Star Gazer News

Astronomy News for Bluewater Stargazers Vol 15 No.1 Jan/Feb 2021 Jan/Feb 2021 SGN Contents Not the “Eye of Sauron”, but the highest resolution image yet p 1: BAS will have exec positions available in 2021 of a sunspot taken (Jan 28, 2020) by the new 4-m aperture p 2: Two former club members remembered Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the summit of p 3: Earth is 2000 LY closer to MW centre than thought Haleakala, Maui, in Hawai‘i. The sunspot measures 16000 km p 4: SOFIA finds more water on the Moon across (25% bigger than Earth) and the image shows features p 5: Does water occur on ALL rocky planets? 2.5 times better than previously, -structures about 20 km p 6: Stingray Nebula dims; Recap of Great J/S Conjunction across -at a distance of 150 million km! The new image p 7: Japan’s Hayabusa returns samples from Ryugu reveals incredible details of the sunspot’s structure as seen at p 7&8: Arecibo radio receiver collapses -dish is write off the Sun’s surface, and looks like either a portal to hell or a p 9: Apophis orbit being affected by light pressure slightly misshapen Eye of Sauron from “Lord of the Rings.” p 10&11: Quetican FoV: Beauty and Wonder in Nature Sunspots are carved and shaped by the Sun’s intense p 12&13: Top 5 Celestial Events of 2021 magnetic fields and hot gas boiling up from below. The p 14: Book Review: The Contact Paradox: Keith Cooper telescope is a main part of the US National Science p 15: Constellation: Draco the Dragon Foundation’s National Solar Observatory. p 16: Indigenous Constellation: The Bear and the Hunters Credit: NSO/AURA/NSF p 17: Sky Sights Listing January and February p 18: Notable Jan/Feb Sky Events More here: https://www.universetoday.com/144808/this-is-the- p 19: Images of the Month: Rowan Vanderwoude (age 10) highest-resolution-image-ever-taken-of-the-surface-of-the-sun/ p 20: Miscellaneous Page: Stuff for Sale

BAS needs YOU to consider an exec position Next year, 2021 is an election year for BAS exec positions. Please consider helping out your club by making yourself Any BAS member can nominate themselves for one of the available for executive duties. Once we start back up again four elected positions: president, vice-president, secretary after the Covid-19 issue is behind us, perhaps by summer and treasurer. Positions like public outreach, membership or fall of 2021, having additional expertise on exec would chair, Member-at-Large, etc., are appointments made by the take some of the stress off the long-serving members who current exec as need arises and given willing volunteers. have given their time and experience to this organization The duties associated with all BAS positions are outlined in thus far. our By-Laws available on our website. Note that, as in many other organizations like ours, duties are shared among the So kindly give it some thought. New executive members are group on a co-operative basis, which has worked well for us always appreciated by those who will continue to serve, and in the past. Details of how to go about putting your name in are a welcome source of new ideas, approaches and will be made available by regular email early in February. expertise as BAS continues into the post-Covid-19 era.

Disclaimer: SGN reports on the activities of the Bluewater BAS Executive 2020-2021 Astronomical Society (formerly Bruce County Astronomical President (interim): vacant Society) but any opinions presented herein are not necessarily V-President (interim): vacant endorsed by BAS. For up-to-date details relating to BAS Secretary: Lorraine Rodgers [email protected] Treasurer: Cheryl Dawson [email protected] events see the BAS website at www.bluewaterastronomy.com. Member-at-Large: Zoë Kessler [email protected] SGN is produced and edited by John Hlynialuk and I am solely Membership: Marian Ratcliffe [email protected] responsible for its content. I maintain a web presence at www.johns- Public Outreach: John Hlynialuk [email protected] astronomy.com. Your original articles, images, opinions, comments, observing Past Pres: John Hlynialuk [email protected] reports, etc., are welcome at SGN. I reserve the right to edit for brevity or clarity. Errors or omissions are entirely mine. I will not publish your emails or other materials without your specific permission. No part of this publication shall be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the editor’s consent. However, the Sky Events and Constellation pages are free to copy for non-commercial use. Feel free to forward this issue in its entirety to friends. You are welcome to email comments and/or submissions to [email protected]

S G N Two club members remembered Jan/Feb 2021 pg 2

Robert Williamson was a member of BAS starting around 2008 Sheila Szabototh (nee Clothier) was an active and lasting until he moved to a retirement home nearer to family in member of BCAS (the predecessor of BAS) and Peterborough, ON. Robert was an avid tinkerer and after served both as secretary for several terms as well acquiring a 12-inch Meade Lightbridge telescope he proceeded to as web-mistress of the BCAS website which she make interesting adjustments to it, creating camera holders, created. Both she and her husband Charlie served balancing systems, a customized light shroud and several other as presidents as well at different times. Sheila and items to make it more useable. After he left the area, he donated Charlie were keen observers, travelling to many the telescope to BAS and we dubbed it “Inspector Gadget”. The locations to view transits, solar eclipses and other telescope is still used at the Fox on observing nights and is one of astronomical phenomena as well as storm-chasing! the telescopes available for student use.

I recall Sheila as an enthusiastic, capable and out- The two images here show Robert at the 2012 Transit of Venus going person who contributed much to the club. I that was celebrated at the Fox Observatory about 8 months after it recently came across her art website where her officially opened (Sep 2011). Look closely at the top image (a own words describe her passion for life: composite) and you can just see Robert’s eye reflected below the telescope silhouette. To me, he appears to have a big smile his “I am a world traveller, a tornado chaser, a solar face. He will be missed by family and friends. eclipse chaser, a hiker, an amateur astronomer, a musician, a singer, and a photographer. My inspiration comes from sunlight and shadows, dark layered storm clouds, prominences exploding from the sun, shapes of trees, rapidly flowing waters, and architecture of different cultures. My eyes see the universe full of artistic patterns and forms begging me to create the experience I live, at that moment. ”

She will be sadly missed by family and all whose lives she enriched.

Robert Williamson at Transit of Venus June 5, 2012 “Kai - Hawaiian Sea” - oil by Sheila Szabototh

S G N New Data Puts Earth Closer to MW Core Jan/Feb 2021 pg 3 Earth Faster, Closer to Black Hole in New Map of Galaxy November 26, 2020 | Science

Earth just got 7 km/s faster and about 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that our planet is plunging towards the black hole. Instead the changes are results of a better model of the Milky Way Galaxy based on new observation data, including a c a t a l o g o f o b j e c t s observed over the course of more than 15 years by t h e J a p a n e s e r a d i o astronomy project VERA.

VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry, by the way “VLBI” stands for Very L o n g B a s e l i n e I n t e r- ferometry) started in 2000 to map three-dimensional v e l o c i t y a n d s p a t i a l structures in the Milky Way.

