation of the Month 19 passed M79 on December 28, 2014. 15 Constellation Mythology 20 frames taken at ISO 3200 and 30 sec-

onds. 8" f3.9 reflector and Canon T2i. Social Media Coord Help 21

Stacked in Registax. Taken By FWAS Prior Club Meeting Minutes 22 member Keith Frost. General Club Information 23

Observing Site Reminders: That’s A Fact 23 Be careful with fire, mind all local burn bans! Full Moon Name 23 Dark Site Usage Requirements (ALL MEMBERS):  Maintain Dark-Sky Etiquette (http://tinyurl.com/75hjajy) FWAS Foto Files 24  Turn out your headlights at the gate!  Sign the logbook (in camo-painted storage shed. Inside the door on the left- hand side) E d i t o r :  Log club equipment problems (please contact a FWAS board member to Shawn Kirchdorfer inform them of any problems) Issue Contributors:  Put equipment back neatly when finished  Last person out: Matt McCullar  Check all doors – secured, but NOT locked Keith Frost  Make sure nothing is left out Jerry Keith

The Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) was founded in 1949 and is a non-profit scientific educational organization incorporated in the state of Texas. This publication may be copied and distributed for free only. This publication cannot be uploaded or distributed into any media unless it is in its original, full, unaltered, published form. All rights reserved by FWAS. PAGE 2 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

45th Anniversary (1970), Lost City

Leslie Peltier's 115th Meteorite Fall (Hit Birthday (1900) House in Oklahoma)

Isaac Asimov's 95th Quadrantid New Years Day Birthday (1920) Meteor Shower

4 FM 5 10th Anniversary 6 7 8 9 10 (2005), Mike Brown, et 30th Anniversary 405th Anniversary (1985), La Criolla Mete- al's Discovery of Dwarf (1610), Galileo Galilei's orite Fall (Hit House in 255th Anniversary Planet Eris Discovery of Jupiter's Argentina) (1760), Great Comet of Quadrantid Moons Io, Europa, Ga 110th Anniversary 1760 Near-Earth Fly- Meteor Shower nymede & Callisto (1905), Charles Per- by (26.5 Lunar Distance) Old Moon rine's Discovery of Liisi Oterma's 100th Gyula Fenyi's 170th Birth- Perihelion : 0.9833 AU Jupiter Moon Elara Birthday (1915) day (1845) Moon Apogee: 405376.5 km 11 12 13 LQ 14 15 16 17 Young 10th Anniversary Astronomers Meeting Starts @ 7pm-9pm (2005), Deep Im- 35th Anniversary (1980), pact Delta 2 Launch Discovery of EETA 79001 (Mars Meteorite)

Joseph Helffrich's 125th Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart Birthday (1890) de Saron's 285th Birthday (1730)

1815th Anniversary 19 20 NM 21 22 23 24 (2000), Tagish Lake 175th Anniversary 55th Anniversary 15th Anniversary (2000), Meteorite Shower in (1840), Discovery (1960), Little Joe Discovery of Dhofar 019 FWAS Launch (Miss Sam Monkey) Meteorite (Mars Meteor- Canada of Antarctica Monthly Meeting ite) 5th Anniversary 35th Anniversary Starts @ 7pm (2010), Lorton Meteorite (1980), Voyager 1's Discovery George Van Biesbroeck's 135th 25th Anniversary of Saturn Moon Janus Birthday (1880) Fall (Hit Doctor's Office in Buzz Aldrin's 85th Birth- Ernst Abbe's 175th Birth- (1990), Hiten Launch Virginia) MLK Day day (1930) Moon Perigee: 359656.0 km day (1840) (Japan Moon Orbiter) 25 26 FQ 27 28 29 30 31

10th Anniversary (2005), Mike Brown, et al's Discovery of Haumea Moon Hi'laka Philibert Jacques 35th Anniversary 29th anniversary (1986), Melotte's 135th Birthday (1880) (1980), Voyager of the Space Shuttle 1's Discovery of Saturn Challenger explosion on Lubos Kohoutek's 80th Moon Epimetheus lift-off. Birthday (1935) See our full FWAS Event Calendar at: http://www.fortworthastro.com/meetings.html for the latest updates on what our club has scheduled

