What's up for February
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What’s Up for February The Local Group - Astronomy Club of the Santa Clarita Valley – February 2019 Visit our Web Site at www.lgscv.org Volume 36 Issue 7 Our Local Group Astronomy Club monthly club meetings provide an excellent opportunity for both members and guests to hear interesting, educational presentations about all aspects of astronomy. It’s also a great time to meet club members and guests who share an interest in the enjoyment of learning and exploring this rewarding experience. Whether you’re just getting started in exploring the night skies, or a seasoned amateur astronomer, our Local Group meetings are great learning, sharing and socializing events. Our February club meeting will be held at the Valencia Public Library on Thursday, February 14, starting at 6:30 pm. Please plan to arrive a bit earlier so you have the opportunity to meet members and fellow guests before the start of the meeting. You’ll also have a chance to socialize with some of the other Local Group participants at one of the nearby Valencia eateries, following our meeting. For this month’s meeting presentation, Van Webster will provide a talk entitled “How We Discovered the Universe.” We look forward to seeing you there! January Event Review January Club Meeting Thursday, January 10, 2019 The January monthly meeting presentation by Dave Flynn was an entertaining synopsis of the Greek mythology surrounding several of the prominent winter constellations. A central figure in the stories is the heroic Perseus, who undertook the perilous mission of capturing the head of the snake-haired Medusa, at the risk of being turned into stone should he have looked directly at the Gorgon’s head. He cleverly used the reflection in his shield to capture the prize. Perseus continued his adventures by rescuing the beautiful maiden Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, from a dreaded sea monster, and ultimately marrying the girl. An intriguing element of the mythology surrounding Perseus is that, according to the Oracle at Delphi, Perseus was destined to bring about the demise of his father, Acrisius, who went as far as to keep his mother locked up in seclusion to prevent his son from being born and thus sealing his doom. Nevertheless, the prophesy comes true when a discus hurled by Perseus during the Olympic flies competition flies into the spectator stands, strikes Acrisius in the head, thus killing him.. In addition to the fascination of the myths themselves, they have the additional value of providing a great way to remember the names and relationships of some of these related constellations. Dave shared some of the details of the constellations involved in the myths, including some of the prominent stars and deep sky objects. Astronomy Quiz Time! Initially it was thought upon my discovery that I was a 'tenth planet' in the solar system, but - alas - I am another dwarf. Snubbed again! Just like the first time, though that disrespect eventually led to the Trojan War. Who am I? Answer on Last Page. Lunar Eclipse! By Glenn Basore 01.20.19 It seemed as though Mother Nature was doing everything she could to stop us from getting our scopes out at all this year, but after several weeks of lousy weather, she gave us a tease! It was going to be the club’s first public star party of the year, hosting the Lunar Eclipse event at Central Park. With all the news media giving the Lunar Eclipse a big build-up, we knew the public would be excited about it, but what about the weather? All day long the sky was covered with a thick cloud layer, but the forecast was showing partly cloudy skies for the night. It was a chance for success! At about 5:00 pm our members began setting up their scopes and everyone was watching the clouds as the Moon began to rise over the hills to the East. It was very bright, made worse by the clouds as it had a radiant appearance. Slowly, as the crowds began to show up and the Moon rising hire, the clouds began to clear, and we soon had a mostly clear sky to the East and mild temperatures. I was really pleased to see so many of our members present with their scopes and the others who came out to support us. There were many non-members there too with their scopes sharing them with the public alongside of us. This really helped with the large crowd, estimated to be about 350. Since everyone was mostly focused on the Moon, I chose to focus on Orion (M42) as it was high in the sky and offered the public something else to see. They really enjoyed seeing it and learning a little bit about it. Several people had cameras on tripods trying to capture the eclipse and from what I saw, many of them got some nice pictures. Around 10:00 pm the clouds were obscuring most of the sky and everything was damp to touch, it was time to go! A big shout-out to all the attendees who took photos of the eclipse! Bridgeport Elementary School Outreach Friday, January 25, 2019 The Local Group provided a night sky viewing outreach as part of a science night program at Bridgeport Elementary School in Valencia. I arrived at the school around 5 pm, set up my 20” x 80 “binoculars on my tripod in the designated area in the school playground area. There I was joined by Van Webster, Danny Freibrun, Jim Moldenhauer, Daryl Ross and Glenn Basore. Dave Flynn provided several astronomy presentations inside the school auditorium. Following the presentations, the students were guided outside to participate in the night sky viewing. Thanks to the clear skies, the viewing was overall quite good; the only impediment was the lights in the nearby playing field. However, they were distant enough not to cause too many issues. With six viewing stations, the lines of students and parents was quite manageable, and the participation and enthusiasm very positive. The highlight for viewing was the constellation Orion, the participants were able to enjoy viewing of the Orion nebula, always a key attraction. Several of the parents joined us in explaining some the objects we were viewing, which kept the kids engaged with the event. I headed out before 7 pm, however the other Local Group participants were able to continue the viewing until about 8 pm when they started shutting down. Overall, it was an enjoyable and successful event. January Staff Meeting Monday, January 28, 2019 Attendees Dave Flynn Van Webster Johan Vandersande Kathryn Kazmer Robi Muskerjee Danny Freibrun Glenn Basore Don Cogan The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM Treasurer’s Report We have $2449.11 in checking, $2000 and savings. Liability insurance has been paid for the new cycle beginning in March. Membership Report We have 66 members in good standing. Discussion We briefly discussed the outreach program held at Bridgeport Elementary held the previous Friday. All agreed the program went very well, with good cooperation and participation by both parents and students. Upcoming Activities Vasquez Rocks (February 2) – The weather over the weekend is forecasted for rain, so it’s very likely this event will be cancelled. Dave Flynn will make the call on Friday afternoon, based on the prediction/conditions at that time. February Monthly Club Program (February 14) - We discussed several options for presentation topics. Dave will contact some potential guest speakers, Van has a program “How We Discovered the Universe” that he will plan to present as a very viable option. Outreach programs – Three events are scheduled during the week of February 11 (Monday 2/11, Tuesday 2/12 and Friday 2/15. Placerita Day (May 11) - The Local Group will participate with an exhibit booth at this event. The coordinator has promised us a dedicated parking area to facilitate getting our equipment/supplies to the exhibit area. Vasquez Canyon Natural Area (Day at the Rocks (April 27). We had good participation at our exhibit booth last year, and we agreed to participate this year as well with our exhibit booth. This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.org to find local clubs, events, and more! Hexagon at Night, Quartet in the Morning David Prosper The stars that make up the Winter Hexagon asterism are some of the brightest in the night sky and February evenings are a great time to enjoy their sparkly splendor. The Winter Hexagon is so large in size that the six stars that make up its points are also the brightest members of six different constellations, making the Hexagon a great starting point for learning the winter sky. Find the Hexagon by looking southeast after sunset and finding the bright red star that forms the “left shoulder” of the constellation Orion: Betelgeuse. You can think of Betelgeuse as the center of a large irregular clock, with the Winter Hexagon stars as the clock’s hour numbers. Move diagonally across Orion to spot its “right foot,” the bright star Rigel. Now move clockwise from Rigel to the brightest star in the night sky: Sirius in Canis Major. Continue ticking along clockwise to Procyon in Canis Minor and then towards Pollux, the brighter of the Gemini twins. Keep moving around the circuit to find Capella in Auriga, and finish at orange Aldebaran, the “eye” of the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull. Two naked-eye planets are visible in the evening sky this month.