(Story continues below caption)

Position and velocity map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Arrows show position and velocity data for the 224 objects used to model the Milky Way Galaxy. The solid black lines show the positions of the Galaxy’s spiral arms. The colours indicate groups of objects belonging the same arm. The background is a simulation image. (Credit: NAOJ)

VERA uses a technique known as interferometry to combine around. The map suggests that the center of the Galaxy, and data from radio telescopes scattered across the Japanese the supermassive black hole which resides there, is located archipelago in order to achieve the same resolution as a 2300 25800 light-years from Earth. This is closer than the official km diameter telescope would have. Measurement accuracy value of 27700 light-years adopted by the International achieved with this resolution, 10 micro-arcseconds, is sharp Astronomical Union in 1985. The velocity component of the enough in theory to resolve a United States penny placed on map indicates that Earth is travelling at 227 km/s as it orbits the surface of the Moon. around the Galactic Center. This is faster than the official value of 220 km/s. Because Earth is located inside the Milky Way Galaxy, we can’t step back and see what the Galaxy looks like from the Now VERA hopes to observe more objects, particularly ones outside. Astrometry, accurate measurement of the positions close to the central supermassive black hole, to better and motions of objects, is a vital tool to understand the overall characterizes the structure and motion of the Galaxy. As part structure of the Galaxy and our place in it. This year, the First of these efforts VERA will participate in EAVN (East Asian VLBI VERA Astrometry Catalog was published containing data for Network) comprised of radio telescope located in Japan, 99 objects. South Korea, and China. By increasing the number of telescopes and the maximum separation between telescopes, Based on the VERA Astrometry Catalog and recent EAVN can achieve even higher accuracy. observations by other groups, astronomers constructed a position and velocity map. From this map they calculated the “The First VERA Astrometry Catalog” appeared in Publications center of the Galaxy, the point that everything revolves of the Astronomical Society of Japan in August 2020.

S G N More Water Found on the Moon Jan/Feb 2021 pg 4 Water on the Moon -the Whole Story ℅ The Planetary Society First Indications of water on Moon have come from Earth if our theory that the Moon was Scientists have long suspected water might exist on the created when a large object smashed into Earth is indeed Moon, but exactly how much there was and where it was correct. While most of the Moon’s water evaporated into located has been the source of much debate. Then in 2008, space, some of it found its way into PSRs, where it has been an instrument on India’s space agency ISRO’s preserved for billions of years. Chandrayaan-1 observed how the surface absorbed infrared light. Using this data, it was determined that previously In the Moon’s non-polar regions, solar wind protons also suspected water molecules were ice inside the Moon’s polar interact with oxygen molecules in the lunar soil to produce craters. The Chandrayaan-1 orbiter also carried with it a water. This water exists in such small amounts that the lunar small impact probe that detected water molecules in the soil is still hundreds of times drier than Earth’s deserts. Moon’s thin atmosphere. How much water is on the Moon? A year later in 2009, NASA launched the Lunar Based on remote observations by radar instruments aboard Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and an impact probe called Chandrayaan-1 and LRO, the lunar poles have over 600 LCROSS. The upper stage from the rocket used to Green colours indicate regions were substantial launch LRO and LCROSS was deliberately deposits of water have been detected. smashed into a dark crater on the NASA Moon’s south pole. LCROSS flew through the debris plume and detected 155 kilograms of water before it too crashed into the Moon. Since then, m a n y o t h e r M o o n missions have seen hints of water in different forms and in different regions. Most recently, in 2020, NASA and the German space agency’s flying S O F I A t e l e s c o p e observed the Moon in infrared and confirmed the presence of water in non- polar regions.

How can water exist on Moon? It may seem strange the Moon has water, considering the lack of atmosphere billion kilograms of water ice. That’s enough to fill at least and a surface exposed to the vacuum of space. At daytime 240,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This is a low-end temperatures of 120 C, any surface water in sunlit regions estimate because the amount of water detected is limited by evaporates and floats away. While Earth’s planetary tilt the strength of spacecraft radar. New missions with radars creates our seasons plunging the north and south poles into that penetrate deeper will likely find more water ice. In 2020, periods of constant darkness and constant sunlight, our researchers using LRO data identified PSRs inside craters Moon, has only 1.5° of tilt. At the poles the Sun always that were smaller than a kilometre. These micro-cold traps hovers close to the horizon and large craters with terraced increase the expected amount of water ice on the Moon by rims block sunlight from ever reaching inside. These areas at least 10 to 20 percent. are called permanently shadowed regions, or PSRs. PSRs are known to exist on other low-gravity, airless worlds too, For scientists, the water ice and other chemicals in the PSRs like Mercury and Ceres. offer a pristine record of cometary and asteroid bombardment from the solar system’s early days. By Temperatures inside the Moon’s PSRs can drop to -250 C. - studying the water, we can learn more about the origin of the colder than Pluto! The lunar poles have hundreds of PSRs Earth and Moon, and by extension how life arose on Earth. where spacecraft have detected substantial water ice. It’s Realizing the high value of these PSRs, NASA has easy to see why the water stays there, but what is its origin? designated them as sensitive locations subject to strict contamination protections. Source of lunar water Water-bearing comets and asteroids have bombarded our NASA, India and China continue spacecraft studies of lunar inner solar system multiple times throughout history. Some water and even a sample return mission to these regions is of these small worlds smashed into the early Earth and being contemplated. Moon, depositing water. Some of the Moon’s water may also

S G N Water on All Rocky Planets? Jan/Feb 2021 pg 5 Researchers present wild theory: Water may be naturally occurring on all rocky planets Press Release Nov 6, 2020: University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Science The emergence of life is a mystery. Nevertheless, researchers agree that water is a precondition for life. The first cell emerged in water and then evolved to form multicellular organism. The oldest known single-cell organism on Earth is about 3.5 billion years old. So far, so good. But if life emerged in water, where did the water come from?