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 3

CELESTIAL EVENTS THIS MONTH

 Jan 01 Th --:-- Venus: 16.7° E  Jan 18 Su 00:17 Moon South Dec.: 18.6° S  Jan 02 Fr 05:35 Moon-Aldebaran: 1.5° S  Jan 20 Tu 07:14 New Moon  Jan 03 Sa 11:53 Moon North Dec.: 18.7° N  Jan 21 We 14:06 Moon Perigee: 359600 km  Jan 03 Sa 19:51 Quadrantid Shower: ZHR = 120  Jan 21 We 23:01 Moon-Venus: 5.5° S  Jan 04 Su 02:59 Perihelion: 0.9833 AU  Jan 22 Th 22:40 Moon-Mars: 3.9° S  Jan 04 Su 22:53 Full Moon  Jan 25 Su 04:23 Moon Descending Node  Jan 09 Fr 12:17 Moon Apogee: 405400 km  Jan 26 Mo 22:48 First Quarter  Jan 10 Sa 19:00 Mercury-Venus: 0.6° N  Jan 29 Th 11:07 Moon-Aldebaran: 1.3° S  Jan 12 Mo 09:33 Moon Ascending Node  Jan 30 Fr 07:40 Mercury Inferior Conj.  Jan 13 Tu 03:47 Last Quarter  Jan 30 Fr 18:59 Moon North Dec.: 18.5° N  Jan 14 We 13:59 Mercury Elongation: 18.9° E  Jan 16 Fr 05:52 Moon-Saturn: 1.9° S (* Times are Local) INTERESTING OBJECTS Deep Sky* - (C41) The Hyadies, (M1) Crab Nebula, (M42) Orion Nebula, (M44) Beehive Cluster, (M45) The Pleiades, (M81) Bode’s Galaxy Double/Multiple Stars** - R AUR (Aur), NU CMA (CMa), 38 GEM (Gem), 100 HERC (Her), 6 LEO (Leo), 18 LIB (Lib), ADS 3650 (Ori) Constellations*- Auriga, Canis Major, Gemini, Hercules, Leo, Libra, Orion Asterisms*** - False Kids (Aur), Tuft in the tail (CMa), Zig Zag (Her), Saucepan (Ori)

Lunar Features**** - Sinus Aestuum (R33), Orientale basin (R50), Hesiodus A (R54) *Distant Suns—C = Caldwell Catalog / M=Messier Catalog **Double Stars ***Asterisms ****R = Rükl Index Moon Map

2015

Key to Geocentric Ephemeris of the Moon: http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moonkey.html PAGE 4 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015 January Sky Chart Fort Worth, TX (32.7555°N, 97.3308°W)

Chart displayed is for January 15, 2015 @ 21:00 Local Time

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 5

M CCN MR: Moon rise time - MS: Moon set time

First and Last Lunar Crescent Visibility Monday 19 January 2015 —7.0am Lunar Crescent visible, only 23.7 hours before new moon Elongation: 13.9°, 1.7% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 154° - crescent points to the lower left, Width of the crescent: 0.49', Length of the crescent: 136°, Moon lower limb relative to sunrise point at sunrise: dalt=11.1° daz=6.6° (i.e. westward), Altitude of moon center at listed time: 6.1°, Azimuth: 116.1°/ESE, Altitude of Sun: -6.5°, Moon rises at 6:25am, 66 minutes before the Sun . Wednesday 21 January 2015—6.6pm Lunar Crescent visible, 35.4 hours after new moon Elongation: 20.1°, 3.4% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 188° - crescent is horizontal like a boat, Width of the crescent: 1.02', Length of the crescent: 164°, Moon sets at 7:34pm, 102 minutes after the Sun . Data and Image Source: http://www.calsky.com/ PAGE 6 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Lunar Occultations of Planets and Moon close to Planets

