NORTHERN COLORADO CONTENTS ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Page 2: Don’t miss COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY April 2014 Newsletter Page 3-4: Current events Page 5: www.ncastro.org info Page 6-7: April & May event calendars Page 8: More NoCo resources

MEETINGS

April 15 0211 MDT strange black hole countdown Taken by member: Daniel Laszlo Date: Thursday May 1, 2014 Dinner: 6:00 pm Meeting: 7:15 pm 2014 OFFICERS Location: FoCo Museum of Discovery Speaker: Dr Suzanne Metlay, Western add @ncastro.org to email Governors University Topic: 715 New - Kepler Mission TITLE: NAME: EMAIL: Update President Dave Karp pres@ Vice President Greg Halac vp@ Regularly-scheduled meetings are held Secretary David Auter sec@ Treasurer Jeff Blume treas@ the first Thursday of every month. Newsletter Editor Amanda Bell objview@ Web Editor & Outreach Coordinator Greg Halac web-edit@ LINKS COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY CAN BE FOUND HERE:

(1) Take an inside look

(2) Check out the sneak peak videos

(3) See photos from the episodes

(4) Watch featured videos and so much more…

WATCH COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY FOR FREE: Each episode is available for free for a limited time on hulu.com and cosmosontv.com

“Hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the series will explore how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. It will bring to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and transport viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY will invent new modes of scientific storytelling to reveal the grandeur of the universe and re-invent celebrated elements of the legendary original series, including the Cosmic Calendar and the Ship of the Imagination.” SEEDS OF MONSTER BLACK HOLES SURPRISINGLY BIG: CURRENT The gigantic black holes that lurk at the hearts of galaxies were apparently born big. The central black holes in dwarf galaxies — the "seeds" that grow into the EVENTS monsters at the core of the Milky Way and other large galaxies — are probably surprisingly weighty, containing 1,000 to 10,000 times the mass of our sun, a new Share your favorite stories, articles, photos or study reports. events with your fellow members! Submit YEARS .. AND THE GALACTIC SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE: anything and everything to your newsletter What are years.. and what do they have to do with the supermassive black hole in editor, Amanda Bell, at objview at ncastro.org. the core of the Milky Way?

3RD USA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FESTIVAL The 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival, the largest science festival in the US, features nationwide contests and school programs. Read more about it here.

MAJOR NEW DWARF DISCOVERED: The has a new most distant member, bringing its outer frontier into focus. Found in the hypothesized inner , scientists have discovered a distant , now named 2012 VP113.

FIRST WITH RINGS FOUND: Scientists have added another celestial body to the short list of objects in our I want to feature your favorite galaxy, star, solar system to have rings. The remote asteroid Chariklo orbits between Saturn observatory, event or physicist here. and Uranus in the outer solar system. Scientists are informally calling Chariklo’s rings Oiapoque and Chui, after rivers near the northern and southern ends of Brazil. THEORY SUGGESTS OMINOUS FATE FOR EARTH: VIRTUAL PLANETARY LABORATORY: A new theory, advanced to explain how the atmospheres of collapsed stars VPL research team explores the evolution and become polluted, points to ominous fate awaiting planet Earth. “The mystery of limits of planetary habitability by combining the composition of these stars is a problem we have been trying to solve for more laboratory, field and observational data with state- than 20 years. It is exciting to realize that they are swelling up the leftovers from of-the-art models in radiative transfer, climate, planetary systems, perhaps like our own.” chemistry, geology, astronomy and biology.

Based at the University of Washington, read more A CONVERSATION WITH LAURENCE FISHBURNE about the VPL team of over 50 researchers from Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Morpheus himself. They talk about Fisburne’s 20 different institutions. roles in The Matrix, Searching for Bobby Fischer and CSI.

Listen as they discuss chess, science vs. religion, planetariums and using math and science to explore the world. Of course they geek out over Star Trek, Superman and Watchmen.

SUPERNOVA CLEANS UP: Astronomers have identified a supernova remnant that has swept up a remarkable amount of material and has a different shape in radio data compared to that in X-rays.

EARTH-SIZE PLANET FOUND IN THE ‘HABITABLE ZONE’ OF ANOTHER STAR: Using NASA's , astronomers have discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting in the habitable zone of another star. This discovery confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our sun.