“There are two hypotheses about the emergence of water. One is that it arrives on planets by accident, when asteroids containing water collide with the planet in question,” says Professor Martin Bizzarro from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Together with Assistant Professor Zhengbin Deng he has they are now able to present signs of the presence of liquid headed a new study that turns the theory about the water on Mars at the time of its formation. emergence of water upside down. First, however, they had to crush, dissolve and analyse 15 “The other hypothesis is that water emerges in connection grams of the expensive rock, Zhengbin Deng explains: with the formation of the planet. Our study suggests that “We have developed a new technique that tells us that Mars this hypothesis is correct, and if that is true, it is extremely in its infancy suffered one or more severe asteroid impacts. exciting, because it means that the presence of water is a The impact, Black Beauty reveals, created kinetic energy bioproduct of the planet formation process,” Martin Bizzarro that released a lot of oxygen. And the only mechanism that explains. could likely have caused the release of such large amounts of oxygen is the presence of water,” Zhengbin Deng says. If Martin Bizzarro and Zhengbin Deng’s theory proves correct, life in planetary systems may have had better Another bone of contention between researchers is how chances of developing than previously assumed. Mars with its cold surface temperature could accommodate liquid water causing the depositions of rivers and lakes The researchers’ studies show that there was water on Mars visible on the planet today. Liquid water is a precondition for for the first 90 million years of the planet’s existence. In the assembling of organic molecules, which is what astronomical time, this is a long time before water-rich happened at least 3.5 billion years ago at the emergence of asteroids bombarded the planets of the inner Solar System life on Earth. like Earth and Mars, according to the first hypothesis. And this is very sensational’, Martin Bizzarro explains. The researchers’ analysis of Black Beauty shows that the asteroid impact on Mars released a lot of greenhouse “It suggests that water emerged with the formation of Mars. gasses into the atmosphere. And it tells us that water may be naturally occurring on planets and does not require an external source like water- According to Zhengbin Deng, ‘this means that the CO2-rich rich asteroids,” he says. atmosphere may have caused temperatures to rise and thus allowed liquid water to exist at the surface of Mars’. The study is based on analyses of an otherwise modest black meteorite. But the meteorite is 4.45 billion years old The team is now doing a follow-up study examining the and contains invaluable knowledge about the young solar microscopic water-bearing minerals found in Black Beauty. system. Black Beauty, (image upper right) which is the name The age-old watery minerals are both original and of the meteorite, originates from the original Martian crust unchanged since their formation, meaning the meteorite has and offers unique insight into events at the time of the witnessed the very emergence of water. formation of the solar system. The study, ‘Early oxidation of the Martian crust triggered by impacts’, will be published in the scientific journal Sciences “It is a gold mine of information. And extremely valuable,” Advances and is available here. says Martin Bizzarro. After having been discovered in the Moroccan desert, the meteorite sold for US$ 10,000/gm. Contact: Bizzarro managed to buy just under 50 grams for research Professor Martin Bizzarro [email protected] purposes back in 2017. With the meteorite in the laboratory

S G N Stingray Nebula has Faded Jan/Feb 2021 pg 6 Changes Seen in Only 24 Years NASA press release Astronomers have caught a rare glimpse of a rapidly fading shroud of gas around an aging star. A comparison of recent to archival data from 1996 by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the S t i n g r a y n e b u l a , h a s f a d e d precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly without precedent, researchers say. Bright blue shells of gas near the centre of the nebula have all but disappeared, and the of the Stingray nebula, SAO 244567, is special in its own wavy edges that earned this nebula its aquatic-themed right. From 1971 to 2002, the temperature of the star name are virtually gone. skyrocketed to almost ten times hotter than the surface of our Sun. Reindl speculates the temperature jump was Researchers discovered unprecedented changes in the light caused by a brief flash of helium fusion that occurred emitted by glowing gas — nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen outside the core of the central star. After that the star began — that is being blasted off by the dying star at the centre of to cool again, returning to its previous stage of stellar the nebula. The oxygen emission, in particular, dropped in evolution. brightness by a factor of nearly 1000. The team studying the rapid fading of the Stingray nebula “In most studies, the nebula usually gets bigger," said Bruce can only speculate at this time what’s in store for the future Balick of the University of Washington, USA, who led the of this young nebula. new research. "Here, it’s fundamentally changing its shape Image credit: NASA, ESA, B. Balick (University of and getting fainter, and doing so on an unprecedented Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de timescale.” Andalucía), and G. Ramos-Larios (Universidad de Guadalajara) A 2016 study by Nicole Reindl of the University of Leicester, UK, also using Hubble data, noted that the star at the centre Jupiter-Saturn Great Conjunction Dec 21 spoiled locally by clouds (what else is new?) December’s list of celestial events were mostly spoiled by clouds, locally anyway. S. Ontario was consistently overcast and you needed to “get outta town” to the far SW of the USA for ex. for clear skies. Still, Ken P. in Brampton got a few images on Dec 17 and 18 through brief cloud breaks. Below: Dec 17 image 1 s, at 140 mm f/8, ISO 800. Right: Dec 18 image is 15 s at ISO 1600, 2000 mm LS8 with planets 20’ apart. Titan is just visible to right of Saturn. Jupiter moons L-R are Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io. Canon 6D images.

S G N Hayabusa Returns Ryugu Samples Jan/Feb 2021 pg 7 Left A container with samples from asteroid Ryugu streaks through the sky after being dropped off by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft on 5 December 2020. JAXA Below: The 16 kg return capsule is collected for analysis.

The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has successfully retrieved a 16 kg capsule that is hoped to contain flecks of an asteroid. The capsule landed in Australia’s remote The capsule was located by officials and then flown by outback following a six-year mission by the Hayabusa 2 helicopter for analysis at the Woomera Test Range – a spacecraft to retrieve samples from the asteroid Ryugu. weapons testing facility in South Australia. JAXA noted that Scientists will now study the contents of the capsule to find the sample container was properly sealed and the team out about the origin of the asteroid’s organic matter and also carried out preliminary gas-sampling but this was water and how these are related to life and ocean water on inconclusive. The capsule was then flown to Japan from Earth. Woomera Airport where it will be transported to a JAXA research facility for further analysis. Hayabusa 2 is a successor to Japan’s original Hayabusa craft, which returned with the first-ever samples from an asteroid back in 2010. Japan’s second asteroid sample- return mission was launched on 3 December 2014 and arrived in 2018 at Ryugu – an almost spherical carbon-rich asteroid, 920 m in diameter and is thought to contain organic matter and hydrated minerals.

The original Hayabusa mission managed only to scrape the surface of the asteroid Itokawa bringing back miniscule grains of rock. Hayabusa 2 instead released a 2 kg impactor months before the November 2019 touchdown on the body.

The impactor hit the asteroid’s surface and made a small crater several metres in diameter allowing fresh material to be exposed. After collecting samples, Hayabusa 2 then headed home, releasing the capsule from an altitude of about 200 km on 5 November 2020 when it returned to Earth via parachute [after a fiery re-entry! -ed.}

Arecibo Radio Telescope Receiver Collapses into Dish

Right: This close-up view of the smashed instrument platform shows the holes it left in the telescope’s dish, which is nestled in a sink hole in the mountains of Puerto Rico. See next page for more. Must-see Video here: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/arecibo/

S G N Facility Was To Be Decommissioned Jan/Feb 2021 pg 8

T h e f a m o u s r a d i o telescope involved in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) is no more. On Dec 1, 2020, the 900 ton receiver supported by cables a b o v e t h e r e fl e c t o r surface crashed to the jungle floor. Luckily no one was injured as the event happened in early morning with no one in the danger zone. The telescope had been inoperative for some time after two cables holding the receivers snapped. Officials had already Before decided that repairs were too dangerous. The National Science Foundation, operators of Arecibo had decided to decommission the facility. A c o l l a p s e w a s n o t In November, the second of The 900-ton (1.8 million pounds) receiver assembly of the Arecibo unexpected due to the two cables broke and telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed onto the 305 m (1000 ft) nature of the deterioration multiple engineering primary dish on the morning of Dec 1, 2020. Image via Juan R. that was observed. companies declared that the structure was not safe to repair. Now astronomers’ fears for Arecibo have come to pass. Astronomer After Jonathan Friedman, who joined the Arecibo Observatory’s scientific staff in 1992 and still lives near the observatory, said:

It sounded like a rumble. I knew exactly what it was. It’s a very deep, terrible feeling.