Friday 2 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Immersion of Hyadum II, Del1 Tau, SAO 93897 (Multiple star system), 3.8mag, Position angle=23.3°, Azimuth az=260.1°, Al- 1:03.4am Moon titude h=47.7°, RA= 4h23.8m Dec=+17°34.5', Moon phase=91.4%, Sun elevation hsun=-78.2° (dark limb) Immersion of Del2 Tau, SAO 93907 (Multiple star system), 4.8mag, Position angle=58.8°, Azimuth az=263.7°, Alti- 1:27.1am Moon tude h=42.9°, RA= 4h25.0m Dec=+17°28.6', Moon phase=91.5%, Sun elevation hsun=-74.6° (dark limb) Emersion of Hyadum II, Del1 Tau, SAO 93897 (Multiple star system), 3.8mag, Position Angle=333.2°, Azimuth az=265.4°, 1:36.1am Moon Altitude h=40.8°, RA= 4h23.8m Dec=+17°34.5', Moon phase=91.5%, Sun elevation hsun=-73.0° (bright limb) Emersion of Del2 Tau, SAO 93907 (Multiple star system), 4.8mag, Position Angle=299.7°, Azimuth az=272.5°, Alti- 2:29.4am Moon tude h=29.8°, RA= 4h25.0m Dec=+17°28.6', Moon phase=91.7%, Sun elevation hsun=-62.6° (bright limb)

Saturday 3 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Immersion of 115 Tau, SAO 94554 (Multiple star system), 5.4mag, Position angle=119.8°, Azimuth az=290.9°, Alti- 5:50.1am Moon tude h=1.2°, RA= 5h28.1m Dec=+17°58.3', Moon phase=96.9%, Sun elevation hsun=-20.9° (dark limb)

Friday 9 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Immersion of 58 Leo, SAO 118610 (Close double star), 4.8mag, Position angle=74.6°, Azimuth az=81.3°, Altitude h=-6.8°, 9:31.6pm Moon RA=11h01.4m Dec= +3°32.1', Moon phase=79.1%, Sun elevation hsun=-47.9° (bright limb) Emersion of 58 Leo, SAO 118610 (Close double star), 4.8mag, Position Angle=318.2°, Azimuth az=88.1°, Altitude h=3.8°, 10:21.3pm Moon RA=11h01.4m Dec= +3°32.1', Moon phase=78.8%, Sun elevation hsun=-58.2° (dark limb)

Saturday 31 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Immersion of 26 Gem, SAO 96015 (Close double star), 5.2mag, Position angle=118.0°, Azimuth az=101.0°, Altitude h=49.0°, 7:39.1pm Moon RA= 6h43.3m Dec=+17°37.6', Moon phase=92.1%, Sun elevation hsun=-20.8° (dark limb)

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/ JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 7

Chart created using: Cartes du Ciel

Times and Data are for Fort Worth, Texas Locations Only Data Source: Heavens Above Bright Start Highest point End Pass Date ness type (mag) Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. 04 Jan 0.0 06:31:53 10° SSE 06:33:48 15° SE 06:35:44 10° E visible 06 Jan -2.1 06:24:37 10° SSW 06:27:46 44° SE 06:30:57 10° ENE visible 07 Jan -0.7 05:34:45 13° S 05:36:42 21° SE 05:39:15 10° ENE visible 08 Jan -3.2 06:20:14 26° WSW 06:21:49 54° NW 06:25:05 10° NE visible 09 Jan -1.3 05:32:17 26° ENE 05:32:17 26° ENE 05:33:52 10° NE visible 09 Jan -1.2 07:05:50 10° WNW 07:07:26 13° NNW 07:09:02 10° N visible 10 Jan -1.6 06:16:42 20° NNW 06:16:42 20° NNW 06:18:34 10° NNE visible 23 Jan -0.6 06:26:44 10° N 06:27:53 11° NNE 06:29:02 10° NE visible 25 Jan -1.3 06:19:07 12° NNW 06:21:30 23° NE 06:24:13 10° E visible 26 Jan -0.6 05:29:48 14° NNE 05:29:48 14° NNE 05:31:31 10° ENE visible 27 Jan -3.0 06:13:15 27° NNW 06:14:51 63° NE 06:18:06 10° SE visible 28 Jan -1.1 05:24:03 25° ENE 05:24:03 25° ENE 05:26:04 10° ESE visible 28 Jan -1.5 06:57:07 10° W 06:59:27 18° SW 07:01:47 10° S visible 29 Jan -2.8 06:07:40 38° WSW 06:07:55 39° SW 06:11:00 10° SSE visible 30 Jan -0.7 05:18:38 18° SE 05:18:38 18° SE 05:19:33 10° SE visible 31 Jan -0.7 06:02:24 10° SSW 06:02:24 10° SSW 06:02:25 10° SSW visible

