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 (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 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: . 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 . Now move clockwise from Rigel to the brightest star in the night sky: in . Continue ticking along clockwise to in and then towards Pollux, the brighter of the twins. Keep moving around the circuit to find in , and finish at orange , the “eye” of the V-shaped face of the Bull.

Two naked-eye planets are visible in the evening sky this month. As red Mars moves across Pisces, NASA’s InSight Mission is readying its suite of geological instruments designed to study the Martian interior. InSight and the rest of humanity’s robotic Martian emissaries will soon be joined by the Mars 2020 rover. The SUV-sized robot is slated to launch next year on a mission to study the possibility of past life on the red planet. A conjunction between Mars and Uranus on February 13 will be a treat for telescopic observers. Mars will pass a little over a degree away from Uranus and larger magnifications will allow comparisons between the small red disc of dusty Mars with the smaller and much more distant blue-green disc of ice giant Uranus.

Speedy Mercury has a good showing this month and makes its highest appearance in the evening on February 27; spot it above the western horizon at sunset. An unobstructed western view and binoculars will greatly help in catching Mercury against the glow of evening twilight.

The morning planets put on quite a show in February. Look for the bright planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn above the eastern horizon all month, at times forming a neat lineup. A crescent Moon makes a stunning addition on the mornings of February 1-2, and again on the 28th. Watch over the course of the month as Venus travels from its position above Jupiter to below dimmer Saturn. Venus and Saturn will be in close conjunction on the 18th; see if you can fit both planets into the same telescopic field of view. A telescope reveals the brilliant thin crescent phase of Venus waxing into a wide gibbous phase as the planet passes around the other side of our Sun. The Night Sky Network has a simple activity that helps explain the nature of both Venus and Mercury’s phases at bit.ly/venusphases

You can catch up on all of NASA’s current and future missions at nasa.gov

Caption: The stars of the Winter Hexagon Image created with help from Stellarium

SPACE NEWS

Is Earth’s Magnetic Field Flipping Soon?

By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor. January 30, 2019 11:00 am Summarized by Don Cogan

Our country’s political climate isn’t the only thing that swings wildly these days. The Earth’s magnetic pole, while long recognized to be shifting, has been exhibiting very significant changes lately compared to its usual more gradual variation. In fact, the magnetic field has moved so unpredictably the last few years as to surprise scientists. Geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat explained that the update made in 2015 in the World Magnet Model, which was supposed to be valid until 2020, is already considered out-of-date.

A NASA visualization of Earth's magnetic fields. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

The model shows a dramatic movement of the north magnetic pole from the Canadian region towards Siberia.

It’s not just the amount of movement that has gotten close attention by astrophysicists. It’s also the acceleration in its movement, which started to become particularly pronounced in the mid1990s. At that time, the pole’s movement sped up from movements of just over 9 miles per year to 34 miles per year. Last year its movement swung over the international date line toward the Eastern Hemisphere.

The cause of the pole movement? The chief culprit is the Earth’s liquid-iron outer core, referred to as the “core field.” Other, less significant factors also contribute to the movement, according to the 2015 World Magnet Model. These include magnetic materials in the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, as well as electric currents produced by seawater moving through an “ambient magnetic field”,.

As it turns out, the core field is becoming weaker, thus the components of the total magnetic field, representing about 25% of the total, contribute a relatively greater influence. Eventually, if the trend continues, the North and South poles can swap locations, which has happened a number of times in the Earth’s history, most recently about 780,000 years ago. The implications? Several: magnetic compasses would not be as accurate, satellites such as those used for weather monitoring could be disrupted and aircraft may be exposed to greater amounts of radiation since the overall magnetic field that provides protection against solar winds would be weaker and thus less effective.

To read the entire article, use this link: https://www.space.com/43173-earth-magnetic-field-flips-when.html

The Local Group Astronomy Club

Officers President: Dave Flynn Vice President Van Webster Treasurer: Johan Vandersande Secretary: Christine Schmidt Co-Secretary: Don Cogan Committee Members Membership: Will Wira Newsletter Editor: Don Cogan Astrophoto Meetings: Paul Keen Website Manager Simon Tang/Robi Mukherjee Website Monitors Dave Flynn, Stefan Webster Outreach Coordinator Van Webster Public Events Coordinators Don Cogan, Danny Freibrun

Board of Directors

Glenn Basore LaVere Schmidt Danny Freibrun

Dave Flynn Christine Schmidt Johan Vandersande Van Webster Will Wira Robi Mukherjee

Directions to Observing Sites

Chuchupate: Take Interstate-5 North beyond Castaic about 35 miles to Frazier Mountain Road exit. Go west, passing Frazier

Park, until you come to a 4 way stop with a flashing red light. Continue straight ahead for several more miles until you come to an intersection with a Market/Liquor store on the corner of Lockwood Valley Road, turn left. Continue for about

3 miles until you see a small sign "Chuchupate Ranger Station", turn left. The speed limit on this road is 20 mph. Drive through the Ranger Camp, for about 1/8 mile until you see a sign "Trail Head" and make a right turn into the parking lot.

Bring your own food and water. Dress for the weather — it can get cold even in the summer months. Cell phones do not work here, some are able to send and receive text messages and sometimes, you can connect to the Wi-Fi connection, which bleeds over from the ranger station. There are restrooms but no running water.

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area: From the I-5 Freeway, take the 14 Freeway east about 16 miles and exit at the Agua Dulce

Canyon Road off ramp. Turn left and go about 2 miles, following the signs to the park. (If you arrive after dark, the park entrance sign on your right is hard to see.) Enter, drive slowly, and follow the dirt road to the left for about 1/2 mile, over the little hill to the large open parking area. No alcoholic beverages. There are portable restrooms. if more info is needed, contact the park ranger at 661-268-0840.

Mt. Pinos Site: Take Interstate 5 North beyond Castaic about 35 miles to the Frazier Mountain Road off Ramp. Go west

21 miles on the good paved mountain road, passing Frazier Park, and follow the signs to Mt. Pinos Recreation Area. The observing site is a large paved parking area at the very end of the paved road. Bring your own food and water. Dress for the weather — it can get cold! Chains may be required during winter months. The elevation is 8300 ft. There are portable restrooms. No camping in the parking lot, but you can sleep in your vehicle. Walk ¼ mile to tent camping. For road and weather information call the Forest Service at Frazier Park, 805-245-3731 or on the Internet, you can go to www.frazmtn.com/pmcwebcam.

Calendar of Events – February 2019

Monday, February 4 New Moon

Saturday, February 2 Star Party Vasquez Natural Area Park

Monday, February 11 Private Event

Tuesday, February 12 Private Event

Tuesday, February 12 First Quarter Moon

Thursday, February 14 Monthly Club Meeting Valencia Public Library

Friday, February 15 Private Event

Tuesday, February 19 Full Moon

Monday, February 25 Staff Meeting (Please RSVP to Dave Flynn)

Tuesday, February 26 Third Quarter Moon

What’s Up!

The Local Group - Astronomy Club of the Santa Clarita Valley

P.O. Box 221296

Santa Clarita, CA 91322

Answer to Astronomy Quiz Question – Eris