Arecibo has been featured in many books and movies, most notably, perhaps, in the movie “Contact,” based on the Carl Sagan novel about a first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.

Video of the collapse can be seen here: https:// www.nsf.gov/news/ special_reports/arecibo/

RIP Arecibo.

S G N Update on Apophis Orbit Jan/Feb 2021 pg 9 Asteroid Apophis speeding up due to light pressure space.com by Elizabeth Howell Astronomers say they'll have to keep an eye on the near-Earth asteroid Apophis to see how much of a danger the space rock poses to our planet during a close pass in 2068. But don't panic: The chances of an impact by 2004 MN4 still seem very low.

Under certain circumstances, the sun can heat an asteroid unevenly, causing the space rock to radiate away heat energy asymmetrically. The result can be a tiny push in a certain direction — an effect called Yarkovsky acceleration, which can change the path of an asteroid through space.

Since astronomers hadn't measured this solar push on Apophis before, they didn't take it into consideration when calculating the threat the asteroid poses to us in 2068. Those previous calculations showed a tiny impact Arecibo and Goldstone radars have determined that probability — around 1 in 150,000. Apophis has an elongated shape. NASA/JPL Now, a new study shows the asteroid is drifting away from its previously predicted orbit by about 557 feet (170 Earth, and that will make it much easier for us to predict meters) a year due to the Yarkovsky effect, lead author and future impact scenarios.” University of Hawaii at Manoa astronomer David Tholen said during a press conference on Oct. 26. Tholen's team made the discovery after four nights of observation in January and March with the Subaru "Basically, the heat that an asteroid radiates gives it a very Telescope, a Japanese optical-infrared telescope on the tiny push," he explained during a virtual meeting of the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The researchers collected American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary 18 exposures of the asteroid at a very high precision, with Sciences. You can find the press conference on YouTube an error of only 10 milliarcseconds in each observation. (A here. It begins at the 22-minute mark. milliarcsecond is a thousandth of an arcsecond, an angular measurement that helps scientists measure "The warmer hemisphere [of the asteroid] would be cosmic distances.) "We really nailed the position of this pushing slightly more than the cooler hemisphere, and that asteroid extremely well," Tholen said. "That was enough to causes the asteroid to drift away from what a purely give us a strong detection of the Yarkovsky effect, which is gravitational orbit would predict," Tholen said. Showing something we've been expecting to see now for a while.” the orbit for the 1,120-foot-wide (340 m) Apophis, he indicated that astronomers thought they had enough Tholen noted that Apophis has been troublesome for observations of the asteroid — collected over the years astronomers, with "numerous impact scenarios" predicted after its discovery in 2004 — to more or less rule out an (and then largely ruled out) since it was first found in 2004. impact in 2068. Those calculations, however, were based If there's any threat of an impact, astronomers will know on an orbit not affected by the sun's energy. long before 2068 how to approach the problem. Engineers around the world are developing ideas about how to Ultimately, this means we can't yet rule out Apophis being deflect dangerous asteroids from our planet, concepts that a threat in 2068, Tholen said. “The 2068 impact scenario is range from gravitational tugs to "kinetic impactors" that still in play," Tholen said. "We need to track this asteroid would knock an incoming rock off course. very carefully.” Fortunately, the asteroid will make a close (yet still safe) approach to our planet in 2029, allowing A joint European-NASA mission will also test and observe ground-based telescopes, [not the Arecibo Observatory asteroid deflection at a space rock called Didymos, radar dish which collapsed Dec 1 see next page -ed]— to starting in 2022. See NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection get a more detailed look at the asteroid's surface and Test (DART) for more on that. shape. Apophis will be so close it will be visible with the naked eye, at third magnitude — about as bright as NASA has a dedicated Planetary Defense Coordination Megrez in the Big Dipper’s bowl. Office that collects asteroid observations from a network of partner telescopes, and which runs through scenarios Of all dates, Friday the 13th in April, April 13 [2029], is with other U.S. agencies for asteroid deflection or (in the when the flyby will occur," Tholen said., "Obviously, the worst case) evacuating threatened populations from an 2029 close approach is critical. We'll know after that incoming space rock. So far, decades of observations occurs exactly where it [Apophis] was as it passed the have found no imminent asteroid or comet threats to our planet.

!Quetican Field of View by Doug Cunningham Jan/Feb 2021 pg 10 Beauty and Wonder in the Natural World

“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest; It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

-David Attenborough, Author, Naturalist, Academy Award Filmmaker, and Educator David Attenborough is an icon! Even our granddaughter, Brynn, only 9 years old, is a fan. Attenborough’s quote above says it all -the NATURAL WORLD is both BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL! It is intellectually engaging, and has an infinite ability to inspire and enthuse us. For the Cunningham family, the wonder and beauty of the natural world has featured prominently in our family’s travel choices; and, in sharing our travel adventures with others, So, I started looking around and, after walking a little we have forged some of our best friendships. But really, you further, my gaze settled upon a very striking patch of don’t have to travel to far-away places to experience the aquatic Arrowhead plants. The water’s surface was very beauty and wonder of nature. It is all around us! still, and its grey surface provided the perfect backdrop for a composition. What first caught my attention were the Our good friend, Bob Lewis, who was the best man at numerous, charcoal-black arrowhead shadows nestled Paula’s and my wedding, is a professional photographer, beneath each elevated arrowhead leaf. As I moved closer, a and a High School Chemistry and Math teacher. He break in the clouds allowed a beam of sunlight to illuminate provided a good role model for seeing beauty and wonder two intertwined Arrowhead leaves. This illumination in my immediate environment. revealed some of the Arrowhead’s veins and the subtle green and olive hues of its leaves. Suddenly, everything I first met Bob during my second year of Chemistry and came together and I had my composition. I framed the Physics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. We both were leaves and their black shadows in my camera’s viewfinder interested in the ideas of Math, Physics, and Chemistry and and took a few pictures. I have attached one of them below. it was natural that we became good friends. We also Because Arrowhead’s black shadow is similar to the black enjoyed sharing the ideas of science and, in the natural umbral shadow of a total solar eclipse, I called the picture course of events, we became high school Science teachers. the “Umbral Arrowhead”. Bob’s interest in Chemistry led him to experiment with photography, and that medium soon became an outlet for his creative nature. He became an accomplished photographer and he and his wife, Audrey, built their Nova Scotia home, and Bob’s photography studio, at scenic Blue Rocks, located just outside Lunenburg, a Nova Scotian UNESCO Heritage Site.