PAGE 8 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Jan 01

Jan 15

Jan 31

Jan 01

Jan 15

Jan 31

Data and Image Source: http://www.calsky.com/ JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 9

MINOR PLANETS VISIBLE Hebe (6)

Mag 8.9—>9.6 Image Sources: Cartes du Ciel

Juno (3)

Hydra

Mag 8.4—>8.2 Image Sources: Cartes du Ciel PAGE 10 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Path Throughout January

Image Source: Cartes Du Ciel

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) E p h e m e r i s

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 11 Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) P h e n o m e n a Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/ Saturday 3 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' Greatest Elongation Distance to Sun center=1.351 AU, Distance to Earth=0.479 5.6am Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.4 mag, Elongation=131.9°, RA= 4h46.5m Dec=-13°37.3' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation Eridani/Eri)

Wednesday 7 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' closest to earth Distance to Sun center=1.335 AU, Distance to Earth=0.469 2.4am Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.3 mag, Elongation=130.3°, RA= 4h19.4m Dec= -4°07.6' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation Eridani/Eri)

Thursday 8 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' Ascending Equator Passage Distance to Sun center=1.329 AU, Distance to Earth=0.470 5.3pm Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.2 mag, Elongation=128.7°, RA= 4h08.4m Dec= -0°02.2' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation Eridani/Eri)

Sunday 11 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' brightest Distance to Sun center=1.320 AU, Distance to Earth=0.481 Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.2 mag, Elongation=125.1°, RA= 3h51.2m Dec= +6°32.8' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation Tau- rus/Tau)

Friday 16 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' Ascending Knot Passage Distance to Sun center=1.306 AU, Distance to Earth=0.528 4.2pm Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.3 mag, Elongation=116.2°, RA= 3h20.1m Dec=+18°22.5' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation Ar- ies/Ari)

Thursday 29 January 2015 Time (12-hour clock) Object (Link) Event Comet 'C/2014 Q2' at perihelion Distance to Sun center=1.290 AU, Distance to Earth=0.735 7.6pm Lovejoy →Star chart AU, Magnitude= 4.9 mag, Elongation=96.1°, RA= 2h24.1m Dec=+37°23.5' (J2000, geocentric) (in constellation An- dromeda/And)

PAGE 12 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Path Throughout January

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/ JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 13

Great Red Spot Transits Jovian Moon R E T I P U J R E Position T I Chart P U J

1 8:13.2pm 2 6:08.8am 4:04.5pm 3 2:00.1am 11:55.7am 9:51.3pm 4 7:46.9am 5:42.6pm 5 3:38.2am 1:33.8pm 11:29.4pm 6 9:25.0am 7:20.7pm 7 5:16.3am 3:11.9pm 8 1:07.5am 11:03.1am 8:58.8pm 9 6:54.4am 4:50.0pm 10 2:45.6am 12:41.2pm 10:36.8pm 11 8:32.4am 6:28.1pm 12 4:23.7am 2:19.3pm 13 12:14.9am 10:10.5am 8:06.1pm 14 6:01.8am 3:57.4pm 15 1:53.0am 11:48.6am 9:44.2pm 16 7:39.8am 5:35.4pm 17 3:31.0am 1:26.7pm 11:22.3pm 18 9:17.9am 7:13.5pm 19 5:09.1am 3:04.7pm 20 1:00.3am 10:55.9am 8:51.6pm 21 6:47.2am 4:42.8pm 22 2:38.4am 12:34.0pm 10:29.6pm 23 8:25.2am 6:20.8pm 24 4:16.4am 2:12.1pm 25 12:07.7am 10:03.3am 7:58.9pm 26 5:54.5am 3:50.1pm 27 1:45.7am 11:41.3am 9:37.0pm 28 7:32.6am 5:28.2pm 29 3:23.8am 1:19.4pm 11:15.0pm 30 9:10.6am 7:06.3pm Data31 Source:5:01.9am http://www.calsky.com/2:57.5pm Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/