DRAMA AT SATURN: THE BIRTH (OR DEMISE) OF A MOONLET? Click here to view a 750-mile long by 6-mile wide arc along the outer edge of Saturn’s A ring. "We have not seen anything like this before. We may be looking at the act of birth, where this object is just leaving the rings and heading off to be a in its own right.” FROM NCASTRO.ORG

NCAS was officially established in 1995 as a non-profit organization to promote interest in the science and hobby of astronomy. We meet the first Thursday of each month to discuss our interests and share our experience in the universal world of astronomy.

MEMBER PHOTO BORROW ALBUMS: EQUIPMENT Don’t forget to renew your HERE: membership today! You'll want to see all of the amazing Club items may be photos taken by our borrowed at NO members. COST to NCAS members. Find out Membership dues are only $20 / more here. year, collected in January and pro-

NCAS EMAIL: CLUB MEETING rated for new members who join at OVERVIEW: Anyone can join the other times of the year. Membership email lists but Recommend a future subscription requests speaker or find out benefits include: membership in the are monitored. Only how to join speakers Astronomical League (and their approved subscribers for dinner before the are allowed to post. NCAS meeting. Reflector Magazine), use of club equipment and books and a

NCAS NCAS PUBLIC discount on Sky and Telescope ADMINISTRATIVE OUTREACH Magazine and/or Astronomy INFO PROGRAMS: Renew your Help NCAS fulfill its magazines. membership here. primary mission: to Find group bylaws educate and engage and constitution. the public with year- round public events. NCAS Event Calendar April

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

NCAS Meeting 7:15pm Lopez ES (private) Public Skygazing Fort Collins MoD 8pm 7:30pm

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mars at Opposition Mars at Opposition O’Dea ES 7:30pm 6pm 6pm (private)

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 8:00 - 11:00pm Fort Collins MoD Jupiter, Mars, Saturn Bobcat Ridge Public Total Lunar Eclipse Total Lunar Eclipse from museum roof Skygazing 7:45

20 21 ! 22 23 24 25 26 Lyrids Meteor Traut CK ES 8:30pm Grover, CO !Shower 12am !(private) !Skygazing 8pm Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night

NASA at USA 27 28 29 30 Science & Russian Progress !Engineering Festival !Spaceflight !NASA Forum Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night NCAS Event Calendar May

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

3

NCAS Meeting 7:15pm Bobcat Ridge FoCo MOD Skygazing 8pm

4 Public Skygazing5 6 7 8 9 10 8:30pm NASA Grand Saturn at ! Irish ES (Private) Challenge Opposition 8pm Mercury-Redstone 8:30pm ! ! ! ! Public Skygazing Astronomy Day Peak Eta Aquarids Peak Eta Aquarids Peak Eta Aquarids 8:30pm Part 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Saturn at Tavelli ES (Private) Campground Opposition 8pm 8:30pm Skygazing 8:30pm 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NASA Asteroid Camp Skygazing Deflection ! !Strategies !Meteor Shower? Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night 25 26 26 27 ! 28 29 30 Camp Skygazing ! ! Expedition 40/41 Meteor Shower? Launch to ISS ! ! Bobcat Ridge Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Globe at Night Skygazing 8:30pm NORTHERN COLORADO

Astronomy Clubs, Museums, Observatories and Planetariums

LONGMONT BOULDER ASTRONOMY & FORT COLLINS MUSEUM ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY SPACE SOCIETY (BASS): OF DISCOVERY: (LAS):

Meetings are hosted by the UC The MoD isn't just where we Promotes amateur astronomy campus at the Fiske hold our meetings. Check out MOD LAS BASS through monthly meetings, star Planetarium. Open to students their events like adult night at parties and public observing and the public. Membership MoD or schedule a visit. sessions. Meetings are open to and meeting info here. the public.

LITTLE THOMPSON SOMMERS BAUSCH ESTES PARK MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY: OBSERVATORY: OBSERVATORY:

No-charge public access to the Operated by the Department Has many goals, including LTO SBO EPMO universe during regularly- of Astrophysical and Planetary raising interest of kids in K-12th scheduled public star nights or Sciences (APS) at CU Boulder. grade in math, physics and a private event. Check out their visitor’s guide. science. Facility is available free of charge to everyone.

DENVER ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (DAS): FRONT RANGE ASTRONOMICAL SUPERCLUSTER: Promotes understanding of astronomical Confederation of regional astronomy clubs to share phenomenon through monthly meetings, outreach information and host joint summertime star parties. Includes societies in Denver, CO Springs, Pueblo, and activities at the University of Denver’s historic DAS FRASC Chamberlin Observatory. You can even follow Cheynne, FoCo (That's us!), Longmont, Boulder and Chamberlin Observatory on Twitter. many m ore locations. FRASC is affiliated with the Astronomical League.