When Paula and I visit Nova Scotia, Bob and I will usually head out on a photography safari. Coastal Nova Scotia is blessed with an infinite variety of imaging themes. On one occasion, Bob chose a wetland within the confines of Kejimkujik National Park, located in SW Nova Scotia.

I had hoped for a day with bright sunny skies, but, alas, this day was partially overcast. As we walked toward the wetland, I mentioned that it might not be a good day for taking pictures. Bob said,

”Every day is a good day to take pictures. You can find a wonderful composition almost anywhere, in any lighting conditions … it’s all in the “art of seeing”.

Bob explained that sometimes the diffuse sunlight of a partly overcast sky can be a blessing … revealing subtle contrasts and detailed structures without the confusion of an accompanying glare.

!Quetican Field of View “Beauty and Wonder” -cont’d Jan/Feb 2021 pg 11

The American Painter, Robert Henri, describes the “Here you are, INSIDE, looking at a computer screen, while experience that motivated me to take the picture of the overhead the whole sky is blazing with northern lights!” Arrowhead. He called it the “Art Spirit” and he wrote: I went outside and was stunned by the best northern lights “No thing is beautiful. All things await the sensitive and display I have ever witnessed! They seemed to be all over imaginative mind, that may be aroused to pleasurable the sky, complete with curtains, spikes, and arcs! The emotion, at the sight of them. This is beauty!” display was very kinetic, like a movie, with lots of colour, “The Art Spirit” -Robert Henri greens, faint yellows, faint pinks and deep crimsons visible.

According to Henri, no thing is beautiful on its own. The experience of beauty arises within a “sensitive and c r e a t i v e m i n d . ” I n m y experience, this poetic interaction with nature occurs randomly and it cannot be forced. The experience is spiritual, and very personal. In Henri’s opinion, the full experience of beauty requires a “sensitive and imaginative mind”. To my way of thinking, t h i s i s a v e r y m o d e r n interpretation of beauty and the poetic experience, similar to the wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics. Both the observer and the object o b s e r v e d c o m b i n e t o produce the beauty.

In the early 19th century, the famous English poet, John Keats, composed a poem We observed them from around 8:00 PM until well after 1:30 entitled “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. His final two lines touched AM. I set up my Canon digital camera on my tripod and on the same complementary themes of beauty and truth: took many aurora images that night of varying exposures. Here is one of those pictures. It was taken after midnight “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, and you can seen the Hyades and the Pleiades of the that is all Ye know on earth, constellation Taurus, mid-frame, just above the crimson and all ye need to know.” aurora. Ode on a Grecian Urn -John Keats, 1820 That night, the Universe reached out and touched our souls! Indeed, the science of astronomy is replete with personal accounts of beautiful and wonderful celestial phenomena. Common examples include Northern Lights displays, Solar From the Editor: Doug's story continues in the Mar/Apr Eclipses, Comets, Meteor Storms, Rings of Saturn, Jovian issue of SGN. Moons, Ice Caps of Mars, and Lunar Ring Mountains. In The auroras of November, 2003 and 2004 were numerous most of these instances, you don’t have to travel around the and spectacular, many showing bright red colours that world to experience them. I call them “celestial wonders reflected strikingly on the snow. Doug’s image above was from your backyard”. included with other aurora shots and celestial sights taken by BAS members and local astrophotographers in a Here [is the first of] two accounts of the “Art Spirit” in collection, called Cosmic Images, which toured the area astronomy and each of them involve an unexpected during the International Year of Astronomy 2009. An Northern Lights Display. [Part 2 in next SGN issue -ed] appropriate finale was at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery during that year’s Festival of Northern Lights. In the early evening of November 5th, 2004, I was processing images of the Moon, taken with my newly Doug’s image above was a 1 minute exposure taken with a purchased Astro-Vid 2000 video imaging system, when my Canon Rebel with 18 mm lens at ISO 800. wife, Paula, opened the observatory door and announced:

Top 5 Celestial Events of 2021 Jan/Feb 2021 pg 12 S G N

May 12/13: Crescent Moon, Venus, Mercury Young Moon watchers get a chance at a 27-hour- old crescent Moon 1°16’ from Venus on May 12. The next night, a 2-day old crescent shines near Mercury with a separation of 3°19’. The scene is the sky between the Hyades Cluster -the “face” of Taurus the Bull and the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades or M45.

This observation will be in twilight sky, the diagram left is for 45 minutes after sunset on May 12 and May 13 with the Sun only 7° below the western horizon. Don’t expect to see a lot of background stars, but this will be an opportunity to see Earthshine on the unlit part of the Moon.

A focal length of 2000 mm, a typical 8-inch SCT, will show both Moon and Venus in the frame at prime focus. To include the Pleiades as well, shoot with a telephoto of about 200 mm or so. About twice that will work well for Mercury and Moon May 13. Three Eclipses in 2021 -lunar eclipses May 26 and Nov 18, annular solar Jun 10 May 26: Lunar Eclipse Visible in Western N. America Viewers in BC and western Canada will see a total lunar eclipse but since the Moon is just inside the umbral shadow, totality will last only minutes rather than the 1¾ hours of more central passes. For Vancouver and Calgary, totality lasts only 14 minutes from 4:11 am to 4:25 am Pacific Time, 5:11 am to 5:25 Mountain Time. The Moon has set before totality is over for Saskatchewan and points east. For Bruce-Grey and most of Ontario, moonset occurs at 5:50 about the time of the start of totality.

ENE Horizon

Jun 10: Annular Solar Eclipse -mid-eclipse at sunrise locally! Annular eclipses offer intriguing opportunities for images eclipse-viewing session. Note that solar filters are required for especially if they occur near sunrise or sunset. The Jun these types of eclipses, but the Sun can be viewed without them 10 annular will be just seconds past maximum at sunrise on the horizon at sunrise and sunset, since our atmosphere locally and look like a pair of horns coming above the reduces the solar intensity. Once it is half a degree or so above the horizon at 05:40 EDT. It will be a startling sight above the horizon, however, eclipse glasses and filters are required. ENE horizon. A perfect place to watch will be the Kemble The partial phase of the eclipse will be over by 06:40 EDT with the Lookout which has a view across water to the NE. Also, Sun just shy of 9° above the ENE horizon. the Big Bay dock should be a good spot for a dawn solar

S G N Best Events of 2021 Jan/Feb 2021 pg 13

Aug 12/13: Perseid Meteor Shower The Perseids in 2021 occur 4 days after new Moon (Aug 8) and will not be hampered by moonlight on peak night Aug 12/13, 2021 since the 4-day old crescent sets by 11 pm. With a peak at 1900 EST (3 pm of Aug 12) either Aug 11 or the night of the 12th/13th would offer the best viewing. The official hourly rate is 90/hr, but because the radiant is low in the NE for part of the night, expect 50-60 Perseids per hour until the radiant is high overhead at dawn. Perseids are famous for persistent trails left by the brighter shooting stars. Observers sometimes use binoculars to watch these. If you can train binos on the track quickly, you could be rewarded with a glowing train can last for several minutes!