Chart source: JupSat Pro Software

PAGE 14 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Young Astronomers

Janaury’s YA! meeting will be about observing Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. This month Mercu- ry reaches “Greatest Elongation”, which means it’ll be at its relative highest point in the sky for this quick orbiting planet for this month. Normally Mercury hangs low to the ground or is obscured by the Sun’s glare. This month you can watch the planet go from a gibbous disc to a partial crescent before disappearing into the Sun again near month’s end. We’ll show some of the interesting things to observe for this object. Check out the Young Astronomers Web Page at: http://www.fortworthastro.com/young_astronomers.html

Good To Know

Image Source: http://lcogt.net/spacebook/what-absolute-magnitude

Image Source: http://www.redchairblogs.com/starstruck/2013/12/11/stars-of-the-first-magnitude/ JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 15

Book/Video Reviews astronomer, Christiaan Huygens, published a good By: Matt McCullar, FWAS drawing of the nebula in 1659.

One of the most educational items in this book con- The Orion Nebula: Where cerns how different types of telescopes are better suit- ed for particular applications than others. Astronomers Stars are Born back in the night often saw nebulae, but couldn't exam- by C. Robert O’Dell ine them in detail, for an interesting reason: their telescopes weren't designed to see them clearly. The op- ince we are now entering a new year, I thought tics in telescopes long ago were usually made with a it might be a good long focal length, because it idea to read about was easier to do so. But if the one of our favorite aperture in such a telescope Sastronomical winter targets: isn't large enough, an observ- the Orion Nebula. “If you're er won't see much detail in a not impressed by the Orion nebula because its light is Nebula, it's unlikely you'll find spread out and harder to much to impress you at all in make out. “That meant that the night sky,” writes the au- the gigantic telescopes built thor, C. Robert O'Dell. I think for the study of the Moon and all amateur astronomers the planets weren't very good would agree. for the Orion Nebula,” the author writes. “As techniques The Orion Nebula (“nebula” is improved, telescopes began Latin for “cloud”) is a large, to have larger lenses in pro- bright cloud of gas and dust in portion to their focal lengths, deep space, positioned in the so that fuzzy objects in the sky “sword” of stars in the belt of started getting more atten- Orion the Hunter, a bright tion.” constellation easily found in the evening winter sky. It is a Having been observed by as- stellar nursery. It is a particu- tronomers all over the world larly favorite target for both for centuries, the Orion Nebu- professional and amateur as- la was finally photographed tronomers who want to try for the first time by American out some new equipment. It astronomer Henry Draper in can be viewed even with a September of 1880. We've pair of binoculars or an inex- been taking pictures of it ever pensive telescope. since. This book contains one The Orion Nebula: Where Stars are Born of the very first photographs of For all of Galileo's astronomi- by C. Robert O'Dell Orion taken from space, cal discoveries, it seems odd Published by Harvard University Press – 2003 snapped by an astronaut on a ISBN 0-674-01183-X that he never recorded seeing 170 pages Gemini flight in Earth orbit in it. The precise discovery of the 1960s. We also enjoy the Orion Nebula is as diffuse as the nebula itself, but some breathtaking pictures taken by the Hubble Space one of the strongest claims goes to Nicholas Peiresc, an Telescope, as well as computer simulations of what the Italian astronomer who saw it in France in 1610 with a (Continued on page 17) telescope very much like Galileo's. A more well-known PAGE 16 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

(Book Review—Continued from page 16) nebula should look like from other parts of our galaxy.

Early astronomers thought the Orion Nebula was just a huge collection of distant stars, each so faint that it could not be seen individually. Some nebulae simp- ly reflect nearby starlight and do not produce light of their own; but eventually it was discovered that the Orion Nebula glows by fluorescence, thanks to energy released by hot stars. As the author says, “Stars aren't born individually, but in litters.”

There is far more to this book than just the title. Author O'Dell is a professional astronomer and was one of the lead members of the team that designed the Hub- ble Space Telescope. (And to his credit, O'Dell explains in detail what caused the Hubble Space Telescope to be launched with a defective mirror, and how it was Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team eventually corrected.) We learn how and why stars and planets form. Radio tele- My favorite part is when O'Dell describes his nights scopes have told us a great deal more about the Orion early in his career when he worked at large observato- Nebula than could ever have been learned visually. ries. “Not all nights were clear, of course, and this Even infrared satellites have upgraded our knowledge gave me the chance to read through the file of crank because they can see objects behind and beyond what letters. The crank file is a common institution at many we can see with our eyes. Spectroscopy (studying the observatories, typically filled with unsolicited mail light of an object through a prism) allows us to not from writers with ideas they want to share with pro- only determine what a stellar object is made of, but fessional scientists.” also its velocity and temperature. Yet we continue to learn more; according to O'Dell, the upgraded Hubble _The Orion Nebula_ contains a fair number of draw- “...revealed not only a new layer of detail in the Orion ings and photographs, some in color. O'Dell writes Nebula, but also provided data for the discovery of across to the reader in a pleasing manner; the book is fundamentally new processes. The most interesting of slightly autobiographical. I enjoyed it and I have since these has been the discovery of the class of objects seen this nebula in, literally, a new light. now known as the proplyds. The proplyds are young stars with circumstellar clouds of gas and dust that are Four nebulae out of five. Recommended! e rendered visible by being in or close to an emission- line nebula.” If you have an idea for an article, have astronomical related photos or an astronomy project you’ve done, and you’d like to share or want to contribute to the newsletter in any other way, please contact the editor at [email protected] or through the club’s Yahoo! eGroup forum.

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 17

Al Observing Club Highlight Of The Month Analemma Observing Program Observing Experience LEVEL A d v a n c e d

ust about everyone knows that the Sun’s altitude at cul- mination, the highest point above the observer’s hori- J zon, varies through the year – high in the summer, and low in the winter. However, outside of navigators, cartogra- phers and astronomers, it is not commonly realized that the Sun’s apparent angular velocity also varies – sometimes “fast” (west of the meridian at Local Noon), and sometimes “slow” (east of the Meridian at Local Noon).

Participants in the Analemma Observing Program will monitor the Sun’s motion throughout the year and note changes in the Sun’s position, both in altitude and azimuth. They will then, with reference only to their analemma and observing appa- ratus:

 Calculate their observing latitude and the tilt of the Earth’s axis  Sketch or plot the path of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere e  Calculate the Equation of Time  Calculate the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit

DO NOT ATTEMPT DIRECT OBSERVATIONS OF THE SUN! Due to hazards associated with direct observation of the Sun, only indirect observations will be accepted. Submissions using direct observations of the Sun will be rejected. Looking at the sun can cause permanent damage to your eyes.

This observing through the Astronomical League was devised and developed by FWAS’ own member Lowell Martin. For information or insights please contact him directly at the following: Email: fwas_lam at yahoo dot com e

PAGE 18 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

Constellation of The Month

Taurus

aurus constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “bull” in Latin. The constellation is symbol- ized by the bull’s head, . It T is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, first cat- alogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation’s history, however, dates back to the Bronze Age.

Taurus is a large constellation and one of the oldest ones known. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Zeus, who transformed himself into a bull in order to get close to Europa and abduct her.

Taurus is known for its bright stars Aldebaran, El Nath, and Alcyone, as well as for the variable star T Tauri. The constellation is proba- bly best known for the Pleiades (Messier 45), also known as the Seven Sisters, and the Hyades, which are the two nearest open star clusters to Earth.

Taurus also has a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the supernova remnant Messier 1 (the Crab Nebula), Hind’s Variable Nebula (NGC 1555), the colliding galaxies NGC 1410 and NGC 1409, the Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514), and the Merope Nebula (NGC 1435).

The brightest star in the constellation is Aldebaran, Alpha Tauri, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.85. Aldebaran is also the 13th brightest star in the sky.

The name, Aldebaran, comes from the Arabic al-dabaran, which means “the follower.” The star got this name because it appears to follow the Pleiades cluster, the Seven Sisters, across the sky.

There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation; the Taurids and the Beta Taurids. The Tau- rids peak in November and the Beta Taurids in June and July.