Nov 19, 2021 features a partial lunar eclipse, that is visible in its entirety locally. It is very close to total at mid-eclipse 04:03 EST Nov 19 with only a tiny portion (about 3%) of the un- eclipsed moon showing. It will present an interesting visual and photographic treat. Imagers should plan a sequence of images taken ever ten seconds or so over the entire eclipse lasting from before first umbral contact at 02:18 EST through maximum to past the end of umbral contact at 05:47 am. Assuming one starts at 01:00 and taking a shot every 10 seconds to 06:15 EST gives 2250 frames which when time-lapsed at 24 per second, for example, provides a nice 93 seconds of video showing the entire eclipse. Exposures need to vary from a fraction of a s e c o n d f o r f u l l p h a s e s increasing to longer ½ s or so at maximum. Here are the key times and Moon elevations:

P1 01:02:09 EST 61° U1 02:18:41 EST 52° Max at 04:02:53 EST 35° U4 05:47”04 EST 17° P4 07:03:38 EST 4.5°

S G N Book Review Jan/Feb 2021 pg 14

The Contact Paradox - Challenging our significant alterations to their environment that we can assumptions in the search for Extraterrestrial detect those at astronomical distances. Intelligence - Author Keith Cooper (2019) As part of his discussion on the likelihood of ever finding intelligent life, or at least life as we would recognize it, he Book Review by Marian Ratcliffe discusses some ideas relating to what makes a habitable world by looking at studies of suns and planets in both our Keith Cooper is a writer and editor for astronomy magazines. solar system and other systems. He also touches on neat He provides an easy to read history, current state and future stuff like the energy requirements of sending messages or of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ( SETI) and creating a galactic empire, the use of black holes or Dyson Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI), no STEM Spheres as energy sources for example. Degree required. On the negative side, a reader may be put off by his writing He covers a broad range of related topics and the differing style, repetition of words and phrases and a certain hyped ideas for a well rounded overview of potential contact, up presentation similar to some history shows I've seen on including social concerns (will they help us, overwhelm us or TV. In the introduction he suggests that the contents of his just plain eat us), anthropocentric assumptions, the differing book "will suitably blow your mind". It didn't, but I may be views on chances that there is even anyone out there and biased by not being completely uninformed. He also on the technologies, past and future, used by researchers. occasion goes off on tangents or has opinions that some readers may not appreciate. I just ignored those and kept The biggest concern repeated throughout is that we can reading the good bits of which there are plenty. only look for that which we are capable of understanding and detecting, which means a technological society that Recommendation - Worth the read, but borrow it or wait for bleeds energy into the cosmos or blocks it or makes it to appear in the bargain bin.

About the Author Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor. Since 2006 Keith has been the Editor of Astronomy Now, and he is also the Editor of Astrobiology Magazine. In addition he has written on numerous space- and physics-related topics, from exploding stars to quantum computers, for Centauri Dreams, New Scientist, Physics World, physicsworld.com and Sky and Telescope. He holds a BSc in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Manchester.

Other reviews: “With concise and approachable writing, Cooper crafts a worthwhile popular science work about questions that, as scientists continually improve the human capacity for gathering information about the rest of the universe, are becoming increasingly important.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“'Are we alone in the universe?' has no answer yet, but Cooper delivers an enlightening exploration of the question.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Cooper delivers an exciting, provocative tome to which science buffs will flock.” ―Booklist

“Earth has been broadcasting electromagnetic signals for a century and sending out mechanical probes – five of which have now left the solar system – for well over half a century. And despite countless science fiction cautionary tales, humans are still reflexively eager to meet sentient alien life. Those enthusiasts should read 'The Contact Paradox' before laying out the welcome mat.” ―Christian Science Monitor

SGN Constellation Draco the Dragon Jan/Feb 2019 pg 15

Draco (the Dragon) Other Objects of Interest in Draco β−Draconis - Rastaban δ-Draconis - Tais ε− Draconis - Aldhibain NGC 6543 -Planetary Nebula magnitude 9; “Cat’s Eye Nebula” λ-Draconis - Gianasar μ−Draconis - As Rakis γ−Draconis - Eltanin R Draconis- Long period (245 days) variable, max. mag. 7.6 ι−Draconis - Ed Asich ξ−Draconis - Grumium

Draco is composed for the most part of fairly faint stars that take a Cat's Eye Nebula c/o Hubble (APOD image Jan 30, 2017) long winding path beginning with the tail between the Big and Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Little Dippers, curving northeast around the bowl of the Little Reprocessing & Copyright: Raul Villaverde Dipper, then curving sharply southwest and terminating in a clearly recognizable quadrilateral of stars (the Dragon's Head) pointing directly at the constellation of Hercules. β and γ-Draconis were considered by the ancients to depict the dragon's eyes. ν-Draconis is a beautiful binocular double. DOUBLE STARS Mag. Sep’n (s) Remarks β 2.8-11.5 4 η 2.7-8.7 6 ε 4.0-7.6 6 Yellow-Blue μ 5.8-5.8 2 Both White ν 5.0-5.0 32 Both Pale Yellow, beautiful! ο 4.8-7.6 32 Orange-Green ψ 4.9-6.1 31 17 5.6-6.6 4 40,41 5.8-6.2 20 A beautiful pair Σ1984 6.2-8.5 7 Σ2348 5.4-8.0 26 Yellow-Blue Σ2573 6.2-8.5 18 Striking Σ2604 6.5-8.7 28 MESSIER OBJECTS Mag Remarks M102 10.8 Spiral Galaxy

Amateur telescope views of the Cat’s Eye Nebula reveal nothing but the general pale green seen for all nebula. The Image above: The alluring Cat's Eye nebula lies three RASC Handbook lists it in their finest NGC objects as an thousand light-years from Earth across interstellar space. A 8.1 mag. planetary nebula, about 18” of arc across with a classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) 10th magnitude central star. Definitely a challenge object. represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life cycle of a Sun-like star. This nebula's 23h 0h 1h 2h 3h4h5h 6h 7h 8h h + 60° +70° 9 dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer CEPHEUS layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, m o r e c o m p l e x i n n e r s t r u c t u r e s i s not well understood. Seen so clearly URSA in this digitally reprocessed +50° CYGNUS MINOR Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye 6543 is over half a light-year Thuban across. Of course, gazing DRACO i n t o t h i s C a t ' s E y e , URSA MAJOR astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our Sun Edasich destined to enter its own Eltanin planetary nebula phase +40 +40 of evolution ... in about LYRA CANES 5 billion years. [To the eye in VENATICI a telescope, it is faintly green and does look a bit 18 HHERCULES 17 H 16 H 15 H 14 H like an eye -ed] BOOTES +30 +30

18h 17h 16h 15h 14h

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Mi’kmaq Star Lore: The Bear and the Hunters Jan/Feb 2021 pg 16