Taurus belongs to the Zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus and Pisces. e

Sources: http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/taurus-constellation/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/taurus_(constellation) JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 19

    aurus constellation has been known since at least the Early T Bronze Age, when it marked the Sun’s location during the spring equinox. It has been associated with the bull in many cultures and mytholo- gies: Greek and Egyptian among other, and even going back to Ancient Babylon. Depictions of Taurus and the Pleiades star cluster have even been found in a cave painting at Lascaux, dating back to 15,000 BC. Both the constellation and the Pleiades have been known in many indigenous cultures and referred to as the bull and the seven sisters, Taurus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards which indicates a common origin for published in London c.1825. the names. In Greek mythology, Taurus is usually associated with Zeus, who adopted the shape of a bull in order to seduce and abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician King Agenor. Zeus mingled with the king’s herd and, being the most handsome bull there, he got Europa’s attention. When she sat on his back, he rose and headed for the sea. Zeus carried Europa all the way to Crete, where he revealed himself and lavished the princess with presents. The two had three sons together, including Minos, who grew up to be the famous king of Crete, who built the palace at Knossos where bull games were held and who also sacrificed seven young boys and girls to the Minotaur each year. Zeus later commemorated the bull by placing it among the stars. An alternative interpretation associates Taurus with the nymph Io, whose line Europa was de- scended from, who was also seduced by Zeus and then transformed into a heifer when the two were nearly caught by Hera. Babylonian astronomers called the constellation MUL.APIN, or “The Heavenly Bull.” In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest literary works from Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh faces the Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar to kill the hero after he had rejected her advances. Gilgamesh is sometimes associated with the nearby Orion, another ancient constellation, and the two constellations are depicted as Gilgamesh and the bull in combat. e

Text Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/ Image source: Alexander Jamieson’s Celestial Atlas PAGE 20 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015

FWAS Needs a Social Media Coordinator urrently FWAS is connected to social media via two main avenues, Facebook and Twitter. Our Facebook page is tied automatically to our Twitter account. All of our posts from FB go directly to our Twitter feed without having to duplicate C posts manually. However due to my other duties with the club and in the real world, I cannot post and update our Face- book/Twitter pages like we should be.

We have at the time of this notice, 860 full time followers on Facebook and 38 followers on Twitter. We are often getting com- ments and questions posted to our FB account and I try to answer them as timely as possible. Also I try to post events and public club activities as best I can, however based on other organizations, it could be better.

Social media is a great way to connect with people in the area and to augment our website in recruiting new members. Since most of the online activities now days are via social media, it only made sense to have a presence there for FWAS. We post meeting notices and topics for the main club and for our Young Astronomers groups. We can give up to the minute changes to events through them. And we can repost other news and celestial event notices to help generate public interest in, and/or to dispel myths about (and there are A LOT), astronomy. And we also make contact and interact with the public this way too.

Since putting our club on Facebook and Twitter public awareness of our organization has jumped significantly. We have many teachers and students from the local area following us, as well as some people who just find our club interesting form all over the country and the world. We also get lots of questions about the hobby and astronomy itself from these forums. We also have a Youtube channel where our promotional video is posted, and we could also use Instagram to post interesting photos from club events. All of this is used to generate interest in our hobby and most importantly in our club. If we want to draw in younger members to our hobby we must embrace social media. We have made inroads to this in the last couple of years, but we need someone who can devote more time to it than I am able to with all of my other functions and responsibilities.

If I am asking FWAS members (the more the merrier) who are interested in this to contact me directly at (skirchdorfer at sbcglobal dot net) to get you setup to login and start posting. We can discuss the basic requirements of what gets posted and what doesn’t. I’ll be asking for suggestions on how to integrate this into our club activities more (i.e. posting star party photos and locations live, etc). I’ll still be actively involved but I just need more eyes and keyboards to help with this part of it.

This is an excellent opportunity for young FWAS members to get involved in the club and to learn more about everyone and to make connections with other people interested in amateur astronomy too.

Thanks for your help!

Shawn Kirchdorfer Fort Worth Astronomical Society Newsletter Editor and Social Media Coordinator

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 21

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Newsletter: The FWAS newsletter, Prime Focus, is published monthly. Letters to That’s a Fact! the editor, articles for publication, photos you’ve taken, personal equipment reviews, or just about anything you would like to have included in the newsletter that is astronomy related should be sent Bernhard Schmidt, the optician for to: [email protected] whom the Schmidt-type of telescope is Meetings: FWAS meets at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the named, had only one hand. He lost the UNT Health Science Center – Research & Education Building, Room 100; 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd; Ft. Worth. Guests and visitors are always other in an explosion when he was welcome. a child while playing with a homemade Outreach: Items regarding FWAS Outreach activities, or requests for FWAS to pipe bomb. attend an event, should be sent to: [email protected] Source: Wikipedia Young Astronomers: FWAS’ youth activities (known as YA!) meet on the 3rd Saturday of every month between 7pm and 9pm (check our calendar for time Seen a Fireball Lately? changes throughout the year - determined by seasonal sunset times). Report it to the This group meets for one hour at the Parkwood Hill HOA Club House - 5573 Eastwedge Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76137. YA! Coordinators: American Meteor Society (AMS) [email protected] Just go to their website at http://www.amsmeteors.org/ FWAS Annual Dues: and hover your cursor on the Fireball menu item at the $40 for adults / families & households $20.00 for students (half-price Dec 1 thru May 31); Membership runs top of the page and you will see the link to report a fire- June 1st through May 31st. Please make checks payable to: ball. They will ask you several questions in a web ques- Fort Worth Astronomical Society tionnaire and your observations will be added to the See our Secretary/Treasurer for more info: [email protected] other witnesses for the same event. These will be com- piled and analyzed to determine the location and direc- Cash and checks should be paid in-person at the next indoor meeting, tion from which the object entered the atmosphere. or checks can be mailed in the traditional way. Members should check the eGroup for the latest postal mailing address listed by the Secretary/Treasurer.

Credit card payments (for existing membership renewals only) can be made through our PayPal link (private link is on the club’s Yahoo eGroup – no PayPal account required). Janua r y Discount Magazine Subscriptions: Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and StarDate (McDonald Observatory) magazines are available for discounted subscription rates through our association with the NASA Night Sky Network and the Astronom- “Full Wolf Moon” ical Society of the Pacific. The link can be found on the club’s Yahoo eGroup. (Members Only) This full Moon ap- Astronomical League Membership: Your FWAS membership gives you associate membership in the As- peared when tronomical League. This gives you access to earn various observing Source: OId Farmer’s Almanac certificates through the AL observing clubs. You also receive their wolves howled in quarterly magazine, Reflector. AL Observing clubs: http:// tinyurl.com/7pyr8qg hunger outside the villages. It is also Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Monthly Star Parties: FWAS, as part of our historical relationship with the Noble Planetari- known as the Old Moon. To some Na- um, participates in the monthly museum star parties by supplying the tive American tribes, this was the Snow telescopes and manning to expose the public to amateur astronomy as a hobby, and to possibly spark interest in joining our club. This is Moon, but most applied that name to an excellent opportunity to socialize with and to get advice or help with your own equipment from other FWAS members. FWMSH star the next full Moon, in February. party schedule: http://tinyurl.com/bosbwqa e

JANURY 2015 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 23

(Top-Right) The Plei- ades—Seven Sis- ters/Subaru, 110 frames, taken at ISO 3200 and 30 sec- onds. 8" f3.9 reflector and Canon T2i. Stacked in Registax. Taken by FWAS member Keith Frost on December 28, 2014 @ near Fort Worth, TX.

(Bottom-Left) NGC1499— California Nebula, 30x600sec using 7nm Baader HA fil- ter and AT65EDQ. 20dark, 50flat, 100bias. Taken by FWAS member Jerry Keith on November 27, 2014 @ near Fort Worth, TX.

Have an interesting photo you’ve taken of the sky? Discovered a technique and want to show the results to fellow FWAS members? Submit your photos to [email protected] or send them in the Yahoo! eGroup to the attention of the newsletter editor. Your participation in showing off your personal astrophotography is greatly appreciated by all FWAS members.

PAGE 24 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2015