The apparent turning of the stars around Polaris is, of tail, one for the right front leg, and another for the right back course, an illusion due to the Earth spinning on its axis. The leg. The Mi’kmaq First Nations used to call Ursa Major the net effect is a celestial rotation that carries the stars in Bear, and thought that Corona Borealis looked like the complete circles around the sky. The centre of rotation in Bear’s cave. the northern hemisphere is near Polaris and there is a region of sky down to about 45° declination which is always Following the Bear are seven stars: the three stars that above our horizon here in Bruce-Grey. The constellations create the handle of the Big Dipper, and four stars from that never set are called circumpolar and depend entirely on Boötes. These seven stars were thought to be birds hunting your latitude on Earth -at the equator all stars rise and set the Bear: Robin (Alioth), Chickadee (Mizar/Alcor), since the Pole Star(s) are on the horizon. At the North Pole, Moosebird (aka Gray Jay -Alkaid), Pigeon (Seginus in for example, all stars are circumpolar and none set, they Bootes), Blue Jay (Izar), Owl (some sources say Great just spin around the point above “the red&white stripped Horned Owl -Arcturus), and Saw-whet Owl (Muphrid). pole in Santa’s yard”. [In this sky lore, hunters catch Celestial Bear each year in Ursa Major is one of the circumpolar constellations and in the fall, -the dripping blood from the Bear is splattered on northern winter, in its swing around the sky, the Bear Robin and shaking that off is what colours the autumn appears close to its lowest point during evening hours. By landscape. Robin does not get rid of all the blood, and thus January, after sunset, Ursa starts to “stand on its tail” and his breast (and all other robins) are forever stained red. -ed ] over the spring and summer, during the dark hours, we find Ursa upside down at the zenith for North America. Shyloh continues in her blog: … this is not the end of Bear’s story. The indigenous folk of our continent noticed this interesting All winter, the Bear skeleton lies on its back, but her spirit arrangement and they included it in their star lore -one of has entered another bear who also lies upon her back in the the stories is described below. den, invisible, and sleeping the winter sleep. When the spring comes around again, this bear will leave the den, will The following is from a birding blog called BeakingOff, again be hunted and then killed. And her spirit will enter the written by Shyloh (who goes by only one name) and who next bear sleeping in the den. So this cycle repeats each describes herself as “living in the Yukon Territory”. She tells spring, when the sun awakens the sleeping earth. the Mi’kmaq story of the Bear. It goes like this:

Ursa Major is known to some as the Bear. This is because The full story of the Bear Hunt complete with “actual” the four stars that create the ‘pot’ of the Big Dipper look like dialogue among the hunters is on Shyloh’s blog here: a large animal, one star being the head, another being the https://beakingoff.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/mikmaq-story- of-the-stars/ S G N Sky Sights Jan/Feb 2021 pg 17 Notable Sky Sights Sky Events January/February 2021 Visit the BAS website or www.johns-astronomy.com for January a detailed listing. A selection of the more interesting 01 07:05 Beehive 2.3°S of Moon events is given here. 02 14:00 Earth at Perihelion: 0.98325 AU Jan 3: Quadrantid Meteor Shower 02 21:58 Regulus 4.7°S of Moon This major shower of 120 meteors/hr occurs has a 03 15:00 Quadrantid Meteors 120/hr peak 15:00 EST narrow peak at 15:00 EST (daylight). Unfortunately the Moon 80% waning waning gibbous Moon is present during the best time 06 09:37 � LQ rises 12:22 am EST Owen Sound ON to view (after midnight Jan 2 into dawn of Jan 3) so 09 15:39 Moon at Perigee: 367 390 km only the brighter shooting stars will be visible. Also, 10 02:08 Antares 5.6°S of Moon the radiant is not above the horizon until midnight or 10 05:00 Mercury 1.6°S of Saturn so. Good luck in any case, clear skies to you! 11 18:00 Mercury 1.4°S of Jupiter 11 20:12 Venus 1.5°N of Moon (see item left) 13 05:00 � NM 08:36 EST at Owen Sound ON 14 08:15 Mercury 2.3°N of Moon 20 21:02 � FQ 11:47 EST at Owen Sound ON 21 05:37 Mars 5.1°N of Moon 21 13:11 Moon at Apogee: 404 361 km 24 02:00 Mercury at Greatest Elongation 18.6°E magnitude -0.5, diameter= 7” 24 02:00 Saturn in Conjunction with Sun 24 04:39 Aldebaran 4.7°S of Moon 27 15:46 Pollux 3.8°N of Moon 28 14:50 Beehive 2.3°S of Moon 28 19:16 � FM rises 17:17 EST at Owen Sound ON 29 01:00 Jupiter in Conjunction with Sun 30 04:56 Regulus 4.6°S of Moon Jupiter, Saturn meet Mercury Jan 8 - 12 The speedy planet Mercury has rounded the Sun and February joins Jupiter and Saturn early in January. All three are 03 19:33 Moon at Perigee: 370 127 km within 5° of each other in twilight low in the SW from Jan 04 17:37 LQ rises 00:43 EST at Owen Sound ON 8 to 12. The tightest circle of 2.3° is on Jan 10 (diagram � below). Saturn is 0.6 magnitude, Jupiter -2 and Mercury 06 08:33 Antares 5.5°S of Moon is -0.8. Use binoculars for viewing, -these will be difficult 08 14:00 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction observations in twilight before the group sets. Diagram 11 19:06 � NM rises 05:17 EST at Owen Sound ON below shows the group about 2° above the horizon 40 15 14:00 Mercury 3.8°N of Jupiter min after sunset. Mercury moves from lower right to 18 10:22 Moon at Apogee: 404 467 km upper left over the Jan 8 to 12 interval. 18 22:47 Mars 3.7°N of Moon 19 18:47 � FQ rises 10:59 EST at Owen Sound ON 20 13:15 Aldebaran 5.0°S of Moon 23 08:00 Mercury 4.0°N of Saturn 24 01:10 Pollux 3.7°N of Moon 25 00:16 Beehive 2.4°S of Moon 26 14:04 Regulus 4.6°S of Moon 27 08:17 � FM rises 18:39 EST at Owen Sound ON

BAS Zoom Meetings and Events on HOLD in January/February BAS Zoom meetings and viewing events take a pause in January and February. Impromptu viewing events are also restricted as the Covid-19 situation continues to be worse than better. Normal classes will not be run at the outdoor ed centre after the new year starts, and BAS viewing events are also affected by the province’s restrictions. BAS members will be informed by email as the situation progresses now that the vaccine is available. Meetings resume Mar 3, 2021.

Sky Sights Jan/Feb 2021 pg 18 Jan 24: Mercury Greatest E. Elongation 18.6° MERCURY is an evening sky planet but not Mercury rounds the Sun in late December and appears as Planets ideally placed in the western sky. It is near an Evening Star in January joining the Jupiter-Saturn Jupiter and Saturn on Jan 10 & 11. VENUS, is 20° from the dawn Sun in Jan and gets even closer in group in the first week. The speedy planet is farthest east Feb. It starts the new year out rather inconspicuously. MARS, of the Sun on Jan 24 but does not stay for long, however. (magn. 0) is well up near the meridian at dark and may still display It is brightest early in this apparition starting out at -0.9 surface features at modest power. Last chance this winter! magnitude when it sits below the gas giants and then JUPITER, passes behind the Sun Jan 29 and both it and Saturn are fading a half magnitude to -0.4 at GEE. After that it drops too close to the Sun to see easily until the end of Feb. SATURN, in brightness more quickly and is +1 by Jan 31. By the stays too near the Sun in Jan and Feb and only emerges from the end of the first week in February it is at magnitude 3 or solar glare in late Feb. URANUS, (5.7) in Pisces and NEPTUNE, (7.8) fainter and too close to the Sun to observe. in Aquarius are now past the meridian at sunset. Dwarf planet, Ceres (8.3) stays in Aquarius near Neptune and both set before Feb 25, 2021: Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn! midnight by the end of Jan. Asteroid, Vesta (6.0) is in the sky all The morning sky is where the planet action in the new night long in Leo this winter. PLUTO (mag. 14.3) continues to stay year and triple conjunctions are not rare in 2021. Since close to Jupiter in Jan/Feb skies. Finder charts for planets for 2021 Jupiter and Saturn are still under 10° separation, we only will soon be posted on the BAS website. need another planet to come by along the ecliptic for an The table below gives the sunrise/sunset times and the Sun’s altitude interesting grouping. Sunrise Feb 25 is 0707 EST (Owen for dates in January and February. The moon phase dates and Sound) and the group shown below should be visible moonrise times for Owen Sound are in the Astronomy Events listing before dawn gets too bright. Jupiter is brightest at -2, on the previous page. Check https://www.timeanddate.com for Mercury is 0.5 and Saturn shines at 0.7. Moon and precise Sun rise and set times for your location. Sunrise/set times: Owen Sound 44°35‘N 80°55’W Times in Eastern Standard Time (EST) Vernal Equinox is due at 5:37 am EDT Mar 20 Date Rise Noon altitude Set Jan 10 7:59 am 23.6° 5:04 pm Jan 20 7:53 am 25.5° 5:16 pm Jan 30 7:44 am 28.0° 5:30 pm Feb 10 7:30 am 31.3° 5:45 pm Feb 20 7:15 am 34.8° 5:59 pm Feb 28 7:02 am 37.8° 6:10 pm Data from www.timeanddate.com

Feb 25-Mar 10, 2021: Mars under 5° from M45 For 2 weeks, Mars will shine as a 1st magnitude reddish star near the Pleiades Cluster. The planet's motion will be quite noticeable using M45 as a reference point. Watch Mars move from lower right to upper left of the cluster in that time. The disk shrinks from 10” in early January to 6” by the end of February. Minimum size will be 3.6” in Oct. ’21.

The field of view below is 5°.

S G N Images of the Month Jan/Feb 2021 pg 19

New BAS member John Lynes, sent in several of his grandson’s recent images and related the stories of when and where they were taken.

John writes: “Two of my grandchildren (Rowan and Lachlynn) joined me at 3:30 in the morning of July 12th, 2020 [on an observing trip to] Gunns Hill, the highest point in Oxford County. Rowan set up the camera and the remote [to i m a g e C . N E O W I S E ] a n d started varying the exposure from 30th of a second to around 10 seconds. He took a ton of photos. The single windmill shot was taken around 4:19 am and the double windmill shot [not shown here -ed] was taken around 4:30 am.”

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 10s exp. 55 mm foc.len. f/5.6, ISO 1600. Image by Rowan Vanderwoude

John continues: “Aug 19 2020 The other shot was take when my oldest granddaughter Aurora and Rowan and I went camping at Gordon’s Park on Manitoulin Island. We had about 3 hours of good clear skies (3.5 out of 5) before it clouded up and rained. Of course Jupiter and Saturn are in the shot. I should add that Walter Campeny was with me with his 18 inch scope. I am sure Rowan was worn out by the time he went from scope to scope to camera. It also should be noted that an [overnight] storm blew our fly off and come morning all of us were sleeping in water.”

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 23 s exp. 18 mm foc.len. f/4, ISO 6400. Image by Rowan Vanderwoude [at age 10, the youngest imager to grace these pages!-ed] S G N The Miscellaneous Page Jan/Feb 2021 pg 20 BAS Member Loaner Scopes Our Solar H-alpha scope is on long-term SGN loan presently. Our Lunt solar scope can be borrowed by BAS members for an Classified extended period. Contact John H. if you wish to book it. It comes with a suitable mount and short training session is Ads Section provided on pickup. Several Dobsonian telescope are available. See For Sale page Several dobsonian loaner telescopes are available for free loan www.johns-astronomy.com to members. Although we are not using scopes at the Fox because of the necessity for disinfecting afterwards, long term loaner scopes are now available. Contact John H. for selection and availability.

Contact [email protected] for any of these items. FOR SALE: NEW PRICE! 12.5 inch f/6 Dobsonian See the complete list on Homebuilt by experienced telescope maker in 1980. See Sep 2014 www.johns-astronomy.com For Sale page. SGN pg 9 for build details. Truss tube design with full thickness Coulter mirror -one of their best, recently re-aluminized. Focuser and Tirion Sky Atlas 2000.0 contains 26 secondary mirror/spider is a Novak unit. Alt-azimuth mount (3/4-inch charts covering the whole sky and ply) is a nice wood grain finish with coating of Varathane. This is a showing 81,312 single, multiple, and large telescope and probably would be happy in a relatively variable stars of magnitude 8.5 and permanent location, but is portable if you have lots of trunk space. up with 2,700 deep-sky objects. Loading into and out of a car trunk is easier with two people. Can be Asking $60 seen at the Fox Observatory. Asking $759 but willing to negotiate. Contact John H. at 519-371-0670 or [email protected]. Two-inch mirror diagonal plus adapter for C-8’ or Meade SCTs $80 SOLD !

Logitech QuickCam Express USB video cam. 1-½” Rack&Pinion Focuser Model V-UB2 suitable for dobsonian (video res reflector. Long focus range. 640x480, Asking $30. asking $10. Tube rings. Three sizes avail. Meade full aperture glass To fit 5”, 6”, and 12 inch tubes. Meade 2x-3x variable solar filter (9.25” ID) - Clamshell-type that open up Barlow (1.25”) asking $20 orange/yellow image and clamp down with knurled (equivalent to Thousand knobs. Asking $20 for small, Oaks Type 2 Glass filter) $50 for large set. asking $40 SOLD ! Meade illum. reticle (double cross-hair) 1.5 V req’d $25 Above: Lumicon off-axis guider body -nylon screw fittings $25